Gap or no gap? Apply with good or exceptional application?

[hotticket]

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Hello all, I'm currently torn.

I know people say "apply with the best possible application" and I know that is true. But wouldn't literally every application be better if you took an entire year to improve it?

I took the MCAT twice with my highest score being a 516, GPA is 3.6-3.7,

clinical exposure is good but not great (I would guess 300 hours but not much of that is volunteering because I had switch to working shortly after I began volunteering), non-clinical should be around 150.

Shadowing about 50 hours.

Research is strong with pubs.

ECs are low in number but good in quality.

What do you guys think? Obviously I could take a gap year and get 200 more hours of volunteering easily, a lot more work, probably another pub, but is that substantially better than my app now? I'll already be out of school for about 9 months if I applied straight through so I'd get a good break even though I wouldn't have a gap year. Plus no one would hire me (with my degree) to only work for them for 1-1.5 years so I'd just be stuck working a low level job for bad pay.

But on the other hand I want to maximize my chances.

Any suggestions?

 

[stickgirl390]

I think with strong LORs and the right school list, you’re ready to apply.

 

[curbsideconsult]

Your numbers are good (GPA could be a little higher). What kind of ECs and volunteer work do you have? How many service-to-the-needy hours do you have?

 

[SandyPants]

Was your highest MCAT on your second or first test?

 

[hotticket]

@curbsideconsult I have a leadership position in a club that is volunteer focused (I have volunteered about 100-150 hours through this club, but it is at an off campus facility for TBI patients).
I will have at least 60, probably closer to 100 hours at a homeless shelter by time I would submit primaries.

@SandyPants First MCAT was 496 second was 516. I know I made mistakes the first time and corrected them and came back hard. Kinda upset because practice tests were 520+ but retaking again would be pure suicide. stupid/weird split.

@bluemamba7 This is another thing I'm worried about. Some schools I had went up 2 points. Some 3. And my GPA isn't doing me any favors.

 

[SandyPants]

@curbsideconsult I have a leadership position in a club that is volunteer focused (I have volunteered about 100-150 hours through this club, but it is at an off campus facility for TBI patients).
I will have at least 60, probably closer to 100 hours at a homeless shelter by time I would submit primaries.

@SandyPants First MCAT was 496 second was 516. I know I made mistakes the first time and corrected them and came back hard. Kinda upset because practice tests were 520+ but retaking again would be pure suicide. stupid/weird split.

@bluemamba7 This is another thing I'm worried about. Some schools I had went up 2 points. Some 3. And my GPA isn't doing me any favors.

I would definitely go for it then. Who knows what the stats will look like in the 2019-2020 application cycle. Your application is very solid. I have faith you should be able to get into a decent to good program. It's my opinion that ECs are basically a pass/fail type deal when doling out interviews (unless you have some outrageous ECs).

 

[hotticket]

It looks like you’ve done the very bare minimum in terms of EC, but you’re MCAT is really good (assuming it’s not too one sided) and your GPA is solid, personally I wouldn’t really worry about the upward GPA/MCAT trend if I were you. That being said, I would say bust your ****s off the remainder of the next 2 months in terms of EC and apply very broadly ONLY if you’re comfortable in doing so. I would look for other opinions tho

What do you mean? Like try to pick up some more?

I have some other things too but nothing super major. I was a SI session leader for biology (about 2 hours a week so not a big time commitment but I enjoyed teaching). Also another club where I mentored incoming freshman and gave advice on college life/class scheduling. If those help at all.

 

[hotticket]

I would definitely go for it then. Who knows what the stats will look like in the 2019-2020 application cycle. Your application is very solid. I have faith you should be able to get into a decent to good program. It's my opinion that ECs are basically a pass/fail type deal when doling out interviews (unless you have some outrageous ECs).

Yeah I definitely have nothing outrageous in the EC department.

I'm also being urged to apply disadvantaged but don't know if I'm going to do so yet. Although I will probably write about it in some secondary essays regardless. Single parent, many schools, food stamps + medicaid my whole childhood (I was told being on government assistance was a good way to gauge if you were "disadvantaged").

 

[curbsideconsult]

Yeah I definitely have nothing outrageous in the EC department.

I'm also being urged to apply disadvantaged but don't know if I'm going to do so yet. Although I will probably write about it in some secondary essays regardless. Single parent, many schools, food stamps + medicaid my whole childhood (I was told being on government assistance was a good way to gauge if you were "disadvantaged").

What's the hesitation? Your unfortunate childhood experiences can now help you. Think of it as the universe is balancing itself out instead of you looking for a handout. Do you think those candidates who grew up with a silver spoon with 27 generations of doctors in their families wouldn't use every advantage they have? Of course they would.

 

[hotticket]

What's the hesitation? Your unfortunate childhood experiences can now help you. Think of it as the universe is balancing itself out instead of you looking for a handout. Do you think those candidates who grew up with a silver spoon with 27 generations of doctors in their families wouldn't use every advantage they have? Of course they would.

I just don't want to look like I'm whining. I feel like it could do more harm than good.

I looked up disadvantaged statement examples and people talked about being homeless, begging for food/money, foster care, etc. I definitely realize I have some limitations but I was worried it would come across as complaining. Which is why I considered adding it into "how could you bring diversity" or "obstacles you overcame" which like 80% of schools have one or the other as a secondary.

 

[katie24seven]

What kind of schools/programs are you interested in?

 

[curbsideconsult]

I just don't want to look like I'm whining. I feel like it could do more harm than good.

I looked up disadvantaged statement examples and people talked about being homeless, begging for food/money, foster care, etc. I definitely realize I have some limitations but I was worried it would come across as complaining. Which is why I considered adding it into "how could you bring diversity" or "obstacles you overcame" which like 80% of schools have one or the other as a secondary.

It's only whining if you use it as an excuse to not do your best and complain when you don't get what you want.

From a purely cynical, the world is horrible place perspective, adcoms LOVE stories like yours. For all the noise and chatter med schools put out there about wanting a diverse student body, blah, blah, blah, they still focus on GPA and MCAT. So when a candidate like you comes along with good numbers, good research, decent ECs/volunteering, AND had a rough childhood, they're thinking "cha-ching!" It's more good press for them. So don't think they're not using you too.

Frame your life experiences as something that made you strong, resilient, compassionate, understanding, grateful for everything in life, so appreciative of your single parent, yada yada yada, and you're golden.

 

[bluemamba7]

What do you mean? Like try to pick up some more?

I have some other things too but nothing super major. I was a SI session leader for biology (about 2 hours a week so not a big time commitment but I enjoyed teaching). Also another club where I mentored incoming freshman and gave advice on college life/class scheduling. If those help at all.

That’s all good. Definitely include everything past HS. Just try to get as much hours in as possible while you can to strength your EC from decent to good. Now that you clarified, I still don’t think you have the best EC, but I think it’s definitely not a reason to delay your app for a year given your stats/story. Just make up for it in essays and LOR and I’m sure you’ll get in somewhere with a broad list

 

[hotticket]

@katie24seven I love your casual social outfit. Doesn't look like you're going to a fish fry. But back to the thread, literally anywhere. Obviously everyone wants to go to the best school they can but I would just be happy to get in somewhere. My list is very broad, ranging from DO to UMich (MI resident) with around 25 schools. Mainly low tier/yield schools with some mid tier. NYMC, GW, VCU, EVMS, Wake, Albany, Netter, Rosalind Franklin, and all MI schools. There are more but I think you get the idea.

@curbsideconsult I 100% believe it's an advantage so I can easily frame it like that. I don't think I would've made it this far without my childhood experiences. But, do you think there is an advantage is writing a specific disadvantaged statement over putting it in secondaries? If I wrote a disadvantaged statement could I still use low SES background for "diversity"?

@bluemamba7 Will do, definitely agree ECs are one of my main weak points. I have pretty serious hobbies and stuff that I'm passionate about but a lot of the on campus groups I thought wasted too much time so I was very selective and only joined a couple, which I now realize was a mistake.

 

[hotticket]

Also thank you to everyone for all the help. You guys are giving me great insight

 

[curbsideconsult]

@katie24seven I love your casual social outfit. Doesn't look like you're going to a fish fry. But back to the thread, literally anywhere. Obviously everyone wants to go to the best school they can but I would just be happy to get in somewhere. My list is very broad, ranging from DO to UMich (MI resident) with around 25 schools. Mainly low tier/yield schools with some mid tier. NYMC, GW, VCU, EVMS, Wake, Albany, Netter, Rosalind Franklin, and all MI schools. There are more but I think you get the idea.

@curbsideconsult I 100% believe it's an advantage so I can easily frame it like that. I don't think I would've made it this far without my childhood experiences. But, do you think there is an advantage is writing a specific disadvantaged statement over putting it in secondaries? If I wrote a disadvantaged statement could I still use low SES background for "diversity"?

@bluemamba7 Will do, definitely agree ECs are one of my main weak points. I have pretty serious hobbies and stuff that I'm passionate about but a lot of the on campus groups I thought wasted too much time so I was very selective and only joined a couple, which I now realize was a mistake.

I think there is an advantage in putting it in in the primary. They have a space allotted for a reason. I think it might have to do with schools maybe giving more points (or however they evaluate applicants) to disadvantaged and/or URM students. I don't see why you couldn't use your status to write in all applicable sections of your application, including secondaries. But to be safe, you might want to come up with something else that's unique about you that you can bring to the table when writing about what makes you diverse. Or just write it differently than you did in the primary application.

 

[katie24seven]

@katie24seven I love your casual social outfit. Doesn't look like you're going to a fish fry. But back to the thread, literally anywhere. Obviously everyone wants to go to the best school they can but I would just be happy to get in somewhere. My list is very broad, ranging from DO to UMich (MI resident) with around 25 schools. Mainly low tier/yield schools with some mid tier. NYMC, GW, VCU, EVMS, Wake, Albany, Netter, Rosalind Franklin, and all MI schools. There are more but I think you get the idea.

Those schools sound like a good match for you so I'd go ahead and apply if I was you. Really sell yourself in your experiences section and secondaries, especially the mission based schools.

I'm also from Michigan and have an IRL version of that shirt

 

[hotticket]

@curbsideconsult I will definitely consider writing it now. Plus a disadvantaged statment is onyl 1325 characters. I feel like I have enough that I want to say that I could still sue the same idea for a secondary (diversity from background) but have it on a different topic such as how my experiences set me apart in terms of how I can interact/connect with/understand various types of patients. What do you think about that? And then the actual disadvantaged essay would focus more on hardships growing up and who they shaped me as a person. Or too similar? I'm not trying to milk this experience, but I truly do believe it is one of the biggest reasons I'm even applying to medical school and I feel I could write honestly and passionately about it. Again, as long as I wouldn't look like I'm complaining. Thank you for all the prompt response and help!

@katie24seven Michigan rox. I will definitely try to do that, thank you! I would love to stay in Michigan.

 

[curbsideconsult]

@curbsideconsult I will definitely consider writing it now. Plus a disadvantaged statment is onyl 1325 characters. I feel like I have enough that I want to say that I could still sue the same idea for a secondary (diversity from background) but have it on a different topic such as how my experiences set me apart in terms of how I can interact/connect with/understand various types of patients. What do you think about that? And then the actual disadvantaged essay would focus more on hardships growing up and who they shaped me as a person. Or too similar? I'm not trying to milk this experience, but I truly do believe it is one of the biggest reasons I'm even applying to medical school and I feel I could write honestly and passionately about it. Again, as long as I wouldn't look like I'm complaining. Thank you for all the prompt response and help!

@katie24seven Michigan rox. I will definitely try to do that, thank you! I would love to stay in Michigan.

MILK IT! I think that's a solid strategy. I'm pretty sure the primary essay is looking for solid evidence that you are actually disadvantaged and not just something like "I was never tall enough to play basketball in high school so I should be considered disadvantaged." As long as you, at a minimum, include the food stamp benefits and medicaid, the rest will be icing. And you're welcome!