<p>I am currently an undergraduate student in my sophomore year at a somewhat prestigious university in Los Angeles. I want to go into plastic/reconstructive surgery (although I am aware that I do not yet have enough exposure in the medical field to really commit to plastics). I have a 3.65 GPA. I’m majoring in Economics/Poly Sci, but I have a Pre-Med emphasis on my transcript and I take mostly chemistry, biology, and OChem classes. I haven’t taken the MCAT yet. I’m not sure if it’s relevant, but I consider my math skills to be terrible (stopped at Calc I for the sake of my GPA).</p>
<p>As far as my resume is concerned, this summer I am working at a large stem cell agency. At this agency I have done a lot of legislative investigation and basic/translational research on hiPSC and cord blood. This coming fall I’ll be volunteering at very prominent cancer center. I also will be coordinating a large scale 2-day medical fair on my school’s campus, where I have several MDs and representatives of medical companies from around the city setup booths and give lectures to encourage students to go into medicine. I’ve found that medical fairs are a great forum for networking and gaining insight as to what it takes to get into your desired field of medicine. This will be the second fair I have coordinated.</p>
<p>But really I’m not sure if these experiences are something Med School admission officers would greatly take into account. Should I be more subject focused, i.e., volunteer more with chem/bio organizations? Or should I be more specific with my desired field, i.e., intern with one of the local plastic surgeons in the greater LA area?</p>
<p>My biggest goal at the moment is to set up a self-sufficient 501(c)(3) family clinic (I’ve partnered up with an MBA and an MD since I obviously don’t yet have the qualifications to set up a medical clinic on my own) by the end of my Senior year. And I would also like to study abroad and at the same time volunteer with one of the major international medical relief efforts. But again the former and the latter activities are just ideas and I really can’t account for them on my resume yet.</p>
<p>Beside the obvious, “raise my GPA,” and, “score high on the MCAT,” I want to know realistically how far away I am from being considered a decent candidate. I also want to know what I should do specifically to eventually become an excellent candidate.</p>
<p>If you know from experience, or if you’re in a similar situation to mine, I would appreciate your input.</p>