Lack of volunteering, good hours in research, leadership, and clinical

[deleted1188265]

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Currently a senior preparing to apply to this upcoming cycle. had some concerns with my volunteering hours but wanted to know if my other ECs help balance it out.

Leadership - have held leadership positions in multiple orgs that i am dedicated too (premed org, cultural org, and university student council) and was even the Chairperson for a state-wide org during my junior year

clinical - have been working as a CNA at my university hospital for past 2 years and have amassed 500+ hours and expected to include this as one of my most meaningful experiences

research - have also around 400-500 hrs in a breast cancer lab (long term research project so no pubs or anything) but hoping for a poster at the end of the semester

volunteering - ~50-100 (mostly during my freshman year of college). this part of my application is lacking, but i found it a little difficult with being involved in the other ECs mentioned during sophomore-senior year and also focusing on having academic comeback (ill be applying with a mid gpa, but strong upward trend). im getting some more hours this semester volunteering and planned to continue volunteering through my gap year while i apply. is this a red flag/something i should be concerned about?

 

[Mr.Smile12]

Previously,

D

Thread 'Mid/Low cGPA sGPA, post-grad plans'

Apr 12, 2024

I am planning to take a gap year after I graduate. I am unsure whether to work to just improve areas of my appliation (as well as finish with a strong upward trend GPA in undergrad and bust my ass for the mcat and get a good score), or apply for a SMP program at my hometown's medical school (relatively good linkage; i have a lot of ties to the area/medical environment). Any advice/recommendation considering my stats would be very appreciated!

cGPA and sGPA
- cGPA: 3.5 (looking to raise to 3.6 by end of undergrad)
- sGPA: 3.0 (looking to raise to 3.2 by end of undergrad)

MCAT
- taking in...

• deleted1188265
• Replies: 7
• Forum: Pre-Medical (MD)

Have you followed through with our advice?

 

[LindaAccepted]

Currently a senior preparing to apply to this upcoming cycle. had some concerns with my volunteering hours but wanted to know if my other ECs help balance it out.

Leadership - have held leadership positions in multiple orgs that i am dedicated too (premed org, cultural org, and university student council) and was even the Chairperson for a state-wide org during my junior year

clinical - have been working as a CNA at my university hospital for past 2 years and have amassed 500+ hours and expected to include this as one of my most meaningful experiences

research - have also around 400-500 hrs in a breast cancer lab (long term research project so no pubs or anything) but hoping for a poster at the end of the semester

volunteering - ~50-100 (mostly during my freshman year of college). this part of my application is lacking, but i found it a little difficult with being involved in the other ECs mentioned during sophomore-senior year and also focusing on having academic comeback (ill be applying with a mid gpa, but strong upward trend). im getting some more hours this semester volunteering and planned to continue volunteering through my gap year while i apply. is this a red flag/something i should be concerned about?

What and how much are you doing now in terms of non-clinical volunteering?

 

[Goro]

You need to show off your altruistic by serving others less fortunate than yourself. There is no getting around this.

 

[Med Ed]

I see a pattern in reapplicants so often that I refer to it as The Mistake.

The pattern: strong metrics, strong clinical, strong research, weak or non-existent service (aka non-clinical volunteering).

Your pattern: "Mid" GPA, no MCAT yet. Clinical is solid. Research is decent in terms of hours. Service is weak.

"Leadership" positions in undergrad are often little more than resume padding. Perhaps your work for these organizations was more involved and meaningful, but that would be the exception to the rule.

To address your situation you will need to finish the semester as strong as possible, prepare diligently for the MCAT, and rack up as much quality non-clinical volunteering as you possibly can during your gap year. Then you will need to build a list of schools where you won't get screened out 15 minutes into the cycle.