Research vs. Service Oriented Gap & Chances?

[deleted826437]

Hi all,

I am a rising senior (I will be graduating after my summer semester) and am looking to get some plans solidified for my gap year. I have been in a lab since freshman year and since it required me to be on campus during the summer I continued to take classes and that will result in me graduating 2 semesters early. Obviously, I'm well beyond the deadlines so I will be taking a gap year as I prepare for this next application cycle.

I am hoping to hear your opinions on what I should do during that time. So far, I believe that I have had several valuable service/volunteer opportunities:
1) Taught English to Refugees for a semester
2) Led an after-school sports camp for poor/marginalized student populations (more refugees) for 2 semesters
3) Volunteered then was hired on as a medical case manager for Refugees with mental illnesses. Trained how to navigate public transit, performed medication management services, scheduled doctors appointments, advocating for patients (3 semesters vol 10 hrs/wk, 3 semesters working 15 hrs/wk). Also helped design a curriculum to train community mental health workers (community listeners) targeted toward leaders in various ethnic communities.
4) Taught a breakout section for a class based on understanding national identity and social justice.

In terms of research, I have been in a lab working on a few independent projects relating to genetics for the past 5 semesters. The first two projects turned out to be busts but the one I'm finishing up should get published in a low impact but respectable journal this semester or next.

I hope to be competitive at top 20ish schools/schools in major cities. Ex: (Weill Cornell, Columbia, NYU, Sinai, Northwestern, UChicago, Emory etc.). My cGPA will end up somewhere between 3.8 and 3.83 and I have yet to take the MCAT. Assuming that I have a competitive score for the listed schools and taking into account my previous experiences, which of the following do you think will be more valuable:

a) Full time Research. Either NIH IRTA Post-bac or Full time paid position at a well-known research hospital.
b) Teach for America (2 yrs), Americorps, Something else.

Think I'll be competitive at the schools I'm exploring? Thanks.

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[jarednogeek]

Do you have shadowing? You seem to have plenty of research and volunteering in my eyes already. Maybe some more clinical hours (hospice)? Shadow and focus big time on your MCAT because the MCAT will determine your odds

 

[deleted826437]

@jarednogeek Thanks for the reply!

I do NOT have much shadowing as of now. I am hoping to get on top of that this Spring/Summer. In terms of clinical work, one of the things I do as a medical case manager is accompany patients to psychiatry appointments and make sure that their psychiatrists are given all of the necessary technical information. You'd be surprised how much info gets left out at those appointments. I know this won't satisfy all of the clinical requirements but I hoped that it would qualify for some of it.

Even still, shadowing doesn't exactly seem like a full time/whole year gig. Is it? By hospice are you thinking CNA? Will that be more valuable than research to these research-oriented schools?

Thanks again!

 

[jarednogeek]

@jarednogeek Thanks for the reply!

I do NOT have much shadowing as of now. I am hoping to get on top of that this Spring/Summer. In terms of clinical work, one of the things I do as a medical case manager is accompany patients to psychiatry appointments and make sure that their psychiatrists are given all of the necessary technical information. You'd be surprised how much info gets left out at those appointments. I know this won't satisfy all of the clinical requirements but I hoped that it would qualify for some of it.

Even still, shadowing doesn't exactly seem like a full time/whole year gig. Is it? By hospice are you thinking CNA? Will that be more valuable than research to these research-oriented schools?

Thanks again!

About 50 total hours of shadowing some of which in primary care should be the goal. (Try for 3 diff docs) your gap year won’t matter too much, just that all the boxes on your app are check and that you’re doing something productive. I’ve been traveling, teaching English in Italy, working at a grocery store in Colorado etc. the difference in 2000 and 3000 hours of research will not affect your chances much. Just make sure you have some of everything and do something productive that you enjoy.

Hospice is just a good clinical opportunity. You don’t need a cna. For your gap year just get a good fun job and save up for med school and enjoy yourself. Med school is tuff.