What are my chances with these stats?

[264180x]

I decided to shoot for med school(MD) quite late in my academic career, and I am wondering if I even stand a chance. I am currently 3 semesters away, counting the current semester, from finishing college as a biology undergraduate. There is not much out of the ordinary about my degree study, except I took a calculus based physics(2 semesters) along with calculus 2(I know its not much).

GPA: c3.86

MCAT: have not taken yet(plan on studying for 3 months, then taking)

Extracurricular: I have about 20 hours of volunteer time at a donation center, which helped me get a small($1500) science and art scholarship my junior year. I hope to spend this next summer doing some shadowing and volunteer work at a local hospital. I have talked with a professor to get involved with biomedical research(sleep patterns and aging) for the last two semesters at college. I also plan on spending the last 3 semesters of college involved with the pre-health club.

I started out working as a welder after high school, and I worked that job for years before I felt I would like to study science. I am not sure if that is relevant, but I thought it might help my admission letter; they may not see a premed/welder applicant very often.

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[bucks2010]

Glad to see you here. From what you said, it sounds like you're in a good place to start putting a really good application together. A few suggestions:

1. start volunteering at a hospital or some clinical environment as soon as you can. 150 hrs. is average for applicants... 4 hrs./wk. will get you over that.

2. don't take the MCAT until you're ready. take Physio the semester before. make a good study plan... see the MCAT forums.

3. get a leadership role somewhere, whether that be in the pre-health club or another organization.

4. Don't feel rushed. The best time to apply to med school is when your application is the strongest... so take the time you need to put together a great application.

I think the welder story is cool... not sure if things pre-college count for non-trad applicants. Catalystik might know.

 

[JustMeditate]

Your undergrad GPA is excellent! Good work! As for your EC's, you don't have much yet, but you seem to have a good idea of where to start. Med schools typically want to see clinical and nonclinical volunteering, about 50 hours of shadowing in 2-3 specialties (including family medicine), some leadership, some tutoring/teaching/TAing, and special hobbies/interests. Research is also a good idea, and an unwritten requirement of some med schools, but it is not absolutely necessary for an acceptance. It all depends on where you want to go.

But honestly, we can't predict your chances of acceptance without an MCAT score. Anything 22 or below, and it doesn't matter what your GPA and EC's are. You'll get screened out by virtually every med school. Typically, anything 30+ is considered a good score, and anything above a 35 is considered excellent.

Also, I am a tad concerned about your late start. Of course, it is never too late to switch to a career in medicine, but adcoms don't like to see all your EC's crammed into one year. It looks suspiciously like procrastination, even if it isn't. You may want to take a gap year to improve your EC's, but that's just my opinion. Your situation is definitely interesting.

 

[264180x]

Wow, thank you for the prompt replies! I know it looks like procrastination, but I call it indecisiveness. Taking a gap year was mentioned, would it be wise to go to graduate school for biology during that gap year(s). I was really thinking this may be smart; in the case I don't get into med school, then I will at least have a masters that is can use to find a job.
Since I did choose to try for med school a little late, would the masters be advised to help improve my chances, rather than just scooping up more EC's over a year? (Of course I would still pursue the EC's in grad school.)

Also, would it hurt to try and apply without the gap time, or should I just wait and strengthen my application?

Thanks again for answering my questions!

 

[Catalystik]

I think the welder story is cool... not sure if things pre-college count for non-trad applicants. Catalystik might know.

The OP would be considered a nontraditional applicant due to having another occupation previously, and that work history will definitely be interesting to adcomms.

1) would it be wise to go to graduate school for biology during that gap year(s). I was really thinking this may be smart; in the case I don't get into med school, then I will at least have a masters that is can use to find a job.

Since I did choose to try for med school a little late, would the masters be advised to help improve my chances, rather than just scooping up more EC's over a year? (Of course I would still pursue the EC's in grad school.)

2) Also, would it hurt to try and apply without the gap time, or should I just wait and strengthen my application?

1) Grad school isn't going to make you a more appealing applicant, except as it provides research and teaching opportunities. Most masters would be two year programs (especially the funded ones that pay you), except maybe for a nonfunded MPH-not sure if that would be good for a career backup plan though. A grad degree would however make you more competitive in the residency selection process. An advantage of remaining a student would be that your student loans won't become due.

If you have a gap year, you would be just as well off to work and continue to build your ECs by staying involved in weekly volunteer clinical experience and nonmedical community service for 2-4 hours each.

2) If you apply at the end of the current term, you'll be judged mainly by the Experiences you've completed by that time. So, you wouldn't have any research, which would definitely make your application stronger, and even if you start tomorrow, you'd have only 4-5 months of clinical volunteering, which would be skimpy. Last minute shadowing is fine, though. Clubs don't help unless they are a springboard to leadership or community service. You do have some nonmedical community service due to the donation center, but it's pretty sparse, so you need more. Developing a leadership and/or teaching activty is a good idea too.

So overall, I''d say that applying summer 2011 would be a waste of your money. Wait the extra year and apply with a strong application.