What should I know about sending a letter of intent before my interview decision has come out? I am considering this for an uber-competitive school with free tuition pretty close to home, which I would absolutely go to should I get in. I interviewed on January 9th.

What are the harms? Is it best practice to wait until after I get a decision? The letter itself wouldn’t have too many updates, just general updates on what I’ve been up to in my gap year even though all those activities were listed on my primary and discussed in my interviews

My university (HYPMS) unfortunately doesn’t have a class called “general biology,” instead we have a couple classes that are said to be equivalent, “Biochemistry & Molecular Biology,” “Genetics,” “Cell Biology,” and “Physiology.”

Do you think this will be a problem when applying for med school? I also saw that some med schools allow you to meet the biochem prereq through either your bio or chem curricula, so do you think my “Biochemistry & Molecular Biology” class would count?

Hello! I'm beginning to request LoRs but one of my courses was taught by a PhD student who technically was under a professor. They completely taught the class (writing course) themselves and I never saw the professor. The class was also listed under my instructor's name and not his observing professor who also was never in class.

Would it hurt to get a letter from them since they're technically not a professor themselves? I'm hesitant to ask my other non-stem professors because this is the one instructor that I felt like actually got to know me (I go to a uni with 200+ class sizes) but idk if it would hurt my application.

I would appreciate any advice, thanks!

Frosh here who's looking for suggestions of things to do this summer. Could I get some suggestions or stories of what you guys did the summer after your freshman year?

Hey everyone, I'm looking for some input on how my app would fare should I apply this June. I'm a CA resident at a T20 undergrad and for personal reasons, I would really like to stay in CA to support my family as much as possible, but I'm wondering how good my stats/ECs are for CA schools (preferably MD). I would take any school that is a good fit for me of course, even if that has to be out-of-state. I'm confident in my ability to write a solid PS focusing on the life experiences that motivated me to pursue all my activities meaningfully and in an interconnected way, and I should have LORs that reflect good on my character/personality. I'll leave my stats and stuff below.

Demographics/Stats:

CA ORM w/ IE ties.

1st attempt 513 MCAT, will retake in April hopefully for 517/18+

3.95 GPA

Clinical experience:

1. MA/scribe at asthma clinic (350 hrs., 1000+ projected) (most meaningful)
2. Hospital Volunteering (350 hrs.)
3. Sports med program (50 hrs.)

Clubs/Leadership

1. Cultural Club event organizer for 3.5 years (1200+ hrs.) (most meaningful)
2. Assistant coach for HS quiz bowl team I used to compete for (350 hrs. + 300 projected)
3. Undergraduate mentor program (300 hrs.)

Research

1. Neurology research but no pubs for reasons beyond my control (600-700 hrs., could continue in my gap year)

Non-Clinical Volunteering

1. Mentorship/tutoring organization for two underserved schools over four years, various leadership positions held within org (1400+ hrs.) (most meaningful)
2. Teaching assistant in biology lab (500 hrs.)

Shadowing

1. 70 hrs. shadowing gastroenterologist and nephrologist

Hobbies

1. Soccer (been playing my whole life lmao)
2. Card-collecting/trading

Any sincere and honest input on my app would be much appreciated. Although my MCAT score could be slightly better for CA schools (which I hope to improve this April), I would hope that with everything else considered, I'd still at least have a shot at those schools. I feel in a very tough spot where the score isn't bad by any means, it just doesn't make me stand out like the more exceptional scores would. Also, my app is clearly more service-oriented and I'd hope that if I continue with the research in my gap year I can get more out of of it as I've heard CA schools are more research-oriented. I'm very new to this med school process and am the first one in my family pursuing medicine so there's a lot I don't know about other schools, so if anyone has any suggestions for any out of state schools to add, please let me know!

Was wondering if anyone else had a similar issue. One of my PIs (also my non - science letter) said yes absolutely. Other one has ghosted me so far and post doc said he doesn’t really have time to write one. (This is two seperate labs)

Anyone know if this is going to kill my app?

Eddit: applying normal MD

original -> reapp

basic info: senior, 520 MCAT, history major

cGPA: 3.83 -> 3.86

sGPA: 3.8 -> 3.81

research: 1000 -> 1500, +1 school presentation, +1 co-author of poster at national conference (did not attend myself), possibly +1 pub (awaiting resubmission @ nature)

clinical hours: 175 -> 600

volunteering: 250 -> ~300 (new homeless shelter volunteer position, no prev experience with underserved communities)

shadowing: 20 -> 35 (also had like 25 hours virtual before, and now this is 75 total, but know it is not weighted heavily -- just enjoyed it)

leadership: 50 -> 100?? idek (same executive position I had last year for club sports team. did get us all team jackets but not super involved otherwise)

I am certainly going to focus on the quality of my writing, but I just wanted to see whether this seems like a good improvement numbers wise. I just got a full time clinical position (and have loved volunteering!) & hope to have a lot of good experience to draw upon while writing new essays. I'll also be switching out/updating some letters of rec. lastly, I am a writer & hope to start querying a novel this semester, but I have never published and have no idea where I'll be come application season! yay hobbies.

If anyone is curious, I will say that my guess is my low/non-longitudinal clinical experience (+ shadowing?) sank me more than my writing (it came from a <1 semester period because I got injured on the job & wasn't rehabbed until after app season) -- or school list (all OOS friendly, few low yields, lots of research loving schools, my state schools, not all t20s).

As of right now, my goal is to be a medical scribe in the summer. When looking on this subreddit and other discussions, I’ve seen many people mentioning that it is better to scribe for a small clinic as opposed to a hospital. However, when I look on any place’s career website (both small clinic and large hospital) no scribe openings are listed. Does anyone know why this could be? Furthermore, if I apply to a small clinic, should I email them or only apply where they list a scribe as a job opening?

I know I’m fortunate to have an A. But the idea of being at a top school as flooded my head and made me not appreciate my acceptance as much.

Also I want to be competitive for orthopedics and I am scared that the med school I attend matters substantially. I’ll work hard regardless but it’s annoying that where I go affects where I match still.

I hear back in about month from both, I just want to hear how much this matters even. Obviously it does but the stress has been weighing me down for months making me depressed. I need support I think.

I was suppose to graduate with my associates this summer, and start nursing school in the fall semester of this year. I was planning on being a nurse practitioner but I’ve decided I really want to go the pre med route.

How difficult is this going to be considering most of my classes are pre requisites for nursing. Will it be difficult, am I going to be starting over basically?

I’m in a community college and could technically transfer to a four year for the fall semester as well. Should I stay in community college and work on pre requisites for pre med route or just transfer to a four year??

I’m in the US btw.

I’m so out of shape after neglecting the gym for almost a year (excuses like apps, interviews, etc) and am terrified how I’m ever gonna have the energy to do medical school How should I get back into increasing my stamina and energy levels so I can stay alive after sleeping <7 hrs on some nights, studying all day, maintaining a social life etc in medical school? Do I need to start running lol

Good luck to everyone whose fate depends on the TMDSAS match! Countdown Timer

https://preview.redd.it/c9967ke0mnge1.png?width=1402&format=png&auto=webp&s=17919ddea2a89c8a1108e9b5693d65bb6acf37f2

Hey. I’m a college student majoring in a non-science. I plan on taking 2-3 bio classes, but nothing planned like genetics or micro or cell bio, because these classes are traditionally GPA killers at my school. Is that OK? Am I setting myself back? I think I can self study for mcat purposes, but I know medical schools care about rigor and am worried since most other premeds take a whole bunch of bios throughout undergrad. Thanks!

Hi!

Brand new student to the pre-med path, and I wanted to ask if there are any Discords/other communities that I could join to ask questions and find resources! I just switched to pre-med late as a current junior, so there's a lot of things I'm unsure about, and I would love if there's other places other than Reddit where I could potentially connect with people!

I am ready to submit my AACOMAS app but would like to see if there are any grants or scholarships out there to cover the primary app fee. I contacted and wss informed by AACOMAS that they have deplete their fee waivers and are on a wait list basis. Any direction appreciated TIA.

i currently work as an EMT, so just curious if I should also think about volunteering for hospice, in a hospital, etc.

For the past year i’ve taken between 19-21 credits per semester. That said I took this semester off to fully dedicate my time towards the MCAT. Now I’m overthinking…

Will this look bad on my application? I’m currently a third year student (took a lot of classes during the past 2 summers, therefore I could afford to skip this semester). Thanks!

I took:

NUTR 600. Human Metabolism: Macronutrients. 3 Credits.
Cell biochemistry and physiology emphasizing integration of proteins, carbohydrates, and lipids in whole-body metabolism; regulation of energy expenditure, food intake, metabolic adaptations, and gene expression; and macronutrient-related diseases (atherosclerosis, obesity).

NUTR 620. Human Metabolism: Micronutrients. 3 Credits.
Cell biochemistry and physiology emphasizing metabolism of vitamins and minerals including antioxidant protection, immune function, nutrient control of gene expression, and disease states induced by deficiencies (e.g., iron-deficient anemia)

Do I need to just ask the individual schools? Any insights would be helpful. Thanks in advance.

Do y’all know what time it opens on Feb 3rd??? Like is it 12 am 8 am etc.

i know common interview advice is to talk about your extracurriculars well because thats what makes u stand out and thats what like humanizes you but i was wondering what you guys say about your ECs that you think made u stand out as an applicant while interviewing

If i ruled the world

1. Duty Hours would be capped at 40hrs a week.
2. Every residency program would double in size to accommodate the new duty hours and help decrease the rate of those who go unmatched
3. Protected rest/lunch time when applicable
4. Doctors lounges with free hot food and private pods
5. On call rooms with private bathrooms and showers
6. Attendings and other staff would be disciplined when being nasty towards residents, interns, medical students and etc
7. Free parking for staff/students
8. Well staffed nursing, auxiliary, clerical and other clinical staff.
9. Board exams and conference would be covered
10. Starting Salary at 85k for all residents
11. 10 weeks of vacation time and that you can used however you want

This is wishful thinking but it would be nice. If you could change anything what would it be ?

Once again I am here requesting for encouraging stories from folks who got IIs in Feb, March and later and are now in med school. Thank you 🙏

I’m an ophthalmic technician for ~2yrs now. I’ve thankfully developed an amazing relationship with two of the ophthalmologists I work with and was wondering if it would be advantageous to receive an LOR from both. Both surgeons are willing to write one, and I feel like it wouldn’t really hurt my app (even if it wouldn’t help it). I’m simultaneously worried about it just being redundant for the admission board reviewing my file.

Thoughts?

I’m going to med school this September and I’m wondering if there’s anything I need to go through to be prepared and have enough prior knowledge for when the time does come?

All y’all who ranked schools have a message under preference rank that says the deadline has passed and return on match day to review results right ? Ik for sure I ranked have a ss and even confirmed with tmdsas just triple checking.

So I understand that the school is for profit and it’s having accreditation and it should probably be one of my last choices. BUT the school does have a big in state bias for me, I have competitive stats there, and I am hoping to practice in California one day so it’s tempting to include on my list.

So is it truly the worst US MD? Would I be better off at some of the better DO schools? (Which I am applying to)

I’d love peoples thoughts on the matter!

I swear outside of utsw or utmb I’ve never seen someone with 1 ll get a prematch. I feel like they understand there’s no point in prematching when you got one option🤣🤣

Hi all, I'm currently a registered nurse considering pursuing medical school. I've been a general medicine (med surg) nurse for 4 years now and graduated with a 3.8 GPA in 2021 (3.9 science GPA although I know most of my undergrad science courses don't met the requirements for med school). My question is the post bacc career change programs I'm researching all require letters of recommendations. I've unfortunately not kept in contact with any undergrad instructors, and turnover at all of my jobs has been so high I haven't worked closely enough with any one manager/supervisor/etc to have anyone to ask. For those in a similar situation how did you go about finding LoR? I'm considering enrolling in some science courses outside of a post bacc and hoping to work closely with professors that way.

My second question is I completed about a year of MSN courses before withdrawing during a semester. (I had some personal/family issues but also realized I am not very interested in pursuing higher education in nursing...hence the interest in medical school). Would this be seen negatively for post bacc admissions? I feel I could explain it well enough in letters/interviews. I'm just concerned about having an uncompleted grad program on my record...

Any advice would be really appreciated! Thank you!