Graduating College in 2 Years - Advice?

[magicseaweed]

Hello! First post on SDN so please have mercy...

I'm graduating this August with a BS in bio and CS minor after 2 years of college. I plan to take the MCAT in June, apply to lots of MD programs with a few DO backups, and take a gap year to work/adult/be 21. Could anyone offer me some realistic advice on applying on the younger side without killer EC's? My college doesn't offer pre-med specific advising.

UG School: Mid Tier Private School
EC's:
- 4 semesters of basic science & field research. No major publications
- 40 hrs hospital volunteering last summer
- 40 hrs shadowing doctors in Mexico spring break
- social sorority
- 5 years surfing with experience teaching in HS
- 15 hrs/week ER scribe position starting January (if I get the job)
- 200+ hrs of dental work and shadowing in US and Mexico (decided not to be a dentist - should I avoid listing these experiences entirely?)
GPA: 3.9+
Other: URM, proficient in Spanish, above average LORs, and interested in clinical informatics

Thank you in advance for any help!

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[candbgirl]

What’s your hurry? Why apply with a less than stellar application? What is your sGPA? Your shadowing in Mexico may have been interesting but you need around 50 hours shadowing docs in the US including some in Primary Care. You need way more than 40 hours volunteering in hospitals. Do you have any nonclinical volunteering? You know stuff that will show your altruistic side. Medicine is a service profession and ADCOMS will want to see evidence that you understand this. This should focus on serving the underserved in your community. Your surfing stuff is interesting but ... You can mention the dental experience but you have way more dental experience and that may raise some questions as to if you know what you are getting into. I’m wondering if you have thought this through or is medicine just a fall back because you decided against dentistry.

What ethnic group do you represent? I’m assuming Mexican but maybe I’m wrong.

Nobody can really help you until you have a MCAT score. When you get it come back and lots of people will help you develop a good and focused list of schools you should/could apply to.

But slow down! You have time. Read through the WAMC threads and see what other students have for ECs and what ADCOMS expect. As @Goro always say-Med school is going no where.

Take your time and do the application well the first time. Reapplying is never a good idea.

 

[Goro]

The overseas experiences won't help you OP.

Surfing is a nice hobby, but you have no nonclinical volunteering, and you need to show off your altruism.

What ethnic group do you represent?

 

[magicseaweed]

Thanks for the advice @candbgirl and @Goro, I really appreciate it!!

I guess my rush is because I love school and learning, but don't want to take out loans for more undergrad. Considering MS programs as a backup 2nd gap year, but I rather be immersed in a professional school setting working toward my desired career than doing wet lab research and TA'ing.

In college I've done about 30 hrs non-clinical volunteering. I did volunteer 120 hrs at a different hospital and 100 hrs at a community helpline within the last 4 years, but I assume they wouldn't count as the experiences were in HS...

So, instead of scribing would it be a better to pursue a volunteer activity I'd be passionate about, like working at a local nursing home? As for medical exposure, would several short experiences shadowing doctors be more beneficial than months scribing in a hospital?

My decision to ditch dentistry boiled down my belief that dentistry is really just a super specialized part of medicine, and the aspects I loved about dentistry (working with the general public, leading a team, always learning, solving problems) were synonymous with a career as a general practitioner in medicine. The actual dental part, ie working with extreme precision and manual dexterity, did not interest me as much.

Family is from Guadalajara, so I consider myself Mexican-American. sGPA is also above 3.9 (2 A-'s in Eco and OChem2 Lec).

 

[Goro]

Thanks for the advice @candbgirl and @Goro, I really appreciate it!!

I guess my rush is because I love school and learning, but don't want to take out loans for more undergrad. Considering MS programs as a backup 2nd gap year, but I rather be immersed in a professional school setting working toward my desired career than doing wet lab research and TA'ing.

In college I've done about 30 hrs non-clinical volunteering. I did volunteer 120 hrs at a different hospital and 100 hrs at a community helpline within the last 4 years, but I assume they wouldn't count as the experiences were in HS...

So, instead of scribing would it be a better to pursue a volunteer activity I'd be passionate about, like working at a local nursing home? As for medical exposure, would several short experiences shadowing doctors be more beneficial than months scribing in a hospital?

My decision to ditch dentistry boiled down my belief that dentistry is really just a super specialized part of medicine, and the aspects I loved about dentistry (working with the general public, leading a team, always learning, solving problems) were synonymous with a career as a general practitioner in medicine. The actual dental part, ie working with extreme precision and manual dexterity, did not interest me as much.

Family is from Guadalajara, so I consider myself Mexican-American. sGPA is also above 3.9 (2 A-'s in Eco and OChem2 Lec).

Activities that you started in high school and continued into college do count!

You are indeed URM, and thus will be highly sought after.

To me scribing is glorified shadowing. I personally like people who work in nursing homes, as many people don't normally do this, as they are uncomfortable with dealing with mortality.