Heading into junior year, weak ECs

[coolkul]

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I have a good GPA (3.8+) right now, but I have nothing to show for my ECs heading into junior year. I joined a research group a couple of months ago, but my assigned job is to simply input data for this clinical trial into Excel.

My concern is that I won't be able to build up a good resume by the time next summer rolls around and I won't get into the schools I want to go to. I'm planning on taking the MCAT this August and would prefer to not take a year off. Do you think if I could start working on volunteering/shadowing hours right now during summer and look into more research (which I'm really interested in) to work on during junior year, I could still manage to have a good chance getting into an ideal med school when I apply by next summer. What should I focus on after finishing the MCAT in order to build my resume? Can I manage to shadow/volunteer while still studying for the MCAT? More specifically, did you manage to have flexible hours set up when shadowing a doctor?

I would appreciate any help from you guys. I didn't really seriously consider the medical field until halfway into my sophomore year, so I didn't really do much clinical or research work because of that. Highly regret doing that...

 

[AlteredScale]

Put your doubts to the test and see if you can manage your time wisely 🙂 get into the clinical experience ASAP and see for yourself if you truly want to be a doctor by establishing relationship with the physicians you are near. I think you have a fair shot in if you apply yourself and apply yourself well. Ill be studying for the MCAT while shadowing, working, and taking classes over the summer. Most docs will be very understanding of scheduling. But really try and not skip out on that, in fact I'd much prefer hanging out with my doc and learning clinical work than study for the MCAT! Haha

 

[Rhodes]

I have a good GPA (3.8+) right now, but I have nothing to show for my ECs heading into junior year. I joined a research group a couple of months ago, but my assigned job is to simply input data for this clinical trial into Excel.

My concern is that I won't be able to build up a good resume by the time next summer rolls around and I won't get into the schools I want to go to. I'm planning on taking the MCAT this August and would prefer to not take a year off. Do you think if I could start working on volunteering/shadowing hours right now during summer and look into more research (which I'm really interested in) to work on during junior year, I could still manage to have a good chance getting into an ideal med school when I apply by next summer. What should I focus on after finishing the MCAT in order to build my resume? Can I manage to shadow/volunteer while still studying for the MCAT? More specifically, did you manage to have flexible hours set up when shadowing a doctor?

I would appreciate any help from you guys. I didn't really seriously consider the medical field until halfway into my sophomore year, so I didn't really do much clinical or research work because of that. Highly regret doing that...

Since you are studying for the MCAT, you could look into doing some clinical volunteering only a few hours a week, and increase that commitment once the MCAT is done. It's not your fault that you looked into medicine mid-way through college, but you've got to make the most with your given time. Continue volunteering/shadowing AND see what more you can do more with the clinical research. I had a friend that had a hard time getting into medical school because his ECs were almost non-existent, even with a 4.0 and stellar MCAT. Also talk with your pre-med advisor to see what he/she would recommend.

 

[DietDrKelp]

I have a good GPA (3.8+) right now, but I have nothing to show for my ECs heading into junior year. I joined a research group a couple of months ago, but my assigned job is to simply input data for this clinical trial into Excel.

My concern is that I won't be able to build up a good resume by the time next summer rolls around and I won't get into the schools I want to go to. I'm planning on taking the MCAT this August and would prefer to not take a year off. Do you think if I could start working on volunteering/shadowing hours right now during summer and look into more research (which I'm really interested in) to work on during junior year, I could still manage to have a good chance getting into an ideal med school when I apply by next summer. What should I focus on after finishing the MCAT in order to build my resume? Can I manage to shadow/volunteer while still studying for the MCAT? More specifically, did you manage to have flexible hours set up when shadowing a doctor?

I would appreciate any help from you guys. I didn't really seriously consider the medical field until halfway into my sophomore year, so I didn't really do much clinical or research work because of that. Highly regret doing that...

My situation was very similar to yours in that I did not have any meaningful ECs before my junior year (aside from a pre med club that I was an officer in). My involvement junior year exploded and lead to most of my most meaningful experiences. I also took my MCAT the summer before junior year. My junior year just ended and I can tell you that focusing on getting the MCAT done right the first time during summer is a great idea. That way you can focus all your time on maintaining grades and getting those EC's during junior year. Just my 0.02.

 

[cs24]

My situation was very similar to yours in that I did not have any meaningful ECs before my junior year (aside from a pre med club that I was an officer in). My involvement junior year exploded and lead to most of my most meaningful experiences. I also took my MCAT the summer before junior year. My junior year just ended and I can tell you that focusing on getting the MCAT done right the first time during summer is a great idea. That way you can focus all your time on maintaining grades and getting those EC's during junior year. Just my 0.02.

I too didn't have any meaningful ECs before junior year, and took my MCAT during that summer. Just get as much experience as you can in the clinics this summer before your MCAT (clinical volunteering a few hours a week is very common and many doctors are flexible with shadowing hours), and once that is over find some ECs you like that also fit the required boxes (clinical, volunteering, research, etc) and do them to the best of your ability up until you apply (and beyond) and you will be fine.

I can't stress this enough, you don't need to spend all your time doing ECs. A few hours a week for most of them is plenty. (You should probably pick one you really like and spend more time on it so you are exceptional and different from other applicants, but you don't need excessive hours in all of them- for me my "top" EC was research but in can be scribing, volunteering, etc). Med schools won't look at a person who has 500 hrs of volunteering vs 100 hours and automatically reject the person with fewer hours. They are more interested in what you've learned from each experience and how they have shaped you as a person.