One year to make myself a better medical school candidate

[Raavenclaw]

I graduated this spring and I'm applying to medical school next cycle, so I have a year to make myself a more competitive applicant. I would appreciate any advice on gaps I may need to fill between now and the time I apply.

I did horribly my second semester of freshman year due to reasons I'll mention briefly in my personal statement. Those difficulties influenced my decision to become a physician, but I've had a lot of anxiety since then about whether or not I would be able to, "redeem," myself. Here's what I'm working with so far.

cGPA: 3.49
sGPA: 3.3
Clinical/shadowing hours: 600 total between 3 specialties (shadowing, vitals, ECGs, administrative work, etc.)
Community service hours: 25

Research: Part-time research assistant for one year in public health research on two different studies, publications pending

Leadership:
President of a student organization for one year

Skills:
Conversational Spanish
Conversational Arabic

Awards:
Scientific academic competition: 1st place regionals, 1st place nationals (refraining from naming organization for anonymity)
4-year Presidential academic scholarship for undergrad

Interests outside medicine:
Weightlifting 4-5x/week for 4.5 years
Piano >15 years
Guitar 2 years

I'm posting this because my grades were really bad my second semester of freshman year, and I know my GPA is not competitive. I'm studying for the MCAT now, which I will take in 11 weeks. After that, I will retake the courses I did poorly in at my local community college, work part-time (location TBD), and do volunteer work.

I'd really appreciate feedback on where I can improve.

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[candbgirl]

600 hours of shadowing??? You are kidding right? 25 hours of community service? Really? What about clinical experience?


You need way more community service-like 100-150 more. Try homeless shelters, soup kitchens, habitats for humanity. You need clinical experience-150 hours - hospital volunteering, hospice, nursing homes etc.. You could also do some tutoring at elementary/high schools. And stop
shadowing. Why are you retaking classes? How poorly did you do?
Where are you thinking of applying? Depending on your MCAT you'll be okay for DO schools. Your GPAs are iffy for MD.

Your music hobbies are great.

But you have lots to do to fill your EC gaps. It might take longer than a year. Good luck!


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[bananafish94]

cGPA: 3.49
sGPA: 3.3

You can be competitive with this, especially if there's an upward trend (which it sounds like there is).

Shadowing hours: 600 total between 3 specialties (but it wasn't just shadowing. I did vitals, ECGs, administrative work, etc.)

That sounds like more than shadowing! Were you employed in a hospital in some capacity? If so, that could be a very valuable thing to list.

Community service hours: 25

If you're looking for an area to improve on, this is the one. Most applicants have a lot more community service.

Research: Part-time research assistant for one year in public health research on two different studies, publications pending

Awesome!

Right now you should focus on the MCAT because it's the judge, jury, and executioner. Maybe start doing some volunteering. In the year between now and when you apply, it wouldn't be a bad idea to seek out employment in some kind of healthcare-oriented job (i.e. scribe, phlebotomist, etc.) to improve your application and get some extra funds before medical school. Good luck!

 

[Raavenclaw]

600 hours of shadowing??? You are kidding right? 25 hours of community service? Really? What about clinical experience?


You need way more community service-like 100-150 more. Try homeless shelters, soup kitchens, habitats for humanity. You need clinical experience-150 hours - hospital volunteering, hospice, nursing homes etc.. You could also do some tutoring at elementary/high schools. And stop
shadowing. Why are you retaking classes? How poorly did you do?
Where are you thinking of applying? Depending on your MCAT you'll be okay for DO schools. Your GPAs are iffy for MD.

Your music hobbies are great.

But you have lots to do to fill your EC gaps. It might take longer than a year. Good luck!


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Sorry, I just made an edit. It wasn't all shadowing. I should've put clinical/shadowing. I took vitals, did ECGs, sat with patients during chemotherapy, did administrative work, etc.

Yeah I'm definitely going to work on doing community service. I think I can get it up to 100+ hours in a year. I got one D+ and one C-. They were in Bio II and Chem I, respectively, so I would need at least a C or C+ depending on the medical school. George Washington is my top choice. I'd also apply to Georgetown, VCU, UVA, and VT.

Thanks for your help!

 

[Raavenclaw]

You can be competitive with this, especially if there's an upward trend (which it sounds like there is).


That sounds like more than shadowing! Were you employed in a hospital in some capacity? If so, that could be a very valuable thing to list.


If you're looking for an area to improve on, this is the one. Most applicants have a lot more community service.


Awesome!

Right now you should focus on the MCAT because it's the judge, jury, and executioner. Maybe start doing some volunteering. In the year between now and when you apply, it wouldn't be a bad idea to seek out employment in some kind of healthcare-oriented job (i.e. scribe, phlebotomist, etc.) to improve your application and get some extra funds before medical school. Good luck!

There was an upward trend in my GPA. My GPA the last 3-4 semesters of college were all >3.75.

Yeah, it was more than just shadowing. I made an edit; sorry about that! I took vitals, did ECGs, administrative work, and provided social support to chemotherapy patients who came to their sessions alone.

I'll definitely work on the community service and hopefully get a scribe position after the MCAT. Thanks for your help!

 

[Blanky]

Focus hard on the MCAT, then get a scribe gig for clinical and do some volunteer work.

 

[bananafish94]

There was an upward trend in my GPA. My GPA the last 3-4 semesters of college were all >3.75.

Yeah, it was more than just shadowing. I made an edit; sorry about that! I took vitals, did ECGs, administrative work, and provided social support to chemotherapy patients who came to their sessions alone.

I'll definitely work on the community service and hopefully get a scribe position after the MCAT. Thanks for your help!

If you do all of that you'll be golden.

 

[21Rush12]

I'm not sure you should spend money on retaking classes unless you failed those classes. The grade will not be replaced, and your GPA will go under postbacc category. If you want to improve your science you may consider taking a couple upper level science classes that you can get A's in. Otherwise you may be wasting your money.


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[Frogger27]

Pick up a couple cool volunteer activities (start them now and follow through for the next 2 years) and crush the MCAT. Rest of app is solid enough

 

[Raavenclaw]

I'm not sure you should spend money on retaking classes unless you failed those classes. The grade will not be replaced, and your GPA will go under postbacc category. If you want to improve your science you may consider taking a couple upper level science classes that you can get A's in. Otherwise you may be wasting your money.


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Thanks for the feedback. I didn't fail, but I had two grades below C/C+ in core sciences. If I've undestood correctly, I would need to retake these classes to be considered for medical schools, as most don't accept below a C/C+ in the core sciences.

 

[candbgirl]

I think it's C-. But if you are retaking because you feel it will help with content knowledge for the MCAT that's fine.


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[CyrilFiggis]

Are you dead set on MD or is DO a possibility?

 

[Raavenclaw]

Are you dead set on MD or is DO a possibility?

I'm open to DO. I'm mostly focused on in-state schools, which for me includes one DO program and a few MD programs.