What do I need to do to matriculate immediately after undergrad?

[gothpremed]

Hi all,

I know it is early but I looking for a second opinion. I just finished my sophomore year, and I'm 100% sure I want to go to medical school. It's still fairly far out, but I do know that if I wanted to matriculate directly, I need to get started in the next year. The pre-med director at my college is adamant about pre-meds taking two gap years -- I completely understand the sentiment, and I am not against a gap year -- I just want to make sure I am prepared to start applying next year if that is something I feel is right for me when the time approaches... in the past, my college has had students matriculate into some great medical schools but since the 2020 class, only 1 student has successfully applied and gotten into med school so i guess i feel like im at a dead end for resources, otherwise i would network

That being said, what can I do to become a better applicant for my last 2 years of undergrad? I know I need to work on my GPA and I'm thinking about getting EMT certified or something similar to that for better clinical experience.

Info: ORM female
3.66 overall gpa (upward trend, rough first semester...)
studying for the MCAT rn, planning to take in august (just finished taking all my prereqs so its really fresh rn, so why not get it out of the way! also, i have gotten between 512-515 on practice FLs as of recent)
200 volunteer hours so far (hospital)
1 semester of research so far (1st author on poster) continuing in the fall
working as a research assistant this summer at my state med school!!
3 leadership positions at my college (chair of my majors committee, board of student programming committee, board of pre-health society)
studied abroad through a program!
i also hold multiple jobs during the school year alongside my coursework (20ish hours a week, retail)

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[Mr.Smile12]

Welcome to the forums.

Transactional:

• Have you participated in any summer academic enrichment programs?
• Have you done any summer research fellowships (I guess that's pending)?
• How much shadowing have you done? Clinical experience (employment or volunteering)?
• How much service orientation have you done? How have you advocated for others unlike yourself?
• Have you networked with any medical schools you want to attend? What mentoring organizations have you joined that help aspiring physicians?
• Have you taken PREview (which can carry over multiple cycles if you nail a top result)? Have you started considering Casper (situational judgment tests)? What courses or experiences have prepared you for situational judgement assessments>
• How much money have you budgeted for your application process? When are you going to save the money to apply?
• Have you started your personal statement draft?
• Who is writing your LOR's?

Philosophical

1. Why do you want to become a physician? Would your family support you if you didn't become a physician?
2. What are your plans to finance your education? Have you looked into HPSP or NHSC or other LRP schemes?
3. How much have you read about burnout among health professionals? What are you doing now to mitigate those challenges later?
4. Would you be happy with a DO degree? Are you tempted to go Caribbean or international?
5. If something disruptive occurred in your life (personal health, family challenges, another pandemic or act of God), would you be able to handle the disruption in your timeline to get accepted, graduate from medical school, or complete your residency? Why must you achieve your goals in such a strict timeline?

The comment that your school has not had a track record of getting graduating seniors directly to medical school is interesting. About half of the applicant pool has taken 1 or more gap years. Not having a gap year can be seen more as a curiosity rather than the norm now; that is likely why your advisors may hold this "two year gap" idea.

 

[deleted1169403]

what can I do to become a better applicant for my last 2 years of undergrad?

If you want to matriculate right after undergrad, you really only have 1 year to improve your application because you’d have to apply the summer before your senior year (May 2025) to matriculate fall 2026 (the year you graduate).

 

[littlebearfanpage]

I would work on getting ur clinical exp to at least 300+ hrs and doing nonclinical volunteering! As well as raising your gpa. I’m not sure how big or small ur university is, but it’s def still possible to get in as a “trad” student w/ no gaps. My roommate and I both are graduating from undergrad in a couple weeks and have had pretty successful cycles! It’s def less common now to go straight but having a head start helps. A lot of the longitudinal experiences I talked about in my applications began during my sophomore year and the summer before my third year. It was also encouraging at some of my interviews that quite a few of the medical students we got to talk to also went straight from undergrad and had quite successful cycles as well! Of course, if you’re aiming for specific schools or “top” institutions, a gap year or two would be more advisable.

 

[candbgirl]

Hi all,

I know it is early but I looking for a second opinion. I just finished my sophomore year, and I'm 100% sure I want to go to medical school. It's still fairly far out, but I do know that if I wanted to matriculate directly, I need to get started in the next year. The pre-med director at my college is adamant about pre-meds taking two gap years -- I completely understand the sentiment, and I am not against a gap year -- I just want to make sure I am prepared to start applying next year if that is something I feel is right for me when the time approaches... in the past, my college has had students matriculate into some great medical schools but since the 2020 class, only 1 student has successfully applied and gotten into med school so i guess i feel like im at a dead end for resources, otherwise i would network

That being said, what can I do to become a better applicant for my last 2 years of undergrad? I know I need to work on my GPA and I'm thinking about getting EMT certified or something similar to that for better clinical experience.

Info: ORM female
3.66 overall gpa (upward trend, rough first semester...)
studying for the MCAT rn, planning to take in august (just finished taking all my prereqs so its really fresh rn, so why not get it out of the way! also, i have gotten between 512-515 on practice FLs as of recent)
200 volunteer hours so far (hospital)
1 semester of research so far (1st author on poster) continuing in the fall
working as a research assistant this summer at my state med school!!
3 leadership positions at my college (chair of my majors committee, board of student programming committee, board of pre-health society)
studied abroad through a program!
i also hold multiple jobs during the school year alongside my coursework (20ish hours a week, retail)

There are a few things in this section that concern me. If you don’t want a gap year you have exactly 12 months to build your application. What you do Senior year will be in case you aren’t accepted during your first cycle.
Why are you thinking of getting your EMT certificate? Do you want to be an EMT? I’m not sure the training counts so…
Don’t take the MCAT until you are ready.
What nonclinical volunteering have you done?
How do you plan to fill in the gaps in your application and keep your grades up and do everything else you are committed to?
Are you open to DO schools?
You can certainly try to apply without a gap year but be realistic. You really only want to apply one time with the best possible application. Understand you only have 12 months to get your application developed and completed. You will be applying with people who have been building their applications for 3+ years.

Why do you think you’ll be better off without a gap year?

 

[LindaAccepted]

Hi all,

I know it is early but I looking for a second opinion. I just finished my sophomore year, and I'm 100% sure I want to go to medical school. It's still fairly far out, but I do know that if I wanted to matriculate directly, I need to get started in the next year. The pre-med director at my college is adamant about pre-meds taking two gap years -- I completely understand the sentiment, and I am not against a gap year -- I just want to make sure I am prepared to start applying next year if that is something I feel is right for me when the time approaches... in the past, my college has had students matriculate into some great medical schools but since the 2020 class, only 1 student has successfully applied and gotten into med school so i guess i feel like im at a dead end for resources, otherwise i would network

That being said, what can I do to become a better applicant for my last 2 years of undergrad? I know I need to work on my GPA and I'm thinking about getting EMT certified or something similar to that for better clinical experience.

Info: ORM female
3.66 overall gpa (upward trend, rough first semester...)
studying for the MCAT rn, planning to take in august (just finished taking all my prereqs so its really fresh rn, so why not get it out of the way! also, i have gotten between 512-515 on practice FLs as of recent)
200 volunteer hours so far (hospital)
1 semester of research so far (1st author on poster) continuing in the fall
working as a research assistant this summer at my state med school!!
3 leadership positions at my college (chair of my majors committee, board of student programming committee, board of pre-health society)
studied abroad through a program!
i also hold multiple jobs during the school year alongside my coursework (20ish hours a week, retail)

I think you've gotten some great input above. I also caution you about your ability to significantly raise your GPA with only one year before you apply. if you applied after your senior year with two years of great grades, your transcript and GPA should look a lot better.

I would add one thing to the advice given above about getting more clinical exposure and involving yourself in service to the disadvantaged: journaling. if you have a journal where you note not only what you did, but what you accomplished and learned, you will have a valuable library of material that you can draw from and adapt when writing your primary and secondary essays.