apply next cycle with weak research/volunteer OR wait another year?

[evalunatik]

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Hi,

I'm new, and not so sure if my post fits here but i DO feel somewhat "untraditional."

For a long time in undergrad, I didn't seriously consider any one path (i was very "whatever" about it...and i studied abroad and that further delayed "planning"). The last couple years I thought nursing was for me so in the back of my mind told myself I'll apply to NP direct entry progs next year.

I graduated, started seriously considering medicine and now i'm leaning towards medicine for several reasons and would like to apply next cycle but feel like a very unprepared applicant.

problems:

1. i'm six weeks out of graduating and have NOT been asked to interview for ANY jobs i REEEEEALLY want that would help my app too (clinical research positions, lab assistant, etc). i helped out with research in clinical psych -- and stanford/ucsf doesn't seem to like that. but yea, it makes me wonder if med school apps will be the same.

2. i'm having trouble securing a volunteer position in a hospital ED. they're completely disorganized--tell me conflicting info. i did some volunteering in my univ hospital (~10wks, didn't liek the program though), and was about to do more, but the timing was off with study abroad and everything.

i just need some advice to ease my mind. should i do all i can to get sufficient experience and apply next cycle? (i would like to start med school asap) this might mean weak research background, acceptable LORs, ~100 hrs volunteering.

OR

would it be beneficial to wait another year, consider SMPs (although $$$ is a BIG deterring factor. im in student loan debt. but i LOVE the idea, the opportunities), do some volunteer research that will land me a paid research job, etc?

i appreciate your help and know that I was very descriptive. 😍

 

[DrMidlife]

If you have no exposure to clinical medicine and have done no volunteering, then yes, you should wait to apply until you've got something to show in those areas.

But generally, these are red herrings if you don't have a competitive GPA and MCAT. No stellar EC will cover for low numbers.

Best of luck to you.

 

[Mobius1985]

Your application to med schools needs to reflect dedication to becoming a physician and a good understanding of what being a doc is all about. Even if your GPA and MCAT are stellar, med schools won't take you, thinking you'd have a good chance of changing your mind at some point in med school. Ideally, you need six months to a year of research listed on your application (not essential, but increases the number of schools willing to consider you) and two years of clinical volunteering or employment (the same number of hours over a shorter time is considered less desirable, but might be enough), and shadowing (1-3 types of specialists for 10-40 hours each, ideally). They'll also want evidence of leadership, and interest in non-clinical areas, as well as a humanitarian bent.

We see stories on SDN of very-high stat folks who are not accepted anywhere because they didn't understand these essential components of a med school application. Don't waste your money applying until your application is the best it can be.

 

[student1799]

i'm having trouble securing a volunteer position in a hospital ED. they're completely disorganized--tell me conflicting info. i did some volunteering in my univ hospital (~10wks, didn't liek the program though), and was about to do more, but the timing was off with study abroad and everything.

You don't have to be in an organized program to have a good volunteer experience: if you show up and work hard at even a lowly job, people will notice and opportunities may come to you. That's what happened to me: I started out as a lowly gofer in the ED, but I was serious about the job, and after a few months of working there I found out about a fantastic clinical research program for students, where I ended up volunteering for 4 semesters.

The key is to treat every volunteer job AS IF IT WAS A PAYING JOB. And realize that hospitals are ALWAYS busy and chaotic: the staff doesn't have the time to keep track of you and tell you what to do. Once you've gotten the basic training the hospital requires (infection control, HIPAA, what to do if the fire alarm goes off), it's up to YOU to figure out what's going on in your area and what you can do to help out (i.e. bedmaking, errands, etc.--nothing medical). If you learn how to help the staff while requiring minimal supervision and not getting in the way, they'll love you forever and will reward you by giving you more interesting jobs to do. And regardless of your own job, you'll have a chance to observe interesting cases that come in the door (which is why it's a good idea to pick a busy hospital).

would it be beneficial to wait another year, consider SMPs (although $$$ is a BIG deterring factor. im in student loan debt. but i LOVE the idea, the opportunities)

Whoa there--I don't think you understand what SMPs are supposed to be for. They are NOT for doing research, but for helping problematic students (typically low GPA or very low MCAT score) get into med school. Yes, technically you get a "non-thesis MA," but that ain't worth squat out in the real world.

In the SMPs that actually have a good track record (Georgetown, BU, etc.), you're not doing masters-level classes at all, but first-year med school courses, sometimes right alongside med students. The idea is to convince med schools that you can handle med school by actually DOING the first year as a "dry run"; if you do really well in the SMP (like 4.0), your reward is to get into med school and do that first year all over again. But this is a risky gambit, because if you do an SMP and rank even in the middle of the class (say 3.5 GPA), med schools will see that as a poor performance and refuse to admit you. And the classes don't even help your undergrad GPA, because they're considered graduate courses (a separate bucket).

Sounds to me like you need a POSTBACC program, either formal or informal. Take an extra year, take a full schedule of upper-level science classes, and volunteer at the same time. THAT should convince med schools you're serious about wanting to be a doctor.

 

[Law2Doc]

In general, if you describe any part of your credentials as "weak", you want to take the time to fix them. This is not a race, and with as many as 10,000 applications per school, getting into med school is hugely competitive these days, and adcoms are really looking for reasons to reject people and thin the herd.

 

[evalunatik]

thanks you, guys.

i think i've figured out that i should take my time and prepare myself rather than stress about it now.