Best option for this summer?

[Rocknro]

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Hey everyone!

So I am in a bit of a pickle. I will be applying for med school in a year and I still do not know what to do for this summer. Currently my GPA is 3.5 (science) and 3.6 (overall), and my MCAT score is 33 (I got an 11 on all three sections). I am graduating this year but I decided to take a gap year because I have no clinical experience yet and wanted to get some before applying to med school. I have multiple options for what to do this summer and I'd like some advice on which path to pursue.

1) Re-take the MCAT and spend the next three months studying and trying to get my score a little higher, hopefully getting at least a 2-3 point improvement. (my issue wit this option is I'm not sure my score is low enough to warrant a re-take being necessary and I feel like spending three months doing some sort of internship to develop myself instead of locking myself in my room studying would me better. Also, I fear that if I don't get an improvement on my core then my three months of studying would amount to nothing.)

2) Find a hospital volunteering position (my issue with this one is all of the positions I've found for undergrads are mostly just administrative work and won't involve much contact with doctors)

3) Take an EMT class and hope to become a certified EMT

4) Do a month-long internship in Jamaica, where I would shadow a doctor (hopefully in pediatrics which is my intended specialty) as they care for patients who have suffering from more advanced diseases than what we would see in the US. This is the option I want to lean towards since I feel it's the opportunity for the most growth as a student interested in medicine. The issue is it is very expensive and since I would only be gone for a month it would leave me with a period of time where I won't be doing anything.

A big question involved here is whether my MCAT score is good enough to focus on extracurriculars more or not.

The earlier I sign up for one of these programs the better, so I would appreciate some responses soon. Thanks so much in advance!

 

[Admissions to Medicine]

I mean you cannot be serious. You have a 3.6 overall gpa and a 33 MCAT and NO clinical/shadowing/volunteering and you think that studying to retake the MCAT again would be more valuable than gaining some clinical experience? Carry on.

 

[Shirafune]

I would take two gap years...and get clinical experience, shadowing, and THEN focus on the MCAT. You don't need to go to a special program to get shadowing. Just talk to the staff at the hospital affiliated with your university (if you have one) or hospitals/private practices/whereever in your local area.

 

[The Buff OP]

That avatar, though. 😵

 

[DokterMom]

Don't retake your MCAT. A balanced 33 is a really good score.
EMT is nothing unusual. Certainly nothing wrong with it, but nothing special either.
Hospital volunteering - You're right. You won't learn that much from the work and it's not all that impressive either.
Medical vacation in Jamaica? Sounds like fun!
Oh - you said 'interning'? Eh - I know a vacation when I smell one, and so do AdComs. Don't waste your money on this one.

You want some meaningful activity that will improve your application. Try volunteering somewhere that isn't glamorous and isn't especially fun. Someplace like a hospice, nursing home, memory care unit, inner-city clinic, adult day care, VA, activity for people with disabilities, HIV clinic, suicide hotline --- The nice suburban hospitals have waiting lists of volunteers. Go somewhere that needs you. You'll get much more meaningful experiences and actually, much more credit for being a humanitarian.

 

[The Chemist]

33 is fine. I would go to Jamaica.

Hospital volunteering=boring and may not be clinical necessarily
EMT=everyone does it....but unless you substantially work as one, the training is USELESS

 

[el_duderino]

1) Do not retake the MCAT. Search for a thread called "retake low 30s"

2) The idea behind hospital volunteering isn't DOCTOR contact, it's PATIENT contact.

Go to Jamaica, then spend the remainder of the year getting clinical and volunteer experience. Also do shadowing with a variety of physicians.