Med School Admissions Question

[ChiroDC]

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Hi folks.

I am currently studying for the MCAT and I plan on sitting for the test in June/July. I am a Chiropractor in a busy office, so my time is limited currently.

I have been out of undergrad for about 7 years now, so my memory of Med School admissions is a bit fuzzy.

My question is what would I need to do in order to escalate my applications outside of scoring well on the MCAT? I have a long history of volunteer work in both my Church as well as overseas medical mission work (Viet Nam). Do I need to get into a Hospital on the weekends for the next 6-8 months? Will my Chiropractic degree and practice experience carry any weight? (I have been in practice for 2 years now).

Outside of emailing or calling schools in Florida to ask them, not sure how to look at pre-application qualifications.

I would appreciate any and all feedback you can provide.

Thank you.

[jameslynton]

For US schools - use AMCAS to find school's pre-reqs. For Island and European schools - website and talk with a counselor.

[swimchick]

I don't know how your chiropractor degree will be viewed by a med school committee...but the best advice I can tell you is that you need to convince medical schools that medicine is the career for you. It appears you have a strong volunteer background and this is good...medicine is a career that caters to serving others so naturally, medical schools want to see that you've spent time volunteering.

Clinical experience is important because how else will you know that medicine is right for you? By shadowing a physician or volunteering in a patient setting...medical schools will believe you when you say you are convinced medicine is the career for you (in my own opinion).

I know very little about chiropractic medicine...but I don't think I would be out of line by saying that it is different from allopathic/osteopathic medicine. If you have the time...it might be worthwhile for you to spend some time volunteering in a patient care setting or shadowing a physician.

Many US medical schools offer open houses and give you the opportunity to talk with somebody in admissions...take advantage of this if you are able.

Good luck!