Does it look bad that I'm starting this late and do I have a good plan to build a competitive application?

[deleted1136771]

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I am finishing up my junior year soon and only have about 80 hours of non-clinical volunteering so far. I don't have any other extracurriculars yet. I honestly just struggled to get involved early on since I focused on my classes/grades a lot, and a majority of my college experience was online due to COVID so I was at home until this school year. But I understand that's a poor excuse since many people have still been able to develop their application.

I started non-clinical volunteering at a non-profit this past October, and with a homeless non-profit in April. I have research and hospice volunteering set up starting next month. Only about 5 hours of shadowing a family medicine doctor pre-COVID, but I'm looking for more this summer. In my first gap year I plan to work as a scribe to gain clinical experience in a more traditional setting. I have a 3.86 cGPA & 3.81 sGPA and I've finished all the prereqs. I am planning to take two gap years. Will that give me sufficient time to build a strong application? Or will schools ask why most of my extracurriculars are done within 2ish years?

 

[LunaOri]

I am finishing up my junior year soon and only have about 80 hours of non-clinical volunteering so far. I don't have any other extracurriculars yet. I honestly just struggled to get involved early on since I focused on my classes/grades a lot, and a majority of my college experience was online due to COVID so I was at home until this school year. But I understand that's a poor excuse since many people have still been able to develop their application.

I started non-clinical volunteering at a non-profit this past October, and with a homeless non-profit in April. I have research and hospice volunteering set up starting next month. Only about 5 hours of shadowing a family medicine doctor pre-COVID, but I'm looking for more this summer. In my first gap year I plan to work as a scribe to gain clinical experience in a more traditional setting. I have a 3.86 cGPA & 3.81 sGPA and I've finished all the prereqs. I am planning to take two gap years. Will that give me sufficient time to build a strong application? Or will schools ask why most of my extracurriculars are done within 2ish years?

2 gap years is plenty of time to build a strong application.

 

[GoSpursGo]

You will be fine on this timeline

 

[LindaAccepted]

I am finishing up my junior year soon and only have about 80 hours of non-clinical volunteering so far. I don't have any other extracurriculars yet. I honestly just struggled to get involved early on since I focused on my classes/grades a lot, and a majority of my college experience was online due to COVID so I was at home until this school year. But I understand that's a poor excuse since many people have still been able to develop their application.

I started non-clinical volunteering at a non-profit this past October, and with a homeless non-profit in April. I have research and hospice volunteering set up starting next month. Only about 5 hours of shadowing a family medicine doctor pre-COVID, but I'm looking for more this summer. In my first gap year I plan to work as a scribe to gain clinical experience in a more traditional setting. I have a 3.86 cGPA & 3.81 sGPA and I've finished all the prereqs. I am planning to take two gap years. Will that give me sufficient time to build a strong application? Or will schools ask why most of my extracurriculars are done within 2ish years?

It sounds like you have a solid plan.

 

[Med Ed]

Will that give me sufficient time to build a strong application? Or will schools ask why most of my extracurriculars are done within 2ish years?

Since none of us have functioning time machines, it doesn't matter.

"You can't go back and change the beginning, but you can start where you are and change the ending." -C.S. Lewis

 

[Goro]

I am finishing up my junior year soon and only have about 80 hours of non-clinical volunteering so far. I don't have any other extracurriculars yet. I honestly just struggled to get involved early on since I focused on my classes/grades a lot, and a majority of my college experience was online due to COVID so I was at home until this school year. But I understand that's a poor excuse since many people have still been able to develop their application.

I started non-clinical volunteering at a non-profit this past October, and with a homeless non-profit in April. I have research and hospice volunteering set up starting next month. Only about 5 hours of shadowing a family medicine doctor pre-COVID, but I'm looking for more this summer. In my first gap year I plan to work as a scribe to gain clinical experience in a more traditional setting. I have a 3.86 cGPA & 3.81 sGPA and I've finished all the prereqs. I am planning to take two gap years. Will that give me sufficient time to build a strong application? Or will schools ask why most of my extracurriculars are done within 2ish years?

For some people the road is evolutionary to medicine. And for others it's revolutionary.

Therefore we don't wonder why did you wait until the last second to become a pre-med?