Need advice on when I should apply

[danthi]

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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

 

[Faha]

You should accumulate 50 hours of physician shadowing (including primary care). Also 200+ hours of clinical volunteering with patient contact and 150+ hours of non clinical volunteering such as food bank, homeless shelter,etc before you submit your application. When and where you apply will depend on your MCAT score so post it here when available.

 

[esob]

- As a general rule, you should always wait to apply until you can submit your best application. A stronger application increases the chances of acceptance and even multiple acceptances, which grants greater choice in the end. The caveat is that there is usually some opportunity cost associated with waiting an extra cycle. If the opportunity cost is low, definitely delay if it means a better application.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

I presume you mean 2026 to take the MCAT. And you've saved a lot of money. Why the career pivot? Are you okay with being the low-person in the hierarchy and the slow rise up to a professional position?

 

[danthi]

You should accumulate 50 hours of physician shadowing (including primary care). Also 200+ hours of clinical volunteering with patient contact and 150+ hours of non clinical volunteering such as food bank, homeless shelter,etc before you submit your application. When and where you apply will depend on your MCAT score so post it here when available.

Thanks for the advice. I should be able to get 50+ by march for shadowing, around 200 by march for non clinical volunteering. I’m currently working with an organisation that address food insecurity, social isolation, and loneliness among Asian American older adults living in significantly under-resourced and underinvested communities — I’m assuming this counts as non-clinical volunteering? As for clinical volunteering, I’m about to start as a hospice volunteer, though I see mixed opinions on this for “clinical” volunteering. All of this plus. Working full time makes me a little concerned my application won’t be as strong as if I were to spread things out a little more and accumulate more experience in each domain.

 

[danthi]

I presume you mean 2026 to take the MCAT. And you've saved a lot of money. Why the career pivot? Are you okay with being the low-person in the hierarchy and the slow rise up to a professional position?

Yes sorry, I meant 2026! I wouldn't say I saved "a lot" of money, since I live in the most expensive city in the US.

I wouldn't really call it a career pivot. Honestly, medicine has always been in the back of my mind, since college (which is why I took all the pre-reqs except biochem) but I wanted to take the time to really understand why before committing to it. I guess I wanted to see medicine from different perspectives. After working with pathologists/oncologists analyzing histology slides etc., i've come to the conclusion that while the science is fascinating, I think the impact of what they've done, and what the company has done really, is what I love about the job. I've also started a Master's in Data Analytics to enhance some of the skills I currently use at work.

Oh also, my partner passed away this year due to a heart attack. Being present for them was hard, supporting them while trying to support myself was hard. So emotionally, I learned a lot. I think this + figuring out what I like in my career just added to my reason of pursuing medicine. For the first time in my life, I feel 100% decisive. It's a weird feeling, but a good feeling. Still trying to tie it altogether to get a better answer for "why medicine", so I apologize if this is a messy / bare boned answer.

As I'm writing this, I'm realising that what I have to do is a lot. My question now is, should I drop out of my Masters and just go all in? Worried about how that would look on my application.

And yes, I'm okay with starting from the ground up, even if its slow. I think it’s an important part of growth.

 

[danthi]

- As a general rule, you should always wait to apply until you can submit your best application. A stronger application increases the chances of acceptance and even multiple acceptances, which grants greater choice in the end. The caveat is that there is usually some opportunity cost associated with waiting an extra cycle. If the opportunity cost is low, definitely delay if it means a better application.

Thank you for the advice. I am an international student on a research visa, so I don't have an immense amount of time, but enough to delay it if need be.