2 year MA/Pre-Health Program vs Reapply

[laser813]

Hello everyone,
I graduated in May of 2021 and applied while doing a gap year working in both a hospital and a lab. I planned to apply to more schools, but due to my financial situation and my own idiocy I only ended up completing 6 applications. I received 2 interviews, one from the school associated with the hospital I worked at and the other from my alma mater. I ended up with one R and one WL, and have not been called off the waitlist.
My MCAT score (shown below) was unbalanced and the 124 in C/P certainly hurt me, along with a C in my freshman year Gen Chem 1 course. That combined with my poor application distribution and other deficiencies certainly led to my demise this cycle.
I have been gearing up to reapply and looking for a gap year job in the clinical field. I applied for and have interviewed for an interesting Scribe/MA position that also has an associated Pre-Health program. However, they require a two-year commitment for the program. Essentially I would be brought on as a scribe, and receive training and certification to become a MA for a dermatology clinic. Then after a year, they would give me advisement, writing help, and a letter of recommendation (from the MD I would be working under) for the application cycle in 2023. I would then continue working there until 2024 and leave for school (hopefully).
I am torn on whether to reapply more broadly (including shadowing a DO and adding lots of DO schools for this cycle) or possibly pursue this program and potentially retake my MCAT with the added time I would have. Any advice would be helpful.
My stats:
23, ORM, cGPA- 3.7 sGPA- 3.5 MCAT: 1st try in 2020- 503, 2nd try in 2021- 510 (124,130,129,127).
1000 patient care hours as a Patient Attendant (Sitter) in a hospital, 580 hours as a data entry lab tech in a State Public Health Laboratory.
187 non-clinical volunteering hours from various sources, but mainly 50 hours as an ESL tutor, and 52 as a tutor at an after-school program for elementary-aged children from the local disadvantaged community.
30 hours of clinical volunteering on a pediatric floor.
Leadership: President of the Pre-Medical club at my school, which had 500 members.
Shadowing: 37 hours, 8 with an anesthesiologist, 29 with two different kinds of orthopedic surgeons.
No research, which could be a potential gap year option for this cycle.
My school list (*for schools I completed):
Rosalind Franklin*
Wake Forest*
Arizona Tuscon* (pre II waitlist--soft R)
Creighton* (II--> Waitlist)
UNMC* (II-->R)
University of Iowa
University of Colorado*(my state school)
OUWB
Medical College of Wisconsin
Rush
Loyola
DO schools:
Rocky Vista (thought they didn't require a letter from an MD/DO, but they just wanted a letter from a licensed health care provider which I did not have, so the application was not completed)
Midwestern (AZ)
Touro (CA)
Noorda

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[voxveritatisetlucis]

Which specialties are you interested in pursuing? 23 is still young enough where 2 years may not be a huge deal if you want to pursue something competitive. Otherwise, you’d probably be fine in applying to more DO schools this time around.

 

[lidaojie37]

Hey. I'm really late to this. I'm currently OMS1, and your GPA overshadows mine (I barely made the cut) - with similar MCAT scores (503 in 2018, and 509 in 2021).
Yes that 124 in C/P might hurt, but I think there are a lot of schools (especially some DO schools) that may overlook that given the great marks in the other sections and your GPA. Many schools have a "competetive score" of 125 or higher instead of a hard cut-off. So look into schools that have that. If there is a school you have your heart absolutely set on that has a hard cut-off, then maybe consider taking it again. But honestly, once you're a doctor, no patient is ever going to care what school you got into. What matters most is just getting in.

My advice:
1. Apply early!!!! This makes probably the biggest difference in my own experience.
2. Get some shadowing hours with a primary care physician - most schools want that on your application
3. Get a letter from a DO in your back pocket to send to all the DO schools you apply to. It's important to DO schools that you have an understanding of the DO practices/principles/philosphy etc.
(Kill 2 birds with one stone by shadowing a PCP who is a DO)
4. Get some research!!! With the style of the Match changing up recently and boards going to pass/fail, many residency programs are looking at how much research and publications you have - therefore many schools are pushing heavy on doing research during your 4 years at school so they are looking to see if you have the mind for it. Research is important in every field of medicine. You HAVE to be able to interpret and implement new research wherever you are.
5. Hopefully you've done this already, but take a good HARD look at all your essays - especially your personal statement. Get people involved. Find a couple people (pre-med advisors, or people who have been on an AD-COM) to read it over and accept their critisism.

You've got this

 

[KaiBuzz]

If you’re going to commit to a position for two years, consider clinical research instead of MA/Scribe. Also consider more non clinical volunteering with americorps type organizations.

 

[laser813]

Hey all, I appreciate your feedback and helpful information! In a stroke of luck, I ended up getting off the waitlist. I agree with your takes and I’ll leave this post up for anybody in a similar situation that I was.