Volunteer Hours/Am I on the right track...?

[mdprospect1]

Hi everyone. I am currently a sophomore in college and had a question about volunteering hours and how they are counted on AMCAS. Since I was in middle school, I volunteered at an Alzheimer's care facility (nursing home) by playing an instrument. I did this up until last March before COVID really started to get worse. Would hours volunteered during high school count because I continued volunteering at the same place or do I have to start from college? I know I can't add hours from when I was in middle school but I think it would be meaningful to talk about how I started this from a very young age. I realize there are some threads discussing this but I just wanted some clarity.

Also, I was wondering if I am on the right track in terms of my stats/ECs. I know that once I take my MCAT that'll strongly determine where I apply but I would like to know if my ECs are okay... I have not included hours but most of them are substantial. I'm just worried whether I'm doing enough. Thanks.

cGPA: 3.87

MCAT: Deciding whether to take it in junior or senior year if I want a gap year...

Volunteering:
-Nursing home
-Local hospital
-School club that helps kids with disabilities
-Mentoring kids program (kind of like BBBS)

Research:
-Microbio research at my college
-Cardiovascular summer internship

Shadowing:
-None (oof. trying to find opportunities rn)

Work experience:
-CNA at a nursing home

Leadership experience:
-SI leader for gen chem

Awards:
-Research scholarship from school

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[Blueprint Med School]

Not having shadowing or experiences working directly with physicians can potentially sink you at some schools. Adcom members really care about this because the only way a student can know if they really want to have the life of a doctor is to shadow or see what it's like in some other setting. It looks like your 'local hospital' volunteering may count as clinical volunteering- as long as you were working with patients, then it's clinical.

The general rule is to never include anything on your application from high school but if it's a continued experience, you could probably include the entire time period.

Kevin W, MCAT Tutor
Med School Tutors