What should I do?

[jameshart]

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So I am applying for the 2016 DO cycle, or might be. My GPA and MCAT scores are solid (3.55 cGPA, 3.83 sGPA, 26 MCAT) so I am not worried about not scoring interviews with schools should that be their only consideration, but I am fully aware it is not. The AACOMAS has opened and can actually be turned in any day now. My issue is with my ECs. I have shadowing experience with MDs but not DOs and I have volunteer experience in animal shelters but not in hospitals. Since I have recently graduated with my BS in biology, I have much more free time. I have already begun corresponding with a ER DO and I have also applied to volunteer at my local hospital for clinical experience as well as it is simply a good use of my free time.

So here is what my ECs look like:

~20 hours shadowing a MD urologist
~20 hours shadowing a MD in primary care
Over 200 hours over 4 years of volunteering at the local animal shelter
2.5 years experience interning in a chemistry lab doing drug discovery (I have actually been hired as a full time research tech since I have graduated)

I have no experience shadowing a DO yet and I have logged 0 hours as a volunteer in a hospital, but this will all change over the course of a month or two. I have also been arrested for a DUI and marijuana possession a few years ago but I have matured much and own my transgressions, I am confident some schools will look past this.

So with all that said, I know turning in your AACOMAS application ASAP gives you the best chances of scoring interviews and ultimately being accepted. What should I do regarding turning in my AACOMAS application ASAP? Should I wait until I get DO shadowing experience and some volunteer hours at my local hospital or should I turn it in ASAP since I do have a few strikes against me with the arrests?

 

[jameshart]

My GPA also has a huge upward trend; around the time of my arrests (end of my freshman year), my GPA was around a 2.1. I finished my sophomore year with a 3.5, and junior and senior year of college with 4.0s in all upper level bio and chemistry classes; hence reflecting a change in my character and maturity as well.

 

[DaddyBex28]

Your GPAs are legit, but your MCAT isn't super "solid" so make sure you apply broadly, especially with the DUI and marijuana possession on your record.

Also, you definitely want to get your app in asap. It will hurt you that you don't have plentiful clinical experience or shadowing of a DO, but it will hurt you more if you apply late.

Best of Luck.

 

[jameshart]

Your GPAs are legit, but your MCAT isn't super "solid" so make sure you apply broadly, especially with the DUI and marijuana possession on your record.

Also, you definitely want to get your app in asap. It will hurt you that you don't have plentiful clinical experience or shadowing of a DO, but it will hurt you more if you apply late.

Best of Luck.

Thank you for your insight, I could start shadowing the DO any day now as well as start volunteering at my local hospital as early as this weekend. If you were in my shoes, what would be the latest you would apply, considering the potentialities of the shadowing and hospital volunteering are right around the corner?

 

[Goro]

I can't sugar coat this: this not the application of a person who dearly wants to be a physician. It is the application of someone who wants to be a doctor as long as it is convenient.

Here's the deal: You need to show AdComs that you know what you're getting into, and show off your altruistic, humanism side. We need to know that you're going to like being around sick or injured people for the next 40 years.

Here's another way of looking at it: would you buy a new car without test driving it? Buy a new suit or dress without trying it on??

I've seen plenty of posts here from high GPA/high MCAT candidates who were rejected because they had little patient contact experience.

Not all volunteering needs to be in a hospital. Think hospice, Planned Parenthood, nursing homes, rehab facilities, crisis hotlines, camps for sick children, or clinics. Check out your local houses of worship for volunteer opportunities.

Service need not be "unique". If you can alleviate suffering in your community through service to the poor, homeless, illiterate, fatherless, etc, you are meeting an otherwise unmet need and learning more about the lives of the people (or types of people) who will someday be your patients.

Examples include: Habitat for Humanity, Humane Society, crisis hotlines, soup kitchen, food pantry, homeless or women’s shelter, after-school tutoring for students or coaching a sport in a poor school district, teaching ESL to adults at a community center, Big Brothers/Big Sisters, or Meals on Wheels.


This will do for those schools that don't require a DO LOR. However, having a DO LOR will always help. Now, if you live in an area that is DO rich, like the East Coast or the Midwest, you have no excuses.

So here is what my ECs look like:

~20 hours shadowing a MD urologist
~20 hours shadowing a MD in primary care


As is, this will hurt you:
1) it looks like you should have gone to vet school
2) my student interviewers would eat you alive for this
3) Other than the animal shelter work, you have nothing showing your humanism and altruism.

For these deficits alone, you can't make them up in six months.

I strongly suggest that you build up your ECs and apply with the best possible app next cycle. You're just asking for a boatload of rejections this cycle.


Over 200 hours over 4 years of volunteering at the local animal shelter
2.5 years experience interning in a chemistry lab doing drug discovery (I have actually been hired as a full time research tech since I have graduated)

 

[DetectiveAlonzo]

.

 

[Goro]

What worries me is that a bolus like this looks superficial, and may appear to be a lack of commitment to a medical career.

@Goro is there a time limit or minimum time commitment involved with gaining clinical experience? obviously 2 years looks much better than 6 months, but what if this person manages to obtain a good chunk of hours in the next 5-6 months?[/QUOTE]

 

[jameshart]

I can't sugar coat this: this not the application of a person who dearly wants to be a physician. It is the application of someone who wants to be a doctor as long as it is convenient.

Here's the deal: You need to show AdComs that you know what you're getting into, and show off your altruistic, humanism side. We need to know that you're going to like being around sick or injured people for the next 40 years.

Here's another way of looking at it: would you buy a new car without test driving it? Buy a new suit or dress without trying it on??

I've seen plenty of posts here from high GPA/high MCAT candidates who were rejected because they had little patient contact experience.

Not all volunteering needs to be in a hospital. Think hospice, Planned Parenthood, nursing homes, rehab facilities, crisis hotlines, camps for sick children, or clinics. Check out your local houses of worship for volunteer opportunities.

Service need not be "unique". If you can alleviate suffering in your community through service to the poor, homeless, illiterate, fatherless, etc, you are meeting an otherwise unmet need and learning more about the lives of the people (or types of people) who will someday be your patients.

Examples include: Habitat for Humanity, Humane Society, crisis hotlines, soup kitchen, food pantry, homeless or women’s shelter, after-school tutoring for students or coaching a sport in a poor school district, teaching ESL to adults at a community center, Big Brothers/Big Sisters, or Meals on Wheels.


This will do for those schools that don't require a DO LOR. However, having a DO LOR will always help. Now, if you live in an area that is DO rich, like the East Coast or the Midwest, you have no excuses.

So here is what my ECs look like:

~20 hours shadowing a MD urologist
~20 hours shadowing a MD in primary care


As is, this will hurt you:
1) it looks like you should have gone to vet school
2) my student interviewers would eat you alive for this
3) Other than the animal shelter work, you have nothing showing your humanism and altruism.

For these deficits alone, you can't make them up in six months.

I strongly suggest that you build up your ECs and apply with the best possible app next cycle. You're just asking for a boatload of rejections this cycle.


Over 200 hours over 4 years of volunteering at the local animal shelter
2.5 years experience interning in a chemistry lab doing drug discovery (I have actually been hired as a full time research tech since I have graduated)

You are absolutely correct, I needed this kind of feedback even though it does sting. I know exactly what I need to do. Thank you goro

 

[Layla92]

@Goro knows what he is talking about. If he says don't apply, then it probably is in your best interest to not.