Hello,
I am a California resident with a 3.88 sGPA, 3.80cGPA, 518 MCAT. I have 100 hours clinical shadowing, 250 hours non-clinical volunteering (some of it medical related), 800 hours of research with no publications, 300 hours clerical job and I have a Medical Humanities Certificate (liberal arts education with a medical focus, looked at a lot of aspects of medicine that is not skill and science). I have received great feedback on my PS and my descriptions on WA.
However, I have been told by an ex-adcom member that I should strongly consider withdrawing and applying next year because I do not have clinical experience. I will be starting a clinical scribing and research position this week and I included it in my WA as a future experience (IK it doesn't count the same).
Since then I have been getting mixed opinions from many other medical students, advisors, ex-adcoms members. It's tearing me apart, idk what to do. Should I try my chances this year at a mid-tier? I'd love to stay in California and maybe USC or UCI are in my range? Maybe with COVID-19, there's going to be a higher number of people without clinical experience? How bad will it be if I'm a reapplicant next cycle? I would have a significant amount of clinical hours, maybe some abstracts or a publication, and some more non-clinical volunteering hours. If I can get into a mid-tier school in an area I'd like to be in, then I'd want to continue with my submitted application. It's not too late to withdraw and not be labeled a reapplicant, plus I'd get my money back