MD 3.93 GPA/523 MCAT/URM, questions about ECs

[number9]

---

Members do not see this ad.

Hey y’all,

I know my academic stats seem really competitive, but I am worried my ECs are not adequate.

Stats
- cGPA: 3.93, sGPA: 3.91
- MCAT: 523
- URM (mexican-american)

Clinical Experience
- 1500 paid + 50 volunteer hours at summer camps for people with disabilities. Both positions involved a lot of personal care, including feeding through G-tubes, giving medication, using oxygen equipment, bathing, etc. My pre-health advisor told me this counts as clinical experience, but since joining SDN I’ve seen that many people say otherwise as campers were not patients actively seeking care in a clinic
- During my gap year I was also planning on volunteering at a clinic (with spanish speaking populations), and I am currently in the process of lining up a clinical research position at a top med school (though this might count as research and not clinical experience)

Research
- 1 summer (~450 hours) + 1 semester (sporadic, probably ~50 hours) in a biophysical chemistry lab; 1 poster session

Shadowing
- 10 hours critical care
- 45 hours family medicine in a community health center (with predominantly spanish speaking patients)

Non-Clinical Volunteering
- ~400 hours in student-run program for children and adults with disabilities, which I have led for the past 3 years (this time no personal care involved)

Other ECs
- club sports athlete/captain (4 years competing, 1 year as captain)
- Resident Advisor (2 years)
- TA for physics department (3 years)

I guess I am mostly worried because if the summer camp experiences don’t “count” as clinical, I have basically 0 non-shadowing clinical experience. I have a good amount of flexibility in my schedule for this coming semester, and could probably add ~150 hours of ECs (in addition to continuing as an athlete, RA, TA, and leader of volunteer organization). Would it be best for those hours to all be clinical volunteering, or would a mix of clinical volunteering and shadowing be all right? I have the opportunity to shadow a pediatric cardiologist in addition to the clinical volunteering, but I’m not sure if I should instead put all my energy into getting clinical volunteer hours (in which case I would possibly volunteer at a hospital in addition to the clinic).

Thanks in advance for any help/advice 🙂

 

[Goro]

You don't need a gap year. I count those campers as patients...if not, they're an extremely vulnerable population, and that says something for your involvement with them.

Any school is yours.

Start with with Harvard, Yale, Stanford and their ilk.