- Joined
- Dec 2, 2014
- Messages
- 117
- Reaction score
- 298
I graduated Dec 2018 and have had a bit of a rough time since then. I planed on studying for the MCAT full-time and applying during the cycle of 2019, but life started to happen, I had personal and family problems I wanted to get sorted out, and I started to question whether medicine really was for me. I stopped studying for the MCAT 2.5 months in and just looked for jobs, and I couldn't find one until June (part time scribing).
It didn't work out for me and I left a month after and applied for Americorps, got in, and started in August. I quit Americorps in early December because of my commute (42 miles each way), my pay ($4/hr), and the fact that my specific position had me underutilized and transitioned into me practically doing nothing for 10 hours a day. I realized I was no longer growing, learning, or benefitting the people I was apparently helping.
I started a new part-time job in a warehouse this month, and now I'm sprinting back to medicine as I'm sure it is the only career for me. I'm starting up my MCAT soon and just took another clinical volunteering position and I'm applying for other non-clinical positions as we speak.
My current app looks something like this:
3.8 GPA
2 years work experience in retail, 1.5 years as an undergrad TA, 1.5 years in research w/ 1 pub.
~400 clinical volunteering hours (this will increase my application time due to projected hours)
~550 non-clinical volunteering hours (counting my americorps, which some say not to list as I left early, however, I'm planning on listing them as I did gain something from them, also will increase due to projected hours)
Multiple letters of rec
Should I go ahead and apply if I do well on my MCAT? I'm feeling discouraged because of my age, and I've read a lot about how I shouldn't have explored other careers or questioned medicine, how I shouldn't have been unemployed during my gap years (had no idea no one would hire me), etc. I have the weirdest feeling that I just won't get in. I'll be applying to md/do schools. Also, am I being too neurotic?
It didn't work out for me and I left a month after and applied for Americorps, got in, and started in August. I quit Americorps in early December because of my commute (42 miles each way), my pay ($4/hr), and the fact that my specific position had me underutilized and transitioned into me practically doing nothing for 10 hours a day. I realized I was no longer growing, learning, or benefitting the people I was apparently helping.
I started a new part-time job in a warehouse this month, and now I'm sprinting back to medicine as I'm sure it is the only career for me. I'm starting up my MCAT soon and just took another clinical volunteering position and I'm applying for other non-clinical positions as we speak.
My current app looks something like this:
3.8 GPA
2 years work experience in retail, 1.5 years as an undergrad TA, 1.5 years in research w/ 1 pub.
~400 clinical volunteering hours (this will increase my application time due to projected hours)
~550 non-clinical volunteering hours (counting my americorps, which some say not to list as I left early, however, I'm planning on listing them as I did gain something from them, also will increase due to projected hours)
Multiple letters of rec
Should I go ahead and apply if I do well on my MCAT? I'm feeling discouraged because of my age, and I've read a lot about how I shouldn't have explored other careers or questioned medicine, how I shouldn't have been unemployed during my gap years (had no idea no one would hire me), etc. I have the weirdest feeling that I just won't get in. I'll be applying to md/do schools. Also, am I being too neurotic?
