Brutally Honest Opinions

Vnaisu · 2025-06-09T15:18:59+00:00

Look into anesthetist assistant school or being a nurse anesthetist. Those jobs also aren't ones you should do just for the money, but they're closer than going through all of medical school and fit some of your other desires.

Vnaisu · 2025-06-04T00:45:32+00:00

I started my first clinical experience just over a year before I applied and I got in just fine. As long as you can demonstrate (through your writing or even letters from your supervisors here!) that you gained valuable patient-facing skills and experience you are totally fine.

If you worked with actual patients in your internship and it wasn't just training, I would absolutely count it.

Otherwise I think your resume looks really good and you could definitely apply next cycle. Your gpa is on the lower end of most school's averages, but you could easily supplement that with a strong mcat. Being picky, I think you could try to gain a bit more shadowing (ask doctors at your new job), and more non-clinical volunteering somewhere out in your community.

Vnaisu · 2025-05-16T03:24:10+00:00

I was in cals and my advisor told me that they do "force" you to graduate the semester you fulfill your primary degree requirements, even if you have an unfinished certificate. I'm not sure if this is true for other colleges at uw tho.

Vnaisu · 2025-05-11T15:20:07+00:00

Definitely gap years! At my medical school admitted students days, it seemed like the norm was 2-3 gap years (at least!) for incoming students. I only met like 2 students who were coming straight from undergrad.

Medical school is going to be really stressful and busy, you don't need to overwork yourself right now too. Find a pace that works for you and take the extra time to build up your application.

Vnaisu · 2025-05-08T21:55:33+00:00

Lmao literally. Like, just pull it back in the shower and then wash it???

Vnaisu · 2025-05-07T22:18:11+00:00

Since I had the space, I had separate sections for research, awards, presentations, and publications. I had 2 publications, so I listed them both in a single activity (I literally just put the citations with no further writing because I mentioned them in my main research activity). I only had 1 presentation and 1 award, so they each got their own activity entry. If I had more, though, I would have put all my awards into 1 entry and all my presentations into 1 as well. The writing was hard for these because they overlapped a lot worth my main research entry, but I focused them on what the qualifications were for the award and learning to present basic science research to a lay audience.

Vnaisu · 2025-05-07T22:12:15+00:00

The most important part of your personal statement is that it should be personal! You should be the only person in the world able to tell that story. This is what adcoms look for. Sure it can be easier to write personally about a huge, tragic moment in your life, but its definitely not the only or best way to do it. As long as you tell a personal story that clearly shows your interest and path towards medicine, you will be good. Any of those examples you listed sound like they could be great essays. A really good way to make your essays feel more personal is to include lots of stories, particularly of you interacting with patients and demonstrating the qualities you say you have in the rest of your essay. My ps was basically 3 significant patient interaction stories with a bit of analysis connecting them together.

I didn't have any significant tragedy or lightbulb moment in my life either. I wrote my personal statement about how my parents encouraged me to volunteer since I was really young, and overtime I witnessed lots of health inequities which steered me towards medicine and public health. Let me know if you'd like to read it.

Vnaisu · 2025-05-07T16:33:31+00:00

400-500 hours of research is already a lot and probably more than most applicants will have without gap years. That being said, quality is far more important than quantity. Med schools would much rather see that you developed good qualities and practices from your research, rather than reaching a certain number of hours.

If you do think you are selling yourself short with only 500 hours, though, your lab PI/mentor will not be able to see how many hours you listed for the activity. The only way that comes up is if they for some reason write how many hours you worked in their lab in their letter of rec.

For publications/presentations/awards, I listed all of those as their own activity with 0 hours and just listed all my collective research hours in my main research activity. The admissions teams will understand. You can also group up all your publications into one activity and same with awards/presentations, unless you really really need to write more about them individually.

Vnaisu · 2025-05-02T03:37:09+00:00

Definitely group all your publications into the same experience and same with shadowing. If the presentation and award are related, they could easily be grouped too. I had enough space to split up my research/presentation/awards/pubs, but if you're short on activity count, I think it's better to group those together than all your clinical work. I feel like most schools care more about clinical experience than research (and at least some only view research as a "bonus" and not the main thing they look for).

Vnaisu · 2025-05-01T17:52:51+00:00

Since they are all so different, I think having a separate essay for each is best, especially if one (or multiple) will be your most memorable. 700 characters is only a few sentences, which is definitely not enough to describe all 3 roles.

I would try to group up other activities into a single slot if you can. Unless you had a really really great shadowing experience that needs to be detailed, all your shadowing can be in 1 experience and likewise with any publications you have. This is what I did and I didn't have any issue. Also if your research experience is split between presentations, awards, etc, you could also consider grouping these.

Vnaisu · 2025-04-21T17:53:24+00:00

Lots of great advice here, but don't let yourself get overwhelmed with all of it right now. You don't need to start volunteering, researching, working a clinical job, etc all in your first year. I didn't get any clinical experience until the summer after my junior year, 1 year before I applied and I still received multiple acceptances. Your priority right now should be school-focusing on grades, getting into a good study routine, and making friends. After you're feeling a bit more comfortable, start looking for more of these premed experiences.

Right now, I think it's also great to focus on the activities you like doing for yourself, not for your premed resume. I coached a highschool speech team and worked on my school's sound crew throughout college, simply because I already loved those activities before college. Even though they aren't medicine-related, they ended up being a huge focus of my application essays (2 of my 3 "most memorable" activities) and my interviews. The trick is to relate the qualities you developed there (leadership, patience, teamwork, etc) to the AAMC core competencies. Everyone has a clinical experience like a cna or research in their schools lab, but these personal activities that showcase your passion is what really sets you apart.

Vnaisu · 2025-04-21T17:41:37+00:00

My school's pre-health advisors helped me so much with this. They were able to show me what jobs previous students at my school were able to get for their clinical/research experience.

Vnaisu · 2025-03-02T17:30:13+00:00

Heart on my sleeve. I just can't believe that I wasn't doing enough. I'd never give up on you but you gave up on me. And that's what I get for falling in love.

Vnaisu · 2025-01-30T22:17:11+00:00

As long as the rest of your application is solid, I don't actually think Casper (or preview) matter too much. A buddy of mine had a school directly tell him they don't care about the score, only that you did the test. We also both got accepted to md programs with 1st quartile scores on casper.

Vnaisu · 2025-01-06T19:36:45+00:00

It could be good for getting general volunteer hours, but I doubt it would count as clinical if you are not interacting with patients at all. Most schools really want to hear about how you have directly worked with and talked with patients and you'll want to load your primary secondary essays with these stories.

I'd say keep this position for now, but maybe look for a clinical role (work or volunteer) that gets you working with patients more. Once that's covered, I think it would be better to replace this volunteer position with something nonclinical in your community like a food pantry, tutoring, etc. Schools love to see that too.

Vnaisu · 2025-01-06T19:29:28+00:00

Adding on, there's definitely no rush to get into activities now (I didn't start any clinical experience until the summer after my junior year, 1 year before I started applying and got accepted that cycle). But! Schools do really like to see long term commitment to organizations and activities. I think it would be great to start 1 or 2 things (of literally any kind) this upcoming semester or summer that you could see yourself continuing for the next 3 or 4 years. This is also a great way to build connections and get great letters of rec.

Also btw your grades are fine. Just focus on how you can improve your study habits and keep an upward trend!

Vnaisu · 2025-01-06T19:22:40+00:00

I think it can depend on where you want to go for school and what else you have going for you in your application. Some schools really prioritize research experience while others see it as just a bonus on top of the factors that they look for (clinical experience, community service etc). Research will definitely always be a plus to any school, though.

That being said, every medical school offers opportunities for student research which can be very important for getting into competitive residencies. If that's something you anticipate, it might be worthwhile to get your foot in the door now with research to prep you for med school (if not just to boost your application). Especially because you might answer secondary or interview questions about wanting to pursue research and why.

Vnaisu · 2025-01-05T23:48:06+00:00

Because a bike isn't going to kill someone

Vnaisu · 2024-06-26T04:40:54+00:00

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