.Everyone talks about how grades (and MCAT, let's ignore that for now) are *SO* important for medical school. Well, I didn't do that great in high school, and was lucky to get where I am now. With that in mind, and a renewed drive to succeed academically, I worked my butt off to get good grades these last three years. After all, I'm going to college to get an education, and how can you get the most out of your education if you don't work hard to get good grades? Unfortunately, I've done so at the cost of extracurricular activities. I'm a junior now, and the only significant extracurricular activity I have to show for it is a year of undergraduate research. I have literally *nothing* else of significance, and only now have I realized this..
.The question is, do I stand *any* chance at getting into medical school, and a fairly respectable one, if I do something to counteract my lack of EC's now? (No offense, but in my case if I have to go to a different country to get into medical school, I probably wasn't meant to be a doctor...).
.I am planning to take a year off after my last year (duh, or else I'd have to apply this summer), and just now am trying to volunteer at a hospital and shadow physicians -- too little, too late? Would I have to take two years off?.
.Thanks for your brutally honest opinions, though I would appreciate it if you didn't moralize (e.g. "oh, well you probably don't deserve to be a doctor if you went three years without volunteering in a hospital"), not to imply that you would....
.The question is, do I stand *any* chance at getting into medical school, and a fairly respectable one, if I do something to counteract my lack of EC's now? (No offense, but in my case if I have to go to a different country to get into medical school, I probably wasn't meant to be a doctor...).
.I am planning to take a year off after my last year (duh, or else I'd have to apply this summer), and just now am trying to volunteer at a hospital and shadow physicians -- too little, too late? Would I have to take two years off?.
.Thanks for your brutally honest opinions, though I would appreciate it if you didn't moralize (e.g. "oh, well you probably don't deserve to be a doctor if you went three years without volunteering in a hospital"), not to imply that you would....