What I learned from Pritzker today....

[Beau Geste]

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[blee]

Good information, Meg. Hopefully some non-trads in a similar schedule and situation will benefit.

 

[sanford_w/o_son]

it was very good of you to post this. thanks.

 

[APACHE3]

If you DONT score 32+ on MCATS, you are probably history. They will get 5000 apps and though he may remember you, chances are, all that experience you have wont mean anything to them. I was in the same boat, visited several of the profs at the medical school I WORKED AT, got the same nice responses and even LOR, etc and made sure everyone knew I wanted to go to med school. Well I went to med school...in EUROPE!! My MCATS were not strong enough and unfortunately thats how the schools will grade you..sorry, but thats the way it is. Sounds like you are determined, so I'm sure you'll find a place..just study like hell for the MCAT!! GL BTW, as an IMG I can prematch, did so, and will start my IM residency in July, so just stay focused and you will be successful. 👍

 

[Beau Geste]

Sorry for your bad experience. I know I've got to do well on the MCAT (I think most non-trads know that). All I can do is ask, apply, then wait and see. I just thougt my experience yesterday might be of some help to someone.

 

[QofQuimica]

Sorry for your bad experience. I know I've got to do well on the MCAT (I think most non-trads know that). All I can do is ask, apply, then wait and see. I just thougt my experience yesterday might be of some help to someone.

Think positive, Megboo (and anyone else in her situation). I do think it's helpful to establish contacts at schools before you apply. You can continue to update your Pritzker contact as you go through the process so that he WILL be watching for your app. I'm not talking about harrassing the guy, but just send him a quick email every few months whenever something major happens, like telling him that you aced all your courses this semester or you just submitted your AMCAS to his school. And as far as the MCAT is concerned, just take it one day at a time and don't psyche yourself out before you've even started studying for it. Best of with everything. 🙂

P.S. I agree with you that Pritzker is an awesome school.

 

[travelbug73]

Thank you Megboo for starting this thread. I was going to start one myself. I did the same thing, actually in early December. I met the Dean of UT Memphis medical school, Mr. Nelson Stother. He is a great man, very patient, very soft spoken and genuinely interested in the applicants. We spoke at length for a good 45 minutes. Below are the minutes of our conversations:

1) They do not accept international applicants, you must have a green card at least and yes, this is pretty much set in stone. So, for now, I'm ruled out because I do not have a GC.

2) I took all my transcripts (MS, Ph.D. and pre-requisites that I have completed so far). I asked him if I had to do 8 hours of freshman Biology since I already had upper level courses such as molecular biology, biochemistry etc. His answer "I would be ashamed to ask you take anymore biology courses, identify your weak areas and study those on your own for the MCAT." He asked me to focus on my chemistry classes (remaining pre-reqs).

3) I asked him about the amount of volunteering experience needed. I told him I have been involved with community service ever since I was a teenager and that I have been volunteering in various capacities even in the United States. I also told him taht unless he could call serving beverages to patients and their families in a children's hospital as clinical volunteering, I'm not doing any currently. That said I have shadowed a few physicians and intend to shadow more. Anyway, he told me not to worry as long as I knew what I was getting into and he thought that I did have an idea of what it entails.

4) He told me that since the rest of my application (keeping GC aside🙂) is reasonable, my focus should be on finishing my pre-reqs with good grades and doing well on the MCAT. The average score is like 30-31 for matriculating students.

5) I did ask about CC courses and he said he would recommend against that unless there is a compelling reason.

6) We also talked about the merit scholarships that are available and he said a separate application was not needed and that they would select from the accepted applicant pool and invite them over for some more interviews.

Overall, it was a very positive experience and he asked me to keep him posted about my progress.

Please feel free to PM me if you have any questions that I might not have addressed here but talked to him about.