going to be nontrad, need advice, plz and thank you

[cyclopes93]

I was looking over everyone's ecs and I was wondering to myself that I might not have had the opportunity to indulge as much as I might have wanted. So I felt like I should get some assurance/improvement advice by admins and experienced applicants and match that up with my gpa:

Little about me
Year: Senior

GPA:
cGPA = 3.52 (may change +/- because I'm taking a hard major; downward trend since junior year due to that fact that I committed to my current major-really bummed because I would have gotten phi beta kappa with physical science major if I had stuck with that)

List of Ecs:
*2 years president & founder of club
*4 years of research in just 1 lab
=received summer stipend
=paid on some semesters when budget is right
=will have a poster but no publications sadly
*>1000 hours of service (mainly include volunteer research)
*conference leadership (next year will be my 2nd year participating)
*Research representative (1 year)
*Writing advisor (2 years)
*Member of 1 health service society
*Part time employee at hospital lab (kind of a co-op) (does this count as clinical experience?)
****NOT HAD ANY CLINICAL EXPERIENCE
What I think I will do post grad
Study GRE during gap year
Complete med school classes during gap (mainly physics and biochem)
Get into grad program and get MPH (should I do one that is 2 years or one that is 1 year?)
Study MCAT before MPH begins
Work part time at current job to offset masters cost if I don't get full ride
MPH is mainly to get LORs that will mean something (hoping to get a mathematics stream/epidemiology mph)

My thoughts are: should I pursue mph now and spend 2 years and delay medicine (technically 3 since I will take 1 gap year after graduating to get all of med school stuff ready). I want to be a lecturer/professor alongside being a physician and I think the mph can allow me the opportunity to travel with stipend to foreign countries and get the outreach experience I never got while I was an undergrad since the last year of a mph is rooted on international research. At the same time, I don't know if I am just being lazy and elongating the med school goal. Firstly, I am stressed about my acceptance chances since I want to get into my alma mater which is a top 25 med school. I just want to be close to family and I think 4 years is a lot for someone to be away. I hope that the MPH will make me look more appealing. I think that without it I would not get as many applications.

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[Goro]

I think what you need to do is concentrate on acing the MCAT and adding the necessary ECs. Being in a lab helps, but you need patient contact experience.

Here's the deal: You need to show AdComs that you know what you're getting into, and show off your altruistic, humanism side. We need to know that you're going to like being around sick or injured people for the next 40 years.

Here's another way of looking at it: would you buy a new car without test driving it? Buy a new suit or dress without trying it on??

We're also not looking for merely for good medical students, we're looking for people who will make good doctors, and 4.0 GPA robots are a dime-a-dozen.
I've seen plenty of posts here from high GPA/high MCAT candidates who were rejected because they had little patient contact experience.

Not all volunteering needs to be in a hospital. Think hospice, Planned Parenthood, nursing homes, rehab facilities, camps for sick children, or clinics. Check out your local houses of worship for volunteer opportunities.

Service need not be "unique". If you can alleviate suffering in your community through service to the poor, homeless, illiterate, fatherless, etc, you are meeting an otherwise unmet need and learning more about the lives of the people (or types of people) who will someday be your patients.

I was looking over everyone's ecs and I was wondering to myself that I might not have had the opportunity to indulge as much as I might have wanted. So I felt like I should get some assurance/improvement advice by admins and experienced applicants and match that up with my gpa:

Little about me
Year: Senior

GPA:
cGPA = 3.52 (may change +/- because I'm taking a hard major; downward trend since junior year due to that fact that I committed to my current major-really bummed because I would have gotten phi beta kappa with physical science major if I had stuck with that)

List of Ecs:
*2 years president & founder of club
*4 years of research in just 1 lab
=received summer stipend
=paid on some semesters when budget is right
=will have a poster but no publications sadly
*>1000 hours of service (mainly include volunteer research)
*conference leadership (next year will be my 2nd year participating)
*Research representative (1 year)
*Writing advisor (2 years)
*Member of 1 health service society
*Part time employee at hospital lab (kind of a co-op) (does this count as clinical experience?)
****NOT HAD ANY CLINICAL EXPERIENCE
What I think I will do post grad
Study GRE during gap year
Complete med school classes during gap (mainly physics and biochem)
Get into grad program and get MPH (should I do one that is 2 years or one that is 1 year?)
Study MCAT before MPH begins
Work part time at current job to offset masters cost if I don't get full ride
MPH is mainly to get LORs that will mean something (hoping to get a mathematics stream/epidemiology mph)

My thoughts are: should I pursue mph now and spend 2 years and delay medicine (technically 3 since I will take 1 gap year after graduating to get all of med school stuff ready). I want to be a lecturer/professor alongside being a physician and I think the mph can allow me the opportunity to travel with stipend to foreign countries and get the outreach experience I never got while I was an undergrad since the last year of a mph is rooted on international research. At the same time, I don't know if I am just being lazy and elongating the med school goal. Firstly, I am stressed about my acceptance chances since I want to get into my alma mater which is a top 25 med school. I just want to be close to family and I think 4 years is a lot for someone to be away. I hope that the MPH will make me look more appealing. I think that without it I would not get as many applications.

 

[cyclopes93]

Thank you @Goro. I really appreciate the advice about increasing volunteer experience. This year in general will be harsh if I try doing additional ecs since I work part-time to offset living cost but I think I will try looking into some programs and really try helping the local community. My one question though: since I'll start so late, would it not look bad to adcoms and make it seem that I am just doing this for med school? Ultimately circumstances were such that I could not do extra stuff outside of school and my personal life so I don't want to come across as a med school wanna-be that's padding the resume. I have always taken long term interests in what I do and this short term 1-2 year stint may not impress or satisfy me personally since I know in med school I may do minimal volunteering due to course load (just being honest).

 

[Goro]

It depends upon how it's packaged and what you say in your PS. Some people come to Medicine late, after all.

If need be, take a gap year. Always best to apply with the best possible packet, once.

Thank you @Goro. I really appreciate the advice about increasing volunteer experience. This year in general will be harsh if I try doing additional ecs since I work part-time to offset living cost but I think I will try looking into some programs and really try helping the local community. My one question though: since I'll start so late, would it not look bad to adcoms and make it seem that I am just doing this for med school? Ultimately circumstances were such that I could not do extra stuff outside of school and my personal life so I don't want to come across as a med school wanna-be that's padding the resume. I have always taken long term interests in what I do and this short term 1-2 year stint may not impress or satisfy me personally since I know in med school I may do minimal volunteering due to course load (just being honest).

 

[cyclopes93]

Hi Goro, I recently spoke with someone and I think that taking atleast/atmost 2 years off would be best for me. I think ultimately, I really want to get into my alma mater and I sincerely want to give it the best shot. I am also looking into the mph program but at current feel very queasy about it since I know there are atleast 5 med schools out there that can do md/mph in just 4 years which warrants the question: why should I do an mph separately? Still with the way they have it set up at my alma mater, they have a 5 year program, which still saves me 1 year of time. After all, I may not use the mph all that much once I may become a physician. It is mostly for obtaining administrative position and the subject I would like to teach as a possible faculty. Do you recommend I do an mph separately still at my alma mater? I'm quite attached to the area and I don't think I would like to move anywhere else outside of the state even though I constantly would thank my lucky stars if I got in anywhere else too.