Hi. I’m struggling to figure out if I should apply the upcoming 2026 cycle or in 2027.
I graduated undergrad with a Bio degree in 2022. Initially was planning to go into medicine, but felt like I needed more time to emotionally grow and figure out a strong reason of why I wanted to go into medicine. So I left that path, and found a love for research. Been working in multiple labs, and for the past two years at a AI medicine startup. It’s been amazing to see the company grow and its potential to impact patient lives.
Returning back to medicine for several reasons, but need advice on when I should apply. Some stats:
• MCAT: already started reviewing, registered for 04/25/2025 test date
• Shadowing: Contacted some physicians I personally knew, starting to shadow soon
• community volunteering: have been racking up hours over the years unrelated to med school, can reach up to 300 hours by July 2026
• clinical hours: none, but have already applied to a ton of hospital and hospice volunteer positions
• research hours: a lot, 3 years of FTE with constant research, 1 pub, 1 undergrad thesis that I defended
• rec letters: can probs get 2 from physicians (from my work and MD I’ll shadow), 1 from my research/bio prof from undergrad, can get more from pathologists I directly work with
• prereqs: i haven’t done biochem nor psych (did sociology in undergrad tho). Planning to take it in Jan (community college is fine??)
• CGPA: 3.83, science GPA: 3.86
I guess I’m in the mindset where I can push to finish my application by next summer, but it’s probably not going to be perfect. So part of me wants to get it done, but part of me still wants to get it done perfect. Do you think I’ll have enough time to get a good app out my next app cycle?
I’m worried about the abruptness of it all as well. Like starting clinical volunteering only now etc etc. also does hospital volunteering and hospice volunteer positions count????? I’ve seen mixed answers
I graduated undergrad with a Bio degree in 2022. Initially was planning to go into medicine, but felt like I needed more time to emotionally grow and figure out a strong reason of why I wanted to go into medicine. So I left that path, and found a love for research. Been working in multiple labs, and for the past two years at a AI medicine startup. It’s been amazing to see the company grow and its potential to impact patient lives.
Returning back to medicine for several reasons, but need advice on when I should apply. Some stats:
• MCAT: already started reviewing, registered for 04/25/2025 test date
• Shadowing: Contacted some physicians I personally knew, starting to shadow soon
• community volunteering: have been racking up hours over the years unrelated to med school, can reach up to 300 hours by July 2026
• clinical hours: none, but have already applied to a ton of hospital and hospice volunteer positions
• research hours: a lot, 3 years of FTE with constant research, 1 pub, 1 undergrad thesis that I defended
• rec letters: can probs get 2 from physicians (from my work and MD I’ll shadow), 1 from my research/bio prof from undergrad, can get more from pathologists I directly work with
• prereqs: i haven’t done biochem nor psych (did sociology in undergrad tho). Planning to take it in Jan (community college is fine??)
• CGPA: 3.83, science GPA: 3.86
I guess I’m in the mindset where I can push to finish my application by next summer, but it’s probably not going to be perfect. So part of me wants to get it done, but part of me still wants to get it done perfect. Do you think I’ll have enough time to get a good app out my next app cycle?
I’m worried about the abruptness of it all as well. Like starting clinical volunteering only now etc etc. also does hospital volunteering and hospice volunteer positions count????? I’ve seen mixed answers
