What should be my plan from now until applications begin in June 2015?

[Benighted]

---

Members do not see this ad.

I'm asking this question primarily within the context of my conditions (scroll down a bit), but also as a general question. I'm not really sure what I should be doing right now to optimize my use of time until applications begin in 6 months, so I'd like some suggestions. Also, what resources should I be buying/using to help with the medical school process? (I've heard about the MSAR, but what else?)

My current plan for what I should be doing right now is as follows:
1) Buy the MSAR and create a list of schools where I should apply after properly researching them (Are there any other books/resources I should be buying?)
2) Think about my personal statement and begin the writing process.
3) Attend the office hours of some of my professors frequently this quarter to hopefully acquire a strong letter of recommendation.
4) Find physicians to shadow

The following information is provided to help provide suggestions:

I'm a 3rd year on the quarter system (UC school).
sGPA: 3.92 (Might vary a little by the end of this year)
cGPA: 3.94
MCAT: 37 (14,12,11)

Extracurriculars:
~200 hours of volunteering at a hospital - but I stopped.
~ 10 hours of Shadowing (obviously I need to spend more time on this)
~ Founded a club this year to raise awareness about vaccines (and provide volunteers when free vaccinations are provided on campus)
~ 1.5 years of research, but no publications (maybe I'll have something by the end of this year but I doubt it)
~ Lots of writing experience - trying to maybe publish a collection of short stories I've written over the years

Letters of Recommendation:
I've been slacking here. I'm going to attend a ridiculous number of office hours this quarter to hopefully get some strong letters.

TL;DR: I'm aware that I have a high GPA and MCAT but my application is lacking pretty much everywhere else. I'm trying to remedy this within the last 6 months but I'm not sure how to do it. Any and all advice is appreciated.

Sorry for the lack of organization in this post - I'm just writing down what comes to mind for now.

 

[sunflower18]

I think that you have a good plan and understanding of what you need to do! A few thoughts:

- In addition to the MSAR, I find the US News & World Report Grad School Compass to be useful also, since it has numbers of applicants who were interviewed and accepted, as opposed to MSAR which often just states the number who matriculated.
- I think that your vaccination club is a really good EC, if you've spent a lot of time on this and it's been a passion of yours.
- Was your volunteering clinical in nature? If not, you need a lot more clinical experience to prove to adcoms that you know what you're getting yourself into!
- Apply early in June!

Good luck!! I think if you follow your plan, you'll have an excellent cycle.

 

[justadream]

I think that you have a good plan and understanding of what you need to do! A few thoughts:

- In addition to the MSAR, I find the US News & World Report Grad School Compass to be useful also, since it has numbers of applicants who were interviewed and accepted, as opposed to MSAR which often just states the number who matriculated.
- I think that your vaccination club is a really good EC, if you've spent a lot of time on this and it's been a passion of yours.
- Was your volunteering clinical in nature? If not, you need a lot more clinical experience to prove to adcoms that you know what you're getting yourself into!
- Apply early in June!

Good luck!! I think if you follow your plan, you'll have an excellent cycle.

That's interesting how the US News would provide accepted information (which I think is more useful than matriculated) whereas MSAR doesn't....