A good two gap year plan?

[JingleChips]

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The decision to pursue medicine was made during my spring of my senior year of college (may 2013). I figured that needed to have two gap years in order to be a competitive applicant since my resume was basically crafted to attract PhD programs, not MD programs.


I then studied in the summer and took the MCAT in September, and afterwards I shadowed two physicians (50hrs total) . From my recent undergrad, I have 2 years of research in immunity with 3 poster presentations, and also was a TA for a chem class and a tutor for organic. I also have a minor leadership role in a large charity for cancer. Besides that, my resume had NO clinical work / NO volunteering.


Currently, this is what I have going on for a weekly schedule:

4 Hrs volunteering in a cancer center (80% clerical 20% clinical)
4 Hrs volunteering in a hospital as a patient transporter
4 Hrs volunteering in a free clinic administering saliva tests to patients
6-9 Hrs volunteering in my county's food bank kitchen
7 credits of class at local university (medical ethics / medical terminology / Spanish I)
10 Hrs / week dedicated to training to compete in an athletic event

What else am I missing / what is the weakest point of my EC's? My MCAT and GPA are solid but not amazing (34 / 3.71). I have about a day a week of free time - research is out of the question because I don't know where I could only come in one day a week.

Any input would be great - I don't want to be shocked with a massive hole in my application come next June.

 

[Microglia]

I decided on pursuing medicine during my spring of my senior year of college (may 2013). I decided I needed to have two gap years in order to be a competitive applicant since my resume was basically crafted to attract PhD programs, not MD programs.


I studied in the summer and took the MCAT in September, and then I shadowed two physicians. From my recent undergrad, I have 2 years of research in immunity with 3 poster presentations, and also was a TA for a chem class and a tutor for organic. I also have a minor leadership role in a large charity for cancer. Besides that, my resume had NO clinical work / NO volunteering.


Currently, this is what I have going on for a weekly schedule:

4 Hrs volunteering in a cancer center (80% clerical 20% clinical)
4 Hrs volunteering in a hospital as a patient transporter
4 Hrs volunteering in a free clinic administering saliva tests to patients
6-9 Hrs volunteering in my county's food bank kitchen
7 credits of class at local university (medical ethics / medical terminology / Spanish I)
10 Hrs / week dedicated to training to compete in an athletic event

What else am I missing / what is the weakest point of my EC's? My MCAT and GPA are solid but not amazing (34 / 3.71). I have about a day a week of free time - research is out of the question because I don't know where I could only come in one day a week.

Any input would be great - I don't want to be shocked with a massive hole in my application come next June.

I think you've got your bases covered, provided you have done some research in the past. It's a major box that should be checked for most research heavy universities (read: most medical schools) to get the best results.

One caveat: have a reference that you can cite for each activity that you perform, and be ready to get LoR's when the time comes. Aim for 2 science and 1 non-science class professor LoR's, and a couple EC/Leadership/Research ones. That's all I can think of right now- best of luck!

 

[lalax]

The decision to pursue medicine was made during my spring of my senior year of college (may 2013). I figured that needed to have two gap years in order to be a competitive applicant since my resume was basically crafted to attract PhD programs, not MD programs.


I then studied in the summer and took the MCAT in September, and afterwards I shadowed two physicians (50hrs total) . From my recent undergrad, I have 2 years of research in immunity with 3 poster presentations, and also was a TA for a chem class and a tutor for organic. I also have a minor leadership role in a large charity for cancer. Besides that, my resume had NO clinical work / NO volunteering.


Currently, this is what I have going on for a weekly schedule:

4 Hrs volunteering in a cancer center (80% clerical 20% clinical)
4 Hrs volunteering in a hospital as a patient transporter
4 Hrs volunteering in a free clinic administering saliva tests to patients
6-9 Hrs volunteering in my county's food bank kitchen
7 credits of class at local university (medical ethics / medical terminology / Spanish I)
10 Hrs / week dedicated to training to compete in an athletic event

What else am I missing / what is the weakest point of my EC's? My MCAT and GPA are solid but not amazing (34 / 3.71). I have about a day a week of free time - research is out of the question because I don't know where I could only come in one day a week.

Any input would be great - I don't want to be shocked with a massive hole in my application come next June.

This plus 2 years of research with 3 poster presentations seems pretty complete to me.