What do you think of me?

[mcandy]

I am a 30 yo non trad premed. I was a miserable undergrad engineering student (2.5), but in the last five years I have widdled away at prereq's for med school. I have had nothing but A's since my first education fumblings and have raised that miserable gpa to a 3.0 (maybe a little better). I am taking the august MCAT (1st time) and am just now finishing my preeq's (organic summer is a sweet way to go). I have been an EMT for 9 years working as a ski patroller/avalanche forecaster in CO.

Just curious what you guys think. Do I have a chance this year or should I wait for next and be right on top of June 1. I want to go to UNE (ME native/resident) and am really excited about DO.

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[JMJ]

I took the MCAT in August last year and applied to UNE in December. I interviewed in February and was accepted a short time later. I am not a ME resident, actually I am from TN, therefore I think you will have a decent shot at an interview this year if:

You do well on the MCAT
Have plenty of EC activities
Have good LOR

The fact that you are a native to ME works in your favor a great deal. If I were you, I would submit my application to UNE now, prepare for the MCAT thoroughly, and wait for your secondary. I think you have a pretty decent shot b/c you are a nontraditional student from ME with a decent GPA and, hopefully, respectable MCAT. Best Wishes on your endeavor.

JJ

PS I can't stress this enough: If you do well on the MCAT, you will have no problems. STUDY!

 

[mcandy]

thank you...that is very encouraging

 

[OB1🤙]

Wow, it's good to see another ski patroller on the premed path! What mountain did you work at? I patrolled for three seasons at Snow Summit in Big Bear Lake, CA, where, needless to say, avalanche control was not exactly a priority.

Just a word of advice regarding presenting that experience in your personal statement/interviews- it's often difficult to explain patrolling to those who have absolutely no clue about the nature of the job. While DO schools may be a bit more open minded than some of the MD schools I interviewed at, be ready to convince people that you aren't a ski bum, and that you are a trauma-treating machine.

As far as your applications go, rock the MCAT and put together a great personal statement, and you'll be good to go. Best of luck!

 

[Kritenoel]

Welcome to SDN! I'm a fairly traditional student who is also a ME resident - I'm starting at UNE this summer/fall. Call FAME and ask them to send you information on the Access to Med School Information. It's a program for Maine Residents and provides five "seats" at UNE (and 15 "seats" at MD schools in NH and VT). It's a whole process and I was accepted by UNE before I heard back from FAME, but I think you'd find that it'd be worth a call to Tom Patenaude to talk with him about it.

Good Luck!

 

[mcandy]

hey bruin- I work at Arapahoe Basin...we do a ton of AC and am hoping to draw similarities b/w decision making, forecasting, h(x) etc in avalanche scenarios and "doctoring" (in addition to the trauma skills). I met a few of the snow summit boys this winter...sounds like the trauma factor is far greater ther with all the terrain parks. Have/did you bring patrol focus to you personal statement?

 

[OB1🤙]

Patrolling was a central part of my personal statement, for sure. You're right, the parks at Summit are magnets for trauma, and if a day went by that we didn't have at least one KO, we were lucky. On weekends, often 5 or more!

I wrote some about the very first call I went on after getting my bones, which happened to be a guy w/bilateral midshaft femurs, also A/Ox1, with two crying sons on scene. Up in our bump they thought I was making an idiot rookie mistake calling for the dual Sager, a backboard and O2 on my very first call (and commented as much over the radio), but it turned out to be one of the worst wrecks of the winter.

Anyway, the bottom line is, choose a interesting story (if you go the story route) that will grab the reader's attention, which also clearly demonstrates the critical thinking skills that will be necessary as a physician. As far as interviews, I've had a range of experiences, from those that ski or snowboard who were fascinated by patrolling, to an interviewer at the University of Hawaii who told me to never mention patrolling in any application again. Up in the northeast I'm sure they'd be very receptive to it.

 

[sacroiliac]

mcandy...a DO letter of rec would be an added bonus as part of your application. It sounds like you are truly focussed, I'm sure you will do fine.
Best of luck.

 

[kothkg]

d

 

[kothkg]

mcandy,

I am a non-traditional student like you being 32 and currently employed as a police officer for the past 8 years. I decided 4 years ago to become a physician. I finished my degree and prereqs for med school with a vengeance. I received all A's except for 1 B in O chem. Lab. I received several interviews at both MD and DO schools. I interviewed and was accepted at UNE. The school is great and the views breathtaking. I would contact Lisa Lane in admissions. She was a great resource for me and always helpful.

I think that you will do fine when you get to the interview stage. I had to explain the differences in my earlier performance to that of my current level. I was happy to talk about it and most interviewers seemed to be impressed. Get exposure to a DO and spend as much time with them as they will allow. It is nice to go into you interview with a lot of time spent in a DO's office. The DO that I know and who I owe my inspiration to allowed me to spend 2 full days a week in his office each week for an entire summer. I really learned a lot during that time and this really helped when I had to explain my motivation for medicine.

 

[24858]

I think your chances of getting in are very good.
Do well on the MCAT and I think you have a very good shot.