Non-Trad - Do I need a gap year?

[Tmoo374]

Hi everybody,

I'm looking for some advice on what to focus on in order to have a good chance at applying for the '23-'24 cycle.

cGPA: 3.62
sGPA: 3.55
Undergrad in Chemistry from USNA over 5 years ago
D1 Athletics for 3 years
Have ~8 years experience as a Naval Officer on board submarines in multiple leadership roles. Still active duty until March '24.
MCAT (Jan 23): 520
Volunteering: Had some experience volunteering at a medical center when I was in college almost 10eek years ago. Otherwise, I am volunteering at a local hospital and a VA clinic, but not many hours yet.
Shadowing: None. I know this is probably the biggest focus, I have some contacts and will hopefully get some opportunities in the near future.

I am having a bit of trouble coming up with a good school list, mostly because my GPA and MCAT don't really track and as a non-trad that hasn't taken courses in over 5 years I'm not sure I meet all the recency requirements of some schools. (As an aside - do any veterans here know if military coursework with ACE-credit recommendations on your Joint Service Transcript counts?)

Realistically, is there enough time for me to put an application together for this cycle? Or should I be looking at trying to figure out how to afford a gap year?

Thank you all for the help!

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[Rapsidy]

I think if you can get some shadowing in you’ll have a great app. As long as you have the prerequisite classes your strong MCAT and military service will get you far. I don’t know about the ace coursework though.

Thank you for your service by the way, you’ll make a great doctor.

 

[wysdoc]

Hi everybody,

I'm looking for some advice on what to focus on in order to have a good chance at applying for the '23-'24 cycle.

cGPA: 3.62
sGPA: 3.55
Undergrad in Chemistry from USNA over 5 years ago
D1 Athletics for 3 years
Have ~8 years experience as a Naval Officer on board submarines in multiple leadership roles. Still active duty until March '24.
MCAT (Jan 23): 520
Volunteering: Had some experience volunteering at a medical center when I was in college almost 10eek years ago. Otherwise, I am volunteering at a local hospital and a VA clinic, but not many hours yet.
Shadowing: None. I know this is probably the biggest focus, I have some contacts and will hopefully get some opportunities in the near future.

I am having a bit of trouble coming up with a good school list, mostly because my GPA and MCAT don't really track and as a non-trad that hasn't taken courses in over 5 years I'm not sure I meet all the recency requirements of some schools. (As an aside - do any veterans here know if military coursework with ACE-credit recommendations on your Joint Service Transcript counts?)

Realistically, is there enough time for me to put an application together for this cycle? Or should I be looking at trying to figure out how to afford a gap year?

Thank you all for the help!

If you were able to get that MCAT score I think your coursework was recent enough!
Ask your doctor contacts and get 40-50 hours you can list under the shadowing section before you apply.

 

[Faha]

Where is your state of residence ?

 

[gyngyn]

You can apply just about anywhere.

 

[Tmoo374]

I think if you can get some shadowing in you’ll have a great app. As long as you have the prerequisite classes your strong MCAT and military service will get you far. I don’t know about the ace coursework though.

Thank you for your service by the way, you’ll make a great doctor.

Thank you for the kind words, it means alot!

If you were able to get that MCAT score I think your coursework was recent enough!
Ask your doctor contacts and get 40-50 hours you can list under the shadowing section before you apply.

Haha that was my logic as well... But yeah, definitely the focus. Do you think that it is worth delaying submitting the application a few weeks if I don't have 40-50 hours prior to the opening window?

Where is your state of residence ?

I pay taxes to CT, but I live in CO right now. Apparently some schools treat you as in-state if you are using the GI-bill, but I can't find a whole lot of information on which ones and if that applies to your application status (in-state v out).

You can apply just about anywhere.

Thanks, that's kind of you to say.

 

[wysdoc]

"Do you think that it is worth delaying submitting the application a few weeks if I don't have 40-50 hours prior to the opening window?"

Yes, because once you submit your AMCAS app you can't add more activities, and you don't want to apply with the gap of zero shadowing.

 

[Faha]

Accumulate 50 hours of physician shadowing before you submit your application. I suggest these schools with your stats:
UConn
Colorado
Dartmouth
Brown
Tufts
Hofstra
Einstein
Mount Sinai
Columbia
Rochester
Jefferson
Pittsburgh
Case Western
Ohio State
Cincinnati
Georgetown
U Michigan
Northwestern
Washington University (in St. Louis)
St. Louis
Vanderbilt
Emory
Miami
USF Morsani
East Tennessee
Duke
Kaiser
USC Keck

 

[Tmoo374]

"Do you think that it is worth delaying submitting the application a few weeks if I don't have 40-50 hours prior to the opening window?"

Yes, because once you submit your AMCAS app you can't add more activities, and you don't want to apply with the gap of zero shadowing.

Ok, understand all that. Thank you!

Accumulate 50 hours of physician shadowing before you submit your application. I suggest these schools with your stats:
UConn
Colorado
Dartmouth
Brown
Tufts
Hofstra
Einstein
Mount Sinai
Columbia
Rochester
Jefferson
Pittsburgh
Case Western
Ohio State
Cincinnati
Georgetown
U Michigan
Northwestern
Washington University (in St. Louis)
St. Louis
Vanderbilt
Emory
Miami
USF Morsani
East Tennessee
Duke
Kaiser
USC Keck

Wow, thank you so much. I will check all of these out in detail.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

Get shadowing now

Do your school homework. Look for ties as a military applicant.

Seeking Leverage in “Strong Ties” - SDN

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