Should I take a gap year?

[deleted1060978]

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[Tyrese]

I think your GPA and MCAT have a higher stake in your app. The volunteering, research, etc. is sort of a "character building portion" of your app. It gives you experiences to talk about and gives your application some unique personality. More hours in clinical can mean that you have a dedication to medicine, understand how the field is by being in the fray, and it gives you more to discuss in interviews.

It's up to you, do YOU feel confident in your app? Do you have a clearer picture of what the clinical exp. is with your 25 hours? Understand that many applicants have at least roughly 4-5 times your current amount of hours.

Only apply when you're absolutely ready and sure about your profile. Better to do it right the first time, than reapply (and put up with the excruciating app cycle again... 😵).

P.S: congrats on commendable MCAT and GPA OP!

 

[carrots28]

I think if you have a good overall app you should go for it. I know my Med school admin is very aware about how limited things are these days.

I recall I didn’t have very many formal clinical hours either. I did explain in my essays how the non-clinical experiences inspired me to pursue medicine.

 

[Blueprint Med School]

You shouldn't have an issue with applying without a gap year. If anything, more experiences will make you more competitive at more schools, but as long as you apply broadly, you shouldn't have an issue with getting into an American MD.

 

[Justapremedguy]

Everyone is saying to apply, but I’d be a little concerned. The process is expensive and time consuming and you don’t want to apply the following year anyway as a reapplicant. 25 clinical hours will likely raise a red flag. Not because schools don’t understand WHY you have so few, they will, but they’ll be concerned that you don’t know enough to be certain you want to be a physician. With even 100 clinical hours, it sounds like you’d be golden with the rest of your app but 25 is essentially nothing.
Don’t get me wrong, I hope you can apply. I’m rooting for you. And I know nothing (I’m a current applicant...)

The person you should ask is @Goro

 

[ParaMagic1]

I would say go for it... 99th percentile for GPA and MCAT + some EC will be good enough for many schools. Especially with COVID ruining everything, you have a great defense as to why you don't have more EC wise...

As long as you can explain exactly why medicine, and why becoming a physician is right for you, you will be fine.

 

[deleted1060978]

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[Justapremedguy]

Yes, this is definitely my concern. I wouldn't want to waste so much time and money sending applications only to end up getting results that do not reflect my application (or what it should be). I've done thousands of hours of clinical volunteering in high school up to the month before leaving for college (surgical waiting room and ER) and have lived/moved around the world as my father went into and from MD-->full physician so I feel like I know what I'm getting myself into, personally, but obviously high school hours don't count and AO's can't read my mind/past, lol. It is what it is. If I can't squeeze out a scribing position or more ER volunteering by the time I apply in May/June, then I will probably take a gap year.

Also, I don't know if you have an answer to this, but would prospective hours matter at all? Let's say volunteering resumes in May of next year or something, even if I continued at the same rate I was before I would have well over 150 hours by the time (if) I were to get interviews.

Interesting. Yeah, this is where you need to hear from the adcoms on here. You should get most secondaries as most schools don’t screen and if you could explain on secondaries that your hours are low from COVID, but you know a ton from your high school stuff that could help. Again, im just a naive applicant. Dont take my opinion too seriously.

 

[deleted1060978]

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[DokterMom]

Yes, this is definitely my concern. I wouldn't want to waste so much time and money sending applications only to end up getting results that do not reflect my application (or what it should be). I've done thousands of hours of clinical volunteering in high school up to the month before leaving for college (surgical waiting room and ER) and have lived/moved around the world as my father went into and from MD-->full physician so I feel like I know what I'm getting myself into, personally, but obviously high school hours don't count and AO's can't read my mind/past, lol. It is what it is. If I can't squeeze out a scribing position or more ER volunteering by the time I apply in May/June, then I will probably take a gap year.

Also, I don't know if you have an answer to this, but would prospective hours matter at all? Let's say volunteering resumes in May of next year or something, even if I continued at the same rate I was before I would have well over 150 hours by the time (if) I were to get interviews.

I'm going to agree that giving this year's extraordinary circumstances, that it would be appropriate and beneficial for you to mention your high school experiences. Do note that you normally wouldn't include them, but that the pandemic prevented you from getting more recent experiences and you wanted to describe how your earlier clinical experiences shaped your desire to become a physician.

 

[Goro]

Hello all,

Sorry if I'm beating a dead horse or if this question has been asked already—I made a comment a few days ago but got no response so I just decided to make a post...

Anyways, I currently have a whopping 25 clinical hours (not including 70 of shadowing) and am rising junior planning on applying in the 2021 cycle. I took advantage of the remote spring to study for the MCAT and took it early and already have my score back; my GPA and MCAT are both essentially 99th percentile and every other aspect of my application reflects my highest efforts and (for me) cannot really be any better.

My state is completely shattered by the virus and it will absolutely not get better. I'm will also have to stay home for the next semester because my college town is, sadly, even worse than in my hometown. Even if clinical volunteering was open, there is no way I would be able to go (family health concerns), so I'm pretty much stuck at home for the foreseeable future.

Despite my health concerns, I've emailed pretty much every clinical opportunity I could possibly think of, and nothing seems to budge. Even ScribeAmerica is nonresponsive which is shocking considering their previous...actions. I keep holding on to a shred of hope that I will somehow be able to reach the 300+ hour mark for clinical hours (which I've heard is the 'good' area) but this is starting to take a serious toll on my mental health. I guess the question I'm asking is whether I can somehow still apply with these hours without being viewed in a negative light (for the lack of clinical hours) and if not if I should just accept the fact that I will have to take a gap year and focus on other things.

Also full disclosure: I'm Latino, not sure if that would make a major difference in my situation but I know people seem to think it matters a lot. I don't think I'm technically a URM, but I'm still a Latino from immigrant parents and most of my ECs/nonprofit I made are geared towards helping disadvantaged and minorities.

Here's the harsh truth. Your health, and that of your family and society's is more important than your applying to medical school.

Pre-meds just see your stats, moth-like to a flame, and their brains go dead. Ignore them. I've seen plenty of posts here from high GPA/high MCAT candidates who were rejected because they had little patient contact experience.

What are you going to say when asked how you know you are suited for a life of caring for the sick and suffering? “That you just know”? Imagine how that will go over!

From the wise LizzyM: I am always reminded of a certain frequent poster of a few years ago. He was adamant about not volunteering as he did not want to give his services for free and he was busy and helping others was inconvenient. He matriculated to a medical school and lasted less than one year. He's now in school to become an accountant.

Here's the deal: You need to show AdComs that you know what you're getting into, and show off your altruistic, humanistic side. We need to know that you're going to like being around sick or injured people for the next 40 years.

Here's another way of looking at it: would you buy a new car without test driving it? Buy a new suit or dress without trying it on??

We're also not looking for merely for good medical students, we're looking for people who will make good doctors, and 4.0 GPA robots are a dime-a-dozen.

Hence, take the gap year and get those missing hours boned up. Your stats merit them. IF you want to get into the clinic, try scribing.

Which Latino community do you represent (and don't say Miami). Any Spanish language skills?

 

[deleted1060978]

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[princesspeach2]

Another option for clinical experience which has not been on hold due to covid, if you are interested, is becoming a CNA. There is a company called Next Step that has free CNA training program. You complete classes through an app on your phone at your own pace, then go to a center for final in-person training and to take the licensing exam. All for free. I found them on Craigslist or indeed.

NextStep offers a new path to CNA certification.

Instead of enrolling directly in NextStep’s CNA program, learners can now access the program as an employment perk at participating care facilities.

www.nextstep.careers

 

[Goro]

Thanks for the response. As for scribing, I applied in my home state/city a few weeks ago and it's been silence on ScribeAmerica's end, so I'm not sure what else to do. I definitely have a lot of nonclinical volunteering that stretches far beyond normal expectations for a volunteer (highlighting my ""altruistic and humanistic side"), but none of it is clinical/dealing with sick people aside from those 30 hours.

As for which Latino community I represent, I am not sure what you mean by that. My parents are both immigrants from south america and I've lived there for a lot of my childhood as well as Portugal and many other cities in the US/Canada.

I speak practically fluent Spanish and Portuguese and some of my ECs involve me speaking to people who only speak Spanish. My roots and family all lie in my family's country of origin despite me not living there for most of my primary education, and I have citizenship (if that matters). As I said before, I don't think I technically qualify for URM because pretty much ever since I became a teenager my family has been financially VERY stable (much different when I was growing up).

You're not URM (South Americans are well represented in US medicine) , but Spanish skills are appreciated.

Like many other people, you're going to have to cool your heels for a year until the crisis passes.

 

[mvsrocks]

Definitely take a gap year. I am one of those high stat reapps (4.0 522), and I believe a large reason was my low clinical experiences. Not only did I waste tons of money, I am also now relabeled as a reapplicant that adcoms may not look favorably upon.

I believe it's especially tough for high stat applicants with low clinical experiences because "lower tier" schools may yield protect you based on stats, while "higher tier" schools will deny you based on lack of experiences (compared to other top tier applicants applying there). And you end up not fitting anywhere. Spend a year bulking up your clinical experiences such that they match the caliber of your stats.

 

[Justapremedguy]

Definitely take a gap year. I am one of those high stat reapps (4.0 522), and I believe a large reason was my low clinical experiences. Not only did I waste tons of money, I am also now relabeled as a reapplicant that adcoms may not look favorably upon.

I believe it's especially tough for high stat applicants with low clinical experiences because "lower tier" schools may yield protect you based on stats, while "higher tier" schools will deny you based on lack of experiences (compared to other top tier applicants applying there). And you end up not fitting anywhere. Spend a year bulking up your clinical experiences such that they match the caliber of your stats.

What were your clinical experiences? How many hours too?

 

[mvsrocks]

What were your clinical experiences? How many hours too?

Not including shadowing, I had 40 hrs of "hospital volunteering" at the time of primary submission. This went up to 150 hrs by early August, and I updated schools (on other stuff too), but I'm not sure how much of a difference it made. Even though I got 4 II (2 of which were T10), they all resulted in WL

 

[yokiguz]

Definitely take a gap year. I am one of those high stat reapps (4.0 522), and I believe a large reason was my low clinical experiences. Not only did I waste tons of money, I am also now relabeled as a reapplicant that adcoms may not look favorably upon.

I believe it's especially tough for high stat applicants with low clinical experiences because "lower tier" schools may yield protect you based on stats, while "higher tier" schools will deny you based on lack of experiences (compared to other top tier applicants applying there). And you end up not fitting anywhere. Spend a year bulking up your clinical experiences such that they match the caliber of your stats.

Can I ask what kind of ECs you had applying the first time?

 

[Justapremedguy]

Not including shadowing, I had 40 hrs of "hospital volunteering" at the time of primary submission. This went up to 150 hrs by early August, and I updated schools (on other stuff too), but I'm not sure how much of a difference it made. Even though I got 4 II (2 of which were T10), they all resulted in WL

Got it. I have solid stats (3.81/518) and am mostly gunning for T20s, but am worried my clinical experience will hold me back. 50 hours shadowing, 50 hours volunteering, 250 hours of paid EMT work (over 3 months). Im afraid the lack of long term clinical positions will sink me

 

[mvsrocks]

Can I ask what kind of ECs you had applying the first time?

hospital volunteering, research, exec on club, other club involvement, tutoring middle schoolers for science olympiad, shadowing, club table tennis

 

[mvsrocks]

Got it. I have solid stats (3.81/518) and am mostly gunning for T20s, but am worried my clinical experience will hold me back. 50 hours shadowing, 50 hours volunteering, 250 hours of paid EMT work (over 3 months). Im afraid the lack of long term clinical positions will sink me

If 50 hrs volunteering includes both clinical and non-clinical, I'd start looking for new volunteer opportunities right away (of course, ones that you'd enjoy). If you need to reapply again, you will be ready, and so that you will have material for application updates.

Luckily, during my year of application, I started new activities (hospice, homeless shelter volunteering, created an org) not knowing I wouldn't get accepted to any of my 4 IIs. Thus, you should always have the mentality of rejected until accepted, and constantly look towards improving yourself.

 

[yokiguz]

hospital volunteering, research, exec on club, other club involvement, tutoring middle schoolers for science olympiad, shadowing, club table tennis

Interesting, what held you back? Low hours? Lack of volunteering with those in need?

 

[Justapremedguy]

If 50 hrs volunteering includes both clinical and non-clinical, I'd start looking for new volunteer opportunities right away (of course, ones that you'd enjoy). If you need to reapply again, you will be ready, and so that you will have material for application updates.

Luckily, during my year of application, I started new activities (hospice, homeless shelter volunteering, created an org) not knowing I wouldn't get accepted to any of my 4 IIs. Thus, you should always have the mentality of rejected until accepted, and constantly look towards improving yourself.

Oh, this was all just clinical. I have a few hundred of non-clinical work and volunteering.

 

[mvsrocks]

Interesting, what held you back? Low hours? Lack of volunteering with those in need?

yes

 

[deleted1060978]

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[mvsrocks]

thanks for the info. I think if I end up in a position like that, I will take a gap year then.

Sounds good. And honestly, I'm kinda enjoying my gap year scribing right now. It's a blessing in disguise, and a time when I can do the things I wouldn't have time to do during medical training. And sure, some people may say that you lose a year of a physician's salary. But I wonder how much money an old physician would be willing to pay to be young again for a year. Enjoy youth.