Hey everyone. I'm quite late in applying because the decision to do this was quite recent
- but it's a firm decision. I just need some feedback. IDK if it is worth applying in this round, but I really have nowhere to go and nothing to do if I choose to apply the next academic year (can't really explain the reasons).
Non-EEA citizen in Asia. Schooling in USA since a very young age (btw, no I don't live in the US, and no I can't apply to medical schools there either, and no I can't really live in my native country). Ranked first in class in high school. Near-perfect scores in the SAT reasoning test. 5 out of 5's in Advanced Placement (AP - 5= A, 4 = B, 3 =C...roughly...) Chemistry, Calculus, Statistics, English, US History, Music Theory. (lol) 3 in Spanish. 3 in Physics for the first year, tried again the next year with a 5 in Physics. I'm not sure if medical schools will not like the fact I got a 3 out of 5 in Physics the first round. The weird thing is I got a 740/800 in the SAT Subject Physics that same year I got a 3/5 in the AP test.
I have a pending High First Class in Biochemistry right now in a UK university (it is one of the top 10 universities in the QS..I will not state where it is). I was awarded prizes for both the first and second years. I was within the top 5 (not saying which rank) for both years. I landed a sandwich placement after my second year to work in a good-name lab (pertains to medical sciences). I also worked for 11 months in a cancer research institute during my gap year before starting uni, also had 2 summer placements after the 1st and 2nd year. so yes, loads of research experience good for PhDs...but for medicine?!
In high school, I had 100+ hours of volunteering experience in a hospital, plus some other volunteer work in a catholic worker house...was in music festivals, placed high in music competitions, participated in music masterclasses, orchestra, quintets, etc, also played a leading role in a drama production in school.
Did some mentoring/tutoring stuff in uni, participated in a volunteering project for science outreach in schools, have loads of presentation experience from my sandwich placement.
My problem is that in the end...correct me if I'm wrong, even though they can't really say this, they really do want internationals who took more trusted qualifications such as A-levels or IBs in school. Plus, I re-sat Physics and got a bad score in Spanish...and though I had good relevant work experience in high school, I don't really have any medically relevant volunteering/work experience in uni. My CV practically looks like a CV for a PhD placement in basic research, not a medical school!
So. I know I sound like I'm worrying loads, but I feel uneasy about the fact that most people thoughtfully prepare and plan out their application to medical schools...while I didn't. What do you guys think? Are my chances completely shot?