What can I do?

[MedDreamTake2]

I graduated in 2021 with a great GPA and subpar extracurriculars. The plan was to work on those by taking gap years, but life happens and family responsibilities prevented me from doing so. Now I have been searching for what to do next, but am feeling pretty lost. Does anyone have any advice on where to get started. I would like to apply this year or next.

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[Angler]

I graduated in 2021 with a great GPA and subpar extracurriculars. The plan was to work on those by taking gap years, but life happens and family responsibilities prevented me from doing so. Now I have been searching for what to do next, but am feeling pretty lost. Does anyone have any advice on where to get started. I would like to apply this year or next.

Hard to know what to recommend to you, since we don't know your starting point. You're sure about medicine? You should shadow some docs to see what it is really like.

Do you still have access to your UG premed advising? If so, go there. But read some WAMC threads here too. Read a bunch of them. You will get a flavor of the full spectrum of applicants, from those with impeccable profiles to those who barely have a chance given what life has thrown at them. And you'll see what others here are recommending as far as remediating deficiencies.

You have very little chance of success if you're going to apply this June, so I wouldn't even think of that. It's not just a check list of things that need to be done to have a chance at success. You have to show that you're committed to being a doc, and that doesn't happen in four months!

Also, you don't really need to cross post in two subforums. Most people here tend to be pretty neurotic and will read everything posted in every forum word for word!

 

[Goro]

I graduated in 2021 with a great GPA and subpar extracurriculars. The plan was to work on those by taking gap years, but life happens and family responsibilities prevented me from doing so. Now I have been searching for what to do next, but am feeling pretty lost. Does anyone have any advice on where to get started. I would like to apply this year or next.

Start by volunteering with patients. Use that to make connections with clinicians to Shadow.

Nonclinical volunteering can be done according to your schedule. Engage in service to others less fortunate than yourself.

 

[AW125]

I know that feeling. For the last year I have been trying to get some shadowing with DO's and I have been doing my part to make the calls and show my interest and nobody is getting back to me.

The part that kinda bothers me is that I'm telling them that I already attend a medical school as an MS student and you would think those same doctors were in the same position at one point in their life and they would want to pay it forward by helping the next generation out but that's not the case.

I have some pretty interesting non-clinical activities and my advice is to get creative and create an opportunity.