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- Pre-Medical
Hello everyone,
I plan on applying to medical school as early as possible in 2020 and I was hoping to get some feedback regarding what I should do for extracurricular activities throughout this year. I am a Navy Vet (corpsman) with five years experience, four of which I worked as a surgical tech. Prior to enlisting, I attended university for two semesters. Unfortunately, I dropped out during the 2nd semester and missed the withdrawal period, resulting in me taking 16 credits of Fs. Upon completing my active duty service in the Navy (Late 2016), I had a cumulative GPA of 1.88. I began taking classes at a community college in January of 2017 and have taken classes throughout the summer semesters until this point. I have completed all my prereqs and I have a good upward trend, as I have earned As ever since returning to school. I recently finished my first semester at my local 4yr university and my current cumulative GPA is 3.36 (sci GPA 3.65). I have three semesters left, through which I hope to bring my GPA up to 3.5.
I am pretty concerned about my lack of extracurricular activities; during my first year and a half back in school, I have a very scarce and very sporadic volunteering record. This past August I began volunteering at my local VA hospital (non patient care; mostly helping recreation therapists with veterans and feeding veterans who aren't capable of eating alone). I was not able to put that many hours in last semester, but my new class schedule should permit me to put in at least five hours a week. I have a decent amount of time in clinical experience and in the operating room from my time in the Navy, but besides this I do not have any recent patient care experience or shadowing. I have no research experience under my belt. I have maintained my surg tech certification, but I have not (besides working a few hours at a print shop) worked during my time in school. This upcoming summer will be my first summer without classes, as I hope to use it to flesh out extracurriculars. A part of me would like to work as a scrub tech again, but I feel fairly certain that this action would not be the best means of improving my odds. I would really appreciate any advice regarding what I should do to improve my application.
TL;DR- Navy vet with 4yrs of surg tech experience who hopes to apply to med schools in early 2020 (no mcat yet, current cuGPA 3.36, sciGPA 3.65). Has no recent (within the last two years) patient care experience. Very few hours worked within the last two years. No research, no shadowing. Began volunteering at a VA hospital this past August. Has retained surg tech certification. Currently has 3 letters of recommendation. Would appreciate any advice regarding what extracurricular activities would be of most benefit to my application.
Thank you!
I plan on applying to medical school as early as possible in 2020 and I was hoping to get some feedback regarding what I should do for extracurricular activities throughout this year. I am a Navy Vet (corpsman) with five years experience, four of which I worked as a surgical tech. Prior to enlisting, I attended university for two semesters. Unfortunately, I dropped out during the 2nd semester and missed the withdrawal period, resulting in me taking 16 credits of Fs. Upon completing my active duty service in the Navy (Late 2016), I had a cumulative GPA of 1.88. I began taking classes at a community college in January of 2017 and have taken classes throughout the summer semesters until this point. I have completed all my prereqs and I have a good upward trend, as I have earned As ever since returning to school. I recently finished my first semester at my local 4yr university and my current cumulative GPA is 3.36 (sci GPA 3.65). I have three semesters left, through which I hope to bring my GPA up to 3.5.
I am pretty concerned about my lack of extracurricular activities; during my first year and a half back in school, I have a very scarce and very sporadic volunteering record. This past August I began volunteering at my local VA hospital (non patient care; mostly helping recreation therapists with veterans and feeding veterans who aren't capable of eating alone). I was not able to put that many hours in last semester, but my new class schedule should permit me to put in at least five hours a week. I have a decent amount of time in clinical experience and in the operating room from my time in the Navy, but besides this I do not have any recent patient care experience or shadowing. I have no research experience under my belt. I have maintained my surg tech certification, but I have not (besides working a few hours at a print shop) worked during my time in school. This upcoming summer will be my first summer without classes, as I hope to use it to flesh out extracurriculars. A part of me would like to work as a scrub tech again, but I feel fairly certain that this action would not be the best means of improving my odds. I would really appreciate any advice regarding what I should do to improve my application.
TL;DR- Navy vet with 4yrs of surg tech experience who hopes to apply to med schools in early 2020 (no mcat yet, current cuGPA 3.36, sciGPA 3.65). Has no recent (within the last two years) patient care experience. Very few hours worked within the last two years. No research, no shadowing. Began volunteering at a VA hospital this past August. Has retained surg tech certification. Currently has 3 letters of recommendation. Would appreciate any advice regarding what extracurricular activities would be of most benefit to my application.
Thank you!
