What to focus on during gap year for application

[Baldful]

I am taking a gap year to beef up my ECs before applying next year. I have pretty good stats (3.98 gpa, 520 mcat) but very weak ECs so wanted to get some advice.

My ECs so far:
150 hours of hospice volunteering
150 hours of food bank volunteering

I plan on getting shadowing and continuing the volunteering gigs (probably will be 250 hours for each by the time I apply) but need advice on what gap year job I should take.
I am aware that most schools have 90% matriculants with research so getting some research is important. Should I focus on getting a research job (most likely lab tech due to no prior experience) or find a job in healthcare for more clinical experience.

Would a lab technician job be better for me or something like being a scribe?

Also please let me know any other way I can improve my ECs. Thanks for the help!

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[stinkycheeseperson]

is that all you've done in 4 years? school?

 

[Baldful]

everything related to medical school yes. I was part of multiple clubs and worked in retail but didn't think those were important to my application.

 

[stinkycheeseperson]

uh yeah. go find the amcas activities thread and read it

 

[LizzyM]

With your GPA and MCAT, you could be a candidate for a top school, if that's what you want but those top schools put a big focus on research so if you haven't done any and you think you'd like to go to a top 20 school, then getting some research experience should be a priority. I presume you have some bench skills acquired in college (science lab stuff) so you may be able to find a job as a research assistant in a laboratory that is doing research (not a tech job in a clinical or commercial lab e.g. running samples at 23andMe. )

Besides hospice (was this in patient;'s homes or in a facility?), I do think that you need some shadowing experience (about 50 hours) and some clinical experience in a facility (inpatient or outpatient) where people are being diagnosed and treated.

Working in retail gives you people skills and should certainly be on your application. Clubs are okay and more important if you were there long enough to achieve a leadership position

 

[Baldful]

Thanks for reply LizzyM. I volunteered in a hospice facility where I would sit down with patients and help feed/clean patients. Do you think I need clinical experience in a hospital setting or should I keep focusing on the hospice volunteering?
I will focus on looking for research positions as you suggested.

 

[LizzyM]

Thanks for reply LizzyM. I volunteered in a hospice facility where I would sit down with patients and help feed/clean patients. Do you think I need clinical experience in a hospital setting or should I keep focusing on the hospice volunteering?
I will focus on looking for research positions as you suggested.

Hospice is good but there is some added value to having a second experience as well as shadowing in settings where people are seeking diagnosis and treatment and/or preventive services. Most clinical services are delivered these days in ambulatory (outpatient) seettings. You might want to have some experience in that environment before leaping into medical training.

 

[deleted1017120]

Continuing the volunteering/shadowing is pretty much always a good idea, but you should stop using the mindset of "gap year to beef up my application".

Instead, you should "take a gap year to do the things I want to do before I commit the rest of my life to being a physician".

Use this to try the things you really want to try. If this doesn't include gaining any employed clinical experience, then it begs the question of why you want to go to medical school in the first place if you don't want to work with patients. If it doesn't include getting lab experience, then it begs the question of why you want to apply to research-oriented programs if you don't want to work in the field of research.

If you're picking between clinical or research experience, I would have to imagine that it's more important to get clinical experience first; every MD/DO program requires you to learn how to be a clinician (and therefore schools want to see that you understand what the clinical world is like), whereas many programs aren't research-focused. I have received feedback from schools basically saying, "research is nice, but we don't really care that much", so those programs absolutely exist.

If you have a clinical and/or research job that you want to get experience in but it will take more than one gap year to train for it and get the job/experience, you should seriously consider taking more than one year. If you are a typical student just coming into their gap year (roughly around 22 years old), then you shouldn't be in any particular rush.

Example: I've taken multiple years off to join the Navy Reserve, become a paramedic, and gain work experience. Why? Because I wanted to do these things and have these experiences, since it would never make sense for me to come back to them after becoming a physician. These kinds of experiences are universally regarded as the strongest part of my application by anyone that has given me feedback, and they are the kinds of things that can set you apart, especially with stats as strong as yours.

The only thing you'll have to keep in mind is the time limit on your MCAT score if you decide to take more than one year off.

 

[reapplicant2021]

With your GPA and MCAT, you could be a candidate for a top school, if that's what you want but those top schools put a big focus on research so if you haven't done any and you think you'd like to go to a top 20 school, then getting some research experience should be a priority. I presume you have some bench skills acquired in college (science lab stuff) so you may be able to find a job as a research assistant in a laboratory that is doing research (not a tech job in a clinical or commercial lab e.g. running samples at 23andMe. )

Besides hospice (was this in patient;'s homes or in a facility?), I do think that you need some shadowing experience (about 50 hours) and some clinical experience in a facility (inpatient or outpatient) where people are being diagnosed and treated.

Working in retail gives you people skills and should certainly be on your application. Clubs are okay and more important if you were there long enough to achieve a leadership position

Just out of curiosity, how much research experience is enough for T20s?

 

[LizzyM]

Just out of curiosity, how much research experience is enough for T20s?

There is almost always going to be someone with more. If you are aiming to "check the box" and shooting for T20 schools, you should have demonstrated some intellectual investment in the research endeavor (not just following a protocol and mindlessly mixing solutions and pipetting the day away). While it is great to have a paper or presentation to show for your efforts, I interview plenty of applicants to my T20 who don't have that tangible outcome of their research.

 

[jhmmd]

I am taking a gap year to beef up my ECs before applying next year. I have pretty good stats (3.98 gpa, 520 mcat) but very weak ECs so wanted to get some advice.

My ECs so far:
150 hours of hospice volunteering
150 hours of food bank volunteering

I plan on getting shadowing and continuing the volunteering gigs (probably will be 250 hours for each by the time I apply) but need advice on what gap year job I should take.
I am aware that most schools have 90% matriculants with research so getting some research is important. Should I focus on getting a research job (most likely lab tech due to no prior experience) or find a job in healthcare for more clinical experience.

Would a lab technician job be better for me or something like being a scribe?

Also please let me know any other way I can improve my ECs. Thanks for the help!

It depends on what you're interested in, I guess. You can continue your hospice volunteering and get clinical exp. that way, or you can get a lab tech job and see how that goes. Follow your heart and see what gives you more joy. If you are not yet done with undergrad this is even more important. Some people are not meant to be clinicians and that's ok.

Food bank volunteering is a bit cookie cutter so you will need to have something else on your app--but you might be able to put a different spin on your story since you have other work experience (esp. if you are a non-traditional applicant). Good luck. 🙂