Realistically, am I ready for a May 2023 application cycle?

[deleted760180]

Hi everybody--I wanted to solicit your opinions as to whether or not I'd really be putting my best foot forward by applying for the next application cycle, as well as what else I really have to improve on. I do not want to apply DO as I am not particularly passionate about OMM and would like a better chance of going to a competitive speciality in the future, God willing. That said, here's a summary of my profile!:

• cGPA and sGPA as calculated by AMCAS or AACOMAS: 3.6 cGPA, 3.52 sGPA (according to Dr. Ryan Gray's app, Mappd, which uses something similar to AMCAS calculations to my knowledge) with a heavy upward trend(last 44 credits were a 3.8-4.0, mostly upper-level Bios and Neuroscience classes)
  • Neuroscience major, Class of 2020 (yay, the COVID class!). 24 y/o
• State of residence or country of citizenship (if non-US): Massachusetts
• Ethnicity and/or race: North African, Middle Eastern
• Undergraduate institution or category: Top 40 US Private School
• Clinical experience (volunteer and non-volunteer)
  • ER Tech & Arabic Interpreter at a community hospital, 580 hours over 7 months, paid employment - I have a LOT to talk about with this, lots of stories
  • Volunteer Patient Care Tech at the same hospital, 25 hours (however, this was in 2016)
• Research experience and productivity
  • Clinical Research Assistant, 250 hours(chart reviews):
    • 1 abstract publication (participating authorship), 1 poster
  • Independent Research, 800+ hours, peer and I working on a project totally on our own.
    • Manuscript currently undergoing the peer-review process; peer and I are co-first authors
• Shadowing experience and specialties represented
  • Urology, in clinic and OR: 104 hours
  • Pulmonary/Critical Care, ICU: 16 hours
  • Radiology: 3 hours (2016)
• Non-clinical volunteering, (all from 2016-2018)
  • Youth Sunday School Teacher, 150 hours
  • Student Admissions Rep for my alma mater (club): 30 hours
  • Literary Writer (club): 50 hours
• Relevant honors or awards: None, sadly
• Anything else not listed you think might be important
  • Had 2 operations in 2021 (April and December) for two separate medical issues - severe issues with fatigue for a large portion of the year until I got the operation and got on the right doses for medications that worked for me
  • Underwent emergency surgery sophomore year after a post-op infection; 2 operations within two weeks of each other. Would like to somehow reflect on my experiences as a patient and offer that insight in my app

So my questions are as follows:

• The MCAT. I would like to take it in September of this year. However, I am now 2 years removed from my most recent college courses and achieved modest grades in C/P related prereqs. Weak academic foundation. With this considered. would the 3 months of full-time study I have from now until September suffice for a 518+?
  • Or, should I take the MCAT in January 2023 instead (and study part-time for the next 7 months)?
• I have 11 months from now until a 2023 AMCAS submission. What do I need to seriously work on to be able to apply next year? Would 11 months of additional activity (generally) be enough?
  • Future/planned activities:
    • I was going to pursue a Clinical Research Coordinator position full-time after the MCAT, and would've continued it until matriculation
    • Local tutoring for adults/adult literacy. Am passionate about this, considering my parents are ESL speakers and many in my church community don't speak English at all
    • Habitat for Humanity volunteering

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[chilly_md]

One large area of weakness is non clinical volunteering. This should be volunteering at a homeless shelter, soup kitchen, working with foster youth/refugees, doing Habitat for Humanity etc. You should gain 200 or more hours of this.

Take the time you need to do well on the MCAT. It is impossible to say how long that will hypothetically be. Practice scores are your best guideline for how prepared you are.

 

[deleted760180]

One large area of weakness is non clinical volunteering. This should be volunteering at a homeless shelter, soup kitchen, working with foster youth/refugees, doing Habitat for Humanity etc. You should gain 200 or more hours of this.

Take the time you need to do well on the MCAT. It is impossible to say how long that will hypothetically be. Practice scores are your best guideline for how prepared you are.

Thanks for the reply. Would it be detrimental to start volunteering/start an activity too close to the beginning of the cycle (i.e. in January) and do nothing else but full-time MCAT study from now till January? Would this look suspicious?

Also, what else do I need to work on besides, of course, the volunteering hours and the things I mentioned in the future activities bullet point?

 

[chilly_md]

Thanks for the reply. Would it be detrimental to start volunteering/start an activity too close to the beginning of the cycle (i.e. in January) and do nothing else but full-time MCAT study from now till January? Would this look suspicious?

Also, what else do I need to work on besides, of course, the volunteering hours and the things I mentioned in the future activities bullet point?

You would be better served starting sooner than that. If you can pursue something more flexible/part-time vs the clinical research, that could make your timeline easier. If you have the summer free, much or all of your MCAT studying can be done now and you could do 4-5 hours of volunteering each weekend along your coordinator job fall onwards.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

If you are applying a year from now, the sooner you begin, the more commitment to community service you can convey. 150 hours is just a guide for a minimum expectation for desirable applicants.

 

[LindaAccepted]

Hi everybody--I wanted to solicit your opinions as to whether or not I'd really be putting my best foot forward by applying for the next application cycle, as well as what else I really have to improve on. I do not want to apply DO as I am not particularly passionate about OMM and would like a better chance of going to a competitive speciality in the future, God willing. That said, here's a summary of my profile!:

• cGPA and sGPA as calculated by AMCAS or AACOMAS: 3.6 cGPA, 3.52 sGPA (according to Dr. Ryan Gray's app, Mappd, which uses something similar to AMCAS calculations to my knowledge) with a heavy upward trend(last 44 credits were a 3.8-4.0, mostly upper-level Bios and Neuroscience classes)
  • Neuroscience major, Class of 2020 (yay, the COVID class!). 24 y/o
• State of residence or country of citizenship (if non-US): Massachusetts
• Ethnicity and/or race: North African, Middle Eastern
• Undergraduate institution or category: Top 40 US Private School
• Clinical experience (volunteer and non-volunteer)
  • ER Tech & Arabic Interpreter at a community hospital, 580 hours over 7 months, paid employment - I have a LOT to talk about with this, lots of stories
  • Volunteer Patient Care Tech at the same hospital, 25 hours (however, this was in 2016)
• Research experience and productivity
  • Clinical Research Assistant, 250 hours(chart reviews):
    • 1 abstract publication (participating authorship), 1 poster
  • Independent Research, 800+ hours, peer and I working on a project totally on our own.
    • Manuscript currently undergoing the peer-review process; peer and I are co-first authors
• Shadowing experience and specialties represented
  • Urology, in clinic and OR: 104 hours
  • Pulmonary/Critical Care, ICU: 16 hours
  • Radiology: 3 hours (2016)
• Non-clinical volunteering, (all from 2016-2018)
  • Youth Sunday School Teacher, 150 hours
  • Student Admissions Rep for my alma mater (club): 30 hours
  • Literary Writer (club): 50 hours
• Relevant honors or awards: None, sadly
• Anything else not listed you think might be important
  • Had 2 operations in 2021 (April and December) for two separate medical issues - severe issues with fatigue for a large portion of the year until I got the operation and got on the right doses for medications that worked for me
  • Underwent emergency surgery sophomore year after a post-op infection; 2 operations within two weeks of each other. Would like to somehow reflect on my experiences as a patient and offer that insight in my app

So my questions are as follows:

• The MCAT. I would like to take it in September of this year. However, I am now 2 years removed from my most recent college courses and achieved modest grades in C/P related prereqs. Weak academic foundation. With this considered. would the 3 months of full-time study I have from now until September suffice for a 518+?
  • Or, should I take the MCAT in January 2023 instead (and study part-time for the next 7 months)?
• I have 11 months from now until a 2023 AMCAS submission. What do I need to seriously work on to be able to apply next year? Would 11 months of additional activity (generally) be enough?
  • Future/planned activities:
    • I was going to pursue a Clinical Research Coordinator position full-time after the MCAT, and would've continued it until matriculation
    • Local tutoring for adults/adult literacy. Am passionate about this, considering my parents are ESL speakers and many in my church community don't speak English at all
    • Habitat for Humanity volunteering

You need recent non-clinical community service. Regarding the MCAT, no one can tell you at this point how much study will be "enough." Take a practice exam, and see what's the gap between your current score and your desired score. Then plan accordingly.

Also, while a short stint of full-time MCAT prep can be useful and won't be look down on, seven months will probably lead to less than optimal study as well as being in other ways detrimental to your application effort. Like an undergrad student, you need to be doing additional activities (like showing a commitment to service and time management skills) that show medicine is right for you in addition to studying.

Best,
Linda

 

[deleted760180]

If you have the summer free, much or all of your MCAT studying can be done now and you could do 4-5 hours of volunteering each weekend along your coordinator job fall onwards.

Thanks for your replies everyone. I think this option is the most feasible for me right now. If, God forbid, the September MCAT plan falls through and I don't get my goal score on practice exams, then I will have to aim for a January date while volunteering part-time.

Any further suggestions would be helpful! I'm open to additional criticism or evaluation of any kind.