Chances?

[JTC591]

I'm a second year bioengineering, economics double major with pretty good stats, but I have very little volunteer experience and plan to put off some premed courses.

GPA - high 3.9s
Science GPA - 4.0 (so far)
Research - I've had quite a bit of research experience and will likely first author a paper by the time I apply

Hospital volunteering/shadowing - none
Premed courses - AP'd out of gen chem series and physics, I don't plan to take Ochem lab or 3rd quarter of Ochem until my 4th year/after I get in.

Basically I have two questions:
1. If I don't do any volunteering/shadowing and portray myself as someone who wants to do research in the medical field, seeing patients infrequently, will I be able to get in?
2. If I don't finish my premed requirements at the time of applying and wait until after I get in to finish them, will that negatively affect me? I may drop my economics double major if I get into med school, but don't want to commit to med school classes until I get in, if possible.

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[TriagePreMed]

No volunteer or shadowing = rejection.

/thread.

 

[JTC591]

How much volunteering/shadowing would be necessary to "fulfill the requirement?" It's not something I'm that interested in, so it would mainly be so I could check the box.

 

[Catalystik]

Why not apply PhD only, or MD/PhD which have lower ECs expectations?

MD-only program applicants average about 1.5 years of clinical experience, for a total of 150 hours. I'd consider a year's worth to be the minimum, though occasionally we see a very-strong applicant get in with less. They also average 50 hours of shadowing. They also have nonmedical community service, leadership, and/or teaching, besides research.

Most schools don't require completion of the prereqs prior to application, so long as they're done by matriculation. Most schools accept AP credit, but not all do.

 

[JTC591]

I've considered MD/PhD, but my impression is that it's a lot more competitive than MD-only. If I go for MD/PhD, will I still need a lot of clinical experience and volunteering?

 

[TriagePreMed]

I've considered MD/PhD, but my impression is that it's a lot more competitive than MD-only. If I go for MD/PhD, will I still need a lot of clinical experience and volunteering?

Yes. You will need both. I don't see why you're so anti-shadowing/volunteering. Are you one of these folks that wants to go to medicine for the money only? Some shadowing and volunteering may help you decide if you truly want that MD or not.

Truth is that I gotta disagree with my feline buddy in his assessment that schools will give more of a "pass" for volunteering/shadowing for MD/Ph.D. The programs that offer this combination are the ones from top schools. They have mountains of applicants to choose from and love well rounded applicants.

If you really want to avoid shadowing and volunteering, be ready to get a 40 MCAT and only be able to land a spot in a school that's low tier (they average 3.6 GPA's too, so .3 more is expected from some students). Maybe a mid tier if you're lucky.

 

[JTC591]

Thanks for the advice guys - looks like I will need to get involved in some volunteering and shadowing.