Hello all!
I’m currently a third-year premed student at the University of Florida. I have a bunch of questions about everything from whether I’m on the right track to actually applying to med school, so here goes!
I currently have a 3.95 GPA as a biochem major/Russian minor, but I’m thinking about switching my major to biology. My logic is that the remaining biochem classes–really the core of the major–are quite difficult and demanding, and I don’t know if my GPA would fall by going through with that. I talked to a prehealth advisor briefly today, and she said that medical schools don’t care what your major is, that GPA is more important. Is that true? Does a higher GPA in a less-rigorous major outweigh a lower GPA in a more rigorous major?
Also, I don’t really know whether I’m on the right track from a non-GPA perspective. I haven’t done any consistent volunteering/research so far–my extracurricular involvement consists of marching/volleyball/basketball bands and Florida Rowing each year, and I don’t have a leadership position in any of those, though I will be applying for drum major and section leader this year for band. During the summer after my freshman year I interned at a rural healthcare clinic and the pathology department of a hospital for two months, then worked as a camp counselor for gifted/talented high school students at Princeton for a month. During this previous summer I lived and studied Russian intensely in Russia on a State Department scholarship (Critical Language Scholarship) for two months. For the upcoming summer I’m currently talking with an outdoor outfitter in my hometown about becoming certified as a whitewater rafting guide and doing that for the summer, while also volunteering with an adaptive sports program nearby.
Basically, what do I need to do to right the ship and get on track for med school? Is it possible to make up for my lack of ongoing clinical involvement somehow over the next year and a half?
Finally, a lifelong goal that I finally have the opportunity to realize is within reach, and that is volunteering for the Peace Corps. Ideally I’d like to be a healthcare officer, and after speaking with the PC rep on campus, I feel pretty decent about that. He said that UF sends the third-most volunteers of any university, and he said that I was right on track to be accepted, particularly with a background in Russian and Spanish. How would applying for med school work with the Peace Corps? Do you apply ahead of time and try to defer admission? Do you apply while on the program and interview through Skype? How do you go about that?
All in all, what do I need to do from here moving forward to get into med school?
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Medical schools do not favor any particular major over any other major. If you’d prefer to change your major to protect your GPA, go ahead. But you may want to consider the impact a major change will have on: a) your ability to graduate on time; b) your opportunities for future employment should you not get accepted to med school.
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Your ECs are seriously lacking. You have very little shadowing --and none at all in primary care health fields. You have no community service and almost no clinical exposure. You have zero research experience. And I can’t tell if you have any teaching/tutoring/coaching. Without improving your ECs, I can pretty much guarantee you’ll end up with no acceptances.
There is no way to “make up for” a lack of clinical volunteering. You either have it or you don’t. You need to start volunteering at a clinical site ASAP. Adcomms are looking for people who understand the kind of life they are signing up for through in-depth exposure to working with the sick, injured, mentally ill, physically disabled, elderly and other medically vulnerable populations. Your intention to work with adaptive sports is nice, but it’s too little, too late and too limited. (And unless you are working directly under the supervision & direction of medical personnel, it falls under community service, not clinical exposure.)
You also need to find a community service opportunities ASAP. Get involved with a project–and stay involved for the next couple of years. Adcomms are looking for evidence of altruism and service to others in applicants. Long term involvement with a single project is favored over multiple short- term activities.
Ditto for research, if at all possible.
I would strongly suggest postponing your application to med school for at least a couple of years until you can get your ECs together. Consider finding post-graduation employment in a clinical setting. (CNA, medical scribe are often suggested.)
- RE: Peace Corps. Since your commitment to the Peace Corp is for 28 months, you would need to postpone applying to med school until near the end of your enlistment term. Med schools will only grant enrollment deferrals in cases of grave personal emergencies; some don’t grant deferrals at all.
Interviews by Skype are not available except under very rare & unusual circumstances. (Peace Corp overseas service isn’t one of them.) You’ll be expected to fly back to the US for any med school interviews. You may be able to request that your interviews be bunched around a time when you’d be back in the US, but there are no guarantees that interview slots would be available at those times. Also some med schools assign you an interview date when the II is extended and do allow date changes.
I hope you are not totally discouraged by WOWM. While her post is all good advise, a lot of medical school students went to Peace Corp and ended up in a highly respectable medical specialty. In my mind, what is most important is that you maintain a high GPA that is medical school worthy, the MCAT, the ECs can be prepared and studied afterwards.
You have 28 months of Peace Corp, that is fine, in your case there is no rush to take the Mcat while you are in UG. You should self study the Mcat during your Peace Corp. duties, especially during the final months. After your return, you either can brush up the Mcat with a institution like Kaplan or if you feel you are ready, you can take the Mcat. In the mean time, you will find clinical volunteering, doctor shadowing etc. to make up the ECs you have been lacking. One year after your returning from Peace Corp, you will be ready to apply the med school. Take your time, there is no rush to become a physician, it normally takes 10+ years to become a doctor from day one in med school. A few years delay will not kill your ability to become a doctor.
My 88 year old neighbor who is a graduate from St. Louis med school, he did not graduate from there until he was 35 years old. He worked in different professions before he decided to apply for med school and I think he is still a successful physician and he was instrumental of the formation of Touro University Osteopathic Medical School.