7
799747
Hello everyone,
So I am a nontraditional completing my last year of prerequisites. My time and energy are limited, and so I need help deciding what areas of my application should I focus on specifically and what goals would be worth pursuing. Thank you for your help in this:
-Academic: 3.96 cGPA, 4.00 sGPA (prior degree in Anthropology/Sociology). My adviser recommended that I take Cell Biology, Anatomy & Physiology, Pathophysiology, and Pharmacology as well as O Chem and Biochem that are required.
-Patient Exposure: Worked 1,024 hours as a psychiatric technician/psychosocial rehabilitation therapist at a elementary school for children with major mental health/behavioral disorders. I handled mainly crisis intervention, medication management, and helping to care for and build coping skills in the kids. All of the students had a behavioral intervention plan that was built by the child's physician, parents, and teachers. I am also working as a surgical aide at a dermatologist's office, taking care of patients, passing instruments, and maintaining a sterile environment.
-Volunteering: I have volunteered as a victim advocate for a domestic violence shelter (also was on the Board of Directors, off and on for 1 year) and a District Attorney's office (3 month period, 40 hours/week), at an emergency food bank (also on Board of Directors, off and on for 3 yeras), and currently volunteer on a crisis textline, with the Red Cross Disaster Action Team, and with Make-A-Wish as a wish granter. I have plans to also volunteer as a patient care attendant at the local VA emergency room.
-Leadership: Alongside the Board of Directors positions I listed, I was also a student senator at one of the colleges (for 1 year) I attended and was also an assistant Scoutmaster for a loop Boy Scout Troop (also 1 year).
-Research: was a research assistant for 2 experimental psychology projects (Internet Usage and Temporal Discounting, Color Conditioning and IQ Test Performance) and 1 meta-analysis project (Labeling and Academic Outcomes), was a research leader for a sociology project surveying pediatric mental health for a rural county, and was an intern for a CDC-grant research project surrounding public health education and outreach.
-Physician Shadowing: Currently I have 120 hours shadowing a Dermatologist, 3 Psychiatrists, ENT, Sleep Medicine, Neurosurgery, and Primary Care Physician.
-Letters of Recommendation: I have excellent letters that I can get from a MD Dermatologist, my mentor/research adviser (Sociology Professor), a Physics Professor, my supervisor at the psychiatric elementary school, and with a couple of my volunteer positions.
So, I will be applying in Summer 2018 and have started studying for the MCAT. I would just like input on potential weaknesses in my application/areas to work on and if you can answers to the following questions:
-Do I need more shadowing hours? I love shadowing, but I wasn't sure if it matters that much to admissions committees.
-Would you advise me taking those extra courses to show my academic ability?
Thank you so much! I want to find a way to be able to pay back anyone who can help. I don't know if it is in the rules of SDN or not, but I'll PM any replies.
elprez333
So I am a nontraditional completing my last year of prerequisites. My time and energy are limited, and so I need help deciding what areas of my application should I focus on specifically and what goals would be worth pursuing. Thank you for your help in this:
-Academic: 3.96 cGPA, 4.00 sGPA (prior degree in Anthropology/Sociology). My adviser recommended that I take Cell Biology, Anatomy & Physiology, Pathophysiology, and Pharmacology as well as O Chem and Biochem that are required.
-Patient Exposure: Worked 1,024 hours as a psychiatric technician/psychosocial rehabilitation therapist at a elementary school for children with major mental health/behavioral disorders. I handled mainly crisis intervention, medication management, and helping to care for and build coping skills in the kids. All of the students had a behavioral intervention plan that was built by the child's physician, parents, and teachers. I am also working as a surgical aide at a dermatologist's office, taking care of patients, passing instruments, and maintaining a sterile environment.
-Volunteering: I have volunteered as a victim advocate for a domestic violence shelter (also was on the Board of Directors, off and on for 1 year) and a District Attorney's office (3 month period, 40 hours/week), at an emergency food bank (also on Board of Directors, off and on for 3 yeras), and currently volunteer on a crisis textline, with the Red Cross Disaster Action Team, and with Make-A-Wish as a wish granter. I have plans to also volunteer as a patient care attendant at the local VA emergency room.
-Leadership: Alongside the Board of Directors positions I listed, I was also a student senator at one of the colleges (for 1 year) I attended and was also an assistant Scoutmaster for a loop Boy Scout Troop (also 1 year).
-Research: was a research assistant for 2 experimental psychology projects (Internet Usage and Temporal Discounting, Color Conditioning and IQ Test Performance) and 1 meta-analysis project (Labeling and Academic Outcomes), was a research leader for a sociology project surveying pediatric mental health for a rural county, and was an intern for a CDC-grant research project surrounding public health education and outreach.
-Physician Shadowing: Currently I have 120 hours shadowing a Dermatologist, 3 Psychiatrists, ENT, Sleep Medicine, Neurosurgery, and Primary Care Physician.
-Letters of Recommendation: I have excellent letters that I can get from a MD Dermatologist, my mentor/research adviser (Sociology Professor), a Physics Professor, my supervisor at the psychiatric elementary school, and with a couple of my volunteer positions.
So, I will be applying in Summer 2018 and have started studying for the MCAT. I would just like input on potential weaknesses in my application/areas to work on and if you can answers to the following questions:
-Do I need more shadowing hours? I love shadowing, but I wasn't sure if it matters that much to admissions committees.
-Would you advise me taking those extra courses to show my academic ability?
Thank you so much! I want to find a way to be able to pay back anyone who can help. I don't know if it is in the rules of SDN or not, but I'll PM any replies.
elprez333
