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I mean, what would you like us to say? Your chances are very good.Hey! I am starting to think about where I want to apply, and wondering if any of you had any input, as I am a bit overwhelmed and not sure where to start! Thank you
Also this contains a lot of identifying information so I might delete later, thank you so much!
Thank you so much!
- cGPA and sGPA as calculated by AMCAS or AACOMAS: 3.8 sGPA, 3.88 cGPA (significant upward trend, I think both are around 3.9+ if freshman year is excluded)
- MCAT score(s) and breakdown: 518: 129/128/130/131
- State of residence or country of citizenship (if non-US): Will have to look into this, I did my undergrad in CA but went home for the pandemic and am now back here, but I will not have been here for 366 days continuously by the time I apply (this is a CA residency requirement for tuition purposes)
- Ethnicity and/or race: Indian-American
- Undergraduate institution or category: UCLA
- Clinical experience (volunteer and non-volunteer): 250 hours hospital volunteering; somewhere between 800-1000 hours as a medical assistant for a cardiologist
- Research experience and productivity: Probably 1000+ hours of research, 4 papers (one from a class), none are first author.
- Shadowing experience and specialties represented: around 60 hours shadowing a pediatrician and internist, but saw a lot of how patient care looks for cardiology + I have seen simple surgical procedures at the hospital at which I volunteered
- Non-clinical volunteering: around 300+ hours tutoring children experiencing homelessness
- Other extracurricular activities (including athletics, military service, gap year activities, leadership, teaching, etc): Currently in my first gap year, working in a translational research position at a renowned medical school with a PI I have worked with in the past, but also been doing a lot of volunteering/exploration of hobbies/reading/writing/ etc. just for fun, which I plan on putting all together in one entry for hobbies. Policy and education director for club focusing on making campus safer in terms of sexual violence/empowering survivors/educating students (Ran an educational internship with co-director, helped figuring out policies to lobby for, etc.); staff writer for feminist newsmagazine (only first two years of college); volunteering for Dems in Virginia the past two elections
- Relevant honors or awards: Just some academic stuff. Phi Beta Kappa, Magna cum laude, Dean's list for many quarters.
- Anything else not listed you think might be important: I plan on mentioning to some significant child abuse/trauma (NO gory details) that I have faced and overcome in my personal statement/adversity prompt, which plays into why I think I have the capacity to handle the rigors of medical training. Also, I took a wide variety of liberal arts classes just for fun in college in addition to the courses required of me, and I also plan on elaborating why I think that's a strength in the diversity secondary. I'm also trilingual, but lack perfect fluency in one of the languages.
It's basically impossible for us to give you a good school list until you clarify your state of residence, other locations that would be amenable to you, and what you want out of med school. But so long as you apply to schools with a good mix of competitiveness, I would expect you to be accepted somewhere.
Finally... please don't ever tell someone that "my GPA is a 3.8, but would be 3.9+ if you excluded Freshman year." That's just tacky.
