<p>Hello everyone, long time lurker first time poster. </p>
<p>I'm currently wrapping up my sophomore year at UW-Madison majoring in the chemical engineering department. I am now less than a year away from beginning my application process to medical schools and would like some assistance (or maybe reassurance) with some future decisions. </p>
<p>Like I said, I am currently in the chemical engineering program with a 3.5 GPA. My biggest worry is with my med school required classes' grades. I earned an A's in physics I and II, AB in bio I, AB and B in gen chem I and II respectively, and a B and B or BC (just took the final yesteray) in ochem I and II. I currently perform research a the biofuel production lab and recently was hired at an opthalmology research lab. Now for a few questions:</p>
<p>1) If I do end up with a BC in ochem II, should I retake it over the summer?
2) My EC activities are somewhat lacking, any good suggestions?
3) Assuming I do well on the MCATs (34-36 range) and can raise my GPA to a 3.6, what kind of med schools should I look to apply to?</p>
<p>Cheers,
-Josh</p>
<p>I’m not sure which med schools you should apply to.</p>
<p>I think it’s too early to predict what your MCAT might be. You might need two lists…one list in case you score between a 30-33…and another list if you score a 34 or higher (assuming no oddly lopsided sections)</p>
<p>Are you instate for Wisconsin?</p>
<p>If so, apply to all med schools in that state.</p>
<p>If you’re instate for another state, then apply to those med schools.</p>
<p>Don’t apply to any state’s med schools that don’t accept OOS students. You might not apply to any that take very, very few OOS students. </p>
<p>After that, it would seem that the list that you follow will depend on where your score falls.</p>
<p>That said, is distance or location an issue?</p>
<p>Are religious med schools an issue (such as Georgetown, Loyola-Chicago, SLU, Creighton)?</p>
<p>1) Do not retake Ochem even if you get BC. Retaking a class does not erase the initial grade. (In fact, both must reported on your application and both grades will be used to calculate your GPA and sGPA.) And when you retake a class, you put yourself in a double bind: if you retake and do get an A, the attitude is “of course, he got an A. It’s the second time he took the class”; if you retake and DON’T get an A, it just makes you look bad.</p>
<p>BTW, math courses count in your sGPA . What are your math grades?</p>
<p>Have you calculated your sGPA? What is it? </p>
<p>Here’s the worksheet:
<a href=“https://www.aamc.org/students/download/125250/data/2011conversionguide.pdf.pdf[/url]”>https://www.aamc.org/students/download/125250/data/2011conversionguide.pdf.pdf</a></p>
<p>Will you be taking any additional BCMP classes next year?</p>
<p>EDIT to add: do you have a second semester of bio? You didn’t list it above.</p>
<p>2) Do you have any medical volunteer experience at all? Any physician shadowing? These are critical experiences for med school applicants. You’ll need to be able to discuss them when writing your secondaries and your personal statement. Is there a pre med club at your school, they can sometimes help finding placements. Do you have a family primary care provider? Have you asked if you can shadow them? Any family friends who are doctors?</p>
<p>Will you have any direct patient contact is your position in the ophthalmology lab?</p>
<p>3) like mom2 said above, it’s way too early to guess at what your MCAT score will be. Everyone assumes they will score in the higher than average range–typically that doesn’t happen.</p>
<p>Thanks for the replies.</p>
<p>Mom2, yes I am instate for Wisconsin, and distance or religious affiliation is not an issue for me. </p>
<p>WoWMom-Thanks for the advice - I was really hoping this would be the general consensus. Also, I just found out this morning that I pulled off a B. I took calc 1 and 2 in high school and then earned an AB in calc 3 and a B in differential equations/linear algebra. My current sGPA is calculated to be 3.43. I will be taking both biochem 1 and bio 2 next semester. </p>
<p>As far as volunteering goes, I volunteered for a year in an ER my senior year of HS through the summer before me freshman year of college. I am hoping to volunteer again over this summer for a several hours a week as my only other commitment is my job. I have shadowed a pediatric surgeon and a head of a trauma department thus far, and will most likely be shadowing an orthopedic surgeon over the summer. There are a few pre-med clubs at UW, I am currently involved with one.</p>
<p>The opthalmology center that I am working in does not see any patients, they only evaluate progression of eye disease and effectiveness of clinical treatments.</p>
<p>Also, would beginning to study for the MCAT this summer be too early?</p>
<p>It’s too early to start prepping for the MCAT. You’d be wasting your time & energy. Wait until next year, then intensively prepare. How long you should prep is matter of a great deal of discussion here. Suggestions range from 4 weeks to 4 months beforehand.</p>
<p>Sounds like your medical volunteering is on track. So are your grades.</p>
<p>Good luck!</p>