Advice for D for bsmd

We live in a relatively small city in the South. She had wanted to pursue summer research and volunteering, but is overseas most summers . She does have experience in taking care of cancer patients, her grandparents, and tropical medicine, working on study of mosquito borne diseases for this summer.

gpa: junior year 4.195
has taken 6 ap classes and will graduate with 12; taken and taking gopo, bc calc, ap chem, apush, apfrench, lit,
act 34 working on raising it

normal honors, NHS, NFHS, Presidential Volunteer Award
leadership awards: HOBY rep ( kids), chamber of commerce leadership
high school sorority

all district and all state band
All district and all state choir

local hospital volunteering 50 hrs.international volunteering/teaching 30 hrs

Programs applying to; case, OU, TU, SLU, hofstra, drexel, etc

Thanks in advance

If you review current and last year bs/md threads, you can get a feel for it and get answers for most of questions.
SLU is not a guaranteed program and also Toledo and Temple. For NMF OU free tuition for 5 years. TU is community health.

Thank you for replying. Trying to get a better idea of even applying and helping her to put her best foot forward!!
It’s great that you all do this to give some possible parameters!!

@Anjo91 my DD has higher stats that yours and we have been told to apply to a broad range of programs 15+, so I would suggest adding more programs to your list.

Her chances of receiving an interview at HPME and UMKC programs, has been estimated at 68% and 72%

Thank you so much! 20 programs and a few safety ug’s:). Still working on stats!! Good luck to your DD!!

@Anjo91 50 hrs of healthcare experience is not a lot for many BS/MD programs. She should definitely increase her exposure over the summer.

Thank you, Dr. To! I so appreciate your response :)When you’re out of the country every summer, you have to try to make opportunities, i guess, unless you’re in a turbulent political situation, when you can’t even leave the house!!

Sorry, new to forum! If I didn’t thank you all in my replies, thank you! @GoldenRock, @bsmdhopefully, and @DoctorTO ! I truly appreciate your willingness to educate me about this whole process!!

Most CC posts claimed 200-400 hours of volunteering at hospitals. But as far as I know from the hospital my daughter volunteers, most of the kids work at the front desk, cafes or shops in the hospital, not really related to healthcare itself. Sure it is at hospitals with pay, but can’t the same experience gained in a mall? Really wondering what these BS/MD programs are looking for.

@hooverhoo It is not that critical to have this high level of 200-400 hours. There is no one particular item carries all credits for selection. Course rigor-gpa, test scores, ECs, Essays-prompts, Interviews. EC - even if not worked in hospital, but contributed / volunteered for many years (even if small hours but consistently for years) for underserved community. My D did only 100 hours, mostly in gift shop and later birth center. No shadowing though it would have helped.

@hooverhoo You’re right that most large hospital systems only let kids do menial tasks as you mentioned. From personal experience/opinion, those hours are not necessary (especially for 200-400 hours) and should be spent towards shadowing and direct patient interactions–that’s MUCH more valuable. When programs state “volunteering”, they mean meaningful learning experiences.

@hooverhoo Different states have different rules, and different hospitals provide different opportunities. In my DD situation, she was allowed to start hospital volunteering at minimum freshman age 14. She had rotated through hospitality desk, ER, ICU, Imaging and maternity ward during high school 4 years. It is up to students and parents to check local regulations and opportunities.