whos gonna be my crystal ball...

[jaymarc]

Well, AMCAS is coming around again, and I would like some advice where I should be applying and what kind of expectations I should hold. First of all I go to a top 20 school (Emory). My GPA though isnt exactly stellar..im hovering around a 3.1-3.3 right now, my sciences are a bit higher 3.5 i think. Besides that I am a Neuroscience and Behavioral Biology Major minoring in Econ, my ec's include. Medical Mission to the Phillippines(I actually did stuff), Medical mission to china(didnt really do a damn thing), intern at center for behavioral neuroscience (atlanta), intern at the Centers for Disease Control. Outside that I was also actively involved in my fraternity and I also DJ. My grades freshman year were horrible due to certain activities which I overindulged in...So I took a year off came back to emory , went to work and took no prisoners. I have a considerable upward trend esp junior year with a 3.7 and 3.5 semester GPA.s. I am taking the MCAT this august. I scored 22 on my first diag and I am targetting in the 31+ range. Any input, advice, criticism will be met openly. Thank you

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[Trek]

The person that could tell you what to expect in this process is either lying or not telling the truth. It's a crapshoot. Apply to a lot of places, from upper to lower tiered schools and hope for the best. --Trek

 

[relatively prime]

First, about your ECs, how did you get to the Phillipines and China? Was this one of those programs where your parents pay a few thousand dollars and you get to say you helped someone in a third or second world country? or was this for real? Like did you get a grant to do work over there... did you go through the U.N. or Peace Corp? Basically, did you really work for those opperunities or are you just some rich kid who got escorted into these places? That's somewhat important.

Second, a cum. gpa of 3.1 is really going to make your application process difficult. You'd probably need an MCAT of 32 or higher to make up for that gpa.

The process is very random, but there are some things you can do to make your chances better. Because of your 3.1, I think you need a pretty high MCAT. In your application, describe your activities in such a way that makes you sound like you learned a lot... and got a lot from your experiences. Spend a lot of time on your P.S.

Good luck

 

[jaymarc]

The medical mission to the phillippines was thru a group called Aloha Medical mission based in Honolulu; the reason I had an opportunity to join was that my aunt, a nurse had volunteered with the group 4 years prior..so I wrote a letter etc. asking if I could join them. I was basically the only lay person among a team of surgeons and nurses. I scrubbed in over 30 minor surgical procedures and was present in a few major surgeries. I also did other things as well, but not as interesting. The mission to china wasnt anything close to that and involved mainly learning about traditional chinese medicine, preventive medicine, and interacting with students there. though my gpa is bad, i hope the increasing trend in performance will help out. thanks.

 

[lola]

is it really that important how the person got the opportunity to volunteer abroad? even if the person's parents paid, i don't think med schools would look down on them for that. it's like working anywhere else -- do you volunteer or do you get paid. just because you are a volunteer and don't get paid doesn't mean the work was any less meaningful. sure, it's more impressive if you were a u.n. or peace corps volunteer -- but these positions are only for people wanting to make a fairly long term commitment.