Hi everyone, I’m 18 and set to graduate from UC Merced in two years (walking spring 2025, having turned 19, finishing summer). I transferred with a lot of credits, which sped things up, but my GPA will probably end around 3.7. I know that’s not the strongest, especially from a smaller school, but I’ve learned a lot about perseverance and finding ways to grow.
I’ve had some great opportunities to explore medicine: medical writing internships, a pediatric health fellowship, virtual research assistantship, and a hospital observership. Recently, I got my scribe certification and hope to gain clinical experience through scribing during my gap years. I also really want to launch a medical podcast where I talk to doctors about their most challenging cases to better understand medicine from the inside out.
Standardized tests have been a strong point for me (ACT 34, SAT 1530, GRE 323), and I’m preparing to dedicate two years to the MCAT while (hopefully!) receiving my MPH. I applied about a month ago to Berkeley’s program. But I know test scores and activities only go so far. I’d really appreciate advice on what else I can do to grow personally and professionally while making a meaningful impact.
I’m especially interested in UCSF SOM, but I understand how competitive it is and want to approach this humbly. Any guidance on how to strengthen my application (and myself) over the next few years would mean the world!
To better understand medicine and whether you actually want to do this as a career….I recommend shadowing and talking to physicians about their day-to-day experiences on the job.
I worked in hospitals (not a physician) and participated in these discussions (challenging cases) on a monthly basis. They are interesting and professional- about 15 physicians and various specialists presenting and discussing.
This is not the same as experiencing the daily challenges that physicians face- everything that is gross, boring, mundane, sometimes violent, sad, annoying, etc.
I would shadow your pediatrician and a family medicine doctor if possible. Get a sense as to what their day is like, talk to them about insurance and the hours they spend on the phone with these companies (not fun), discuss the mundane, difficult families, sad situations etc.
You are very young. I would take the necessary time to fully understand the daily grind of the profession.
Be aware of HIPAA limitations. Doctors are quite limited in what patient information they allowed to discuss–even if the information is depersonalized from the patient.
One thing I noticed was missing from your CV is non-clinical volunteering with disadvantaged/underserved communities or groups. Start volunteering a couple hours a week now with a program that seeks to alleviate the physical suffering of those less fortunate than yourself. Think soup kitchen, women’s shelter, food pantry, Habitat for Humanity, tax prep services for the unhoused. Your service should be face-to-face, not in fundraising or support capacities,
Empathy and compassion are one the 10 core competencies expected in all med school hopefuls.
UCSF’s mission statement about what it looks for in potential students is here
Please take a look at the 10 core competencies and mission- driven values that UCSF holds and decide how well you have fulfilled those.
For UCSF, if you do not already speak a language other than English, you may want to take some foreign language classes to learn to be at least minimal conversant in another language. Spanish is especially useful in California.
(A fun fact from last year’s class of medical graduates: the median number of languages spoken by med grads is 5.5.)
One last comment: California is one of the most competitive states for med school admissions. There are simply too many qualified in-state applicants and too few available med school seats. The majority of successful CA med school applicants will attend an OOS med school. Plan to apply widely when you’re ready.
(A fun fact from last year’s class of medical graduates: the median number of languages spoken by med grads is 5.5.)
How is this possible??? Does this include international students who learn English as a 2nd language and live in multi-lingual areas? 5-6 languages seems like a stretch for the median applicant…
Also looked at the link: If only 30% of the class is bilingual, how is it that the median is 5.5? I think the statistic is saying that out of those 30% that are bilingual, 5.5 languages is the median(which is still insane).
This is your issue that needs to be addressed. I don’t understand the rush. One of your issues seems to be a rushed attempt to get through the “requirements”. Patient care requires time, patience and balance.
Our daughter attended UCSF and graduated from their program. She was there in the middle of Covid.
A huge hole is in your lack of patient contact or experience. Do you have your own social support network? They do ask about everything. They may ask about your medical experience as a patient
Have you even done vitals on a patient? Do you know how Medicare works? Can you communicate well with patients who speak another language? Most of my daughter’s SOM classmates spoke languages other than English. They were native or near native in fluency. Our daughter did an internship in Spain to learn about patient care and medicinal trials in a different system. She had to do everything in the Kings Spanish. She spoke my version of regional Spanish. It’s different. That came with experience. The SF community has a lot of Chinese languages and dialects. Are you fluent in any of these?
Most difficult cases? Every case is difficult when you have a patient who is ill.
I also participated in these case reviews, but not as a physician, since the reviews involved every medical professional in patient care, and the team sought out our progress levels.
You are lacking community contact and human experience. It’s not just about the physicians’ view of the profession but it’s being a patient that matters.