<p>I once read that a double major shows variety and compliments the well-rounded aspect of an application. I thoroughly enjoy both topics but if graduating a semester later would in any way further compromise my chances of getting in, I would rather just study one of the majors on my own time without academic acknowledgement.</p>
<p>I have no idea if taking 4.5 years will be a negative. I’m just saying that a double major is not a positive. (You can demonstrated “well-rounded-edness” in many other ways.)</p>
<p>Why would you want to spend 4.5 years in undergrad when you don’t have to? Being a double major won’t help you get into medical schools. It already takes long enough to be a practicing doctor if you take the traditional route. No point in taking more time in undergrad for a double major (plus spending $$$ for an extra semester).</p>
<p>It wont be a negative, but it really isn’t worth the time and money unless you really want that extra degree. Those months would be better used continuing to build your resume.</p>
<p>Because I would be learning more and it would only take an extra semester…? I feel like I would absorb more by taking classes and doing a research project than by just studying on my own. </p>
<p>What “many other ways” are there to show well-roundedness? </p>
<p>Double majoring gives me an opportunity to do a research project with professors in both Anthropology and Psychology, which I am assuming will help my relationships and hopefully help me get some scholastic letters of recommendation. I would continue volunteering at the hospital and other local organizations during that semester, and I would still be an active member in the clubs I am currently in, as well as the President of my current club.</p>
<p>It is difficult to evaluate your chances for medical school admission without your MCAT scores. Retaking classes for a better grade or getting a double major will not help you. I also do not understand your choices of medical schools. UCLA and the University of Washington are major research medical schools and Baylor and UTSW are not far behind. You have no research in your background. UCLA is one of the most competitive medical schools in the country and even minority students only have somewhere around a 4% acceptance rate. On the plus side, UCLA Med has no instate preference. U of Washington, Baylor and UTSW have in state preferences for admission. Some medical schools will give minority students preference to over ride state residency. All of the top medical schools require some luck for admission. I know nothing about the medical school in Miami.<br>
The positives for your application are that you are Hispanic, have a good GPA and some good volunteer experience. Being a Texas resident would also be helpful. Your negatives are no research experience and a college that is not particularly competitive. You will need some LORs from your professors or pre med committee. The MCAT will determine your prospects assuming that you interview in a reasonable manner. I think you have a very good shot of making it into medical school but no one has a clue as to what medical schools you should apply for without a MCAT score. All I can say now is that I would apply to all the Texas schools if you are a resident.</p>
<p>I plan on applying to every school in Texas anyways, but Stanford is number one on my list, with Florida Intl in Miami coming in as my second choice. </p>
<p>I’m about to begin research projects with both of my thesis/project professors in Psychology and Anthropology. </p>
<p>Also, I have been told several times that it does not matter where I am at for undergraduate by medical school admissions members so I am not going to discount my university for being not as competitive as say a private university or UT in Austin. I was accepted into Austin but did not feel like moving that far away from my family. Have I been told wrong? Is going to a quiet liberal arts college for undergraduate really a negative?</p>
<p>Thanks,</p>
<p>Shari</p>
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I thought you went to UNT?</p>
<p>My DD attends UWSOM and I agree with the above posters, I would not recommend most OOS (Out of WWAMI-WA/WY/AK/MT/ID) applicants bother to apply. That being said, GA mom, with a URM bonus your Dd may have a shot and I do think the major screening is pre-secondary.</p>
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<p>Huh? These two don’t belong on the same page, much less list.</p>
<p>UNT is primarilly an education/music school… It’s full of “hipsters” and science is not currently a priority for the school. It’s an extremely liberal campus.</p>
<p>Why don’t they? They both offer MD programs. </p>
<p>Anyway, as mentioned above, I can supposedly show that I am well rounded beyond being the leader of a club I founded, being a chair and co-leader in two other clubs, being a summer intern at a hospital and working in a clinical atmosphere, and working at Starbucks for 4 years. Research begins this year, as well two other internships. One for anthropology, one for psychology.</p>
<p>Can somebody please help me figure out what other things I can do to set myself apart on my application while adding to my well-roundedness?</p>
<p>Also, are any of the people who are saying that a double major or re-taking classes will not look ambitious or help my case any actually related to the admissions process in medical school? Where are you getting this information from, if not?</p>
<p>I understand how retaking B classes would be a waste of time, but C’s and D’s would at least show an effort in the eyes of admissions that the student at least tried to learn the information that was clearly not understood the first time. </p>
<p>Thanks</p>
<p>PS I just signed up for MCAT! :)</p>
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<p>I doubt UNT is considered a quiet, liberal arts college by med school admissions committees (not that it matters).</p>
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<p>I think some posters were surprised that your top school would be Stanford, which is a huge academic center, very prestigious, and quite research-focused, and your second choice would be FIU, a school that hasn’t even had a graduating class yet (if memory serves–I believe first class of first years was in 09) and is so new on the radar that no one knows what it’s going to be yet–although it probably won’t be up to the standard of Stanford.</p>
<p>Who cares though. You can rank Stanford first and FIU second. It appears to be a random choice but that doesn’t mean it is. From the premeds I know (which is quite a few), it seems like the typical pattern (for someone who has a #1 and a #2) is “Elite school = #1” and “My state’s medical school = #2.” </p>
<p>As for being more well-rounded, a summer internship as the only clinical experience you mentioned probably isn’t going to be enough clinical experience (in my opinion). A year of research that’s required for your thesis, even though you have two projects, isn’t going to be extraordinary to adcoms because a research thesis is pretty common and many premeds do research for most of their undergrad career (I started freshman year, for example). Campus leadership is impressive but does not replace clinical experience. Likewise, working at Starbucks shows you’re dedicated and responsible, but doesn’t indicate anything about your aptitude for medicine (except perhaps that you’re dedicated and responsible). That’s not to say these have been a waste of time–just that a big part of your application is showing adcoms you’re worth the risk and worth their investment by showing that you know medicine as well as possible for a 22 year old kid, and so far you haven’t indicated that you do.</p>
<p>I think the best way thing you can do is learn all you can about medicine. Shadow. Research. Take classes. Volunteer. Take on new positions. Etc. See a problem in your community? Find a solution. Get to know doctors, patients, hospital staff. Understand health reform and be able to speak at length about your opinion on it and why you formed that opinion. From the successful applicants I know from this year, doing these things is practically required.</p>
<p>You’ll set yourself apart by going extraordinarily above and beyond those requirements.</p>
<p>THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR EXPLAINING THAT!</p>
<p>Yes, Stanford is really highly ranked, but it truly cannot hurt to set my goals high. I love Miami. FIU would be great too. Those are really the only two colleges I can see myself getting into, that I would enjoy, outside of Texas. I wouldn’t mind being one of the first classes graduating, in fact, that would be kind of neat.</p>
<p>I’m pretty well versed on the health reform, I think, but I’m sure I can brush up on that before application time. Where else can I volunteer? I volunteer at local soup kitchens/animal shelters. I’ve shadowed one anaesthesiologist, but that was so terribly boring and we were in an OR so we had to remain quiet. During my internship I would stay late every day to do “rounds” and just talk to patients about what they came in for. I had to help in a lot of trauma situations. </p>
<p>Being the “tzedakah” chair in Hillel, I get to organize fund/item collections for individual local organizations which really need help, regardless of religious orientation.</p>
<p>My family’s health has been pegged with a lot of disease, including myself. Cancers, heart disease, autoimmune disease, mental disorders. I had a terrible string of doctors who were convinced that I had a brain tumor AND multiple sclerosis this spring. It drove my entire family crazy how nonchalant these doctors were. I want to be a doctor who gives a damn, and reports information on a timely basis, not waits over the weekend while the patient and their is crying their eyes out.</p>
<p>Again, thank you so much for elaborating.</p>
<p>(Also, UNT may have a lot of students, but it’s a pretty calm school. The only things we can brag about are Roy Orbison and Norah Jones. I would hope that I am not dulling any edge I have on other competition just because my school is not science oriented or that challenging to get into.)</p>
<p>OP, It is often recommended to apply broadly and (at least try to) fall in love with every school you apply to.</p>
<p>Applying to any mid-level OOS medical school from Texas is generally an uphill battle, unless the OOS medical school is a very highly ranked one or a very lowly ranked one.</p>
<p>BTW, it is rumored that a religious study (Is Judaism one of these majors?) or philosophy major more likely excels on a test like MCAT. Also, I remember reading somewhere that being heavily involved with Hillel activities (the way they analyze the text) since childhood, which you seem to have been involved with a lot, could be very helpful on a test like MCAT. If this is the case, you may have an edge on this kind of test just because of your bringing-up. (This is also why many URM groups have always been protesting that all these kinds of standardized tests are biased against them.) If you score well on that test, it could be a game changer as many (but not all) adcoms will all of a sudden think you are smart and capable. Good luck!</p>
<p>Stanford med is a major RESEARCH Uni. That is why it exists. If research is your passion/goal, then a logical #2 (and 3, and 4…) would also be research Unis. If you prefer primary care, for example, over med research, then Stanford should not be a consideration.</p>
<p>I haven’t been involved with Hillel at all until I started my sophomore year of college, but I was raised in a Jewish household. Judaic Studies and Philosophy is my minor, though, so I can only hope there’s some weird tie-in between religious studies and good testing on the MCAT. ;)</p>
<p>With regards to Stanford, it’s ranked lowly for primary care, but it’s both research and primary care.</p>
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<p>You might try something that will get you involved with a group of people you’re interested in. Pediatrics? Volunteer at an after school program for elementary school kids. Adults or geriatrics? Nursing home. Neuro or psych? A center for autism. Global health? Local refugees. You speak another language? With that population. Women’s health? Your local women’s shelter. Etc. (I volunteered at an adoption agency that also ran programs for pregnant teens and teen parents in my area, for example–and my premed friends have volunteered with each of the aforementioned groups). Think a little creatively–you don’t have to limit yourself to the standard “ER and VA and animal shelter” choices. </p>
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<p>Doesn’t sound like anaesthesiology is for you then–no problem. You might try something more clinical, or shadow a surgeon, or if patients aren’t your thing (though it sounds like they are), something like path or rads. You mentioned you had a poor experience with your neurologist when you were a particularly vulnerable patient, so perhaps you’d like working with other particularly vulnerable populations (oncology, for example). Try docs at local hospitals. Try docs at your university especially (or at nearby medical schools/teaching hospitals). Shadowing one doc one time isn’t enough! Shoot for ~100h.</p>
<p>In general, your best med school bets are going to be your state’s state schools (and Texas has plenty!) as well as privates within your stats ranges. Very few applicants have stats for Stanford. I don’t know what FIU’s are like. You don’t know what your stats are yet (no MCAT score). I think it would be worth your while to start falling in love with some Texas schools (plus, they’re relatively inexpensive!).</p>
<p>What about family medicine? I’ve tried to shadow some family medicine practice doctors but they all claim that insurance risks prohibit any volunteers or shadowing. Are you applying to medical school, or have you already gotten in?</p>
<p>Thanks for the tips on volunteering. I will try to find a few doctors this weekend to try to shadow throughout the next two years. Does volunteering at the elderly home to play piano and guitar amount to anything?</p>
<p>I love patient interaction, which is why I loved the E.R. Patients would tell me that I had a specific quality which made me easy to talk to and that I put them at ease with what (narrow) knowledge I could offer. </p>
<p>Also, I am considering dropping the Psychology major because I would prefer to spend the year of waiting for admission working and shadowing some more rather than in school. I can study psychology on my own, I just won’t have the chance for research/small journal publishing.</p>
<p>I have nothing against Texas schools, but I’m ready for a change. Honestly, I have yet to meet anybody suitable for a mate, and there aren’t a lot of Jewish guys where I live/where I would live if I were to get accepted by the Texas medical schools. I have a better chance in NY or FL. I don’t want to miss out on another important component of my life while trying to succeed at another, you know?</p>
<p>^^And Stanford med has a lot of Jewish guys? Really? </p>
<p>(Hint: ~40 guys in the M1 class, nearly half of which are Asian.)</p>