so this just hit me today. i'm about to graduate and i barely have any ECs. on top of that my GPA is mediocre (~3.4) and i don't have an mcat yet. i have about 20 hours clinical volunteering and 10 hours non clinical. i also haven't shadowed a doctor yet.
since i haven't applied yet i'll already have a year off after i graduate. i dont want to take another one so i have to have my app ready by july so i could apply this upcoming cycle. i'm trying to apply early to give be a better chance. any tips on my situation?
The thing is that you don't want to waste thousands of dollars and not get any fruitful results. You're graduating in May, so that means you must have everything ready by June in order to start applying, if you don't want to take a year off.
Let's see: you don't have much clinical experience. You haven't taken the MCAT yet, although you will before you apply obviously. You have a not so great GPA. You don't seem to have anything particularly attractive about your application that would grab interviews (given what you've said). To apply this upcoming cycle wouldn't be wise.
If I were in your shoes, I would take another year off. Here's what I would do:
1) For the rest of the year, work extremely hard on my last semester.
2) Try to find opportunities to volunteer in a clinical setting.
3) During the summer, study for the MCAT.
4) Shadow doctors during the summer from a variety of settings. (Primary Care, surgery, Emergency, etc.)
5) Rock the August/September MCAT.
6) Find a part time job during your gap year 1. (Preferably a scribe position. If fact, I HIGHLY recommend a scribe position).
7) Volunteer at a clinical setting for a couple hours a week during this Gap year 1.
8) If you live close to your soon to be Alma Mater or if you live close to any research facility, find a research position for this gap year 1.
9) IF you have time, find somewhere to do nonclinical volunteering, like tutoring.
10) Apply for 2014-2015 Cycle EARLY while continuing Gap Year 1 EC's.
If you're incredibly against taking another gap year, consider DO schools. But that means you must squish a whole lot of clinical experience into the months before applying, which still might not be the best idea. DO schools aren't lenient on a lack of clinical experience, either.
