Gap Year Advice

[drtan16]

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Hi Everyone,

I'm looking for some advice on what to do (or what other people have done) to be a better medical school candidate in my gap years. Here's a little background on me.

B.S. Biology major with Chemistry minor at a small liberal arts university
cGPA: 3.34 (haven't calculated sGPA) - A's and B's mainly, C in genetics and C+'s in physics I and II
MCAT: 494 (123 Chem/Phys, 124 CARS, 123 Bio/Biochem, 124 Psych/Soc)
Graduating: December 2016
State of residence: Washington
Ethnicity: male Caucasian/Asian (Chinese)

Extracurriculars/leadership:
I've TA-ed for the gen bio lab for 1 school year and will be TA-ing next semester in developmental biology
I've tutored in science, math and writing at the local high school for 1 school year
I currently serve on the board of a nonprofit where I live
I've led 2 separate, 1-month long medical missions trips in Guatemala
I've been working as a medical scribe for over a year now in the ER (544 hours logged)
267 hours of shadowing experience logged (70% pediatrics/family med, 30% plastic surgery)
427 hours of community service logged

Current Plan:
I'm finishing up my fourth year of undergrad (next week actually) and will be returning in the fall semester to retake physics I. I am currently retaking physics II to try and boost my grade in that class, but at this rate I may be on track to receive the exact same grade in physics II because I took a different professor whose exams are brutal. Between the end of this semester and the beginning of next semester in September, I have been accepted to my professor's research team and will be researching from May until the end of July. During that time, I plan to study for the MCAT and retake it in late August/early September before school starts. After that, I'll be working to build up my physics I grade and graduate in December of 2016.

But after December 2016, I'm at a loss at what I should do. I had originally planned to apply in this current cycle, but after getting my MCAT score a few weeks ago, my premed advisor recommended that I hold off for another year (which I'm not thrilled about, but I understand). Sizing myself up, I'd say I'm an experience strong but academically weak candidate. What should be my next course of action? What do you all think? I'm having difficulty determining how my time is best spent between January of 2017 and May of 2017.

Should I do a post bac? More missions trips? Keep scribing? Become and EMT? My dad has also brought up a suggestion to pursue an MBA in the mean time since it takes about the same time as a post bac for less money and would make me more well rounded.

Any help and advice would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!

 

[PossibleDOC?]

You need GPA repair and MCAT repair focus on getting that done first and then fill in the fluff

 

[Cookiess]

If your goal is to get into a MD med school, you'll need to improve your science GPA and MCAT. Your MCAT score would likely raise red flags since all of your subsection scores are on the low end. Since you'll be retaking the MCAT, be sure to spend adequate time studying and doing practice passages/tests. Don't take it until you are scoring above your target score on your practice tests. There's no rush. You don't want to take it prematurely and end up with a second score that you're not happy with.

In the fall semester, I would actually recommend taking a couple of science classes in addition to Physics I to boost your science GPA. I think your 2-month research experience with your professor during the summer is a pretty short timespan and you may not be able to get a lot done during that period. I would probably see if you could continue research with your professor after December 2016. You could also take more classes as a post-bac to continue improving your science GPA after December.

You've already done two mission trips so a third trip wouldn't add much to your application. Scribing could be an option but you also have a good amount of experience with scribing so continuing to scribe wouldn't necessary add more to your application (as much as improving your science GPA would). Becoming an EMT would require a time and cost investment, so I wouldn't recommend that. Your low science GPA and low MCAT score are still going to be limiting factors for you, so an MBA would not address those issues. An MBA may make you a more unique applicant, but it wouldn't really matter if your science GPA and MCAT score are low.

 

[The Knife & Gun Club]

With that mcat (equivalent of a 22 I think) you won't be getting in anywhere except maybe the worst or the worst DO schools (like LUCOM) at best. Even that's a stretch. You need to get a respectable MCAT score before moving forward. Medicine is full of standardized tests, and you need to be able to be sure (for your own sake as well as the schools) that you can actually pass them.

 

[mcatjelly]

Just echoing what everyone else has said because it's really super important: you HAVE to retake that MCAT and get at least a 508 if you want to be considered for medical school. Maybe even higher than that because of how low your GPA is (if you're aiming for MD). And again, yes, take some upper level courses as a post bacc to raise your GPA--which is also noncompetitive.

I'd say you're fine experience-wise, really.

 

[drtan16]

Ok, thank you all for your help!


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[NimbleNavigator]

You need GPA repair and MCAT repair focus on getting that done first and then fill in the fluff