Hi! I've been lurking for a month now and just wanted to thank everyone who gives advice in these threads. You've helped me a great deal so far as a non-traditional student on the road to med school.
I'd like to know what you all think about this situation: I'm trying to put together a stellar application to be sent out no later than early December which means I need to get some volunteering in. I'm only applying to five programs (Goucher, BM, Scripps, Harvard, and JHU). My fall back if I don't get in is to take classes at a school like UMass Amherst.
I've been told that in order for my application to be at all competitive I'd need some experience working with patients. Since it's August now (applying in 4 months) I'm under the impression that the best/fastest way for me to do this would be to volunteer at a hospital or clinic. I have a few questions about this.
First, is anyone else doing this kind of thing right now? I'm having a lot of trouble finding a hospital that is accepting new volunteers, and also finding one that doesn't require me to speak Spanish fluently. I live in Miami and not being fluent in Spanish is my biggest problem by far, as I'm instantly disqualified to work in every clinic I've checked with.
Second, if I do find a place that would let me volunteer, how bad would I look to postbac schools for only trying to volunteer now? If I get something by September, I would only have about 3 months of experience. Would that experience count at all? I shadowed in hospitals in high school and worked with my father (Forensic Pathologist) whenever I was home from college. Formal programs have made it clear to me that this doesn't count for anything really.
Third, I volunteered last year at an Employment Justice Center where I was acting as a liason between lawyers and people who could not afford legal advice. Would it take more than this to impress top tier schools if I used it as my community service fulfillment? I realize I should always do more but time is of the essence and I'd like to get in as much in-field experience as I can.
Lastly am I being silly for putting an early deadline on my applications? They aren't really due until April-May, but I understand that earlier = better chances. The question is how much better is it to apply in Dec. as opposed to say March if it means a little extra time working in the field?
For background my undergrad GPA is 3.5 (Asian Studies) and the only sci classes I took were Bio, Chem, and Neurology for Speech and Hearing majors (of the non pre recs for med school kind, so they won't disqualify me from a formal program). My SATs are pretty bad at around 1230-1250, so I'm taking the GRE (though only three of those programs accept it) in October.
Sorry for the long post, and again I really appreciate what you all are doing here. Thanks in advance for any answers and advice!
I'd like to know what you all think about this situation: I'm trying to put together a stellar application to be sent out no later than early December which means I need to get some volunteering in. I'm only applying to five programs (Goucher, BM, Scripps, Harvard, and JHU). My fall back if I don't get in is to take classes at a school like UMass Amherst.
I've been told that in order for my application to be at all competitive I'd need some experience working with patients. Since it's August now (applying in 4 months) I'm under the impression that the best/fastest way for me to do this would be to volunteer at a hospital or clinic. I have a few questions about this.
First, is anyone else doing this kind of thing right now? I'm having a lot of trouble finding a hospital that is accepting new volunteers, and also finding one that doesn't require me to speak Spanish fluently. I live in Miami and not being fluent in Spanish is my biggest problem by far, as I'm instantly disqualified to work in every clinic I've checked with.
Second, if I do find a place that would let me volunteer, how bad would I look to postbac schools for only trying to volunteer now? If I get something by September, I would only have about 3 months of experience. Would that experience count at all? I shadowed in hospitals in high school and worked with my father (Forensic Pathologist) whenever I was home from college. Formal programs have made it clear to me that this doesn't count for anything really.
Third, I volunteered last year at an Employment Justice Center where I was acting as a liason between lawyers and people who could not afford legal advice. Would it take more than this to impress top tier schools if I used it as my community service fulfillment? I realize I should always do more but time is of the essence and I'd like to get in as much in-field experience as I can.
Lastly am I being silly for putting an early deadline on my applications? They aren't really due until April-May, but I understand that earlier = better chances. The question is how much better is it to apply in Dec. as opposed to say March if it means a little extra time working in the field?
For background my undergrad GPA is 3.5 (Asian Studies) and the only sci classes I took were Bio, Chem, and Neurology for Speech and Hearing majors (of the non pre recs for med school kind, so they won't disqualify me from a formal program). My SATs are pretty bad at around 1230-1250, so I'm taking the GRE (though only three of those programs accept it) in October.
Sorry for the long post, and again I really appreciate what you all are doing here. Thanks in advance for any answers and advice!
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