- Joined
- Jun 5, 2017
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- 13
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I just started my gap year and I only very recently realized that I want to go the MD/PhD route.
Stats
GPA: 3.76 BME from #1 undergrad program in the nation (~3.5 first two years, ~4.0 the last two years when I started taking mostly major related classes)
MCAT: 514 (128/131/127/128) surprised at my CARS score and kinda disappointed at my B/B score
Research: 4 years undergrad (part time since freshman year with 2 full time summers, 2 years high school + currently working full time as a research tech/lab manager at Emory. No publications (was recently told that one should be close from the grad student I worked with in undergrad) but have presented at school and international conferences
Clinical experience: have started shadowing and will start volunteering at a women's clinic soon (have also applied to volunteer at several hospitals in the area)
ECs: 4 years at my school's theater + received a lifetime service award (not clinically related but it was a huge part of my life and something I was passionate about), worked part time for a year at the student success center at my school
Because my clinical experience is so lacking and I just don't think I'm ready to apply this cycle, I plan on taking another gap year in order to really prepare for a strong application. I'm already taking steps on building my clinical experience. I'm also considering retaking the MCAT. I know that my score is decent (though average for MD/PhD) but I honestly didn't study that much/well and I think that I could really bump it up now that I know what exactly I did wrong while studying.
I'm mainly wondering if anyone had advice about what else I could do to show that I'm dedicated to this path and to build a strong application. I would also appreciate any advice about building clinical experience! A problem I'm facing is that many of the places I've looked into only have shifts during the day Mon-Fri which is when I work. Thanks!
Stats
GPA: 3.76 BME from #1 undergrad program in the nation (~3.5 first two years, ~4.0 the last two years when I started taking mostly major related classes)
MCAT: 514 (128/131/127/128) surprised at my CARS score and kinda disappointed at my B/B score
Research: 4 years undergrad (part time since freshman year with 2 full time summers, 2 years high school + currently working full time as a research tech/lab manager at Emory. No publications (was recently told that one should be close from the grad student I worked with in undergrad) but have presented at school and international conferences
Clinical experience: have started shadowing and will start volunteering at a women's clinic soon (have also applied to volunteer at several hospitals in the area)
ECs: 4 years at my school's theater + received a lifetime service award (not clinically related but it was a huge part of my life and something I was passionate about), worked part time for a year at the student success center at my school
Because my clinical experience is so lacking and I just don't think I'm ready to apply this cycle, I plan on taking another gap year in order to really prepare for a strong application. I'm already taking steps on building my clinical experience. I'm also considering retaking the MCAT. I know that my score is decent (though average for MD/PhD) but I honestly didn't study that much/well and I think that I could really bump it up now that I know what exactly I did wrong while studying.
I'm mainly wondering if anyone had advice about what else I could do to show that I'm dedicated to this path and to build a strong application. I would also appreciate any advice about building clinical experience! A problem I'm facing is that many of the places I've looked into only have shifts during the day Mon-Fri which is when I work. Thanks!