Lets keep it real. How difficult is it really to get into med school?

[freshnikes]

definitely. i would have been more inclined to consider an applicant with years of volunteer work, medical work experience, published research, and a 27 MCAT than an applicant with trivial amounts of experience and a 35.
Def some good info. Good looking out.

Have you looked into becoming a PA (Physician Assistant) at all?
I have actually. It's something else that I've been looking into. I like it because, like you said, you have many options to choose fromif you decide to go into another specialty.

 

[typerpinoy]

Originally Posted by recycledpaper

TypeRPinoy, you were/are on a med school adcom? i'm gonna be applying to med school this june and if possible, am looking to get some positive criticism on my resume at this point.

post it up and i'll let you know. there were basically a handful of things i looked at when considering applicants, but all in all it boileddown to dedication and commitment.
did this person have medical experience? i'm talking more than just shadowing for a week or 2.
does this person do any volunteer work? sure a weekend doing habitat for humanity is great but a long term commitment is much more important.
i probably considered these more than my peers. these 2 things were actually higher on my list when looking at candidates than academics. almost anybody canstudy enough to do well on MCAT, but you cannot BS your way through clinical experience and volunteerism, just like you cant BS your way through med school.

 

[raptors29]

Originally Posted by Adamsd11

Have you looked into becoming a PA (Physician Assistant) at all?

I'm applying to PA schools right now. They can be just as difficult to get into as medschool, except there is no MCAT, only GRE (only for some schools). Almost all of the schools want patient contact hours, either as a CNA or EMT, (such as myself). Most are Master's programs that last for a full 2 years, some 3. 1 year academic work, 1 year rotations. PA's are listed as the second best job right now in America, (according to CNN). What's great is that you can still have your own patients, prescribe meds, and unlike a doctor or NP, nurse practitioner, you can work in cardiac care for 10 years and then switch to a surgical PA without needing to go back to school... a lot of freedom.

Courtesy of CNN:
[table][tr][th=""]Pay[/th] [th=""][/th] [/tr][tr][td]Median salary
(experienced)[/td] [td]$90,900[/td] [/tr][tr][td]Top pay[/td] [td]$124,000[/td] [/tr][tr][th=""]Opportunity[/th] [th=""][/th] [/tr][tr][td]10-year job growth
(2006-2016)[/td] [td]27%[/td] [/tr][tr][td]Total jobs
(current)[/td] [td]82,000[/td] [/tr][tr][td]Online want ad growth
(April 2009-August 2009)[/td] [td]54%[/td] [/tr][/table]
For more info on them, check out AAPA.org site.
Or let me know if you have any more questions.

Looks good

 

[dyzzle]

Originally Posted by NewZ05

pay cash they'll let u in

if only it was that easy, id be in. wouldnt be doing all this volunteer work and stuff

during your summers, go join programs such as GMT (global medical training). It's really fun and good for your resume. you go to third world countries andpretty much become doctors for 2 weeks. went to nicaragua last summer, had a blast. i think i might go to the costa rica one this spring break

 

[tyrekeevans]

sorry for the thread jack. but i need some advice for the med school resume. I graduated a year ago and i was wondering what job i should select: A full timesupervisor/specialist position in retail or a patient transporter for ucla med center. the catch is the PT is per diem. Would i look like a different candidateif i was in retail and decided to just switch careers. I have volunteered in the hospital and was a biology major. It's just hard to find a research jobright now :/

 

[adamsd11]

Originally Posted by TyrekeEvans

sorry for the thread jack. but i need some advice for the med school resume. I graduated a year ago and i was wondering what job i should select: A full time supervisor/specialist position in retail or a patient transporter for ucla med center. the catch is the PT is per diem. Would i look like a different candidate if i was in retail and decided to just switch careers. I have volunteered in the hospital and was a biology major. It's just hard to find a research job right now :/

I'm a PA applicant, with that being said... I'd say the patient transporter job. If nothing else, you might have some experiences whiledoing that, that you could discuss at an interview. Also you could build up contacts...to shadow and write you letters of rec. Plus, I'm sure after a fewmonths you could possibly get another job within the hospital.

Also, you may want to check some other forums...ones that are dedicated to med school. Hope I helped.

 

[recycledpaper]

TypeRPinoY: Definitely will get some stuff together and be in touch with you. Appreciate your help and insight.

TyrekeEvans: I'd go for the PT job as well. Not only are you getting work experience, but it shows that you are also working in the medical field. And likeAdamsd11 said, who knows what kinda opportunities you'll be presented with working around doctors and such. As for sites, definitely check outstudentdoctor.net. They have a lot of information that can be of use to a pre-med like yourself, and it doesn't hurt that some posters on there are adcommmembers like TypeRPinoY! Good luck.

 

[tyrekeevans]

Thanks for the help. I have asked on studentdoctor but i wanted to get some other opinions.