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deleted1132447
Demographics: Asian female from FL
Year: Junior majoring in health science at a Top 5 public university
GPA: 3.77 cGPA, not sure about my sGPA yet
MCAT: I'm scheduled to take it on 3/25, but I've been scoring ~499 on AAMC FLs.
Research:
~265 hours in one lab, 1 publication soon to come
~84 hours in current lab (~40 more hours by end of May)
**I also worked in a lab at a university the summer after my junior year in high school for 6 weeks with 20 hours/week. By the end of the 6 weeks, I had written a paper, made a poster & presented it at a symposium. Could I count this since it was a wet lab w/ actual research experience? Or no because it's not done in college?**
Clinical Experience (paid or volunteer):
~324 hours (~150 more hours by end of May) - includes scribing, volunteering w/ underserved communities
Shadowing:
~50 hours at the same private clinic I had scribed at
~143.5 hours done virtually w/ a variety of specialties
Non-Clinical Volunteering:
~237 hours, working w/ underserved communities
**I also volunteered as a math instructor the two summers leading up to when I started college for ~168 hours total. Can I count this towards my overall volunteering hours as well (since I continued with it until the summer right before I started college)?**
Work Experience:
~32 hours as a note-taker
Leadership Experience:
- External Vice President for 1 pre-health org
- Secretary for volunteering org (2 years)
- Multimedia Director for volunteering org
- Vice Chair for high school mentorship org
- Teaching Assistant for Gen Chem 1 & 2 (2 semesters)
- Co-Founder & Director of Operations for volunteering org
- Head Program Coordinator & Director of Resource Development for clinic
My thoughts/concerns:
I'm unsure whether I should "shoot my shot" and apply this cycle or take a gap year to strengthen the weaker parts of my application. I initially really wanted to go straight into medical school after I graduate from college, so I was considering applying even though I know my application isn't at its peak. I'm most worried about my low MCAT score & letters of recommendations (which I don’t think will be the strongest since I haven't made REALLY good connections w/ any of my professors yet). I thought that the other parts of my applications were alright, so I was thinking about applying to mostly DO schools and just shoot my shot with those. However, I'm also worried that if I get rejected this cycle that I will have to end up taking 2 gap years since I most likely won't apply again until the year after my senior year (is that the right logic since it'll take time to revamp my application?). I could be wrong about this logic, please let me know if that's the case! Please give me advice on what to do - thank you in advance!
Year: Junior majoring in health science at a Top 5 public university
GPA: 3.77 cGPA, not sure about my sGPA yet
MCAT: I'm scheduled to take it on 3/25, but I've been scoring ~499 on AAMC FLs.
Research:
~265 hours in one lab, 1 publication soon to come
~84 hours in current lab (~40 more hours by end of May)
**I also worked in a lab at a university the summer after my junior year in high school for 6 weeks with 20 hours/week. By the end of the 6 weeks, I had written a paper, made a poster & presented it at a symposium. Could I count this since it was a wet lab w/ actual research experience? Or no because it's not done in college?**
Clinical Experience (paid or volunteer):
~324 hours (~150 more hours by end of May) - includes scribing, volunteering w/ underserved communities
Shadowing:
~50 hours at the same private clinic I had scribed at
~143.5 hours done virtually w/ a variety of specialties
Non-Clinical Volunteering:
~237 hours, working w/ underserved communities
**I also volunteered as a math instructor the two summers leading up to when I started college for ~168 hours total. Can I count this towards my overall volunteering hours as well (since I continued with it until the summer right before I started college)?**
Work Experience:
~32 hours as a note-taker
Leadership Experience:
- External Vice President for 1 pre-health org
- Secretary for volunteering org (2 years)
- Multimedia Director for volunteering org
- Vice Chair for high school mentorship org
- Teaching Assistant for Gen Chem 1 & 2 (2 semesters)
- Co-Founder & Director of Operations for volunteering org
- Head Program Coordinator & Director of Resource Development for clinic
My thoughts/concerns:
I'm unsure whether I should "shoot my shot" and apply this cycle or take a gap year to strengthen the weaker parts of my application. I initially really wanted to go straight into medical school after I graduate from college, so I was considering applying even though I know my application isn't at its peak. I'm most worried about my low MCAT score & letters of recommendations (which I don’t think will be the strongest since I haven't made REALLY good connections w/ any of my professors yet). I thought that the other parts of my applications were alright, so I was thinking about applying to mostly DO schools and just shoot my shot with those. However, I'm also worried that if I get rejected this cycle that I will have to end up taking 2 gap years since I most likely won't apply again until the year after my senior year (is that the right logic since it'll take time to revamp my application?). I could be wrong about this logic, please let me know if that's the case! Please give me advice on what to do - thank you in advance!
