WAMC - Recent Graduate Looking for Guidance During GAP Year

[kinzer]

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1. I recently graduated from the University of Maryland, College Park with a B.S. in Public Health Science.
   • cGPA = 3.277
   • AMCAS sGPA = 2.767
   • AACOMAS sGPA = 2.777
2. I have not yet taken the MCAT but plan on taking it by December latest.
3. My state of residence is MD. I come from an underrepresented community.
4. I am Asian (Pakistani)
5. I completed my undergrad at the University of Maryland, College Park
6. I currently do not have any clinical hours. However, I have been offered a full-time and a part-time position at an ophthalmology clinic working as an ophthalmic technician with physicians who work at a local medical school. I plan to accept the part-time position.
7. I currently do not have any research experience.
8. I currently do not have any shadowing experience.
9. I have ~100 volunteer hours working as a mentor for students in underrepresented areas.
10. Extracurriculars: President of a fraternity, member of club tennis, team leader for Maryland Mentoring Corps.
11. Deans List, Senior Marshall

I'm interested in applying next application cycle and plan to apply broadly to both DO and MD schools. One school in particular that I would like to gain admission to is Howard University College of Medicine.

I could really use help on how to use this next year to make my application more competitive and gain the experience I need. I understand that my sGPA is very low and am considering applying to SMP or post-bacc programs.

 

[Faha]

Howard mainly admits applicants from the African American community or those with extensive service to that community.
You have many deficits which need to be corrected before you apply. You need to accumulate 50 hours of in person physician shadowing This should include DO physicians and primary care.
You also need to increase your sGPA to 3.0 . Otherwise, you will be screened out at many schools. You could do a DIY post bacc at a local college and take enough undergraduate level science courses to increase your sGPA to 3.0. This may take 2 years depending on your grades and how many courses you are able to take each year.
You also need to score at least 500 on the MCAT for some DO schools and preferably 505 or higher. Do not take the MCAT until your practice scores are consistently 505 or higher.

 

[candbgirl]

You aren’t ready to take the MCAT. With your sGPAs you obviously have some big gaps in scientific knowledge. What grades did you earn in the med school pre reqs? You have to get your sGPA up to at least 3.0. And your ECs are about nonexistent. You have to work on those too. You really are a couple of years away from being ready to apply.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

Meeting with your prehealth office at Maryland would be a start. It doesn't sound like you have met with them at all as I expect they would give you the news that you are not ready to apply. Zero hours of clinical exposure puts your application as DOA.