So Confused

[doctorjee]

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Hello,

I am a rising senior aspiring to go to medical school but I didn't really do anything in my 3 years of college. I have zero clinical experience other than ~25 hours of shadowing. I also worked as a tutor for about 2 years. I was on the board for a club for a year. I have two semesters of research experience with no publication, poster or letter of recommendation.

I am studying biochem at a state school in NY. I have a cGPA of 3.61 and a sGPA of 3.51. I am currently studying for the mcat right now but only have about 2 months to study so I am expecting about a 512, 513.

I want to take a gap year so I will have my senior year and gap year to strengthen my resume and application. How should I strengthen my application in terms of extracurriculars? And if I end up with my expected MCAT score, what are my chances at MD schools.

 

[bbbcccppp]

Predicting your mcat isn't that easy. You can take an amcas mock mcat to get an idea. They say here that the Kaplan mock mcats are a poor predictor and show low


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[bbbcccppp]

Mcat postings threads on this site are comprehensive and helpful


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[Lannister]

only have about 2 months to study so I am expecting about a 512, 513.

What makes you think this? A 512/513 is a pretty decent score. Never assume you'll score high on the MCAT, especially when you have a mediocre GPA.

 

[doctorjee]

What makes you think this? A 512/513 is a pretty decent score. Never assume you'll score high on the MCAT, especially when you have a mediocre GPA.

I am getting around that score on practice tests.

 

[AttemptingScholar]

I am getting around that score on practice tests.

Which tests?

 

[doctorjee]

Which tests?

The Kaplan ones that come with the book. But I also scored similar on the Official Guide Questions from AAMC. I'm more worried about my lack of clinical experience than MCAT/GPA.

 

[B-Lymphocyte]

Assuming you get your predicted MCAT score, your stats should be fine for MD, even though your GPA is on the low side. However, as you've mentioned your lack of extracurricular activity (clinical experiencing, volunteering) will drag down your application. I think its a good idea to take a gap year and beef up your app. Also if your MCAT score doesn't come out the way you wanted it, you'll have plenty of time to take it again.

 

[doctorjee]

Assuming you get your predicted MCAT score, your stats should be fine for MD, even though your GPA is on the low side. However, as you've mentioned your lack of extracurricular activity (clinical experiencing, volunteering) will drag down your application. I think its a good idea to take a gap year and beef up your app. Also if your MCAT score doesn't come out the way you wanted it, you'll have plenty of time to take it again.

Would senior year and the gap year be sufficient for beefing up my resume. And what kind of activities should I engage in.

 

[AttemptingScholar]

Clinical work, clinical volunteering, nonclinical volunteering, especially with underserved populations.

 

[B-Lymphocyte]

Get your hands dirty. Volunteer at a free clinic where you can possibly be able to room patients take blood pressures and the like. When I volunteered, I got to gather family history, check meds, and had plenty of patient contact.

 

[B-Lymphocyte]

Also for clarification, which cycle are wishing to apply for? I assume you are talking about the cycle after this one. If not, I don't think you need to have your senor year and another gap year before applying. You have the rest of this summer and all next school year to gain experience.

 

[doctorjee]

Also for clarification, which cycle are wishing to apply for? I assume you are talking about the cycle after this one. If not, I don't think you need to have your senor year and another gap year before applying. You have the rest of this summer and all next school year to gain experience.

Yeah I'm thinking of applying in the 2018 cycle. I'm solely studying for the mcat this summer. Also wouldn't I be unable to put my experiences for senior year on the application be they are after the application is sent.

 

[B-Lymphocyte]

Since your applying for the 2018 cycle you can submit late next June maybe even early July and still be on schedule to do your interviews during the Fall. Which means everything you do this upcoming school year into early next summer is game to put on your app. Since you are taking your MCAT this summer and you don't have to worry about it at the beginning of the application cycle like some of us did, so you can also you use May and early June to get some good experience before you submit your app.

 

[doctorjee]

Since your applying for the 2018 cycle you can submit late next June maybe even early July and still be on schedule to do your interviews during the Fall. Which means everything you do this upcoming school year into early next summer is game to put on your app. Since you are taking your MCAT this summer and you don't have to worry about it at the beginning of the application cycle like some of us did, so you can also you use May and early June to get some good experience before you submit your app.

How many hours of clinical volunteering and non-clinical volunteering should I shoot for.

 

[Toutie]

How many hours of clinical volunteering and non-clinical volunteering should I shoot for.

100-150 each as a bare minimum. 200+ each would be much better.

 

[AttemptingScholar]

How many hours of clinical volunteering and non-clinical volunteering should I shoot for.

Kind of depends. If your job is in clinical, you need less clinical volunteering. You need at least a hundred, preferably 200 if you have a gap year. The main thing is that you can talk honestly about what you learned from it, though.

 

[doctorjee]

Kind of depends. If your job is in clinical, you need less clinical volunteering. You need at least a hundred, preferably 200 if you have a gap year. The main thing is that you can talk honestly about what you learned from it, though.

Well I would continue volunteering after senior year so I would definitely be able to talk about it intelligently during the interview.

 

[TRPMinus]

There's nothing I love more than a good naive pre-med who is expecting a 90th percentile score