No Volunteering hours, stressing out

[Eurydice]

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Hi everyone,

I have just recently found this forum and I am very grateful to be able to ask for some advice because lately I've felt like I am on my own. I went to community college for 2 years, and I have just transferred to a CSU in Fall 2008. Since I am a transfer student, I do not know what types of resources exist at my school that help students who are interested in med school. I also feel that because I transfered, I am at a disadvantage for not knowing the professors well enough that may write me letters of recommendation. 🙁

Anyway, for the past 3 years I've been working hard to keep my GPA around a 3.9. However, now that the deadline to apply to my med school of choice (UCI) is getting closer, I am realizing that I also need some volunteer and research hours to become a more competitive applicant. I have no volunteer or research hours, partly because I have been putting it off and partly because I have been focusing on my classes in addition to working part time. I am getting very worried now because I heard my lab instructor tell someone that volunteer hours are just as important as your GPA, because all your GPA says is that you're good at taking tests.

I'm going to look for volunteering opportunities at a local hospital this summer. However, I'm not sure if I will be able to get the research experience in time for the application deadline (November 1) if I wanted to start med school in 2010.

Does anyone have any suggestions for me regarding what type of volunteering would look best on my application? Would it look like I crammed too many hours into the last minute if I started this summer? Would you recommend also joining a club at my school, such as the chemistry or bio clubs? Also, does anyone have any suggestions on getting letters of recommendations from professors who lecture for very large classes?

Thanks!

 

[billw]

If your GPA and MCAT are on track and volunteering is your big problem, it is really just a matter of time. So, rearrange things to come up with the time you need. You could take another year to graduate - maybe add a second major - and do some volunteering.

It is amazing the kind of problems you can make for yourself by rushing things.

 

[sling787]

Yes, you are definitely going to need volunteer and shadowing hours. I spoke with a doctor who is on the admission's board here at UF, and she told me that they don't even give out interviews to people who don't have shadowing experience.

There is no exact number of hours/shadowing that you need to get into medical school, it all depends on the rest of your application. Since you say you have a 3.9 GPA, I wouldn't worry about getting in an abusrd amount of hours in. What is your MCAT score though? If you have an MCAT of at least 30, I would say, you shouldn't be worried. Just try to get in as much volunteering and shadowing as you can before you apply. Also, I got the impression that you wanted to cram all this in before the November deadline from your post. You might actually have to fit it all in a much tighter space, as your application would be considerably stronger applying in June. Applying in September/October, would lower your acceptance chances by quite a bit.

Research isn't that important. It looks really nice on your application, but if the main part of your application is strong (GPA and MCAT) than you shouldn't be worried at all. It's mostly only important to the top tier schools.

 

[Eurydice]

Yes, you are definitely going to need volunteer and shadowing hours. I spoke with a doctor who is on the admission's board here at UF, and she told me that they don't even give out interviews to people who don't have shadowing experience.

There is no exact number of hours/shadowing that you need to get into medical school, it all depends on the rest of your application. Since you say you have a 3.9 GPA, I wouldn't worry about getting in an abusrd amount of hours in. What is your MCAT score though? If you have an MCAT of at least 30, I would say, you shouldn't be worried. Just try to get in as much volunteering and shadowing as you can before you apply. Also, I got the impression that you wanted to cram all this in before the November deadline from your post. You might actually have to fit it all in a much tighter space, as your application would be considerably stronger applying in June. Applying in September/October, would lower your acceptance chances by quite a bit.

Research isn't that important. It looks really nice on your application, but if the main part of your application is strong (GPA and MCAT) than you shouldn't be worried at all. It's mostly only important to the top tier schools.

I haven't taken the MCAT yet because I am still finishing the second part of Physics and Intro to Cell Bio. I was planning on taking the MCAT in June. Thank you so much for the advice.

 

[GoSpursGo]

Just pointing out, you don't want to be applying on the deadline day. This process has become so competitive that applying early has really become a MUST- applying in June-July is generally accepted as the best course of action, while applying in September or October is considered late.

The problem is that applying late really puts you in a bind at schools with rolling admissions. At schools that get thousands of applicants like UCI, if you apply on November 1, that means that before they even get to see your application they will have handed out a bunch of interview invites and even acceptances- in effect, rather than competing for ALL of the possible interview dates and acceptances, you will have already disqualified yourself from consideration from the early-mid interviews and probably ultimately a large chunk of the seats in the class. Furthermore, applying late means it will take a long time for your application to be reviewed- you're going to be at the very bottom of the stack of applications. What if the adcom finds enough people that it wants to interview before it even reaches your application?

Also, I just want to make sure you are aware that you need to apply to a lot of schools, not just your "school of choice." While everyone has their dream school, it's important to apply broadly, because your chances of being accepted an any individual school is fairly low so you really want to give yourself as many chances to be accepted as possible. It's fairly common to see people apply to 20-25 schools.

I really can't stress enough the importance of applying early and broadly in this process. There are a lot of people with great applications who find themselves reapplying because they submitted too late or to too few schools. If you really feel you're lacking in the volunteering department (research is nice but not a necessity like volunteering is), I strongly recommend taking a year off and applying next year- a 3.9 and a similarly great MCAT will really take you far in this process if you have the requisite volunteering experience, and I would go as far as to say that you would then have an excellent chance of getting into your school of choice 🙂 You could probably get in somewhere this year if you have a really high MCAT to go with with your GPA, but if you do elect to apply with a bare minimum of clinical experience, make sure you apply early this summer (submitting in mid-late July is still fine once you get your MCAT back) and to a LOT of schools.

Good luck 🙂

 

[scarletgirl777]

I'm going to look for volunteering opportunities at a local hospital this summer.

This summer? Why not right now? Stop putting this off and start getting serious about getting some clinical experience. If time commitment is an issue, try some shadowing for now, but either clinical or non-clinical volunteer work is becoming a de facto requirement so you really need to get to work.

As for clubs, I honestly think it's a little late for that now. Take up activities that you enjoy and that you find fun if you have the time, but they need not be in a structured club.

EDIT: GoSpursGo's post is excellent. I think you might benefit from making an appointment with a premed counselor/advisor and just talking over the process.

 

[flip26]

Clinical experiences are meant to "inform" you about medicine, to inform your decision to become a physician. Therefore, they should occur "before" you ever apply, not after.

You are really badly misinformed about the process, particularly about the app deadline. To be competitive, you need to get your AMCAS in no later than Aug 1, and preferably well before that.

You need to start volunteering NOW to have a year of volunteer experiences under your belt when you apply in June, 2010, for 2011 matriculation. Applying this year is pretty much out of the question for you if you really want to get accepted. Your application will likely be rejected out of hand with the timetable you are planning.

 

[dragonfly99]

I agree you are unlikely to get accepted this year without any volunteer experience and little extracurricular activities, etc. related to science and medicine, and with mostly community college credits on your transcript.

I recommend joining the premed club, if there is one at your school. You need to find out who does the advising for pre health professions students at your school...being a transfer student isn't an excuse for doing what you need to do. You need to get the right advice and get the necessary experience to know whether you truly want to be a doctor.

I agree with the above. The "deadline" is not the real deadline for med schools. If you apply in October or November you are very unlikely to get in. It's not like undergrad where you just need to meet the deadline. You need to apply next summer. For this year, you are unlikely to get in. You can give it a shot, but it might be better to wait another year so that you'll have an MCAT score in hand, and some volunteer hours in a hospital or clinic. You can definitely try if you just don't want to wait, though.

 

[GoSpursGo]

I think saying that an app would be rejected "out of hand" is a bit strong; while there are obviously exceptions, there are very few people with a 3.9/35+ who don't get in SOMEWHERE. However, I agree that you likely wouldn't get into nearly as good of a school as you would with the clinical experience, and you would definitely at least be at risk to be the person with the amazing stats who's stuck reapplying. You'd be a mortal lock to get in somewhere, and likely a very, very good school, if you apply next year; this year, with the lack of clinical experience and possibly skewed timeline, you'd be a lot more dicey- again, you'd still be likely to get in somewhere if I had to bet money, but the application process would be a LOT more stressful.

 

[flip26]

I think saying that an app would be rejected "out of hand" is a bit strong; while there are obviously exceptions, there are very few people with a 3.9/35+ who don't get in SOMEWHERE. However, I agree that you likely wouldn't get into nearly as good of a school as you would with the clinical experience, and you would definitely at least be at risk to be the person with the amazing stats who's stuck reapplying. You'd be a mortal lock to get in somewhere, and likely a very, very good school, if you apply next year; this year, with the lack of clinical experience and possibly skewed timeline, you'd be a lot more dicey- again, you'd still be likely to get in somewhere if I had to bet money, but the application process would be a LOT more stressful.

There are med schools that do reject applicants who have no volunteering no matter what else is in their app. LizzyM has reported as much (I think) and there are other adcoms who have posted here who have said the same.

My comments were directed at the OP's timetable of starting volunteer activities this summer either after submitting and/or submitting with the Nov 1 deadline as her goal...either case is the kiss of death.

 

[GoSpursGo]

There are med schools that do reject applicants who have no volunteering no matter what else is in their app. LizzyM has reported as much (I think) and there are other adcoms who have posted here who have said the same.

My comments were directed at the OP's timetable of starting volunteer activities this summer either after submitting and/or submitting with the Nov 1 deadline as her goal...either case is the kiss of death.

Sure, the top med schools will almost certainly auto-reject. I just think it would be fairly possible to get into a low-tier or state school (depending on residency) with a 35+ MCAT to go with the GPA, and maybe an update letter along the way- not a high, high chance, but maybe 50-60% chance if he applies broadly. I agree that applying November 1 with just stats and a summer's worth of volunteering would certainly be the kiss of death.

I think you and I are of the same mind that the OP would be much safer to save the application money, start volunteering now, and apply next summer while working in a clinical setting during the year off- you go from maybe 50-60% chance of getting in to 95% or so, and having a job to help pay for interview costs would certainly come in handy.