Please advise!

[Pizza12]

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I'll be done in the next two (or 3) semesters and have a few questions- i want to take 3 semesters with just 12 credits each semester because I want to start working a part-time job, volunteer at a clinic, and shadow a physician etc. I do have some non-clinical volunteering about 150 hours at my local soup kitchen. Questions are:
1. would taking just 12 credits look bad?
2. research - i'm not inclined towards research and not planning to work in a lab - how much will this affect my app?
3. Planning on taking a gap year, take MCAT and continuing to work until I get an acceptance - how does this sound? (I need the money for apps and stuff)
Appreciate any advice. Thank you!

 

[puahate]

1. No
2. You should be fine just dont think youll get into top tiers unless you have hobbies that make up for it.
3. Sounds smart

 

[allantois]

About 90% of matriculants into US MD schools have some research experience.

 

[puahate]

About 90% of matriculants into US MD schools have some research experience.

It's also ranked low in importance by ADCOMS.

 

[chemdoctor]

It's also ranked low in importance by ADCOMS.

Yes it is ranked low in priority. However, if so many matriculate have research, what harm can a semester or two of basic bench work do?

You don’t need to have ground breaking stem cell research while getting published... just some experience to show you know about the scientific process!

 

[puahate]

Yes it is ranked low in priority. However, if so many matriculate have research, what harm can a semester or two of basic bench work do?

You don’t need to have ground breaking stem cell research while getting published... just some experience to show you know about the scientific process!

I agree OP should just do a semester worth of research and be done at min.

 

[stephthelorax]

I think it depends on what type of school you want to go to. I've been told by doctors (who are/have been on admissions committees) that my research experience (5 summers, 4 semesters) makes me a strong applicant, particularly for the upper-tier schools who value research. However if you tailor your list towards schools that really do not emphasize research at all (based on their mission statement and based on the US News Primary Care rankings, rather than the Research Rankings), then I think you should be fine with little research experience. I think it would be good to try it out for a summer/semester though; it will give you one extra set of experiences to talk about in your app and during interviews.

 

[Goro]

1. would taking just 12 credits look bad?
It doesn't look good. How are you going to convince Adcoms that you can handle a med school curriculum?


2. research - i'm not inclined towards research and not planning to work in a lab - how much will this affect my app?
Write off the Powerhouses. Drexel class, DO schools, and your state schools won't care.
3. Planning on taking a gap year, take MCAT and continuing to work until I get an acceptance - how does this sound? (I need the money for apps and stuff)
Good plan. Having a work history is a good thing, as is saving up some cash. There's no law that says you have to go to med school at age 22.

 

[chemdoctor]

Any research, be it lab/wet bench, clinical, public health, social science, etc is fine

Exactly. Research is research. I feel like even tho OP won’t NEED it for the mid tier schools, it couldn’t hurt...

 

[chemdoctor]

Any research, be it lab/wet bench, clinical, public health, social science, etc is fine

Does having both clinical and bench look better? Or does it not really matter

 

[Goro]

Does having both clinical and bench look better? Or does it not really matter

Anything that teaches you about the scientific method is good, even if it's studying clams off of Fiji.

It's a premed delusion that everything has to be clinically related.

 

[Pizza12]

Thanks for all the comments.
Lack of research seems to be the biggest concern - will try for a summer research position. Was thinking to ask this professor for a while but did not because research seemed something I would not enjoy as much but I think I should give it a try at least for the summer and then decide. As for the 12 credit semesters maybe I'll try adding an extra course in my favorite EC area. This whole process is so intense! Thanks to everyone though for all the comments and guidance.

 

[Yuma7131]

1. I don't think so
2. I would try doing some sort of research. It will only help your application
3. It won't hurt but its another year that you won't be practicing medicine in the long run.

 

[lalalallala]

I also am not a fan of research really. I did some clinical research and some data analysis research work for shorter periods to show that I could do it. I wouldn't spend too many hours on it since you don't like it but I would try to do something so you don't knock your chances at too many schools.

 

[salpinx minx]

My opinion - don't do research if you don't like it! Or, consider research in a non-bench field. I never did basic research because I absolutely hated it, but I found I really liked public health/global health research. So maybe broaden your consideration of what "research" is.
...or, like I said earlier, don't do it if you don't like it. Yes, you may have to make up for it by looking really awesome in a different way, but if you have some really interesting/cool passions that you put a lot of time and effort into, that will also stand out to adcoms.
FWIW, I have lots of friends that ended up at top 20 "powerhouses" with very little undergrad research. What they all had in common is that they had a cool, genuine, unique story to tell about who they were as individuals and how they had decided to pursue medicine.