What should I do this year, while I'm applying to medical schools? Gap year.

[Rooks]

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Hi! I submitted my primary application already and I'm busy on pre-writing my secondaries.
I have:

• 500 hours or so of nonclinical crisis text line volunteering
• 400 hours of hospice volunteering
• 50 hours of primary care shadowing
• club president leadership
• social justice experience/volunteering helping refugees and translating
• teaching/mentoring employment experience for a few semesters at my old community college
• 4.0 GPA and very strong MCAT score

How can I best "round out" my gap year? I'm currently shadowing one afternoon a week, hospice volunteering one afternoon a week, and crisis text line volunteering one morning a week.

My question is: is there anything else I should be doing in order to improve my chances of getting into medical school? Or am I okay if I just continue with these activities? How can I strengthen my application over the year? Although I don't need the money to support myself, I want to make some meaning out of my gap year. I'm kinda interested in substitute teaching or tutoring or something public health related, because I got my degree in that.

Thank you. 🙂

 

[Mr.Smile12]

I forgot... have we commented a WAMC on you? Obviously if you have a chance at continuing activities you can, but you don't need to go overkill on shadowing or tutoring (unless you are employed as a teacher in an underfunded K-12 public school).

We cannot give you meaning to your growth year... only you can do that.

Otherwise prepare for the tsunami of secondaries and begin interview prep now. Read

Building Your Best School List | SDN

Your success in any application cycle depends on how well you match a school’s metrics profile and the schools where you send your application - your

www.studentdoctor.net

 

[Rooks]

I forgot... have we commented a WAMC on you? Obviously if you have a chance at continuing activities you can, but you don't need to go overkill on shadowing or tutoring (unless you are employed as a teacher in an underfunded K-12 public school).

We cannot give you meaning to your growth year... only you can do that.

Otherwise prepare for the tsunami of secondaries and begin interview prep now. Read

Building Your Best School List | SDN

Your success in any application cycle depends on how well you match a school’s metrics profile and the schools where you send your application - your

www.studentdoctor.net

No, I haven't done a WAMC yet! "Growth" year... I like how that sounds haha.

I'm going to focus on interview prep. and my secondaries for the next couple months. I guess I'm going to be busy for a while. I just really want to do something meaningful or have something planned before I submit my secondaries, ya know? I was thinking it would be cool to go into medical writing as well, but I'm undecided.

Do most applicants continue their volunteering into the application season? I've been doing my volunteer work since 2019, slowed down during COVID and my MCAT prep period, but otherwise it's been consistent.

 

[candbgirl]

Have you thought about stopping the shadowing and getting some face to face contact with unserved/underserved in your community. Find a homeless shelter or soup kitchen and start working. Another option is finding a veteran’s center and volunteer an afternoon a week. VET’s are by and large great people. They love to talk and tell stories. They have a wealth of information. And many are old and lonely. Get outside your comfort zone and meet people very unlike yourself.

 

[Rooks]

Have you thought about stopping the shadowing and getting some face to face contact with unserved/underserved in your community. Find a homeless shelter or soup kitchen and start working. Another option is finding a veteran’s center and volunteer an afternoon a week. VET’s are by and large great people. They love to talk and tell stories. They have a wealth of information. And many are old and lonely. Get outside your comfort zone and meet people very unlike yourself.

Ooh I like the idea of a veteran's center. A lot of my hospice patients were veterans and I enjoyed visiting them.

 

[chilly_md]

There is no point to continue shadowing. Schools will not know you did this and you already have had enough.

I agree that helping at a veteran's center would be meaningful both to them and you.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

Shelter work should be well-received. Vet center is included under this umbrella.

 

[Catalystik]

Do most applicants continue their volunteering into the application season? I've been doing my volunteer work since 2019, slowed down during COVID and my MCAT prep period, but otherwise it's been consistent.

Only the ones who want to have meaningful activities to mention on Secondaries, future update letters, and the following year’s application if they are not accepted on the first go-round.

 

[Rooks]

Only the ones who want to have meaningful activities to mention on Secondaries, future update letters, and the following year’s application if they are not accepted on the first go-round.

Ooh I see! So I submitted my AMCAS and TMDSAS very early, like over a week ago. When do you think the last secondaries will be sent out? Like August? Sorry if that's a silly question, I'm still figuring this process out. 🤣

 

[Catalystik]

Ooh I see! So I submitted my AMCAS and TMDSAS very early, like over a week ago. When do you think the last secondaries will be sent out? Like August? Sorry if that's a silly question, I'm still figuring this process out. 🤣

It depends on the school and whether they prescreen or not. You can look up each of your schools in the School-Specific threads from last year and see when Secondaries first showed up.

 

[Rooks]

It depends on the school and whether they prescreen or not. You can look up each of your schools in the School-Specific threads from last year and see when Secondaries first showed up.

thank you 🙂