Weak medical ECs but I teach yoga...?

[premedyogini]

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I'm a third year bio major at UC Berkeley planning on graduating after the summer session this August. I have a 3.9 and expect to do decently well on the MCAT when I take it, but I am concerned about my lack in clinical experience or research (at the moment I have none of either). I am planning on taking the next year to improve my resume (shadowing, EMT experience, volunteer work etc.) but I'm wondering if that will even be good enough? I have had minimal involvement in campus organizations as well, which doesn't really help. What I HAVE been doing for the past two years is teaching yoga. It's a huge part of my life and has had a huge influence on my character. I'm extremely involved at my studio--I work about twenty hours a week there and when I'm not teaching a class myself I'll be there taking one. In addition to teaching yoga classes, I also lead a quarterly two-week BootCamp program--I'm in charge of marketing, programming, hiring program assistance, and running the daily operations. Also, I give 6 hour anatomy lectures each quarter to people who are in training to become certified yoga instructors. Oh and I raised $10,000+ a few years ago for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society in honor of my mom. But that's really all I got. Thoughts? Advice???

 

[Ohyeah]

I think you'll be fine, assuming you do well on the MCAT and really dedicate this next year to clinical experiences. Your passion for yoga and leadership experience before this point are absolutely a positive thing.

There's no hard requirement for the clinical stuff, but you need to be able to make the case (to adcoms and to yourself) that you know what patient care and a career in medicine are about, and that you can see yourself doing it. It is really a challenging road to get there, and these are the type of experiences that will motivate you to get through it.

 

[climbouthole]

Agree with the above, you're not void of ECs. Your yoga teaching is leadership and a responsibility so that's good you've been doing that. Also, the fundraiser is great, I'm sure that wasn't easy. These ECs not being research may hinder you only at schools that value those things beyond the average school, but a lack of clinical exposure will certainly be a big problem, though one easily fixed. Adcoms just want to trust you understand the environment of patient care, and you don't need 1000 or even 100 hours to have "been exposed". Shadowing is also important because you directly observe the role of the physician.

If your year prior to application is spent shadowing/volunteering, and your MCAT goes decently I'm sure you'll have a very successful application. Best of luck!

 

[survivordo]

I would reiterate that shadowing will be crucial. You need to prove to yourself that you really want to go through all the BS it takes to become a physician and also to the adcoms. Otherwise I think you're on the right track!

Survivor DO