Do we have to input a publication as its own experience on the amcas application separately from the research activity we did to produce the publication?

I’m a senior in high school planning on going into Peds medicine. I’m trying to find a job that will satisfy clinical hours. Everything I’ve found online about pharmacy techs has been a back and forth answer of “no you have limited patient contact” or “yes, this job offers a multitude of patient contact.”

Hi, so I know that having substantial clinical experience as an RN is an asset to me as long as I have every other piece of the application process. Since I’m a new grad who is moving to a new city with no personal ties, I was unable to get a specialty position and I have a med/surg job. In one year, I want to apply for an ICU/ED position or children’s hospital, but this may delay my med school plans since I’ll have to orient again. Is my experience going to look worse in med/surg than in the ICU/ED when I apply for med school?

Looking to apply MD only, and I’m wondering if it’s worth applying this cycle

Sitting on the waitlist is tough. Please use this thread to vent, discuss, and support your fellow applicants through this anxiety-inducing process.

Hi everyone!

It's time for our weekly essay help thread!

Please use this thread to request feedback on your essays, including your personal statement, work/activities descriptions, most meaningful activity essays, and secondary application essays. All other posts requesting essay feedback will be removed.

Before asking for help writing an application essay, please read through our "Essays" wiki page which covers both the personal statement and secondary application essays. It also includes links to previous posts/guides that have been helpful to users in the past.

Please be respectful in giving and receiving feedback, and remember to take all feedback with a grain of salt. Whether someone is applying this cycle or has already been admitted in a previous cycle does not inherently make them a better writer or more suited to provide feedback than another person. If you are a current or previous medical student who has served on a med school's admissions committee, please make that clear when you are offering to provide feedback to current applicants.

Good luck!

It's time for our Weekly Good News Thread! Feel free to share any and all good news from the past week, from getting an A in a class to getting that II to getting an acceptance.

Hey everyone! I could really use some help evaluating my application and my school list! I have seen a rising trend of being ‘mission-fit’ for schools, but I know my MCAT score is hard to overlook by almost any med school! Also, shoutout to u/barbieandbrainsmd for their template that I tried to mimic

Undergrad: T100

Major: Business Informatics

GPA: 3.95 cGPA, 4.0 sGPA

MCAT: Projected* 505 (FL Avg: 519 / SB Avg: 86%) *The week of my MCAT, I lost someone in my family and obviously could not lock in//unsure if I can for some time. During my test, I lost time and had to guess 19+ questions, plus ones I would've gotten wrong anyway.

Home State: Ohio

Ethnicity: ORM / URM adjacent (finicky designation in URM status but relevant to my upbringing)

Prefix:

I am not necessarily picky about the med school I end up at. Still, I am passionate about a certain highly competitive specialty, which I know would be easier to access via med schools with strong home programs or well-recognized schools. I am especially motivated to practice medicine with populations often underserved/misunderstood/mistreated (elderly, developmentally delayed, etc.). I want to apply broad and VAST (50+) if necessary. I refrained from including DO schools from this list, but I will add those to my list. Any help is appreciated!

Clinical Paid:

3000 hours as an EMT/ER Tech

Clinical Volunteering:

600 hours co-founding a club that aids medical clinics monitor the health of their proximate homeless population, help take vitals with other members, etc.

500 hours as a volunteer blood screener for the American Red Cross, managing intake and processing of stations

300 hours as a volunteer supervisor in the L&D dept. at a hospital in an underserved area

275 hours as an instructor at a long-term facility for developmentally delayed individuals

Research:

1150 hours in a biochemistry wet lab exploring mitochondrial processes in malarial stages. Progressed to a lab leadership role to maintain lab protocols/procedures. Developed a solution to increase in vitro binding to receptors. Presented work at a national conference > Recognition for notable/memorable presentation. + Presented at undergrad uni.

600 hours working in a lab, meta-analyzing/testing various methods of RSV transmission in specific population ages. Progressed from helping with pure data analytics to using plasmid purification to test simulations. Oral presentation at tri-state undergrad conference.

400 hours imploring statistical/independent research examining health discrepancies amongst develop. delayed patients and institutional discriminatory factors in private health care clinics. Presented at undergrad uni > First place for most meaningful independent oral presentation

+(~200 hours with a summer research experience, but not significant) +(800-1100 [have not calculated] hours in a bioinformatics lab mentioned in PS and committee letter) **open to suggestions

Non-Clinical Unpaid:

1500 hours as a social justice advocate for the university department. Connected students with outreach programs near the university on various social inequities (food, reproductive rights, homelessness, etc.)

700 hours as a teaching assistant for OChem

300 hours as a volunteer ACT tutor

350 hours on the board of a medical club recognized nationally

200 hours on the board of a philanthropy organization

Non-Clinical Paid:

600 hours as an account manager for a student-run firm. Worked with a nationally recognized medical organization and city council for a joint initiative preventing tobacco usage.

Shadowing:

200 hours total (neuro, cardio, ENT, and family med)

Other/Hobbies:

10,000+ hours playing a competitive sport. Previously committed to D1 but had to relinquish offers due to an injury. Continued to play national/regional tournaments (a lesser degree of physical stress and frequency to being D1)

• Primarily coach as injury has gotten worse > numerous students committing D1-D3

List is ordered in no preference by:

1. University of South Florida
2. Kaiser Permanente Bernard J. Tyson School of Medicine
3. Stanford University
4. Harvard Medical School
5. Cornell University (Weill)
6. Washington University in St. Louis
7. Mayo Clinic School of Medicine (Alix)
8. Northwestern University (Feinberg)
9. Yale University

10, Johns Hopkins University

11. University of Chicago (Pritzker) Medical

12. Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai

13. University of California--Los Angeles (Geffen)

14. Boston University

15. Texas A&M University School of Medicine

16. University of Rochester

17. U. of Texas Health Science Center-San Antonio

18. Duke University School of Medicine

19. Rush University

20. University of California--Irvine

21. Nova Southeastern University (Patel College of Allopathic Medicine)

22. Vanderbilt University

23. Saint Louis University

24. Case Western Reserve University

25. Hofstra University (Zucker School of Medicine)

26. University of Virginia

27. University of Pikeville

28. Georgetown University

29. University of California--San Francisco

30. University of Miami (Miller)

31. University of California--San Diego

32. University of Michigan--Ann Arbor

36, Albert Einstein College of Medicine

27. Florida Atlantic University (Schmidt)

28. Thomas Jefferson University (Kimmel Medical College)

29. University of Southern California (Keck)

30. Florida International University (Wertheim)

31. University of Pittsburgh

32. Tufts University

33. Temple University (Katz School of Medicine)

34. University of Central Florida

35. University of Cincinnati

36. Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine

37. Touro University California

38. of Massachusetts--Worcester

39. Stony Brook University--SUNY (Renaissance School of Medicine)

40. Wayne State University

** Additional Schools from Admit.org

University of Toledo

Ohio University

Ohio State University

Northeast Ohio

Baylor

Loyola University

Dartmouth (Geisel)

Rosalind Franklin

Colorado

Virginia Commonwealth University

New York Medical College

Creighton University

Quinnipiac University

Western Michigan

University of Illinois

Southern Illinois University

Drexel University

Missouri-Kansas

University of Vermont

​​Eastern Virginia

Penn State University

Albany Medical College

Medical College of Wisconsin

Oakland University

Tulane University

Wake Forest

​​Texas Christian University

Campbell University

Des Moines University

I am very open to additions/subtractions to this list, and I would appreciate any help! I know it is not the common recommendation, but I would also like to shoot for some T20s/30s/40s, etc. Any recommendation for those would also be great! Obviously NYU or UPenn will not want me though

Hello. So I'm a bit of a nerd and am really into listening to different medical podcasts. I've been working in the ER for several years and we have something of a book club but for podcasts, and often discuss topics that relate to recent cases we've had. I just wanted to get an idea of what peoples opinion of listing this as a hobby on the extracurricular section might be. I haven't tried to count how many hours I'd have yet, but it would be several hundred for sure. I have an open activity slot and thought it might be a nice way to demonstrate my passion for learning/self motivation, but also don't want to risk sounding like a know-it-all. I think I could write/discuss it decently well as it something I genuinely enjoy doing, and plan to continue regardless if I include it. Thanks.

Hi, as the title says I'm looking to build my academic profile for applying to med schools. I currently have a BA in Psychology, which I know you can apply to med school with a bachelor's, but I don't meet the requirements for the sciences, like organic chemistry. I'm looking at taking the courses I need at a local college and then applying to a Master of Biomedical Sciences program. Then, I will apply to medical school so I can begin my path to being a psychiatrist.

I guess I'm just wondering if this is a good plan? I want the Master of Biomedical Sciences because I believe it will increase my chances of being accepted, it will further prepare me for medical school, and it will increase my GPA.

I'm also attempting to find shadowing opportunities near me and I emailed a bunch of places, and I plan on calling a few on Monday.

I'm just really intimidated and I think I'm looking for any and all advice on my situation.

Thanks for reading.

I've been looking around on here and SDN and people haven't really been asking if online non-prereq post-bacc classes are accepted so I wanted to ask on here :)

Title says it all

Had an incredibly rough semester. One F, one D, one C+, and last semester I received an NC (still not sure how this will be calculated by AMCAS). I just finished up sophomore undergrad. My freshman year I ended with a 3.8. I have adhd and wasn’t able to get my medication due to the shortage, which clearly impacted my grades. I really need advice on continuing forward, or if I even can. Brutal honesty appreciated.

Hi Everyone!

I am having doubts on my PS and just needed some of you beautiful people to give your opinions on my opening paragraph. It basically describes a patient interaction I had volunteering at a physio clinic, and providing her support through (more or less) answering her questions about Alzheimer's (her husband diagnosed with it and she struggles to cope). The main idea that defines my motivations was being able to directly apply my knowledge from research and school in an empathetic, patient-centered manner where I knew I was making a direct impact on her well-being, although really being unable to play a bigger role given my naivety. I guess it put everything I learn about into a humanitarian perspective that I found very rewarding and engaging. Furthermore, being able to work with patients and their family to relieve uncertainties or curiosities as part of the patient's healthcare plan (holistic) was exciting. I obviously was not so crude in my description, but this basically defines my content.

Thanks for all your help!

Accepted at Colorado and I’m debating whether it’s worth it to wait for Cincinnati. Interested in a few internal med specialities or surgery, probably not interested in peds. Cost is not a huge concern but I would come out of Cincinnati in slightly better financial shape.

Colorado (accepted)

Pros:

-Living & outdoors in Colorado/denver area

-1 year preclinical

-good research

-(slightly better match list)

-If I decide now i can get housing figured out sooner

-Mentors pushing me to choose Colorado

-Seems very well run and I liked the people at 2nd look

Cons

-Ungodly OOS tuition

-far from home/support network

-Students are older

Cinci (waitlisted)

Pros:

-cheaper (around 120k total not counting cost of living differences)

-closer to family

-emotional connection to the area

-great vibes from interview, seems like the school cares about their students

Cons:

-later clinical

-med schools area is kinda sketchy

-slightly worse research+opportunities if I’m not doing peds or emergency

-No guarantee I will get off the waitlist if I stay

Overall I don’t think they are that different in terms of opportunities, but I kind of want to figure out housing and be done with my cycle.

Would I be stupid to drop off the waitlist even though it’s financially kind of dumb?

View Poll

I'm working as an MLT (medical lab technician) and thinking of taking online courses at the University of Cincinnati to fulfill some pre-requisites for MLT certification. Would this technically count as an online post-bacc? And how would med schools look on this?

Which one would you choose?

View Poll

Been really blessed with a great cycle and have had quite a few options. Currently debating between these two choices listed above. I'm hoping to match into a competitive specialty on the coasts which Vandy would probably be the better pick for but then I would also have to take out $200-300k in loans. I am not receiving any financial support from my parents so I would have to front these costs by myself. I hear with Step 1 going P/F, school name or prestige matters a lot more for matching.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

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That is all...

Like the title says, any blue collar applicants? I would say my app is super traditional along lines of research, clinical, volunteering etc but a big part of my life has been starting a blue collar trade in my home town with my friend and in my gap been doing about 40 hour work weeks in it. Has anyone spoken about their trade work?

Was planning on graduating 3 years, but my cGPA and sGPA are on the lower end. Currently in 2nd year. I wonder if I should do the 3 years and focus more on heavily scoring well on the MCAT, or do 3 1/2 semesters to pad the GPA (or all 4 years)?

cGPA: 3.53 sGPA: 3.27

I’ve pretty much finished the majority of my classes, which is why I could graduate next year. I’m in my second year and my sophomore year was rough in particular w/ my GPA. For the MCAT, I’m planning on taking it next spring semester.

I’m taking 2 science classes over the summer, and then afterwards the last few science classes I have to finish are Ochem 2, Biochem, Physics 2. Physics 2 I would take spring semester.

Hello! I have a question about institutional actions. My freshman year was during the pandemic and the dorms had a two guest policy. A friend in my dorm asked if I wanted to come by to pick up a snack box that she wasn't going to eat and I said yes. I went to her room, not knowing she had two people over already. When I got there I was surprised to see two of our other friends, but said hello and then stuck around for ~5 min (no exaggeration) chatting with a mask on in the doorway. Her suite-mates in the room next door reported us for having an extra guest in the room and the RAs wrote us up.

We received a letter from housing a day later and attended a meeting where we were told there would be a record of violation of the student housing conduct code and that we needed to complete an assignment attesting to the fact that we understood the violation and had re-read the honor code. Essentially, I am wondering how severely my chances of acceptance will be impacted despite an otherwise strong application. I assume this is something that must be reported as an IA (or am I mistaken?).

If you got a scholarship offer what was your stats? Was your aid need based or merit based?

Hi all! So I put my transcript into Mappd and it looks like I would have a 3.46 AMCAS/ AACOM cGPA and a 3.36 sGPA. I had a very strong upward trend my last 4 semesters, but I'm worried my GPA won't be competitive for an MD school. I scored a 506 on the MCAT and am planning to retake in Sept/Oct. Is it worth it at this point to do and SMP/Master's or do some post-bacc courses? I'm okay with applying DO, but I'd much rather prefer to go to an MD school.

https://preview.redd.it/58lisz4l1jyc1.png?width=1076&format=png&auto=webp&s=7c49286c6f4803dfde2fffb04d93928c7dd059e8

Hey guys, I am entering my courses on AMCAS and came across a dilemma. When I took Organic Chemistry 2, I originally took it at my home institution and received a C-. Later, I repeated the course at a different university and received an A. Since I will be sending separate transcripts to AMCAS, should I mark the Organic Chemistry 2 course I took at the second university as a repeat?

I applied for CRC 1 positions in big city hospitals and after months of applying and interviewing I finally got an offer. All these places wanted a 2 year commitment. Initially I was onboard the two year commitment but now my parents are insisting I apply this cycle. I am not hopeful of getting in this cycle but after my parents’ encouragement, I would like to give it a shot. I am from a low-income household so getting a job was pretty important to me. The job search exhausted me. In the event I do manage to get in, I am scared of leaving this clinical research group. The PI is really well known and I don’t want to burn any bridges but at the same time I need to get a job to sustain myself. I wasn’t being dishonest during the interview stages when I said I would commit to the 2 years but now I want to apply and see if I am successful. What do you guys think? Has anyone else left after working 1 year and how did you approach it?

Hello all, first, as the cycle is closing...I wanted to state that I am so blessed to be in a position to have to choose between schools. If you're a waitlist warrior, please hold out bc it worked out for me. With that being said...please help me choose!

Saint Louis University School of Medicine:

PROS:

• Large city (I like the vibe of STL, and have never lived in a big city...but want to bc of larger LGBT community)
• Closer to home (midwest)
• Know a few people here.
• Like the general style of curriculum (PBL+ nonmand lecture, NBME and inhouse exams)
• Brand new hospitals for clinical (Good amount match into Barnes-Jewish or WashU affiliated each year)***
• Love the mission.
• Younger student body (I'm a no gap year)
• Diverse patient population

CONS:

• Midwest (have been here whole life)
• Cost (however UVM costs same as of right now)
• Research availability seems less than Vermont
• Match list seems good but not insane
• 6% disadvantaged status (kinda feel like my upbringing will be very diff from other students; Low SES)

UVM (Vermont):

PROS:

• Matched into CT campus for clinicals, which is more urban.
• Have the ability to do clinical overseas (never been on a plane/ outside the continent so this is exciting).
• Very LGBT+ focused, one of largest LGBT student bodies in medicine.
• East Coast, would be cool to be somewhere new
• Match list seems to be little better than SLU, more connections to big names out east. (Giesel etc)
• More research opportunities (better rank; 60 ish versus 70ish at SLU?)

CONS:

• OOS tuition makes it same cost as SLU (waiting on package)
• Not in a city for first two years....
• Moving for rotations seems hectic
• CT campus is tiny (40 or something students), may feel isolated.
• MUCH Less diverse patient population
• Very far from family, moving is going to be hard (SLU is a ~2-3 hr driving distance)****
• All PBL, no lectures? Dont know about their curriculum as much.

Again, I am blessed to be in this position! Thank you!

***=edited

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Made ho my mind to apply again. Anything I should do for the WL schools? TIA.

Okay so this happened earlier in the cycle but I keep replaying the interview in my head. I had an open file interview where the interviewer constantly talked about their personal life. One instance was talking about their “perfect” reading comprehension score which felt a bit like they were bragging given that I have a very low CARS score. That was definitely weird to me but it got even stranger when they started speaking about their ex girlfriend and how she was the same ethnicity as me. It felt so awkward and uncomfortable for me. This was my dream school so I was left feeling disappointed.

The whole interview experience felt really off. I had several more interviews after this and none of them were like this. Is this something I should bring up to the school. Am I overreacting?