Hello everyone,
I started working on my med school applications and while working on them I started to doubt whether or not I was able to get into a good school (I'm from Chicago and I'm planning to apply to UIC, Rush and NW), I am starting to get frustrated and I haven't even taken my MCAT.
So I want to share my story and my future plans with you guys; any suggestion/feedback will be greatly appreciated.
First, allow me to begin with what I have accomplished until now.
I took most of my pre-med classes at a community college few months after coming to the US. (My story is a bit strange and unique; I was born in Chicago, but at the age of 1, my family moved to Peru where I grew up and finished high school so English is not my native language). In 2009, I moved back to the US (all by myself) I had to attend a community college because a university level class would have probably destroyed my GPA, and also, I couldnt afford a 4year institution back then. Fortunately, I did pretty well at the c. college and transfered to UIC with a 3.82 gpa (getting only a B in bio2, and a C on calculus 3 out of 80 credits). At UIC, I took many science classes ( as I am majoring in Biochem) including genetics, cell bio, calculus based physics, and analytical chem. Here at UIC my gpa is of 4.0( with 30 credits). I have 2 and a summer semester to go and thus are planning to study for the mcat and take it in August. (Yes I know, it's a bit late).
As I mentioned earlier, English is not my first language and thus I decided to postpone my mcat (initally from Jun 20th) to early August because I wasn't scoring high on the verbal reasoning section. (I don't know what is it about me but I never liked those! Not even in Spanish). So that's one thing. Secondly, although I have over 60 hours of volunteering experience( at NW hospital), over 400 hours of research experience, and over 500 hours of tutoring exp, I don't have clinical shadowing experience, which makes me think that this will negatively affect my application.
Regarding reference letters, I will have 3 instructors from UIC (2 bio and 1 physics) and also my research supervisor (who happened to be the instructor of the biochemistry class at UIC college of medicine and a very important guy in the cancer research field) write me recommendation letters. They keep telling how gifted, smart and passioned I am about science and medicine and about learning, that it sometimes makes me blush, but I don't think those kind words will mean anything if the med school admission committees decide to reject me.
I always had this dream of becoming a neurologist. At the age of 14, I became very passionate with prions proteins. So much that by now I have read about 4 books on prion diseases, and know more about the molecular mechanism, the diagnosis and medical aspects of the disease than the average undergrad student. I am in love with the human brain and I want to learn how to heal it. All these emotions and dreams of becoming a doctor that once shinned like the mighty phoenix are staring to extinguish as I face reality.
I can't seem to score above 6 or 7 on VR (I am scoring ~10-12 on the other 2), and I believe that will be the doom of my application. I understand that I need to be confident and trust myself but it is also true that everyone needs a plan B. So here is my plan B if I don't get accepted into any med school for the 2014 year.
I decided that if I dont get accepted, I will get a masters degree in anatomy and cell biology. I really dont mind getting a master degree, I love the idea of learning more and it excites me to think about it. I believe there are some pros and cons about this:
PROS:
I will have extra time to improve my VR skills.
I will also sharpen my biological and physical science skills.
Having a master sounds cool :) (jk)
It will give me time to do clinical shadowing.
CONS:
I will be 23 by then (is this really a problem?)
I will be in so much debt by then, even before getting into med school ( ALERT: BIGGEST CONCERN) I dont want to finish my masters and then get to med school and not get any loans cause I already took them while attending graduate school.
If i don't get accepted and decide to just work on my next mcat and thus next application. I will have to start paying my student loans.
so yeah, this is my plan B, now I want to hear from you guys; any comment will be appreciated. What do you guys think? I am being such a scary cat? I am being too pessimistic? or is it a good idea to think ahead? would a M.S be the solution? Thanks for taking your time and reading this I hope you all have a great day.
Gian.
I started working on my med school applications and while working on them I started to doubt whether or not I was able to get into a good school (I'm from Chicago and I'm planning to apply to UIC, Rush and NW), I am starting to get frustrated and I haven't even taken my MCAT.
So I want to share my story and my future plans with you guys; any suggestion/feedback will be greatly appreciated.
First, allow me to begin with what I have accomplished until now.
I took most of my pre-med classes at a community college few months after coming to the US. (My story is a bit strange and unique; I was born in Chicago, but at the age of 1, my family moved to Peru where I grew up and finished high school so English is not my native language). In 2009, I moved back to the US (all by myself) I had to attend a community college because a university level class would have probably destroyed my GPA, and also, I couldnt afford a 4year institution back then. Fortunately, I did pretty well at the c. college and transfered to UIC with a 3.82 gpa (getting only a B in bio2, and a C on calculus 3 out of 80 credits). At UIC, I took many science classes ( as I am majoring in Biochem) including genetics, cell bio, calculus based physics, and analytical chem. Here at UIC my gpa is of 4.0( with 30 credits). I have 2 and a summer semester to go and thus are planning to study for the mcat and take it in August. (Yes I know, it's a bit late).
As I mentioned earlier, English is not my first language and thus I decided to postpone my mcat (initally from Jun 20th) to early August because I wasn't scoring high on the verbal reasoning section. (I don't know what is it about me but I never liked those! Not even in Spanish). So that's one thing. Secondly, although I have over 60 hours of volunteering experience( at NW hospital), over 400 hours of research experience, and over 500 hours of tutoring exp, I don't have clinical shadowing experience, which makes me think that this will negatively affect my application.
Regarding reference letters, I will have 3 instructors from UIC (2 bio and 1 physics) and also my research supervisor (who happened to be the instructor of the biochemistry class at UIC college of medicine and a very important guy in the cancer research field) write me recommendation letters. They keep telling how gifted, smart and passioned I am about science and medicine and about learning, that it sometimes makes me blush, but I don't think those kind words will mean anything if the med school admission committees decide to reject me.
I always had this dream of becoming a neurologist. At the age of 14, I became very passionate with prions proteins. So much that by now I have read about 4 books on prion diseases, and know more about the molecular mechanism, the diagnosis and medical aspects of the disease than the average undergrad student. I am in love with the human brain and I want to learn how to heal it. All these emotions and dreams of becoming a doctor that once shinned like the mighty phoenix are staring to extinguish as I face reality.
I can't seem to score above 6 or 7 on VR (I am scoring ~10-12 on the other 2), and I believe that will be the doom of my application. I understand that I need to be confident and trust myself but it is also true that everyone needs a plan B. So here is my plan B if I don't get accepted into any med school for the 2014 year.
I decided that if I dont get accepted, I will get a masters degree in anatomy and cell biology. I really dont mind getting a master degree, I love the idea of learning more and it excites me to think about it. I believe there are some pros and cons about this:
PROS:
I will have extra time to improve my VR skills.
I will also sharpen my biological and physical science skills.
Having a master sounds cool :) (jk)
It will give me time to do clinical shadowing.
CONS:
I will be 23 by then (is this really a problem?)
I will be in so much debt by then, even before getting into med school ( ALERT: BIGGEST CONCERN) I dont want to finish my masters and then get to med school and not get any loans cause I already took them while attending graduate school.
If i don't get accepted and decide to just work on my next mcat and thus next application. I will have to start paying my student loans.
so yeah, this is my plan B, now I want to hear from you guys; any comment will be appreciated. What do you guys think? I am being such a scary cat? I am being too pessimistic? or is it a good idea to think ahead? would a M.S be the solution? Thanks for taking your time and reading this I hope you all have a great day.
Gian.