Gap year(s) plan?

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yokiguz

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Hello everyone,

I originally posted a modified version of this post in WAMC, but realized I am not asking WAMC but asking how is my plan? Are there any potential holes/fatal flaws? What other experiences would you recommend if any?

Thank you!

I have decided to take 2 gap years to really get some solid clinical experience and shadowing. I will be applying in June 2022. My MCAT score is from 2017, and I believe I'll be able to improve it. I am a Canadian citizen who attended a Canadian university hoping to go into a US-MD program.

cGPA and sGPA as calculated by AMCAS or AACOMAS

cGPA: 3.95, sGPA: 3.95+

MCAT score(s) and breakdown

2017 - 517 (130/128/131/128)
Rewrite hoping for a 520+. Think it is realistic. Have more time to study, 2 more years of UG experience, and experience prev. writing it.

State of residence or country of citizenship (if non-US)

Canadian

Ethnicity and/or race

South Asian

Undergraduate institution or category

Canadian University - Chemical Biology Honours (Co-op) Graduated June 2020.

Clinical experience (volunteer and non-volunteer)

Summer 2018 (3 months) - 65 hours of volunteering at a local hospital. Here I did 3 different things: 1) In the ICU comforting patients family and helping the nurses coordinate visits with patients. 2) Visited patients across the hospital and asked them about their experiences and ways we could improve it. If there was anything that could be done immediately to improve their situations I would or speak to a nurse/manager to fix it. 3) Worked in diagnostic imaging to manage patients, escort them to the waiting room, and brought them to the different machines (MRIs/Xrays/etc.), taught them safety (no magnets in the MRI room), and coordinated with staff.

July 2020 (Projected 3 - 6 months / duration of pandemic) 200 - 400 hours - Pandemic support worker (job) at the same hospital. Here I screen patients as they enter the hospital, escort/transport patients to different parts of the hospital who require it (due to disabilities), transport drop-offs for patients, deliver COVID test swabs to labs, coordinate with nurses from different departments the visitations with patients family, ensure everyone is following proper safety during the pandemic (sanitization/mask-wearing).

At both these jobs, I've learned a lot about health care, patients, their families, and how they all interact with each other.

Research experience and productivity

Summer 2016 (4 months) 400 hours - full-time researching at USC (Keck) in a stem cell research lab for age-related macular degeneration. My first research experience where I learned a lot about the scientific method and research in general (non-clinical).

Summer 2018 (8 months) 1000 hours - full-time working at a local chemical synthetic company as an analytical chemist, learned a lot about working in a team under tight deadlines and high pressure (needed to analyze chemicals before sending out to customers).

Summer 2019 (4 months) - 500 hours - full-time working at summer STEM summer camp for HS kids. Here I started with visiting high schools across the greater Toronto area and ran science workshops to teach students about scientific ideas using experiments. Later I was an instructor for the science summer camp and created my own projects and curriculum to teach more complicated scientific concepts. For example, I taught a unit on natural products and medicine and designed a project where we would extract natural products from cinnamon, including cinnamaldehyde - the compound which gives it its distinct smell.

Fall 2019 (4 months) - 400 hours - full-time working at University of Toronto as a research assistant (non-clinical) in the Department of Chemistry and Chemical biology. My research project involved developing an assay that would assist in evaluating the safety of new therapeutics.

February 2020 - Present - 400 hours - Started my own lawn care company. Here I've been learning a ton about customer service and "how" to learn a new industry. I started off with only basic knowledge from a previous landscaping job but quickly caught on and learned the 'ins and outs' of the business.

Shadowing experience and specialties represented

March - May 2020 - 50 hours - Shadowed a family doctor here in Canada.

Non-clinical volunteering

March 2020 - Present - 25 hours (Projected: 300 - 500 by application) New Canadian English Tutor - Here I tutor new Canadians English. I have learned a lot about the challenges of new Canadians. There is no strict curriculum I am following, My tutoring can be specific to certain practice questions for exams or and as open as practicing English conversations and reading news articles together with my students.

June 2020 - Present - 25 hours (Projected: 300 - 500 by application) Distress Hotline Volunteer - I volunteer at a distress hotline and take both befriending and crisis calls. I honestly think this has been one of the best experiences I've had thus far. I learned so much about mental illness, and overall how to be a better listener. What I've learned here I use elsewhere in my life and I've already seen so many improvements.

Summer 2016 (4 months) 160 hours - Research mentor for high school students from a local high school in LA. I taught them a lot about the scientific method and good safety practices. I provided assistance when needed and they were able to independently work and publish an abstract as a senior high school student.

Other extracurricular activities (including athletics, military service, gap year activities, leadership, teaching, etc)

Jan 2017 (2.5 years) - 300 hours - VP of a rare-disease awareness club. Organized several fundraisers, and awareness events with guest-speakers from charitable organizations. I learned a lot about what it means to be a leader and how to motivate a team and surround myself with good talent.

September 2017 (2.5 years) - 500 hours - Founder of a club on campus that raises awareness of healthy eating and nutrition. We hosted health eating cooking events where we had local chefs on board to sponsor and teach how to cook healthy food, had events where we educated students about healthy eating, and did other demonstrations at local hospitals educating patients about healthy eating. Here I learned a lot about how to create and manage a team, and how to best engage and relate to a population, in this case the student population.

June 2017 - Present - 250 hours - Private Chemistry Tutor - Here I've tutored high school level chemistry (grade 11-12), first-year intro to chemistry, and both second-year organic chemistry courses.

Relevant honours or awards

Sept 2015- $750 - Entrance scholarship based on HS grades.

Sept 2018 - $975 - Scholarship due to notable academic standing, leadership, self-motivation, and practical aptitude.

Sept 2019 - $800 - Scholarship due to extremely high grades in the past academic year

2017 - Abstract from research at Keck - 2nd author

2018 - Publication from research at Keck - Late author

2019 - Publication from senior thesis research - 3rd author - research involved developing new methods of drug delivery


Anything else not listed you think might be important

Hobbies include lifting weights, running, building computers for friends and family, worked in construction with my father business for an extended period of time, have a YT channel (unsuccessful thus far, but put time in).

Current school list: Boston, Case Western, Columbia, Duke, Emory, Dartmouth, George Washington, Georgetown, Harvard, Icahn, John Hopkins, Mayo, Meharry, NY Medical College, Mich State, Northwestern Feinberg, Perelman, Renaissance (SUNY), Saint Louis, Sidney Kimmel, Saint Louis, Stanford, Upstate (SUNY), Tulane, UCLA, Colorado, Connecticut, Hawaii, Maryland, Pittsburgh, Utah, Virginia, Vanderbilt, Virginia Commonwealth, Washington at St. Louis, Wayne State, Cornell, Yale.

Here is my current plan for things I will try to do:

1) Clinical volunteering at a hospice after COVID-19. I'd love to volunteer here and it was suggested to me by another user here on SDN. I think it is something that I would not only enjoy but an experience that I could learn a lot from.

2) Clinical job after the pandemic. I think I'd be qualified and I'd love to be a 'porter' where I would transport patients from different places in the hospital and accompany them. I've found this to be the most satisfying part of my current job, I learn a lot about the patients, what they've gone through, and their experience with the health care system through conversation.

3) Non-clinical volunteering to an underserved population in my area - I was thinking of a homeless shelter/food kitchen because, to be honest with you I have very little experience with this. I haven't interacted with the underserved very much in my life and it is definitely something I want to do to give back to society.

4) Shadowing: 40 hours each with a US-MD (primary care), US-DO (primary care), and 1 specialist. This would help me learn a lot about the different roles doctors play in Canada vs the US. For example, here family doctors act as 'gatekeepers' of the medical system and a big part of their job is referring patients to specialists.

Thank you again for reading this lengthy post, all feedback is very much appreciated!

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You have great stats; I'm not sure why you want to take the MCAT again. Doing more volunteering, especially with underserved populations, is always a good idea, but I think two gap years is excessive. Good luck!
 
You have great stats; I'm not sure why you want to take the MCAT again. Doing more volunteering, especially with underserved populations, is always a good idea, but I think two gap years is excessive. Good luck!

Thank you for the reply LunaOri. I have decided on 2 gap years for a couple of reasons, please let me know if you think any of them are weak reasons and you think I should apply next year instead. It is something I've thought about.

1) I have little clinical/non-clinical volunteering, this will give me time not only to get more hours but do be doing it for an extended period of time.

2) My MCAT expired so I will need to study for a re-write.

3) Other SDN members have informed me it is a good idea to have some US shadowing experience, with COVID-19 I am unsure when I will be able to do that.

4) As a Canadian I am at a large disadvantage and usually need much higher stats than the median.

Please let me know what you think!

Thanks again for the response.
 
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Thank you for the reply LunaOri. I have decided on 2 gap years for a couple of reasons, please let me know if you think any of them are weak reasons and you think I should apply next year instead. It is something I've thought about.

1) I have little clinical/non-clinical volunteering, this will give me time not only to get more hours but do be doing it for an extended period of time.

2) My MCAT expired so I will need to study for a re-write.

3) Other SDN members have informed me it is a good idea to have some US shadowing experience, with COVID-19 I am unsure when I will be able to do that.

4) As a Canadian I am at a large disadvantage and usually need much higher stats than the median.

Please let me know what you think!

Thanks again for the response.
Looks like you're on the right track. Try to add some nonclinical volunteering to the less fortunate.

Edit: looks like you've got that covered. You're pretty much good, just knock out that MCAT.
 
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@LunaOri Hi,
I hope this isn't a 'bump' but I'd love to hear more of your feedback.

Thanks!
 
I think you could accomplish your goals in one gap year: study for the MCAT and improve your score, and do some more volunteering. If you can't get volunteering hours due to COVID, your plan to get a job as a hospital orderly (or other hospital/clinic job) is a good one, because you can explain on your application that you wanted to work directly with people who needed your help. Best wishes!
 
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I think you could accomplish your goals in one gap year: study for the MCAT and improve your score, and do some more volunteering. If you can't get volunteering hours due to COVID, your plan to get a job as a hospital orderly (or other hospital/clinic job) is a good one, because you can explain on your application that you wanted to work directly with people who needed your help. Best wishes!

Thank you for your advice LunaOri,

Maybe I just lost confidence in seeing so many applicants with stacked ECs compared to mine. I will definitely re-write my MCAT and apply next year!

I appreciate your feedback a lot!
 
To be fair, I'm not an AdCom member. Ask goro, goniff, MedEd, LizzyM, or one of the others to be sure I'm not way off base!
 
To be fair, I'm not an AdCom member. Ask goro, goniff, MedEd, LizzyM, or one of the others to be sure I'm not way off base!
Great, I will do. Thanks for the transparency.

@Goro @goniff @meded @LizzyM

I hope some of you will be able to give me some advice on my current position.

Thanks in advance, this forum and you guys have been such a great help already.
 
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Great, I will do. Thanks for the transparency.

@Goro @goniff @meded @LizzyM

I hope some of you will be able to give me some advice on my current position.

Thanks in advance, this forum and you guys have been such a great help already.
Apply to those schools that accept more than a handful of Canadians. Include the 14 or so DO schools (starting with UNECOM and MSUCOM). Mine only takes US citizens or Green Card holders, alas.
 
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Apply to those schools that accept more than a handful of Canadians. Include the 14 or so DO schools (starting with UNECOM and MSUCOM). Mine only takes US citizens or Green Card holders, alas.


Thanks for the advice Goro. I will definitely apply to both MD and DO schools. I do want to keep as many doors open for the future, so do you think it would be advisable to take an extra gap year and gain more experiences through work and volunteering? Or do you think that I would have a real shot at MD schools in the states? I know being Canadians is an obstacle, but I have heard DO schools sometimes have limitations of 'matching' with more competitive specialties. Not that I know which specialty I will want to pursue, but I am pretty scared of closing these doors down the road.
 
Thanks for the advice Goro. I will definitely apply to both MD and DO schools. I do want to keep as many doors open for the future, so do you think it would be advisable to take an extra gap year and gain more experiences through work and volunteering? Or do you think that I would have a real shot at MD schools in the states? I know being Canadians is an obstacle, but I have heard DO schools sometimes have limitations of 'matching' with more competitive specialties. Not that I know which specialty I will want to pursue, but I am pretty scared of closing these doors down the road.
Beggars can't be choosy.

It's very hard for me to advise on MD chances for Internationals
 
Beggars can't be choosy.

It's very hard for me to advise on MD chances for Internationals

Thank you for your honesty about internationals. I have heard we are usually put at the bottom.

I think I will take one extra year working/volunteering. I don't think gaining more life experience and volunteering can hurt and I'd like to make myself the best possible candidate when the time to apply comes.
 
I have a question: If i graduate med school in april 2023 and apply for residency interviews on september 2023, will that count as 1 year gap? Will residency programs look this as a red flag? In my ERAS aplication will i have to state that it is a 1 post graduation year or do i simply state it as nothing?

I think you are in the wrong place. This is the premed forum.
 
I have a question: If i graduate med school in april 2023 and apply for residency interviews on september 2023, will that count as 1 year gap? Will residency programs look this as a red flag? In my ERAS aplication will i have to state that it is a 1 post graduation year or do i simply state it as nothing?
Best to ask in the MD student forum
 
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