Medical School- Chances of getting in Anywhere

Pre-Med & Medical School Pre-Med Topics
1

Hello everyone!
I will be as brief as possible. I don’t have a preference as to which medical school I want to get into. I simply want to pursue medicine in my chosen field of interest (neurology). I attend UNC Chapel hill as a sophomore and am in the honors program. I have a 3.83 GPA (but as I may get a B or 2 this semester that might fall to a 3.7 which scares me). I work in a neuroscience lab and last year I worked in a chemical lab. I was selected to be a member of a medical development startup team and am currently developing a new kind of indicator for HPV. I am a lab coordinator for a nature education group and also was recently accepted into the joint NC State UNC biomedical engineering program. I am applying for undergraduate research experiences over the summer but have yet to do shadowing in more than a negligible amount.What can I do to improve myself and my application. I will be graduating next year as I got my A.S. in HS.

Thank you!

2

It doesn’t sound like you have much , if any, clinical and volunteer experience. From what I understand, it is crucial for medical schools to see that you have been exposed to the every day life of a physician and what it means to have contact with patients. They also want to see that you have given back to the community and especially underserved populations in a significant way. In addition to beefing up your doctor shadowing, I would focus on those two areas.

3

Study hard for the MCATs. Sounds like you’re doing everything else right.

4

You have great stats and research experience, but med school admission is more than just numbers. You’re missing the ECs adcomms value most highly.

In an annual survey of med schools, admission officers ranked having clinical experience, physician shadowing, non-medical community service and leadership as being of the “highest importance” when making decisions to interview and admit students. Research is ranked as being of the “least importance.”
(see p. 14 https://www.aamc.org/download/462316/data/mcatguide.pdf)

Do you have any** non-medical volunteering/community service**?

Having few or no hours is an app killer. Medicine is a service profession and adcomms are looking for evidence of your commitment to service, particularly with disadvantaged or vulnerable populations.

What types of clinical experience do you have?

Few or no hours is another app killer.

Adcomms are looking for active clinical exposure (volunteering or paid employment in clinical settings where you have direct contact with patients). Working with the acutely injured, chronically sick, mentally ill, aged & demented, physically disabled and dying every day isn’t for everyone. You need to show that you understand what kind of career you’re signing up for.

Any physician shadowing? With what specialties?

Few or no hours is an app killer.

You need to have first hand exposure to what the day-to-day life of physician is like. You’re making a lifetime commitment to medicine. Adcomms want to make sure you know what you’re getting into.

Since most med students end up in primary care fields, it’s very important to have some primary care shadowing as well as exposure to the more “exciting and glamorous” specialties.

You say you want to be a neurologist? How do you know? Do you know what a typical day in the life of neurologist is like?

(Side note: D2 was sure she wanted to be neurologist all through undergrad and her post-grad work as a clinical research manager in neuro-psychiatry. She applied to med school saying she wanted to pursue neurology. She has a degree in neuroscience, did 7 years of neuroscience/neurology research including the development of new neuro-imaging devices and the development of protocols for the treatment of glioma. She had years of hands on experience in administering neurological imaging scans (MRI, PET) and data interpretation. She shadowed multiple neurologists, observed ECT sessions, was allowed to attend neurology grand rounds, worked with and for a MD/PhD research neurologist and a PhD neuro-pathologist, volunteered with TBI patients, volunteered with mentally ill teenagers & young adults, etc. She graduated from med school last May–and her specialty? Not neurology.)

Have you held any leadership positions in any of your ECs?

Physicians are team leaders during patient treatment and adcomms prefer students who have demonstrated they are capable of acting in this capacity

Any TA, teaching or coaching experience?

Physicians-- especially in neurology since there are few “cures” in neurology, just management techniques–have a primary role as teacher to their patients whom they must educate about their condition and how to manage it.

Doctor derives from the word docere in Latin, which means to teach.

5

I think the research part is debatable based on the schools the student can apply to based on residency. I would question if UNC med school is ranking research low if it is drawing most instate residents.

As far as I know.Our state flagship, UT Southwestern looks for research based on the questions my daughter had to answer.

6

@WayOutWestMom Excellent advice that should be printed and posted on the wall of every aspiring MD.

7

By her choice, or because neurology was too competitive to get a residency in?

8

Wow! Thank you so much for the insight! I have extensive experience tutoring/ TA-ing and ran a camp for girls in STEM. I just didn’t think it was relevant so thanks for that!

9

Also as for volunteering-I will look into it. The HPV tech I am developing is for the benefit of low income women/ women in developing countries as they have the highest rate of exposure. I am not getting paid for it so I suppose I can spin it so that it is a volunteer position? Shadowing is the main thing. I will get to shadow as part of my major so hopefully that will take care of that. How many hours are typically spent shadowing for successful candidates?

10

@ucbalumnus

By her choice. She found neurology intellectually interesting, but ultimately too depressing. ( In neurology, you manage conditions and mitigate symptoms, but you seldom actually “cure” a patient.)

Neurology is not an especially competitive specialty. D2’s grades and STEP scores were excellent and she was qualified to enter into any specialty she chose, including the most competitive ones.

11

@Clockworkopera7

While this an admirable endeavor, it is neither clinical experience (no direct patient contact) nor community service (which involves face-to-face direct service with the less fortunate). This would be classified as research.

12

@Clockworkopera7

Hours?

Get rid of the checklist mentality right now. It won’t serve you well when pursuing a medical school admission.

Shadow enough that you have good feel for the various different aspects of the profession and the differences among various specialties, You must be able to explain to someone [who is a physician, a med student] what you’ve learned from those experiences and how it impacts your decision to pursue medicine.

Most applicants have somewhere between 50 and 100 hours of shadowing.

13

Unlike undergraduate schools there are no safety schools when it comes to applying to med school. Many well qualified applicants don’t get a single acceptance and end up having to apply a 2nd cycle which is very expensive or they choose another career path.

One thing I would suggest is really research all the different job opportunities in healthcare. There are opportunities that do not require 4 years of med school, residency, and then fellowship. Some of these opportunities only require an associate’s degree, bachelor’s or master’s degree and pay quite well.