Plan of Action advice/"career switcher"--recommendations?

Pre-Med & Medical School Pre-Med Topics
1

Hi everyone,
I guess this is sort of a what are my chances thread. But, I’m intending to make it more of a ‘please give me some advice on what steps to take next thread.’ Your input is super important for me, as I don’t have any pre-med advising yet.

I’m in the process of making the switch to pre-med. I started out interested in life sciences (ecology), as you can see from my degrees which are natural science based. Then, I considered veterinary school (again, as is evident with my extra cirrs. lol), before I finally realized my desire for med school. It’s been a journey of self-thinking hahaha.

Summary of Stats:

-Environmental Science B.S. (GPA=3.54) + Honors Program (graduated with distinction and cum laude)
-Environmental Science M.S. (GPA=3.83)
-Currently, enrolled in a Post-Bacc program for Pre-medical studies (more of a DIYish program).
-Have not taken MCAT yet.

-Grades are mostly As and Bs with the exception of the following:
-Physics 1 & 2 = Cs, but Physics 3 = B-
-GenChem1= D and GenChem 2=C+. But, GenChem3=A-. And I’m retaking GenChem 1 now, with an A so far.
-Math sequence is a mess: I took 8 math courses. Two of those were Ds, but the rest were As ad Bs, weirdly. The last portion of calc killed me.
-I have the basic pre-reqs minus orgo, which I am taking now.

-“Upper Level Science”
-Have a lot of natural science courses, but not many that fit the BCOP GPA (science GPA) cut.
-Following might count as upper level bio: genetics, forensic/medicolegal entomology, evolution courses, systematic bio, animal behavior, physiology and population ecology, biodiversity

ECs
-internships: animal care zoo intern, wildlife care intern, dog training intern with medical alert/cancer detection dogs, lab and field internships for animal behavior, physiology, and ecology, and environmental monitoring
-volunteering: animal hospital ER volunteer, lab volunteering (data collection, data analysis, in lab work like staining etc)
-work: sports coach for special olympics and children
-clubs: none really, just honors program, accelerated degree program, creative biographical writing
-research: personal research in evolutionary ecology and biological trends

As you can see, I’ve no formal clinical or shadowing experience (besides living with a doctor in the family lol). I’m worried about that, as I have no LORs then. I’m also worried about my coursework being representative of upper level biomed courses. Any advice on what classes to add to this list? What shadowing (hours, type of specialty) or clinical experience I should be going for to make the most of the next few months before I apply?

2

Your application does not say “medical career”; it screams vet school. That is a HUGE problem that you need to fix ASAP.

Without the appropriate medical ECs your application is DOA. You need physician shadowing with several someones who are not a family member. Ideally you should shadow in variety of specialties, especially in primary care fields. You’ll also need ongoing community service with the disadvantaged. And you must have clinical volunteering, particularly with vulnerable populations. You need more than “a few months” of clinical volunteering to be a viable candidate for med school. Adcomms prefer a long term track record of volunteering rather than a binge right before applying.

You need to calculate your undergrad GPA and undergrad sGPA. Your sGPA will include all bio, chem, physics and math classes you’ve taken at the college but not graduate level. AMCAS has a list of what classes are BCPM and what aren’t. Both original and retakes are included in GPA calculations. There are calculators on the web. Google for them. (I’m on my phone and can’t link) Do not include any grad classes. Med schools really don’t look at grad gpas unless they are from a SMP.

After you’ve computed your GPAs, come back let us know what they are so we can give better advice. You may need a SMP.

Also tell us your home state and if you represent a group that is under- represented in medicine.

In the meantime, consider taking upper level bio coursework like biochem, immunology, embryology, neuroscience, human anatomy, etc

3

IMHO
You are a good candidate for SMP after you completed your postbacc on orgo and chem1. In addition, you need Mcat. Once you have those, you should go to an SMP program. You should also catch up on the medical ECs before applying.

OTOH, you may qualify for DO schools with DO shadowing of course.

4

Thanks to both of you for your advice!

WayOutWestMom: I am a NJ resident and latino, which is certainly a minority.

5

@wolfiescale

Actually not all latino groups are consider UiM. Puerto Rican Americans and Mexican Americans are, but other heritage groups generally are not.

And without a track record of service to your heritage community, you don’t get the UiM boost. Medical schools are looking for individuals who will return and provide medical care to their underserved communities.

New Jersey is a tough state for med school applicants. In 2016, NJ produced over 1800 applicants, and only 343 (19%) matriculated in-state. NJ is almost as tough on med applicants as California.