<p>Assume Med School X is your average state med school/private school. </p>
<p>Here's what I think.</p>
<p>3.7 cgpa, 3.6 sgpa
31P
~100 hours of clinical volunteering
~100 hours of shadowing
~100 hours of community service
1 summer of research
average LORs
attended state UG</p>
<p>Anyone else?</p>
<p>All of those things may be average for an accepted student, but I doubt the average student has all of those things. You’re more likely to see someone with those volunteer hours but without the research, or one with much more job/research but a little less volunteering.</p>
<p>I’d consider myself pretty average in my med school class (in-state public). My stats were:</p>
<p>3.8 cgpa, 3.8 sgpa (my class’s average is 3.82)
30S (my class’s average is 31.2)
~300 hours of clinical volunteering
~400 hours of shadowing
~300 hours of community service
3.5 years of research
standout LORs (according to committee chairperson and interviewers)
attended state UG (flagship)
if i had a “hook,” it’s that I started a health-related nonprofit organization junior year</p>
<p>100 hours of shadowing is very high. Closer to 30-50.</p>
<p>kristin5792, I think all of those you listed are above average (probably 75th percentile) except for the 30S (slightly below average) and state UG (average).</p>
<p>Can someone give examples of some specific types of volunteering and community service?</p>
<p>D1 (current MS1): tutoring “at risk” adolescents in science, math, writing, SAT prep; Big Sister; volunteer EMT with Mountain Search & Rescue; ER volunteer at local hospital; 3 months as a full-time volunteer EMT in 3rd world country; peer tutor [physics, math, chem, bio] at her university; women in science and engineering outreach at local high schools. Probably a bunch of other stuff I can’t remember.</p>
<p>D2–organizer for annual bone marrow registry drive; coach, grader and organizer for high school math team competitions; Compeer mentor; neuro rehab volunteer; Child’s Life (pediatric playroom) volunteer; tutor in math and reading for recent immigrant/non-English speaking elementary school kids; peer tutor in math; Habitat for Humanity; 6 weeks doing AIDS/HIV education in Africa; fund-raising for a girls’ school in Africa; fund-raising for programs for the visually impaired in the US and overseas; various other fund-raising/short term volunteer projects thru her sorority. Again I’m sure there’s other stuff besides this that I can’t remember.</p>
<p>One data point:</p>
<p>3.9+ cgpa, 3.9+ sgpa
39Q
120-150 hours of clinical volunteering at two hospitals.
0 hour of shadowing
N (not sure how many hours) hours of community service (donated >$1000 self-earned money to a particular charity organization over multiple years)
~ 2 years research
average LORs
attended private UG</p>
<p>Many interviewers complimented him on what he had done OUTSIDE of academics.</p>
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<p>holy crap lol - I dont’ think I could’ve handled that many shadowning hours. I had essentially no shadowing experience whatsoever when I applied.</p>
<p>^ I thought DS was the only premed in the world who did not have any shadowing experience. It is nice to know he has at least one company :)</p>
<p>I believe he is shadowing now as an MS1. I also believe he continues to do some volunteering during some (but not every) weekend - at least I am pretty sure he chose a volunteering activity instead of a camping trip during his preorientation. (maybe go somewhere to cook for the homeless.) I guess his logic is: "Now I am sure I will be a doctor. I had better have a big heart and get used to the idea of “helping people.” After he almost finished applying to medical school, he said he regretted he did not devote more time in mastering Spanish, like taking a Spanish class every semester in college like he did in high school.</p>
<p>^^ I just lucked into a great shadowing arrangement. Loved both the docs I worked with, had a fascinating group of patients, felt like I learned a lot (still do!) and was always invited back again…so I just kept going, and when I totaled it all up…well, it was a lot of hours.</p>
<p>OP,
Sounds reasonable. Some have more, higher, some have less, but lower stats would be very difficult, IMO. I would say that GPA/MCAT in Post #1 are about min.</p>
<p>Having read CC over the years and having occasionally lurked on SDN I have noted that there seems to be no hard and firm checklist regarding med school short of taking the required courses to apply, some sort of volunteerism that possibly has a medical spin and some time in the lab. There does seem to be a progression as the student (hopefully) finds an area that interests them. They make opportunities for themselves. They seem to not just participate in the pre-med activities that their college offers. The successful applicants that I know were self starters…it wasn’t necessarily the number of hours that they participated in an EC but how what they were doing developed into or complimented an area of interest. That being said, for an activity to move beyond the commonplace by definition takes time.</p>
<p>In regard to EC’s, I woud not say that these are average, they are also about min. Shadowing for 100 hrs might be way above average though, what is there to do and how to do it for that much if there are HIPAA limitations and some other considerations. Other than that, D. had more medical EC’s and lots of non-medical, but again, I am not sure about amount of EC’s, since I strongly believe that your stats will get you interview, your social skills will get you in, while EC’s are needed simply becasue everybody else have them and because what is there to talk about during interview if not for non-academic stuff. Interviewers are people, they want to have regular people’s interactions, they are not going to discuss your academics, they already looked at your transcript, that was enough.</p>
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<p>My answer to this:</p>
<p>25h shadowing orthopaedic surgery: saw a variety of procedures on a variety of different joints over 3 full days at the hospital</p>
<p>25h shadowing otolaryngology/head and neck surgery: spent two full days in clinic seeing patients with him, and one full day in the OR</p>
<p>25h shadowing pulmonology: one full day shadowing while he did consultations at another hospital, one full day while he worked primarily with lung cancer patients, one full day while he worked primarily with patients who had other lung problems</p>
<p>~200h shadowing hematology/oncology: over the course of about two years (going once a week for most weeks), I saw a variety of patients with breast cancer from the day they were diagnosed, throughout their neoadjuvant and adjuvant chemotherapy, and into care after finishing chemo. I saw patients ranging in age from 26 to 85 (at time of diagnosis) with tumors ranging from small and only found on imaging studies to the size of a softball to inflammatory and stuck on the chest wall. I began to understand treatment protocols, clinical trials, and how to deliver a wide variety of diagnoses to patients across spectra of understanding and disease. I got to know how a clinic operated and watched attendings, students, residents, fellows, nurses, and other staff members work together. I know what evidence-based medicine is and I know what compassionate, patient-centered care looks like. I presented patients to the attending. I formed an incredible relationship with a physician whom I now deeply respect and admire and can easily turn to for advice about my future as a physician.</p>
<p>~200h shadowing surgical oncology: over the course of two years (going once a week for most weeks), I saw patients with primarily breast cancer, colon cancer, or melanoma. I saw pre-op visits, post-op visits, consultations, and a huge variety of procedures in an outpatient office setting (biopsies, port-a-cath placements, abscess removals…). I saw tons of PET and CT scans and a bunch of mammograms too. I worked with students, residents, fellows, nurses, staff members. Many of the patients I saw with hem/onc also had treatment with surg onc, and watching patients progress from diagnosis to remission is a pretty incredible experience (in my opinion). This physician was the youngest of the physicians I shadowed (in his late 40s) and also the most prolific researcher, and working with a physician who was arguably at the height of his career definitely motivated me to achieve what he has achieved. He also has a large family and is active in our community, so getting to know him on a personal level gave me a glimpse about balancing work and home life, which is important to me. </p>
<p>I chose to approach shadowing as an opportunity to learn about the career I believe I want for my future, and to me the best way to learn about it was by forming relationships with individuals who have already established themselves in the field. I’m quite happy with my experiences and would repeat them in a heartbeat!</p>
<p>Well, my D. has shadowed various specialties and family MD’s but for much fewer hrs, and it seemed to be OK. She did not not to extend her visit for longer periods, few hrs of observation was enough. Well, it all depend how you feel personally. D. was picky which specialty to attend, she did not care to attend surgeons because she has no plans to be a one, although she is the one who loves dissections. D. has never done anything strictly for application. Some of her med-EC and definitely all of her non-med. EC were in area of her personal interests and several lasted 2-3 years. I do not believe that there is any set hours. What is of great importance and will be discussed during interviews is your personal reasons for involvement, what you personally were looking for and what you got out of experience (any EC, medical or non-medical, as non-medical EC’s are discussed more often). General common answers will do no good.</p>
<p>What are these 30P, 31Q, etc? Are they MCAT scores?</p>
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<p>Yep - max of 45T</p>