Hey all,
I'm looking for some perspective from others out there about my chances at getting into a more competitive program (I'd like to be up north in NYC, Chicago, or Boston, but I'll probably apply to Duke, Carolina, Wake, and Emory and maybe a few other southern schools as well). I'm selecting schools on AMCAS right now, and I don't want to be burning money if there's no hope.
Here's my deal:
Undergraduate at UNC-CH, B.S. Biochemistry and Math, minor in Spanish for Medical Professionals
3.520 cGPA
~3.45 BCPM
36 MCAT (11 VR, 13 PS, 12 BS)
ECs:
Research:
Worked as an intern at a virology company in my hometown as a freshman [150 hours]
Started in an immunology/genetics lab at school my sophomore year, now working on completing an honors thesis with them on my project of the last 6-8 months. Might have my name on a paper about another project before I graduate. [I put 999 hours but I honestly have no idea. 25-35 hours a week for two years?]
Spent a summer working in a surgery lab at Duke ~100 hrs
Clinical observation:
Shadowed a CT surgeon for a summer, was able to see significant patient interaction as well as observe surgeries table-side. ~100 hours
Work:
Work 20-30 hrs a week at a restaurant in town.
Other stuff:
Piano lessons ~1.5 years
Boxing club for a little over a year before I had to drop b/c of school
College republicans ~1.5 years (I get that this might be touchy, but it was pretty important to me to be involved in this way on campus. I'm definitely willing to explain this to an interviewer, as the group was very politically center, and I describe this quite well in AMCAS)
Undergraduate Chemistry honors society ~2 years
Took a week long mission trip to Honduras & built a sustainable clean water system
I guess I'm mostly worried about my GPA. I didn't come to college wanting to go to medical school, and I slowly came around to it. I had one really bad semester (straight Bs) due to the death of a friend, and, while that's something that I'm not ashamed of (I've seen people withdraw for less), I am worried that it will hurt me in my application.
Edit: I guess I should also say that my letters are going to be quite strong. Two of them are coming from UNC-CH med school faculty, and the other two are from undergrad professors who know me well.
What does SDN think?
I'm looking for some perspective from others out there about my chances at getting into a more competitive program (I'd like to be up north in NYC, Chicago, or Boston, but I'll probably apply to Duke, Carolina, Wake, and Emory and maybe a few other southern schools as well). I'm selecting schools on AMCAS right now, and I don't want to be burning money if there's no hope.
Here's my deal:
Undergraduate at UNC-CH, B.S. Biochemistry and Math, minor in Spanish for Medical Professionals
3.520 cGPA
~3.45 BCPM
36 MCAT (11 VR, 13 PS, 12 BS)
ECs:
Research:
Worked as an intern at a virology company in my hometown as a freshman [150 hours]
Started in an immunology/genetics lab at school my sophomore year, now working on completing an honors thesis with them on my project of the last 6-8 months. Might have my name on a paper about another project before I graduate. [I put 999 hours but I honestly have no idea. 25-35 hours a week for two years?]
Spent a summer working in a surgery lab at Duke ~100 hrs
Clinical observation:
Shadowed a CT surgeon for a summer, was able to see significant patient interaction as well as observe surgeries table-side. ~100 hours
Work:
Work 20-30 hrs a week at a restaurant in town.
Other stuff:
Piano lessons ~1.5 years
Boxing club for a little over a year before I had to drop b/c of school
College republicans ~1.5 years (I get that this might be touchy, but it was pretty important to me to be involved in this way on campus. I'm definitely willing to explain this to an interviewer, as the group was very politically center, and I describe this quite well in AMCAS)
Undergraduate Chemistry honors society ~2 years
Took a week long mission trip to Honduras & built a sustainable clean water system
I guess I'm mostly worried about my GPA. I didn't come to college wanting to go to medical school, and I slowly came around to it. I had one really bad semester (straight Bs) due to the death of a friend, and, while that's something that I'm not ashamed of (I've seen people withdraw for less), I am worried that it will hurt me in my application.
Edit: I guess I should also say that my letters are going to be quite strong. Two of them are coming from UNC-CH med school faculty, and the other two are from undergrad professors who know me well.
What does SDN think?