What should I focus on?

Pre-Med & Medical School Pre-Med Topics
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<p>I'm a Junior right now. I have a 3.97 GPA, 3.98 Science GPA, I've done research at my undergraduate college which is in the process of being published and am in the process of applying to more research programs over the summer. I also am a teaching assistant and job shadow doctors 1-2 times a month. The problem, I don't have much community service besides helping out with a specific charity every once and a while (not very often).</p>

<p>Do I have enough ECs or should I focus in on trying to do a lot of community service or just focus solely on my classes and studying for the MCAT nonstop? </p>

<p>Thanks.</p>

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<p>Your research experience will not contribute too much toward your application. Your clinical experiences are most important</p>

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<p>And yes, you should continue to participate in these clinical experiences and not stop to study for the MCATs</p>

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<p>out of curiosity, what university are you at bconstant?</p>

5

<p>Stonehill College, its a small LAC in Massachusetts.</p>

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<p>oh kk. I hear that some people go to poorer countries to help medical teams and get some health care experience that way. It shows that your committing a lot of time and dedication and care for what your doing (who would spend 2 weeks in a developing country aiding people if they didn’t truly care, right?).</p>

<p>I’m only in high school, but I’ve heard of this as well as getting clinical experience like ParAlum stated. This will help your application. But your grades are very solid. It’s just a matter of MCAT + ECs and such.</p>

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<p>It’s generally an inferior way of acquiring clinical experience for several reasons:</p>

<p>1) Two weeks is not enough time - not enough to gain significant understanding of the medical profession and not enough to prove a significant interest in medicine as a career.</p>

<p>2) These trips are generally open only to people who have the means and time to engage in what amounts to reverse medical tourism. Adcoms know this and aren’t going to be impressed by your ability (or your parents’ ability) to pay for foreign travel with some medical experience tacked on.</p>

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<p>oh, wow, I never knew that ^^. I see profiles of MDapplicant or w/e that site is called and there are a lot of really good candidates that have that kind of experience. So, is it actually completely frowned upon? Or would it be good to have in addition to regular clinical experiences at a local hospital or something like that?</p>

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<p>I’ve never been sold on the board’s skepticism of these things. It’s certainly true that you need a longitudinal experience as well – so you’d have to have the usual clinical experiences at local hospitals and such. But doing this in addition? I happen to feel like it’s a very good learning experience.</p>

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<p>Is it better if you are truly passionate about going on a mission trip and work independently to fund the money for your trip?</p>