I just graduated undergrad and am planning to take 2 gap years to apply next cycle for entry in 2022
cGPA: 3.78
sGPA: 3.79
MCAT: 520; 130/130/130/130
NJ resident
White female
Wesleyan University class of 2020
Neuroscience major, Chemistry minor
Research Experience
3 years as RA in schizophrenia cognition lab; administered neuropsychological assessments one on one with patients; approx 300 hrs
+ 350 further hours completing a senior thesis that received honors in dept of neuroscience
1 poster presentation at Wesleyan following a summer research fellowship program there
Clinical Experience
Medical assistant/scribe for internal medicine private practice May-October of this year; 15 hrs/wk while MCAT studying - approx 330 hrs
Planning to find clinical volunteer positions for a few hours per week throughout my next 2 gap years
Shadowing
Shadowed a neurologist for a month in June 2016 (end of high school) - about 70 hrs
Haven't done any shadowing since them but I'm doing eShadowing currently and hope to shadow in the near future (this is a weak point)
Non-clinical Volunteering
Science Outreach Club Volunteer - taught science lessons to local elementary school students for 2 hrs/wk throughout all 4 yrs of college (~80 hrs)
Crisis Text Line counselor - starting in May 2020 through present (~80 hrs so far - will likely have up to 200 hrs by the time I apply)
Leadership
Captain of Equestrian Team for 2 years (team member all 4 yrs) - managed team finances, competition entries, training schedule, etc. - by far my biggest time commitment including being a competitive member of the team myself - spent ~12 hrs riding each week (2 lessons plus one horse show per week generally) - spent avg ~5 hrs/wk acting as captain (total: ~150hrs strictly leadership; ~1,000hrs riding/team member)
Dean's Peer Tutor - tutored for intro bio during my sophomore year ~90 hrs total (paid employment)
Other
Studied abroad in Italy for a semester my junior year - my father immigrated from Italy so I wanted to learn the language and learn about the culture
Mother is an OB/GYN who graduated from UMDNJ (now part of Rutgers NJMS) and did her residency at a hospital in Philly that is currently in the process of merging with Sidney Kimmel/Jefferson
Letters of Rec
Committee letter
Will include letter from one of my neuro profs, my thesis advisor, my boss (internal med physician) from when I was an MA, my Americorps supervisor, and my equestrian team coach
Gap Year Plans
Americorps VISTA position Oct, 2020 - Oct, 2021 - working as a local outreach coordinator for a non-profit that provides medical supplies to free clinics, medical training programs, etc. in underserved communities in Louisville, KY
Will continue to try to gain shadowing hours and clinical volunteer hours
Plan to volunteer at a therapeutic equestrian center and continue horseback riding myself
Schools I am interested in as of now (but will be doing much more research into schools soon - I was waiting to receive my MCAT score before looking into further schools):
Sidney Kimmel
Rochester
Vermont
Rutgers NJMS
Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson
Cooper Rowan
Drexel
Temple
Mostly interested in the East Coast/Midwest, but not opposed to schools in other regions of the country. Will of course apply to all NJ med schools.
Would prefer to stick to mostly MD schools, but I'll probably apply to a few DO schools, as well
I'm very much interested in working with underserved communities in med school and beyond and am not particularly passionate about research.
I appreciate any and all advice!
Thank you!
cGPA: 3.78
sGPA: 3.79
MCAT: 520; 130/130/130/130
NJ resident
White female
Wesleyan University class of 2020
Neuroscience major, Chemistry minor
Research Experience
3 years as RA in schizophrenia cognition lab; administered neuropsychological assessments one on one with patients; approx 300 hrs
+ 350 further hours completing a senior thesis that received honors in dept of neuroscience
1 poster presentation at Wesleyan following a summer research fellowship program there
Clinical Experience
Medical assistant/scribe for internal medicine private practice May-October of this year; 15 hrs/wk while MCAT studying - approx 330 hrs
Planning to find clinical volunteer positions for a few hours per week throughout my next 2 gap years
Shadowing
Shadowed a neurologist for a month in June 2016 (end of high school) - about 70 hrs
Haven't done any shadowing since them but I'm doing eShadowing currently and hope to shadow in the near future (this is a weak point)
Non-clinical Volunteering
Science Outreach Club Volunteer - taught science lessons to local elementary school students for 2 hrs/wk throughout all 4 yrs of college (~80 hrs)
Crisis Text Line counselor - starting in May 2020 through present (~80 hrs so far - will likely have up to 200 hrs by the time I apply)
Leadership
Captain of Equestrian Team for 2 years (team member all 4 yrs) - managed team finances, competition entries, training schedule, etc. - by far my biggest time commitment including being a competitive member of the team myself - spent ~12 hrs riding each week (2 lessons plus one horse show per week generally) - spent avg ~5 hrs/wk acting as captain (total: ~150hrs strictly leadership; ~1,000hrs riding/team member)
Dean's Peer Tutor - tutored for intro bio during my sophomore year ~90 hrs total (paid employment)
Other
Studied abroad in Italy for a semester my junior year - my father immigrated from Italy so I wanted to learn the language and learn about the culture
Mother is an OB/GYN who graduated from UMDNJ (now part of Rutgers NJMS) and did her residency at a hospital in Philly that is currently in the process of merging with Sidney Kimmel/Jefferson
Letters of Rec
Committee letter
Will include letter from one of my neuro profs, my thesis advisor, my boss (internal med physician) from when I was an MA, my Americorps supervisor, and my equestrian team coach
Gap Year Plans
Americorps VISTA position Oct, 2020 - Oct, 2021 - working as a local outreach coordinator for a non-profit that provides medical supplies to free clinics, medical training programs, etc. in underserved communities in Louisville, KY
Will continue to try to gain shadowing hours and clinical volunteer hours
Plan to volunteer at a therapeutic equestrian center and continue horseback riding myself
Schools I am interested in as of now (but will be doing much more research into schools soon - I was waiting to receive my MCAT score before looking into further schools):
Sidney Kimmel
Rochester
Vermont
Rutgers NJMS
Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson
Cooper Rowan
Drexel
Temple
Mostly interested in the East Coast/Midwest, but not opposed to schools in other regions of the country. Will of course apply to all NJ med schools.
Would prefer to stick to mostly MD schools, but I'll probably apply to a few DO schools, as well
I'm very much interested in working with underserved communities in med school and beyond and am not particularly passionate about research.
I appreciate any and all advice!
Thank you!
