Second Time Around, Here's What's Different.

[Pswags]

Good Afternoon All,

2nd time applicant, floridian (all state schools and UM accounted for!). Straight to it, then!

Last time Statistics:

cGPA: 3.75
sGPA: 3.57
MCAT 29R

Research, extensive. I've headed my own project for 2 years (albeit without a paper...stupid results) but have had 3 poster presentations.

Medically related volunteering: Strong, if not my strongest point. Adolescent Palliative care for chronic diseases. Only program like it in the country. Could go on all day about it, but a truly wonderful experience, and definitely one of my aces in the deck.

Non medically related volunteering: Shabby to non-existent. I'm sorry. (Ashamed face :/ ) I did not do much, and the paltry sum i did, i dare not mention, for it'd be prettttty piecemeal.

Leadership: Good! Rose in the ranks of the largest ethnic organization on campus over the course of 3.5 years to vice president, spear headed my own initiative, etc blah blah, check mark!

Shadowing: One great experience, one so-so experience. Completely stupid me left out the so-so one. I actually omitted a shadowing experience from my application. There's a seat in premed hell for me (if i get accepted, that is.)

Major (for what its worth) Neurobiological Sciences, with a concentration in Religion.
LORS: Good to great. I love my teachers, and they, as far as i can tell, loved me back.
- 2 Neuroscience Professors
-Palliative care director (great letter of reference!)
-Principal Investigator of my lab (def a good letter ...;-)
-Character letter from peer (for University of Florida)
-Old Principal Investigator
-Shadowing professor

I also graduated early (1 semester early), and had an opportunity to work alongside a physical therapist (and shadowed them as well!), and built them a patient oriented website =)

So guys, that’s the case. My self diagnosis is: I should continue this year and reaffirm my decision to do medicine. I want to do a program of some sort, a year long engagement that can do that, or an international one as well! I applied to Unite for Sight, and I am waiting to hear back from them. I believe my parents aren’t too engaged about that, though. So, I need your help Student Doc! Whaddya think?

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[Catalystik]

Good Afternoon All,

2nd time applicant, floridian (all state schools and UM accounted for!). Straight to it, then!

Last time Statistics:

cGPA: 3.75
sGPA: 3.57
MCAT 29R

Research, extensive. I've headed my own project for 2 years (albeit without a paper...stupid results) but have had 3 poster presentations.

Medically related volunteering: Strong, if not my strongest point. Adolescent Palliative care for chronic diseases. Only program like it in the country. Could go on all day about it, but a truly wonderful experience, and definitely one of my aces in the deck.

Non medically related volunteering: Shabby to non-existent. I'm sorry. (Ashamed face :/ ) I did not do much, and the paltry sum i did, i dare not mention, for it'd be prettttty piecemeal.

Leadership: Good! Rose in the ranks of the largest ethnic organization on campus over the course of 3.5 years to vice president, spear headed my own initiative, etc blah blah, check mark!

Shadowing: One great experience, one so-so experience. Completely stupid me left out the so-so one. I actually omitted a shadowing experience from my application. There's a seat in premed hell for me (if i get accepted, that is.)

Major (for what its worth) Neurobiological Sciences, with a concentration in Religion.
LORS: Good to great. I love my teachers, and they, as far as i can tell, loved me back.
- 2 Neuroscience Professors
-Palliative care director (great letter of reference!)
-Principal Investigator of my lab (def a good letter ...;-)
-Character letter from peer (for University of Florida)
-Old Principal Investigator
-Shadowing professor

I also graduated early (1 semester early), and had an opportunity to work alongside a physical therapist (and shadowed them as well!), and built them a patient oriented website =)

So guys, that's the case. My self diagnosis is: I should continue this year and reaffirm my decision to do medicine. I want to do a program of some sort, a year long engagement that can do that, or an international one as well! I applied to Unite for Sight, and I am waiting to hear back from them. I believe my parents aren't too engaged about that, though. So, I need your help Student Doc! Whaddya think?

Considering that you minored in religion, it's hard to imagine that you did not engage in much nonmedical community service. Wasn't there something through a faith-based organization that you failed to consider, even if it was required for a class?

Other than PT aide and webmaster, what else have you done/will you do to improve your application? When did you plan to reapply?

Have you considered Americorps, which has a 9-10 month obligation, option of working in a medically-related position, comes with a stipend for living expenses, but is considered a community service? The folks might like this option better and adcomms want to see you serve your more immediate national community preferentially.

If you plan to have two gap years due to not applying at this time, you could consider Teach for America, which is closer to a two-year obligation.

 

[Pswags]

Thanks for the speedy response.

My plan for the next year is nothing new, unfortunately, which is the cause of my worry. It consists of finding a job, continuing my volunteering, etc, etc, but I want to find a way to further explore my interests in public health policy, and healthcare administration. There's a lot to be learned there, and I'd like to explore it. Problem is, I'm having trouble finding a program that even comes close to this! Maybe I'm not searching in the right place, but I did follow up on your lead for Americorps. Most of them run through NEXT July!

TL; DR: I might have a sustainable plan for the next year. It's certainly not a bad plan. But I want to take this year and explore the healthcare side of things. How do I do that? Is there some rock I'm not looking under?

Thanks so much for the help, Catalystik.

 

[alexrgross]

Thanks for the speedy response.

My plan for the next year is nothing new, unfortunately, which is the cause of my worry. It consists of finding a job, continuing my volunteering, etc, etc, but I want to find a way to further explore my interests in public health policy, and healthcare administration. There's a lot to be learned there, and I'd like to explore it. Problem is, I'm having trouble finding a program that even comes close to this! Maybe I'm not searching in the right place, but I did follow up on your lead for Americorps. Most of them run through NEXT July!

TL; DR: I might have a sustainable plan for the next year. It's certainly not a bad plan. But I want to take this year and explore the healthcare side of things. How do I do that? Is there some rock I'm not looking under?

Thanks so much for the help, Catalystik.

Keep looking for public health internships, especially those for developing countries. The credential minimum tends to be lower. Also, there is a lot of health care policy research agencies in the US that accept people to work in their offices, so google that.