2 yrs to app time, WHAT DO I DO

[refusecollector]

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I just started the Prehealth program at Harvard Extension this semester, so I'm looking at applying a little less than two years from now. I am very interested in any and all advice as to how I can become a strong applicant. Here are some basic stats:

Ivy League B.A. in the humanities
GPA about 3.7

I am working full-time as well as taking two classes, but I realize I need significantly more clinical experience to become competitive, and I am unsure a) of how to secure this and b) of how to meet the time commitment, whether I need to find a once-a-week commitment for the semester or devote summer hours to clinical work. I am extremely motivated but uncertain of how to get where I want to be. I would appreciate any and all advice that anyone might have! Thanks so much!

 

[Sol Rosenberg]

I would disagree that you need _significantly_ more clinical experience to be competitive. If you could find a job shadowing or another volunteer job where you are exposed to doctors as well as patients (so that you can be sure that the life/routine of a doctor is what you want to dedicate the rest of your life to doing) that would help to round out your application. The actual details of how you do it aren't that important (i.e. whether you do 4 hours 1 day a week or 2 hours 2 days a week, etc) but the best way to find such a job is to go through a local teaching hospital, or, just inquire at your local hospital.

Your stats so far look great. Kick butt in your classes, and make sure to adequately prepare for the MCAT. Aim to get the highest score possible, but if you score above a 30 you should probably be in good shape.

 

[nitemagi]

you should probably be in good shape.

Agree with above 😀 . You're as good as any other applicant out there at this point. Just do well in all your science courses and mcat.

 

[Pemberley]

I just started the Prehealth program at Harvard Extension this semester...

I am working full-time as well as taking two classes, but I realize I need significantly more clinical experience to become competitive, and I am unsure a) of how to secure this and b) of how to meet the time commitment, whether I need to find a once-a-week commitment for the semester or devote summer hours to clinical work. I am 25 years old now and so expect to be 28 when I matriculate. I am extremely motivated but uncertain of how to get where I want to be. I would appreciate any and all advice that anyone might have! Thanks so much!

First, don't overload yourself. If you add clinical experience at the price of getting Cs in your pre-reqs, you haven't done yourself a favor. Everybody burns out, and 2xclasses-plus-working-full-time made me pretty miserable while I was doing it.

Second, I had very good luck at MGH. I went to their website (partners.org), got a phone number for the subspecialty I wanted to shadow, sent one e-mail to the guy in charge, and -- just like that -- had a really fantastic shadowing opportunity. I worked out the best hours with the guy I shadowed.