4.0 GPA, 35 MCAT, ECs Advice

[FieryEmbers]

Hi everyone, I am a traditional applicant trying to figure out my chances at various schools/construct a good list. I am looking at applying this coming cycle, but also am considering taking a gap year as I think my (lack of) clinical experience may hurt me.

GPA: 4.0
MCAT: 35
Research:

2+ years of research, 1 publication by time of application
Several grants to support this research​

Activities:

Mentoring in local high school, 3 years - leader in this program
Biology & Organic tutor, 1 year - paid employment
Sports team, 3 years - big time investment
Leader in two other campus organizations
Teach a student course - 1 year​

Clinical:

Shadowing - 50 hours (Pediatrics, Orthopedics, Cardiology)
Volunteering - I am very concerned about this--I will start now and continue until graduation, but will only have a semester's worth by my application. I did do clinical volunteering for three years in high school, but I'm not sure this applies. I also am considering a three month full time clinical volunteer experience this summer, but once again, this is in the midst of the cycle.
Is a gap year due to lack of clinical volunteering experience a better idea than applying?​

If I do apply this cycle, how much of a shot do I have at some mid/top tier schools? I'm considering schools such as Stanford, UCSF, Brown, Sinai, Pitt, Duke, Vanderbilt, Mayo, Hopkins, Yale, Michigan, etc. Are these too much of a reach?
Thank you so much!!

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[nemo123]

The sticking point definitely is the lack of clinical experience. I think it might be a good idea to take a gap year just to bulk up your clinical experience because you would have a good shot at all of these schools if you did.

 

[AquiVoy13]

The sticking point definitely is the lack of clinical experience. I think it might be a good idea to take a gap year just to bulk up your clinical experience because you would have a good shot at all of these schools if you did.

I agree. I would look into hospital and/or hospice volunteering. Two very different, yet very rewarding experiences, in my opinion. If you decide to take the gap year, just make sure to remain productive and use your time wisely (don't volunteer 3 hours/week and then sit on your couch for the rest of the time). In addition to more clinical volunteering, you could also use your gap year to try some other new activities out. Good luck!

 

[jeghaber]

I think a good rule of thumb is to ask yourself: "Would someone be able to tell I was seriously considering medical school if they only had my resume and nothing else?"

I think, in your case, the answer is unclear. Other than shadowing, it doesn't look like you have any other clinical experience (unfortunately, high school experiences aren't/shouldn't be included in your AMCAS unless it's been on-going). You're obviously academically prepared, but how are you going to convince the committees -- who have the difficult job of whittling down an excellent applicant pool of thousands to just a few hundred acceptances -- that you'd be a good candidate for a future physician above the other applicants? They'll be asking how you know you want to be in medicine if you haven't had much experience with the field yet. Don't leave such relatively easily remedied vulnerabilities to be targeted if you can help it.

As others have said, try to get as much clinical experience as you can between now and application season, whether that be this summer or next. I don't think you *need* a gap year, but if you're willing to take it to devote your time to strengthening your application and just taking some time for yourself, you'll be hard-pressed to find anyone who has regretted taking one.

 

[FieryEmbers]

Thanks for the thoughtful responses guys; it looks like a gap year might be a good idea

I just have a last quick question--if I were to apply this cycle, with volunteering from Jan-Jun, how much would this hurt? Would it make me relatively noncompetitive? I'm just curious because you (Jeghaber) mentioned I might not need a gap year.

 

[NavyDoc23]

I don't think you need a gap year. Your numbers are great and so is your research. If you volunteer this semester, and do 4hrs/week (1 day a week) you will have around 70-80 hours (I applied with only 75 hrs and I haven't had trouble getting interviews and I have 3.9/31. Not to mention much less research experience than you). Then if you do the 3 month full time clinical experience, you can always mention on your app you are doing it and then update schools later on once it is over and you have hours to show for it.

 

[jeghaber]

Thanks for the thoughtful responses guys; it looks like a gap year might be a good idea

I just have a last quick question--if I were to apply this cycle, with volunteering from Jan-Jun, how much would this hurt? Would it make me relatively noncompetitive? I'm just curious because you (Jeghaber) mentioned I might not need a gap year.

I think part of the reason many of us are recommending a gap year is that 1) you're aiming high and 2) you have a pretty solid application with one notable -- but addressable -- hole. Applying now, you might be reaching a bit to be acknowledged by the schools you've listed while if you were to apply with an extra year, you'd be appreciated by most, if not all, schools as an excellent candidate. I don't doubt that you'd be successful if you were to apply this coming cycle, but you might not be reaching you "full" potential. It might be a difference between, say, going to NYU vs Columbia (I picked these two schools at random because they're both great schools the same city, but arguably, Columbia has a slight edge on NYU).

Part of it is that, as you've acknowledged yourself, you lack clinical experience. For me, this was notable because you've already taken the MCAT. This probably means you've taken most of the pre-reqs and, to me, indicates that you had been considering medicine for a while, maybe even years. Given this perception, it might be odd to not have exposed yourself to this supposed future career you've been thinking of in any way other than 6 months before you submit your application -- regardless of your intentions, it may unfortunately be interpreted as a last minute activity meant only to satisfy the imaginary "checkbox." As such, taking the extra year to become more familiar with clinical work can mitigate this perception while also giving you a fantastic opportunity to continue your research (which seems to be going well -- congratulations!) and any other ECs you're engaged in and thus strengthen your application overall.

It's the difference between going into the race as a slight underdog vs the favorite to win. You might very well be fine as is, but admissions at these top schools you're considering are going to be tough for even the best prepared applicant, so why not give yourself every advantage you can get?

 

[nemo123]

Thanks for the thoughtful responses guys; it looks like a gap year might be a good idea

I just have a last quick question--if I were to apply this cycle, with volunteering from Jan-Jun, how much would this hurt? Would it make me relatively noncompetitive? I'm just curious because you (Jeghaber) mentioned I might not need a gap year.

Like they say, you should only apply once, and you should apply when you are most competitive. Right now, even if you try to cram in your clinical experiences into one semester, it'll still look thin. You don't want to go through this process and then start regretting some things in the middle of December when your cycle is not going as well as you had anticipated and you know why it's not.

I think @LizzyM has said she likes to see at least 2 semesters of clinical experience or 1 full time as a summer gig.

 

[LizzyM]

You have shadowing, you have done non-clinical service (mentoring) and there is no law against putting the HS clinical experience on your application. Given your research experience, GPA and MCAT, the schools you've listed are not reaches. Good luck!