What should I be doing in Junior year? Advice needed

[Sik965]

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[HelpPleaseMD]

Hey guys

I'm currently a Junior, and I need some advice on what to do for extracurricular activities.

During freshman and sophomore years I worked for ~25 hours a week so I barely had time to volunteer/shadow until this summer. I was a tutor from 2012 until April of this year, So I had two jobs the last 3 semesters. tutoring wasn't a regular job so my hours were inconsistent.

Here is where I stand right now:

School

I'm doing a double degree in Biochemistry and Philosophy.

I'm minoring in:
1-Chemistry: it's built in my biochemistry major, so i didn't take any extra classes for it.
2-Readings in Medicine and Society: it is an honors minor that focuses on the nonscientific part of medicine (Doctor patient relationship...medical history..current issues...etc)

GPA is 3.85, and science GPA is 3.8. MCAT 12/10/11


EC:

• 1.5 year working at a retail store

• 1.5 Year tutoring College level and/or high school Gen Chem and Bio. High school level math

• 1 Year working as a lab technician in an environmental lab. The lab did toxicity testing on oil drilling fluids. I was one of three techs at the lab however one of the techs was fired and only one was left with me. So by the time I quit I had learned all of the tests and did them independently.

• During this summer I shadowed a Cardiologist for ~70 hours. I'm about to start shadowing a neurosurgoen for 40 hours.

• I'm volunteering starting next week as a "Floor host" where I'd visit patients in their rooms to check up on them, so it has a lot of patient contact. 4 hours a week.

• I'm to start working ( or volunteering? It's not paid) at a Biochem lab in December, so I would participate in research.

• Finally next summer I'm doing a 3 week anatomy class offered through the honors college at my university by a collaboration with UTH medical school It involves dissection on real human cadavers.

I'm not too worried with my school work or stats as much as I'm concerned about my EC. I dont have a lot of medically relevant work or volunteering experience. By the time applications are open I would have ~120 hours of Volunteering, 110 hours of shadowing, and one semester of research. When I read other people's apps this seems very lacking..

Would the work I did at the environmental lab count as research?
Should I be doing EC other than volunteering and shadowing?

I'm a TX resident but I'm also applying out of state.

Any suggestions/advice would be appreciated.
Thank you!

Take my advice with a grain of salt. It has been 4 yrs since ive applied to med school. IMO you do not need more shadowing. Volunteer some more hours, continue working in a research lab, and submit your applications as soon as possible.

You have a far amount of ECS. its not easy holding multiple jobs in college/excelling.

You will get in so long as there are no red flags on your application.

 

[Sik965]

Take my advice with a grain of salt. It has been 4 yrs since ive applied to med school. IMO you do not need more shadowing. Volunteer some more hours, continue working in a research lab, and submit your applications as soon as possible.

You have a far amount of ECS. its not easy holding multiple jobs in college/excelling.

You will get in so long as there are no red flags on your application.

What would be a red flag?

 

[CyberMaxx]

You are right, you have good stats and the most important thing is to maintain your GPA. As far as your ECs go, you might want to consider finding a non-medical volunteering opportunity that you are interested in. Just make sure that it is something that you really want to do, because there is little to gain from racking up a laundry list of ECs if you can't passionately talk about them during interviews.

Some red flags may be failing a pre-req, having an institutional action on your record, having a criminal record... etc.