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As of now, I am about 5 credits away from ending my sophomore year of college. Because I took some time off of school, I plan to receive my BA in the fall of 2018 or winter of 2019 (normally, I would've finished undergrad in the spring of 2018). I plan to apply for medical school around this time in hopes of starting in the fall of 2019.
As important as grades are, I have had a lot of hardships during my first two years of college and am recovering steadily. I am doing well in my classes now and am a good student when under the right conditions (proper self-care, going to therapy, taking anti-depressants, etc.) and would like to build a stronger application through activities outside of my academics, because I know the grades I have already received are critical to whether or not I am viewed as a decent applicant. I don't want admissions to think I am unstable (it can be seen clearly in my transcript); I want them to see improvement in my academics as well as my overall health.
What looks best? Volunteering, work, research? Extracurricular activities? A combination of all? I currently volunteer for an organization that prepares and serves meals at homeless shelters in my area (about once a week, for two hours). I want to become a red cross volunteer (my dad's cardiologist said it would be possible to shadow physician through red cross, it also seems interesting), a MultiCare volunteer (just for experience in the hospital), and there are job opportunities as a medical scribe (would this count as clinical experience?). There are also international medical volunteer trips in multiple countries (such as my "other home"--would this mean anything? Is this beneficial in any way?). When and how do I go about research? Should I speak to a pre-med advisor? I participate in Intervarsity; should I participate in more non-medical related groups?
As important as grades are, I have had a lot of hardships during my first two years of college and am recovering steadily. I am doing well in my classes now and am a good student when under the right conditions (proper self-care, going to therapy, taking anti-depressants, etc.) and would like to build a stronger application through activities outside of my academics, because I know the grades I have already received are critical to whether or not I am viewed as a decent applicant. I don't want admissions to think I am unstable (it can be seen clearly in my transcript); I want them to see improvement in my academics as well as my overall health.
What looks best? Volunteering, work, research? Extracurricular activities? A combination of all? I currently volunteer for an organization that prepares and serves meals at homeless shelters in my area (about once a week, for two hours). I want to become a red cross volunteer (my dad's cardiologist said it would be possible to shadow physician through red cross, it also seems interesting), a MultiCare volunteer (just for experience in the hospital), and there are job opportunities as a medical scribe (would this count as clinical experience?). There are also international medical volunteer trips in multiple countries (such as my "other home"--would this mean anything? Is this beneficial in any way?). When and how do I go about research? Should I speak to a pre-med advisor? I participate in Intervarsity; should I participate in more non-medical related groups?
