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- Mar 20, 2018
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Here we are, the classic what are my chances thread, however this time it’s for a friend of mine. I appreciate any and all advice as always. (sorry, this is quite long)
She’s currently pretty discouraged to apply at all this year, but I figured I would consult SDN and hope for some positive responses due to her high quality extracurricular activities.
Stats:
MCAT: 506 , she was quite angry since practice was around 509-510
130/125/126/125
cGPA = 3.62 , strong upward trend. Concussions due to athletics freshman year around the time of finals, professors wouldn’t accommodate.
State Residency:
MD
Personal:
White female
Undergrad:
Small private school, nothing spectacular
Related Clinical Experience:
Hundreds of hours shadowing multiple doctors. Primarily spent shadowing one surgical oncologist who is Vice Chair of the Department of Surgery at a top medical school (think Harvard, Hopkins, Stanford, etc). He wrote very strong letters for her in the past that have given her other awesome opportunities.
Hundreds of hours volunteering in the same hospital, working with cancer patients.
Research:
Currently conducting summer research for ~10 weeks at an Ivy League School of Medicine (50 hrs/week). Working in a very powerful lab, PI is the highest paid professor in university history, even higher than athletic coaches if I remember correctly. Possible publication, but wouldn’t be before submitting.
One summer at a state school (outside MD), no publication but ~9 weeks of research at 40 hrs/week.
Started a project near the end of last semester at her home university, no pubs yet.
One summer of research a few years back at top medical school (think Harvard, Hopkins, Stanford, etc) in clinical research. Basically as a tech, no pub.
Non-Clinical Volunteering:
Spent ~3 weeks at an orphanage in Cambodia helping students learn English and helping take care of the kids.
Interesting note: She found the group through a friend and fell in love with one of the children who ended up having a severe heart condition. Nobody in rural Cambodia could operate so she used her top medical school contacts (think Harvard, Hopkins, Stanford, etc) to find a heart doctor who then flew over and operated. Not a huge thing, but pretty neat and is mentioned in PS.
Other activities:
3 years of D1 women’s rugby, team captain
Physics student instructor for 2 years
Lab assistant in the Ecology Lab at home university
Competed as an All-American equivalent in rugby
High school rugby coach
Avid photographer, competed in a few contests with honorable mentions
Other awards:
Tons of scholarships
National Tri-Beta Biology Honor Society
Gamma Sigma Epsilon Chemistry Honor Society
Schools:
Maryland
UCSD
UCDavis
UT Health McGovern (Houston)
UTSA
UT Austin
UT Medical Branch (Galveston)
UTSW
Baylor
Umass
Boston
Utah
Colorado
Arizona
Miami
FIU
UNC
MUSC (South Carolina)
Michigan
Mayo, big stretch but surgical mentor went there and is requiring her to apply
School list not finalized, but you get an idea.
Thanks for any thoughts. Application is pretty much done, all essays are finalized. But she decided not to apply after she got her MCAT back which was last week.
Should she apply or wait until next year, hopefully with a better MCAT?
Cheers.
She’s currently pretty discouraged to apply at all this year, but I figured I would consult SDN and hope for some positive responses due to her high quality extracurricular activities.
Stats:
MCAT: 506 , she was quite angry since practice was around 509-510
130/125/126/125
cGPA = 3.62 , strong upward trend. Concussions due to athletics freshman year around the time of finals, professors wouldn’t accommodate.
State Residency:
MD
Personal:
White female
Undergrad:
Small private school, nothing spectacular
Related Clinical Experience:
Hundreds of hours shadowing multiple doctors. Primarily spent shadowing one surgical oncologist who is Vice Chair of the Department of Surgery at a top medical school (think Harvard, Hopkins, Stanford, etc). He wrote very strong letters for her in the past that have given her other awesome opportunities.
Hundreds of hours volunteering in the same hospital, working with cancer patients.
Research:
Currently conducting summer research for ~10 weeks at an Ivy League School of Medicine (50 hrs/week). Working in a very powerful lab, PI is the highest paid professor in university history, even higher than athletic coaches if I remember correctly. Possible publication, but wouldn’t be before submitting.
One summer at a state school (outside MD), no publication but ~9 weeks of research at 40 hrs/week.
Started a project near the end of last semester at her home university, no pubs yet.
One summer of research a few years back at top medical school (think Harvard, Hopkins, Stanford, etc) in clinical research. Basically as a tech, no pub.
Non-Clinical Volunteering:
Spent ~3 weeks at an orphanage in Cambodia helping students learn English and helping take care of the kids.
Interesting note: She found the group through a friend and fell in love with one of the children who ended up having a severe heart condition. Nobody in rural Cambodia could operate so she used her top medical school contacts (think Harvard, Hopkins, Stanford, etc) to find a heart doctor who then flew over and operated. Not a huge thing, but pretty neat and is mentioned in PS.
Other activities:
3 years of D1 women’s rugby, team captain
Physics student instructor for 2 years
Lab assistant in the Ecology Lab at home university
Competed as an All-American equivalent in rugby
High school rugby coach
Avid photographer, competed in a few contests with honorable mentions
Other awards:
Tons of scholarships
National Tri-Beta Biology Honor Society
Gamma Sigma Epsilon Chemistry Honor Society
Schools:
Maryland
UCSD
UCDavis
UT Health McGovern (Houston)
UTSA
UT Austin
UT Medical Branch (Galveston)
UTSW
Baylor
Umass
Boston
Utah
Colorado
Arizona
Miami
FIU
UNC
MUSC (South Carolina)
Michigan
Mayo, big stretch but surgical mentor went there and is requiring her to apply
School list not finalized, but you get an idea.
Thanks for any thoughts. Application is pretty much done, all essays are finalized. But she decided not to apply after she got her MCAT back which was last week.
Should she apply or wait until next year, hopefully with a better MCAT?
Cheers.
