Too late to get in some EC and/or research?

[undergroundcelloswan]

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Hey everyone! I have a cousin, graduating from college this year, who is applying to medical school this cycle. Her cGPA is 3.5 (close to 3.6), though I'm not sure what her sGPA is. She hasn't taken the MCAT yet but says she's scoring in the mid-30s. She wants to know: a) How a MSc in Integrated Immunology at Oxford (she got accepted and will start in October) looks to the AdCom, and b) Whether it's too late to participate in any significant ECs (research, volunteering, etc...). Her ECs to date are volunteering for some years in a med clinic (not sure what type, but definitely a private practice) and 5 months of mentoring elementary school students. Hypothetically speaking, if she does get involved in volunteering and/or research, it'll be 4 weeks minimum of experience (considering she submits her application mid-June). Her concern is how that looks to the AdCom. FWIW, she will be doing immunology research during her MSc.

I appreciate any advice. Thanks in advance!

 

[bearded frog]

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[Catalystik]

A) Research based MSc will add some future research hours to the app, that's it.
B) She can start whatever she wants but ADCOMS don't put too much value in future stuff. If shes competitive but still on holds/wait lists come December, she can send whatever shes doing in updates, but that's pretty late in the game.

I'd say keep it up and do as much as possible, you never know what you can bring up at an interview etc. And if she needs to reapply it will make her next application all that much better.

I agree with these comments. Further, AMCAS does not accept foreign transcripts. Considering the cousin has a cGPA on the low side, she'd be better off staying home and taking more undergrad science coursework in an unofficial postbac and waiting a year to apply when her application is the best it can be.

If she got interviews, how much leave does she think she can take to fly back to the USA without it having a negative effect on her progress in the masters program?

 

[undergroundcelloswan]

@bearded frog @Catalystik - Thanks for your input, I'll let her know!

 

[Catalystik]

You might encourage her to set up her own SDN account, which takes <5 minutes, so she can ask future questions directly.