More post-bacc classes or Full-time Volunteer?

[Atheene]

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I am at a crossroads between the two subjects mentioned in the topic.

I am currently a full-time student at upenn post-bacc prehealth program. This summer I will be taking the new MCAT after dedicating the entire summer to studying. I will then have a year before I apply in the 2018-2019 cycle next june (not this june). Most of my stats are OK except my undergrad GPA (3.33 sGPA, 3.33 cGPA) and I lack non-clinical volunteer work, I have included a background at the bottom of this post. In Fall I achieved a 3.6 GPA at upenn, and am on track to achieve around there if not above for spring taking a full course load.

I have spoken to two different advisors and they are leading me in two directions. So here are the two options they are both arguing for next year:

• Take two classes a semester and volunteer once/twice a month at a local philly program (I would do a food service for middle schools and Big Brother Program) (argument being GPA is most important, non-clinical volunteer work isn't that critical)
• Commit full time to a volunteer opportunity, globally, or locally. I have found a year-long americorps program I am interested in. It is 40+ hours a week and you help with middle/high schoolers during the school day (argument being 4 classes won't do much, a full-time thing will have a better impact as opposed to "dabbling" in volunteer work, and would make your app stand out, want to "immerse" yourself in something and spend significant time on it)

What do you guys think? What would best increase my chances for md med school?

Quick Background: sGPA/cGPA(undergrad at GWU as BME): 3.33 (upward trend starting junior year); Old MCAT: 30 (expiring); PA resident (22 white male), 300 hours of EMT, 500 hours gwu medical research, 200 hours shadowing

 

[deleted838145]

Your gpa definitely needs work. Do the first option.

 

[RangerBob]

I agree you need to bring your GPA up.

I was in similar shoes--my overall GPA when I graduated from undergrad was about a 3.4. I did a post-bac and got a 3.9 (brought cumulative up to a 3.45 or so), so I showed a really strong upward trend. I did really well on the MCAT--in the top 5%. During post-bac I volunteered and worked ~30-35hrs/week. I was pretty busy. But I also had a lot to make up for since I had no medical exposure in undergrad (I wasn't planning on pre-med at that time). I did hold a few odd jobs, some TA'ing experience, etc.

After finishing the post-bac program, I ended up coming back for another year of coursework (just one course/semester though) because my program invited me to TA physics and that meant I could take a course for free. I worked/volunteered another 50hrs/week on top of that course and the TA'ing. I got A's in both hard science courses I took, which helped to solidify that my post-bac year wasn't an anomaly. You need to do the same, and I would personally argue you need to get higher than a 3.6 to offset your low (by med school standards) undergrad GPA. I would aim for (and get) only A's/A-'s.

I applied to the UC's and one private OOS university. It's a very long story--I didn't complete secondaries for the other programs I applied to, but the short version is I had decided not to apply to medical school and only submitted secondaries for schools within driving distance and the one school I was really interested in. I figured there wasn't much to lose there in case I made a rash decision. I ended up with an interview/waitlist from one of the UC's and interview/acceptance from the private school. That was with a 3.45 overall GPA, 3.9 post-bac GPA, and top 5% on MCAT, with a heck of a lot of volunteering and 2-3 years of interesting full-time/near-full-time work. I like to think I'm a nice guy too and interviewed well. On paper the only things I had going against me from getting into the top programs in the country were my low undergrad GPA (can't do anything about that) and lack of research experience (I had no interest, so I focused on service/volunteering)

It helps to put your strongest foot forward. I agree with you on your plan to wait another year to apply. You need to do very well on the MCAT and very well in the rest of your post-bac courses. Keep volunteering (at places that mean something to you). If you do strongly on your MCAT and can get all A's, I think that puts you on a good footing if you apply broadly.

If you have any interest in a year or two of service (Americorps, Peacecorps, Jesuit Volunteer Corps, the military, etc.), then do that as well. More coursework + service aren't mutually exclusive-you would just have to do one after the other. Honestly that's the one thing I wish I had done--not for my application, but for benefit for others, as well as myself. I think it would've been a eye-opening/life-changing experience to do any of those, and it's very hard to go back to do any of those later in life due to family obligations, salary cut, etc. True, they're not the best financial choices, because everything you do that extends your starting medical school (and thus starting practice) costs you anywhere from $150-600,000+ in lost opportunity costs, but I would've done it nonetheless. Being able to take a year or more just gets harder the older you get. There's no better time to do it than when you're young and (ideally) single.