Non-Trad: Do I Stand A Chance? Need Help Deciding Whether To Write Mcat

[medkat]

Hey guys! This is a bit of a long post but it's my first time posting here and I wanted to be thorough, really just looking for some honest feedback as I am new to the pre-med thing 

 

I have only recently made the decision to try for medicine, and I just registered for the MCAT. Having not done a science degree I am wondering whether it is even worth it for me to dedicate my whole summer if the rest of my application wouldn't stand a chance but makes me feel hopeful even in spite of my average GPA and lack of sciences...But I'm worried it may not even be that great compared to most applicants.

 

My stats: 

 

GPA: 82% 

AGPA (without my first year): 83.8%

Degree: BSc Major: Psychology, Minor:Political Science
MCAT: tba

 

EC's: Quite a few but I basically had no idea what i wanted to do in my undergrad so I got involved in everything...

~4 years (200) hours on-going volunteering at a Suicide/Crisis support online service for youth 13-30

-Summer intern full-time and then intermittent volunteer at a Psychiatric Residential Facility on the old Riverview psychiatric Hospital grounds in Coquitlam.. there I supported the clients in their everyday activities as well as facilitated programs and helped the OT, RT team with programs. 

-2 years as an RA/Community Leader, with one of those years as a Residence Education Leader in an international themed community

-Elected and served as a Director-at-Large on my uni's Student Society's Board of Directors...Once elected I focused on my main platform promise of implementing a student led mental health initiative on campus, which included both raising awareness and making mental health literacy training such as MHFA and ASIS for students more affordable, which in turn would help students be more able to help their peers. We got a grant Capital Savings and then organized ASIST training to students at a fraction of the regular price. Other initiatives I led that year or helped lead involved the first mental health week with different stigma-busting/awareness/wellness initiatives each day.

-As a student union board member was also an active member on several committees and campaigns (usually geared Affordable education and Campus Sexualized Violence Awareness ), as well as sat in on University Senate committees on Learning & Teaching, Advisory Committee on Academic Accommodation and Access for students with disabilities and Student Mental Health Implementation Committee.

-Volunteer and member of Global Community Advisory committee for 2 years

-Sent to Jack.org Summit in Toronto, yearly student national conference for mental health promotion in 2015. Then the next year in my 4th year I co-founded a chapter of Jack.org chapter at my university and we received another $2000 grant to run big event during midterms called "Built-to-bear Exams" where we set up a huge station and offered students a chance to build their own stress kits and provided booklets with coping/stress-busting resources...This club however was only active for the semester since I left for 7 months on exchange to Australia/travelling Asia the next semester and had too heavy of a courseload in my 5th year when I returned.

-Work study position for a semester with Student Affairs where I helped organize the student performance in my Uni's annual Mental Health key speaker event, as well as researched college mental health initiatives across Canada and the U.S

-Currently I am and have been volunteering for the past  6 months at the Victoria Brain Injury Society where I co-facilitate the creative arts program and also help with administrative duties

 

Awards:

~4-year 16k$ Academic Excellence entrance scholarship out of HS 

~$2000 grant from the University for the following year to offer students more subsidized mental health training, this time for Mental Health First Aid which occured the following year.

~700$ bursary from the Lorne Fraser Education Fund for those pursuing a career in Mental Health

 

 

A little bit of background regarding my decision to try medicine...I started university studying Political Science, but through work / volunteer and personal experience developed a passion for the mental health field so I switched to Psychology. I was initially thinking of going into counseling/social work, but after spending a summer working at a psychiatric facility and having a family member hospitalized for recurring psychosis, I developed a deep interest the medical treatment of psychiatric illness and started thinking about psychiatry. Having said that, I have not done sciences in about 5-6 years at that point, having not done super well in them in HS...Thus in the middle of my 4th year I decided to stay an extra year and switch into the BSc Psychology stream to get some exposure to science courses. Having said that, I have not done sciences in about 5-6 years at that point, having not done as well well in them in HS. This year I ended up taking 6 courses each semester and upgraded my math 12, then took first year biology, chemistry and organic chemistry - it was a bit of a tough learning curve after 4 years of Arts courses , and i got a 74/76 in chem/ochem and 78/83 in bio.. which brought down my AGPA but 2%, but at least I knew I could tackle the sciences needed to write the MCAT. Plus, this year made me actually fall in love with science after getting fed up 7 years ago in HS and decided i wasn't smart enough for them.

 

I guess my question at this point is.. should I do more course work in the sciences before applying and trying to do the mcat... for example, I haven't done physics since science 10 and was hoping to self-teach this summer..Should I just study what I can this summer and apply? I think my EC's are quite extensive, but is it what medical schools are looking for? 

 

Sorry for all the questions. If there is any other pertinent information that might be needed to assess my situation, please let me know!

 

I really appreciate anyone reading this super long post .

[Guest]

Your ECs are really good IMO, they all point to one thing: mental health! so it does look like you have direction. 

Someone else will probably give you better advice, since I'm no expert on med school applications.

[frenchpress]

I was recently accepted to UBC, and also did not have a traditional science background. I took some of the recommended science courses (intro chem, and one bio, one ochem and one biochem course) over several years while working, and those certainly helped me prepare for certain parts of the MCAT, But I still had to learn a huge amount of material myself. I think even if you'd taken all the classes and covered all the relevant material, doing well on the MCAT can take a lot of extra study time in order to make sure you're on top of all the material and able to apply it in the way the MCAT requires. I spent ~10 weeks studying (4 weekday evenings and morning/afternoon Sat and Sun every week), which I think is actually on the low end, but I ended up with a score I was happy with.

 

With your ECs, I think you have a realistic shot -- your GPA and ECs seem very comparable to mine (except that I also have an MSc). So if you can afford to take a stab at the MCAT this year, and you're OK dedicating a big part of your summer to it, then I would say, why not just go for it and try to apply this year? Even if you don't get the MCAT score you want, or you don't get an interview / acceptance, you'll learn a lot by going through the process, and you'll be much more equipped to improve for a second time around. In particular, it would help you identify your weak areas and maybe better select what courses to take next year. And there's always a chance that you may surprise yourself and get in on the first try, but that can only happen if you actually apply!