Am I behind?

[sokasoka]

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So I’m an incoming junior but I took all online classes for sophomore year due to personal reasons so I technically have 3 years left still. I haven’t done any extracurriculars, non-clinical volunteering, clinical volunteering, research, work, clubs, and/or shadowing. My only achievement is I do have a 3.95 GPA. I’m wondering if I am behind and if I still have time to even apply trad but I’m willing to and likely to take 2-3 gap years. My goal is to join a research lab in 3 months do remote research with my uncle for the next 3 months to get some experience and then start volunteering 10 hours/week at a homeless shelter or food bank, tutor, join some clubs, shadow, and get some clinical volunteering in, is that all a good plan to start getting some hours in or should I do something else? Basically all I’m wondering is am I out of time or am I still okay because technically I’m a sophomore.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

Welcome to the forums.

If you have no practical clinical experience or service orientation, of course, you would be "behind." But it's not a race where your window closes forever if you can't get it done before you graduate. Build your profile responsibly. If you are willing to take some gap years, don't rush to the point where you risk your high GPA, noting you say you had 1 year of only online classes.

What have your prehealth advisors said?

 

[MedSchoolPilot]

As an incoming junior, you still have plenty of time, especially if you’re open to gap years. Your plan is on the right track with clinical exposure, volunteering, shadowing, and research. The main thing is just not trying to rush everything at once and instead sticking with a few things long enough to build some depth.

Research with your uncle is a fine place to start, but I’d still try to get into a more structured lab if you can. Overall, you’re in a position where you can just start building things steadily from here.

 

[astrophage]

So I’m an incoming junior but I took all online classes for sophomore year due to personal reasons so I technically have 3 years left still. I haven’t done any extracurriculars, non-clinical volunteering, clinical volunteering, research, work, clubs, and/or shadowing. My only achievement is I do have a 3.95 GPA. I’m wondering if I am behind and if I still have time to even apply trad but I’m willing to and likely to take 2-3 gap years. My goal is to join a research lab in 3 months do remote research with my uncle for the next 3 months to get some experience and then start volunteering 10 hours/week at a homeless shelter or food bank, tutor, join some clubs, shadow, and get some clinical volunteering in, is that all a good plan to start getting some hours in or should I do something else? Basically all I’m wondering is am I out of time or am I still okay because technically I’m a sophomore.

Given how common a gap year is becoming, I would not say you are behind if you are open to gapping, if not, then yes. At this point you have four semesters to gain the experience to make a strong MD/DO application, something that cannot be done in two semesters, which is the trad route. Speaking for myself, I amassed 3000+ hours of clinical/research (combined), but had started volunteering and shadowing in freshman/sophomore year.