I am a southern California resident and I graduated from UC Berkeley this May with a degree in biology and used the summer (June-Sept) to only study as I was taking TPR course. I took the MCAT last week, which I voided.
I plan to study more and take it again in January 2018. As I prepare for the exam, I want to either work part-time or volunteer to boost my application.
However, I am not sure what kind of activity I should do until my test in Jan.
I already have a full-time clinical internship offer that I am starting in February and I plan to apply to medical schools in June.
I am also writing my approximated stats so you can have a better idea what to recommend for me!
GPA 3.8 science GPA 3.7something all upward trend
Community Service/Volunteer - Medical/Clinical — 750 hrs
Extracurricular Activities — 180 hrs
Leadership — 120 hrs
Paid Employment - Medical/Clinical — None yet. I will have this experience beginning from Feb through the internship
Paid Employment - Non Medical/Clinical — 120 hrs
Physician Shadowing/Clinical Observation - 39 hrs
Research/Lab — 1500 hrs +
TLDR:
Gap year
May - Sept: Studied for MCAT + took the exam
Sept - Jan: Study for MCAT + volunteer at a local animal shelter (4hrs/wk) + ??
A side question: I don't have any publications with the amount of experience I have in working in labs. I worked in 3 labs (one as an animal husbandry tech, one summer internship, one undergraduate research assistant + worked on my senior thesis) but the last lab that I devoted most time into wasn't even actively publishing papers.
I'm worried because it feels like I am not really using the gap year to its fullest.
I would really appreciate your advice. Thank you.
I plan to study more and take it again in January 2018. As I prepare for the exam, I want to either work part-time or volunteer to boost my application.
However, I am not sure what kind of activity I should do until my test in Jan.
I already have a full-time clinical internship offer that I am starting in February and I plan to apply to medical schools in June.
I am also writing my approximated stats so you can have a better idea what to recommend for me!
GPA 3.8 science GPA 3.7something all upward trend
Community Service/Volunteer - Medical/Clinical — 750 hrs
Extracurricular Activities — 180 hrs
Leadership — 120 hrs
Paid Employment - Medical/Clinical — None yet. I will have this experience beginning from Feb through the internship
Paid Employment - Non Medical/Clinical — 120 hrs
Physician Shadowing/Clinical Observation - 39 hrs
Research/Lab — 1500 hrs +
TLDR:
Gap year
May - Sept: Studied for MCAT + took the exam
Sept - Jan: Study for MCAT + volunteer at a local animal shelter (4hrs/wk) + ??
A side question: I don't have any publications with the amount of experience I have in working in labs. I worked in 3 labs (one as an animal husbandry tech, one summer internship, one undergraduate research assistant + worked on my senior thesis) but the last lab that I devoted most time into wasn't even actively publishing papers.
I'm worried because it feels like I am not really using the gap year to its fullest.
I would really appreciate your advice. Thank you.
