Hard decision

[STEMblonde]

I will be graduating with a neuroscience degree from a private LAC with a 3.96 gpa in a few days. I had planned to study for the mcat this summer and work next year as a medical assistant. I already have 700 hours of research and two publications. Now I have received two job offers, one at Columbia and one at UCSF, for lab positions. I must say I am starstruck by the prestige of the institutions. Would this just be more research hours or do these places hold enough respect that my clinical hours could be scant and I would still be a viable candidate with a good mcat score? Appreciate any opinions on the subject!

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[Goro]

I will be graduating with a neuroscience degree from a private LAC with a 3.96 gpa in a few days. I had planned to study for the mcat this summer and work next year as a medical assistant. I already have 700 hours of research and two publications. Now I have received two job offers, one at Columbia and one at UCSF, for lab positions. I must say I am starstruck by the prestige of the institutions. Would this just be more research hours or do these places hold enough respect that my clinical hours could be scant and I would still be a viable candidate with a good mcat score? Appreciate any opinions on the subject!

Without clinical hours, you will be viewed as someone who would rather be in the lab than touch patients.

You need to show that you know what you're getting into and that you really want to be around sick people for the next 40 years.

And merely working at those institutions means nothing for an app.

 

[KnightDoc]

No substitute for clinical hours, but you don't need thousands of hours obtained through full time work. If you are gunning for top schools, the research jobs on top of what you already have will do way more for you than a job as a medical assistant. Just volunteer in a clinic for a few hundred hours and you will be in great shape, assuming your MCAT score is consistent with your GPA, which it totally sounds like it will be. Good luck!!!

 

[EdgeTrimmer]

I will be graduating with a neuroscience degree from a private LAC with a 3.96 gpa in a few days. I had planned to study for the mcat this summer and work next year as a medical assistant. I already have 700 hours of research and two publications. Now I have received two job offers, one at Columbia and one at UCSF, for lab positions. I must say I am starstruck by the prestige of the institutions. Would this just be more research hours or do these places hold enough respect that my clinical hours could be scant and I would still be a viable candidate with a good mcat score? Appreciate any opinions on the subject!

How many clinical volunteering hours do you have? 100-150 is enough if your rest of the application is strong.

 

[GoPenguinsGo]

Without clinical hours, you will be viewed as someone who would rather be in the lab than touch patients.

I’d surmise OP would make a great Pathologist!

edit: typo

 

[Orims]

Without sufficient clinical hours (150+), and the amount of research you have, everyone will be wondering why you are not applying to a PhD program.

 

[candbgirl]

Without sufficient clinical hours (150+), and the amount of research you have, everyone will be wondering why you are not applying to a PhD program.

This. And you will be asked about it if you get any interviews without clinical experiences.

 

[BRTC200]

What’s sending you down this road to pursue medicine? Do you happen to have a significant personal experience with medicine? That would probably represent your only way of having a chance applying MD without any other clinical experiences.

 

[LizzyM]

You haven't told us anything about your clinical hours. How many? when? where?
With a strong MCAT, shadowing and some clinical experience, you should be good, even for top tier. But, if you end up having to cool your heels and reapply, would you rather be a medical assistant or a lab assistant while you wait to reapply?

 

[LindaAccepted]

I will be graduating with a neuroscience degree from a private LAC with a 3.96 gpa in a few days. I had planned to study for the mcat this summer and work next year as a medical assistant. I already have 700 hours of research and two publications. Now I have received two job offers, one at Columbia and one at UCSF, for lab positions. I must say I am starstruck by the prestige of the institutions. Would this just be more research hours or do these places hold enough respect that my clinical hours could be scant and I would still be a viable candidate with a good mcat score? Appreciate any opinions on the subject!

Could you get a clinical volunteer position in addition to your full-time lab work? EMT? something on the weekend?

What have you done clinically to date?

 

[STEMblonde]

Because of covid I have no clinical experience. My college is in a small town, I have no car, and I never had an opportunity for clinical hours during the summers because of research. I am now thinking I can do the research job and volunteer at a clinic in my spare time.That should give me at least 150 hours by application time. I have plenty of nonclinical volunteering so hopefully this will work out. I have always wanted to be a doctor and can't imagine doing anything else.Thank you all for your guidance!

 

[LizzyM]

What month and year do you plan to apply? Have you done any shadowing?

 

[JimKimSlim]

Yeah, I echo everyone’s advice. Clinical hours are more important than research. If you think you can use COVID as an excuse for your lack of clinical experience, talk to some of the reapplicants from 2020-2021 cycle who fell into that trap. Your competition is not your fellow classmate but people with gap years who had clinical hours pre-COVID. Just my 2 cents.

 

[STEMblonde]

I have about 60 hours shadowing, about half family medicine and other half specialties. I was hoping to apply next June, 2022, to start in 2023. Some of my volunteer hours are with dementia patients but not in a medical setting.

 

[candbgirl]

I have about 60 hours shadowing, about half family medicine and other half specialties. I was hoping to apply next June, 2022, to start in 2023. Some of my volunteer hours are with dementia patients but not in a medical setting.

So you know shadowing is different and separate from clinical experiences, right? (Shadowing is passive, clinical experience is active, engaged with the patient.)You have enough shadowing so get to work on the clinical experiences. Every single response has told you clinical experiences are more important for YOUR application. Perhaps do the research projects at one of those places and put off applying until 2023 for a start date in 2024. After a year at one of your choices, you might actually decide you want that PhD instead of a MD. There are certainly places for both research and clinical in medicine but you see very hesitant to jump into the clinical part. Coming face to face with the sick, injured and dying is a very real part of medicine. How do you even know you want to spend the next 35+ years dealing with sick people?
Good luck as you consider your options.

 

[Catalystik]

do these places hold enough respect that my clinical hours could be scant and I would still be a viable candidate with a good mcat score?

Depending on your definition of "scant," No.

I agree you should aim for 150 hours of patient interactive clinical experience.