Med school app in 1 year, and no EC

[TheWelder]

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Hello everyone. I need some help in deciding what EC's I should do. I essentially have none, except being a member of the Taikwando club amd a religious club. I plan on applying to med school next June, and will be taking orgo and physics together this year, and taking the mcats, hopefully in June or july. That's another question, when should I take it, and how long before should I study for it? Anyway, back to the main question, what EC's should i get involved in? I plan on shadowing an internal medicine doctor, how many hours is the norm? Thanks!

 

[Renaissance Man]

Hello everyone. I need some help in deciding what EC's I should do. I essentially have none, except being a member of the Taikwando club amd a religious club. I plan on applying to med school next June, and will be taking orgo and physics together this year, and taking the mcats, hopefully in June or july. That's another question, when should I take it, and how long before should I study for it? Anyway, back to the main question, what EC's should i get involved in? I plan on shadowing an internal medicine doctor, how many hours is the norm? Thanks!

Shadow, research, get a job, tutor, volunteer at soup kitchen, etc. You could also try searching the forum a bit before posting.

 

[ShenanigansMD]

Consider a gap year, you can squeeze in a lot of ECs there.

 

[Law2Doc]

Consider a gap year, you can squeeze in a lot of ECs there.

Agreed. You don't want to apply until your application looks solid. Rushing things is the number one reason folks don't get into med schools. ECs that are jammed in at the end always look like an afterthought. There is no artificial timeline to get into med school. You will be closer to the average age by spending a year improving your application. Plus, to some extent shadowing and volunteering is meant to help you see what medicine is really all about -- many people will realize they don't even see themselves being a doctor once they do some shadowing, so this really ought to be done well in advance of applying, and that's consequently what med schools like to see. They want people who look before they leap and know what they are getting into.
Creating a drop dead date for applying when you haven't done any health ECs is kind if foolish. You will be competing with folks with a big jump on you. For a field where half the applicants won't get in, that's a bad idea.

 

[mohad]

Hello everyone. I need some help in deciding what EC's I should do. I essentially have none, except being a member of the Taikwando club amd a religious club. I plan on applying to med school next June, and will be taking orgo and physics together this year, and taking the mcats, hopefully in June or july. That's another question, when should I take it, and how long before should I study for it? Anyway, back to the main question, what EC's should i get involved in? I plan on shadowing an internal medicine doctor, how many hours is the norm? Thanks!

im in your situation, but I ended up applying anyway. I had prior shadowing, but I underestimated how long it would take for my application to volunteer at a hospital to be accepted. I have next to no volunteer hours, but I have shadowed quite a bit (comparatively). I've also dabbled in other things here and there, but I lack the longevity factor. Start applying early for positions is my advice.

 

[mvenus929]

im in your situation, but I ended up applying anyway. I had prior shadowing, but I underestimated how long it would take for my application to volunteer at a hospital to be accepted. I have next to no volunteer hours, but I have shadowed quite a bit (comparatively). I've also dabbled in other things here and there, but I lack the longevity factor. Start applying early for positions is my advice.

I disagree. As someone who had to apply twice to get in because I didn't have a large amount of clinical experience, I suggest taking a gap year, or hitting the clinical activities hard this next year. It really doesn't matter what your stats are, or how well you can present yourself if you can't articulate why you want to become a physician and what you have done to show that you understand what becoming a physician entails.

Take the time to put together your application right the first time, even if it means taking a little time off to get there. Medical school will be there when you're ready.

 

[circulus vitios]

Why is everyone suggesting a gap year? The earliest he can submit an application is nearly a year away. SDN is absolutely ridiculous.

 

[circulus vitios]

I disagree. As someone who had to apply twice to get in because I didn't have a large amount of clinical experience, I suggest taking a gap year, or hitting the clinical activities hard this next year. It really doesn't matter what your stats are, or how well you can present yourself if you can't articulate why you want to become a physician and what you have done to show that you understand what becoming a physician entails.

Take the time to put together your application right the first time, even if it means taking a little time off to get there. Medical school will be there when you're ready.

According to your mdapps profile, you applied to 10 schools. If you applied to 10 schools for your previous, unsuccessful cycle, then that is why you had to apply twice.

 

[mvenus929]

According to your mdapps profile, you applied to 10 schools. If you applied to 10 schools for your previous, unsuccessful cycle, then that is why you had to apply twice.

There's lots of reasons I had to apply twice, but the number of schools I applied to was not at the top of the list. Obviously, I made it in to (multiple) med school(s) only applying to 10 the second time, and I am attending a higher ranked school than most of the schools I applied to the first time. Could I have gotten in had I applied to 50 schools? Perhaps, but it wouldn't have been at a school I wanted to go to.

So, I stand by what I said the first time: make sure you have all your ducks in a row before you apply, even if it means taking a year off.

 

[Law2Doc]

Why is everyone suggesting a gap year? The earliest he can submit an application is nearly a year away. SDN is absolutely ridiculous.

It's ten months, during which he plans to take orgo, physics and study for the MCAT, put together application, and somehow line up and start to accumulate ECs that don't look like a joke. There are people out there with more than two years head start on pretty substantial ECs. If you squeeze in a handful of hours in the last ten months it usually shows. So yeah, if he waited until the last ten months to contemplate ECs, which will probably take a few weeks just to line up, and has a very full schedule already, it's not unreasonable to suggest stretching out the timeline.

 

[Nymphicus]

It's ten months, during which he plans to take orgo, physics and study for the MCAT, put together application, and somehow line up and start to accumulate ECs that don't look like a joke. There are people out there with more than two years head start on pretty substantial ECs. If you squeeze in a handful of hours in the last ten months it usually shows. So yeah, if he waited until the last ten months to contemplate ECs, which will probably take a few weeks just to line up, and has a very full schedule already, it's not unreasonable to suggest stretching out the timeline.

This is very reasonable.

 

[Koosalagoosagoo]

You never had a job?!!

 

[Zymogeneer]

Sounds to me like you already have a couple. A Taikwando club or religious club most likely have opportunities for leadership and volunteerism. Instead of asking others what you should be involved in maybe you should ask yourself what you WANT to be involved in, then build on that. I think med schools are looking for unique applicants, not cookie cutters, and you can show your 'doctor-ly' qualities in anything you participate in as long as your are involved. And IMO you get more involved in things you care about.

 

[Law2Doc]

Sounds to me like you already have a couple. A Taikwando club or religious club most likely have opportunities for leadership and volunteerism. Instead of asking others what you should be involved in maybe you should ask yourself what you WANT to be involved in, then build on that. I think med schools are looking for unique applicants, not cookie cutters, and you can show your 'doctor-ly' qualities in anything you participate in as long as your are involved. And IMO you get more involved in things you care about.

To some extent this is true. However having clinical exposure is one of those unwritten prerequisites that you must have to gain admissions. You have to show that you have sufficient exposure to know what you are getting into. Squeezing in a few hours in the last ten months rarely accomplishes this.

 

[mohad]

I disagree. As someone who had to apply twice to get in because I didn't have a large amount of clinical experience, I suggest taking a gap year, or hitting the clinical activities hard this next year. It really doesn't matter what your stats are, or how well you can present yourself if you can't articulate why you want to become a physician and what you have done to show that you understand what becoming a physician entails.

Take the time to put together your application right the first time, even if it means taking a little time off to get there. Medical school will be there when you're ready.

i'm not saying what I did was the best course of action, but I have a bit of shadowing and i had a job for a little while. plus a bit of research. i got into volunteering very late in the game (this past semester), so that is definitely a bad thing. in all honesty, it probably looks like i'm not committed, but i feel like I know what i'm getting myself in to. I have 1 interview invite, and I think i have a good shot of getting a few more. Ultimately what you said is right, it depends on whether the ADCOMS think I know what I'm getting myself into. Plus, I'm graduating a semester early, so taking 1.5 years off from school would suck. I'm praying i get accepted to some of my more desired choices.

 

[Haislip]

I would apply anyway even thought you'll probably fair better with an extra year of EC's

 

[AdrianVeidt]

How would schools feel if one were to apply and put that they are currently involved, or will soon be involved, in shadowing and volunteering? Would schools think that those EC's aren't genuine and sort of forced just to fill up slots in the application?

 

[TheWelder]

I might take a gap year, but I really want to apply once and see how it goes, hopefully get accepted. I would love to save that one year... but The EC's are the only problem. What would you suggest I do for volunteer? And how much clinical experience do I need? Also, this summer I just finished a 6 week internship at Downstate Medical Schools, "Exploring Health Careers". Does that count in EC, or an internship Medical Schools like? Would you recommend me applying next June?

 

[TheWelder]

Yes I did have a job. I had a welding job for the last 3 years, and started my own Iron work business last year, which I work on part-time now.

 

[cortana431]

Is it possible to get into A medical school almost solely based on a very high gpa and MCAT score?

 

[mohad]

Is it possible to get into A medical school almost solely based on a very high gpa and MCAT score?

I have a pretty high GPA and MCAT score. So far 2 schools got back to me. 1 with an interview invite and 1 with a rejection. I've turned in 2 secondaries over a month ago and haven't heard a response, and the other secondaries were finished a little over 2 weeks ago. no response. so the answer at this point is no seeing as I'm not in. But you can get at least 1 invite with good stats. I'm praying schools look past my lack of ECs and accept me. But right now, it's not looking good.

 

[tn4596]

Is it possible to get into A medical school almost solely based on a very high gpa and MCAT score?

I only have a year of clinical volunteering ~100 hrs and 2 years of research
I have pretty high stat and so far I have gotten 3 interviews this cycle. In my last 2 interviews, no one mentioned that I didn't volunteered enough. This is in Texas though.
Honestly, what difference does 1 more year of handing out blanket and changing sheet make? I am studying to be a doctor, not a medical courtesy clerk.
I am already taking a gap year though. If you are considering taking a gap year, which I highly recommend anyway, you should do it because in your case it would make your application better and give you time to spend some time off.

 

[mvenus929]

Is it possible to get into A medical school almost solely based on a very high gpa and MCAT score?

If you have absolutely no clinical experience? Unlikely. Possible? Maybe, if you apply to the right school. But all these schools have people with slightly lesser stats that have experiences. Why would they accept someone with high stats but nothing else to contribute to their application?

Plus, I'm graduating a semester early, so taking 1.5 years off from school would suck.

I used to think that too. And then I took two years off. It was the best thing that ever happened to me. Maybe a semester would be sufficient for you to get what you need, but I don't regret for a moment that I had to take 2 years off.

 

[mohad]

I used to think that too. And then I took two years off. It was the best thing that ever happened to me. Maybe a semester would be sufficient for you to get what you need, but I don't regret for a moment that I had to take 2 years off.

What did you end up doing? I was planning on getting a job and then hopefully traveling at some point before medical school starts. I just feel like working for 1 and a half years and having to apply again while hearing about my friends already being in medical schoolw ould be aggravating and stressful