What is Missing???

Nontraditional Premed Discussion
1

Hello All,


I will be applying in 2010 so i have a few questions…


I started to review for the MCAT in May and will take the first test in January 2010. So when I apply next spring, I will be a research associate scientist at UTHSC San Antonio, have a Masters degree (Biochemistry Rice’09), published, held leadership positions as undergrad and grad, given oral presentation at conferences and been funded by the NIH.


Will it be enough? What is missing? I’m serious about these questions.


Any advice to bolster my application would be appreciated. I do plan on shadowing/volunteering later this fall.


THIS WEBSITE DOES GIVE ME HOPE!! I’m certainly grateful that everyone here has created such a great site and I hope to extract and add useful and creative advice.


Thanks!!


Philip Graves

2

Assuming that you have the grades and MCAT scores to back up that academic resume, the academic side of your application sounds fine. Nothing’s missing.


You mention you’ll be shadowing/volunteering - good. Clinical exposure is REALLY important.


Mary

3

Hi Mary,


I’ve enjoyed reading some of your posts here and I appreciate you taking the time to respond to my post.


Here are the numbers…Undergrad GPA: 3.79 Graduate GPA: 3.51


I am currently studying for the MCAT and will take my first crack at it in January.


Thank you for emphasizing how important clinical experience is, I will not put this off any longer.


Do you have another advice on what would make a application stronger, outside of the traditional parameters?


Thanks for your time!!!


Philip

4

Philip!


I can never emphasize how important it is for your application it is to look REAL and UNIQUE. Numbers are important, scores, grades etc… Clinical experience is a must (you want to show them that you know what you are getting into!)… but there is much more to the application than that. There is something intangible about how you portrait yourself. That something can only come from inside you… and only you know what it is in YOUR case!


If you have a passion - write about it in your statement. If you have a story to tell that is going to inspire the reader - tell it!


Good luck with your application. Enjoy your journey… and then the whole process doesn’t have to be tooo bad!


Kasia