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[Purple&Gold8]

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[718JJW]

Not entirely sure about how that particular IA will affect you, but from an accepted applicant (to an MD-only program) with an alcohol-related IA, I understand the best way to navigate any institutional action is to take responsibility for your actions and share any lessons you have learned from the incident. I do believe that the amount of time in between the IA (as it occurred your freshman year) and your application is a mitigating factor, as well as the fact that this was a one-time incident. Make sure that your explanation is well written for your AMCAS app and good luck with the MCAT

 

[Purple&Gold8]

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[Faha]

Another concern is you lack of clinical volunteering with patient contact.

 

[theoceanman]

Rather than your IA, what's going to keep you out of medical schools in general is the fact that you have zero clinical volunteering, which puts into question why medicine. I highly recommend a gap year to increase your clinical experience past the 150 hours screen-out and work with a population setting that you want to serve as a physician.

 

[Purple&Gold8]

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[Purple&Gold8]

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[theoceanman]

This is where I’ve struggled over the last few years finding an opportunity. The places local to me haven’t been accepting students because of covid until very recently and as of now I just have no time in my schedule to commit because I’m taking 21 hrs. I do have a couple experiences such as taking blood pressure and blood sugar levels through AED at the school but it is very limited in hours.

Do not apply this cycle, you will get screened out at most, if not all medical schools with your low clinical experience.

 

[Faha]

Thank you for your reply, I’ve struggled getting these opportunities because of people in my area not allowing these due to covid until recently. Do you think I should try and seek these opportunities in my senior year and apply next cycle or do you think I should still apply this cycle as well?

Do not apply this cycle with no clinical volunteering. In the coming year accumulate 200+ hours of clinical volunteering with patient contact. you also need 150+ hours of non clinical volunteering (homeless shelter, food bank, etc.). Post your MCAT score here when available.

 

[candbgirl]

You don’t have competitive ECs to successfully apply this upcoming cycle. You might not have them next cycle either. STOP shadowing now. You only need around 50 hours total as long as you have some in primary care. (Why on earth did you shadow a PA for 130 hours and not a primary care doc? The only reason might be ruling out PA as a career. Get a couple of days of shadowing with a primary care doc.)
Your real issues are lack of direct patient contact clinical experiences( can be volunteer or paid) and your lack of nonclinical volunteering focusing on the unserved/underserved in your community. Have you talked with anyone in the premed program about your application and your lack of ECs? What have they told you? Do not apply this upcoming cycle. Study hard for the MCAT. If you feel ready to take the test do it and then figure out the rest of your application repairs. If you aren’t ready don’t take the test.

 

[Purple&Gold8]

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[candbgirl]

The PA was the only person I was able to obtain shadowing from. It was the summer after covid and everywhere I tried to shadow or get some type of clinical experience turned me down because of covid precautions. I also had to work as well to make money to live on so finding time to volunteer clinically and/or non clinically is not something that was doable. I’ve also talked to my premed advisors and they told me since I want to do Md/PhD to focus on research and supplement with physician shadowing. It’s starting to sound like they led me astray

While I understand what you are saying, you must understand that almost every other applicant will have the expected experiences needed for applying. Despite the limits of the pandemic. That’s why you have been repeatedly advised to take a gap year or two. It’s to your benefit to fill in the gaps before you apply.
Are you aware that each cycle only around 40 percent of all applicants are accepted to medical school? And of this number about half are only accepted to ONE school. This means 60 percent of applicants are outright rejected and include stellar applicants.
Of course it is your choice of when to apply but you need to be aware and acknowledge the current weakness of your application.
Good luck on your MCAT and as you move forward in the application process.

 

[Purple&Gold8]

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[chilly_md]

Thanks for the knowledge! I wish I would’ve gotten different advice than just my pre med advisors earlier on. With all this being said, increasing my volunteering and clinical experience do you think even with my IA I can be a competitive applicant?

If you are going to do MD/PhD, you will need strong research as well. It may be better to focus on MD only given the time requirements to bulk up your ECs.

 

[KaiBuzz]

For MD/PhD, You’ll be competing with candidates who took two or more gap years to work as clinical research coordinators at major Academic Medical Centers and accumulated 1000+ research hours. My UG premed advising office highly recommends two gap years.

 

[candbgirl]

Thanks for the knowledge! I wish I would’ve gotten different advice than just my pre med advisors earlier on. With all this being said, increasing my volunteering and clinical experience do you think even with my IA I can be a competitive applicant?

By the time you should be applying there will be several years between the IA and the application. Just own what you did, what you learned from it and how you have moved on. I’m not sure how it will impact you but as the wise @Goro says “sometimes you just have to apply with the application you have and see what happens” or something like that.

 

[Purple&Gold8]

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[LeaveNoTrace]

Once you get your ECs up to snuff there's a good chance that they'll look at you as someone that just got busted for dumb, low-grade college hijinks and then got his act together. It's a blemish, but a minor one.

If you want to say that you never did this...I wouldn't advise it, as it might be considered lying or dishonesty. Weigh that against adcoms seeing an old and fairly small-potatoes IA on your record. It might not, but that is a much bigger problem than getting busted with a bong as a college freshman.

If you decide to go that route...consult a lawyer.