Bolstering EC after serious injury

[paramount_avenue]

---

Members don't see this ad.

I'm a junior at a top state school, and my cGPA is a 3.85 and my sGPA is a 3.8, so I have a handle on classes; but I wasn't premed my freshman year so I didn't do any ECs (didn't think I'd need them. Ha). At the beginning of my sophomore year I was in a serious boating accident (leg + propeller) that hospitalized me for a month and almost required the amputation of my leg, so I had to take a semester off to recover/learn to walk again.

My second semester back I took 9 hours as getting around was difficult and a year later I'm pretty much recovered (there's still pain but I function normally) so I've signed up for an EMT course next semester and been accepted to volunteer at a children's hospital (sister hospital to the one I stayed in), but I'm worried that two years without ECs will look bad. I'm planning on taking a year between graduation and applying to med schools to live in Wyoming with my family and work on building up ECs as well as qualifying for instate for the university of Washington.

Does anyone have any suggestions for good ways to start upping my ECs? / will schools be lenient about a reduction in ECs due to injury? Also I'm a microbiology and infectious diseas majors if that is relevant.

 

[kay815]

I think most schools will be understanding. If you're really concerned that your ECs aren't up to par, there's always the option of a gap year to boost clinical experience / volunteer work (that's what I did -- I felt I was lacking clinical experience particularly). Good luck!