non traditional student, weak ecs. chances?

[jlynnlynn]

Hello,
I am a non traditional student (my prior jobs were in the mortgage business and for short time periods each as they kept getting closed down) who decided this past summer on medical school. As such, my EC's at time of application will be:
Volunteer at nursing home 100 hrs about 3 years ago
volunteer at community blood bank 80 hours over 6 month span
volunteer at animal rescue shelter about 55 hours
shadowed 3 doctors for total of 75 hours
member of several clubs, but most are rather inactive--Psi Chi Honor Society, Golden Key Honor Society, etc. ect. Should I include these memberships on applications?
I know I am lacking leadership. Should I wait another year to apply? I am planning to apply to KCUMB DO school.

MCAT 32R
cGPA 3.5
sGPA 3.65

I will have all my prereq's done this winter and plan to get my app in June 2011 for 2012 matriculation

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[Catalystik]

Your clinical experience is at what I'd consider a bare minimum and old besides, so I'd strongly recommend you add more hours, perhaps in a different clinical milieu, over the next 8 months.

You have a good amount of nonmedical community service. (Hopefully some of that is recent?)

The shadowing looks fine. Was one of the docs a DO, and do you have a DO LOR yet? If one of the docs was not in primary care, consider another 4-8 hours if you can get it.

It is commonly felt that Phi Beta Kappa is worth listing, or honor societies of similar caliber if you didn't graduate in the liberal arts.

Research, leadership, and teaching aren't essential, but are nice to have and they do strengthen the application. Can you get one of them in before June 2011?

 

[jlynnlynn]

Thank you Catalystik. I am actually doing the blood bank now (am just starting) and plan to have 80 plus hours there in the next 6-8 months before applying. I thought this would count as clinical. Does it not? One of the doctors I shadowed was a DO in primary care. If the blood bank will not count as clinical I can go back to the nursing home to get that in and can also bump up my current hours at the blood bank and try to find some tutoring volunteer work. I would like to start the program as quickly as possible since I am older but do not want to apply with a weak application. Would it be better to wait another year and bang out tons of clinical and tutoring work?