Should I Wait a Year?

[tomasjoel]

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[tea guzzling traveler]

I would definitely wait a year, but that is just me. (Plus, gap years can be awesome.) Also, your research is pretty lacking, especially if you are trying to go to a research powerhouse.

And the medical mission in Vietnam can go either way, it depends how you frame it.

 

[Shirafune]

Wait a year to apply and keep up your ECs. You don't need any more shadowing hours, unless you feel like you don't have an adequate picture of a physician's daily life. Spend some solid time on research this year, keep up your grades, and continue your volunteering, and you'll be just fine for an MD acceptance if you apply early and wisely.

 

[edward90]

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[Lost in Translation]

Stats seem super solid, don't let others on here get you down. At this point, a gap year that isn't spent doing research is wasted time for you. So if that's the case, then I say apply now.

 

[flapjack3d]

Apply broadly and you should be fine. I wouldn't shoot for research-heavy schools.

 

[Catalystik]

I'm currently a 3rd year student and I was debating on whether or not I should apply to medical schools at the end of this schoolyear or wait another year in order to make my application stronger. As an Asian from California, I feel that my stats are average but my volunteerwork/research are severely lacking. Should I wait a year or apply at the end of this schoolyear?

cGPA: 3.71
sGPA: 3.8
MCAT: 510

Volunteer:
-200 hours at at hospital
-50 hours at a soup kitchen
-100 hours tutoring
-Traveled to Vietnam as part of a medical mission trip (I heard this looks bad as it is seen as "Voluntorism". I genuinely loved the experience I had but would it be better to leave it off of my app?)

Research:
-50 hours in an Alzheiemers lab, no publications, just started this year

Extracurriculars:
-Leader in a Vietnamese Scout Troop - 2 years
-Archery - 1 year
-Mentoring a high school student

Shadowing:
-24 hours with a Hospitalist
-20 hours with a Cardiologist
-20 hours with a Family Practitioner
-16 hours with an Orthopedic Surgeon

With all of my stats and ECs laid out on the table, I feel that I'm not as competitive as I could be. I was thinking of waiting until the end of my senior year to apply and use the extra year I have to join the Americorps or to gain an extra year of research experience. Does SDN have any recommendations on what I should do?

Were you from any other state with public med schools, you'd have a reasonably solid application. As it is, an extra year of activities is likely to make you a more appealing candidate.

Particularly, see if you can get in some peer leadership and emphasize service to those in need, besides adding depth of understanding and responsibility in the lab you're with.

 

[DokterMom]

It looks to me like right now you'd have a solid application with fairly good chances for a mid-tier school, and that your EC's are on par with your academic credentials. That last part is relevant because your numbers will be harder to move.

"Good" grades + "Good" MCAT + "Good" ECs = "Good" chances at a mid tier school.

Can an extra year improve your ECs? Absolutely. But "Good" grades + "Good" MCAT + "Very Good" to "Excellent" ECs = "Good" to "Very Good" chances at a mid tier school.

Just my opinion, but I don't see that extra year improving your chances so much that it warrants the delay -- if that's your ONLY reason for waiting. Why not continue your ECs, try to get more peer leadership, and apply this coming spring, with a gap year as a backup plan.