Brief Profile:
I did a lot of community service in college, as well as other extracurricular activities (cultural, dance, political, etc). I now work for an NGO that does public health in a developing country.
It has been really hard to find time to study for MCAT/apply to medical school because I work 60-80 hour weeks and my job is very demanding and stressful.
Despite my low GPA I graduated with honors b/c it was mostly my pre-med courses during my first two years that pulled my GPA down. I came from an under-performing high school so I was shocked by the amount of work college entailed.
I am happy with my MCAT scores but I am not sure if that will be enough to make me competitive at top schools. Any advice/suggestions are welcomed as I try to decide how broadly to apply.
LORs:
2 Non-science Profs that know me quite well 1 Science - unfortunately I did not ask for letters from science profs when I was an undergrad so now I am paying the price, but this letter should be good 1 Director of NGO I work at 1 National AIDS Program Director cosigned by two doctors
I know I am taking a risk by only sending one science letter since many schools require 2, but I hope I can explain this on a case-by-case basis
// Applications //
Application Cycle One: 2008
Undergraduate college: Ivy League College
Undergraduate Area of study: History/Humanities
Total MCAT SCORE: 520
MCAT Section Scores:
B/B 130,
C/P 130,
CARS 129
Overall GPA: 0.00
Science GPA: 0.00
Summary of Application Experience
Columbia P&S Class of 2013 :-D
Its going to be a tough choice but it will probably come down to the best financial aid and where I'll be happiest.
First interview invite 9/4/08!
Verified 8/22/08 - I'm really happy that it took less than 3 weeks to get verified. Now I have to try to submit all of my secondaries before the end of August.
Submitted AMCAS 8/03 - I'm hoping that applying this late will not put me at a significant disadvantage...:-/
I know I am a bit behind but having to work long hours has been limiting the time I can spend on my application.
I'm trying to pre-write my secondaries. As of now I have only officially received Columbia's secondary and I am in line to be reviewed for verification.
I am also worried that applying from abroad will be difficult once I get to the interview stage.
I am interested in global health and working with medically under-served populations/groups so any tips on which schools have strong focuses in these areas would be greatly appreciated.
