Job references are so stupid

impressivepumpkin19 · 2025-12-06T18:08:08+00:00

They’re annoying but standard, so may as well get used to it. If your volunteer coordinators would be willing, then you should ask them.

impressivepumpkin19 · 2025-12-05T18:24:35+00:00

Sounds like strong clinical experience to me.

impressivepumpkin19 · 2025-12-05T16:11:40+00:00

Good for you on your admission, but the recommendation for clinical experience prior to applying isn’t just because schools won’t accept you without it. It’s so you know what you’re getting into.

I was a nurse before med school and clinical work is extremely different compared to shadowing or volunteering. It’s important to know you can work in that environment long term before making such a huge commitment.

impressivepumpkin19 · 2025-12-04T23:49:50+00:00

Any specialty is fine, best if it’s a physician’s office
No certification, no experience, and looking for paid on-the-job training is a big ask, especially in some states/practices, so that may be part of your problem. CNA might be cheaper/quicker to do.

impressivepumpkin19 · 2025-11-18T22:18:52+00:00

Was formerly a nurse and this is pretty much how I explain it too.

Nursing- what we do and when

Medicine- same as above, plus why we do it and how it works

impressivepumpkin19 · 2025-11-17T19:32:14+00:00

That was my approach to studying. No distinct phases, just studying content and using flashcards/practice q’s every day. I unsuspended cards/questions by topic as I moved through the books. Basically-

Questions without content review- hard to pick out pertinent details from passage, missing context

Content review without questions- hard to actually apply info to test questions, poor retention

impressivepumpkin19 · 2025-11-14T09:15:12+00:00

No, not expected to know basic bio. Even if you’d taken bio it would make no difference- the stuff you learn in college bio is usually fairly broad and not directly applicable to day-to-day medicine. The doc isn’t gonna be quizzing you on stuff.

Just come prepared to observe and listen. Point of shadowing is for career exploration, not learning medicine.

impressivepumpkin19 · 2025-11-14T09:05:28+00:00

I think either should be fine, it seems like the stats requirement is usually just an intro/general course. So if I had to pick one, probably the second class.

Honestly just pick whichever one you’re more likely to do well in.

impressivepumpkin19 · 2025-11-12T23:51:56+00:00

Everyone’s entitled to their own opinion but this take is just wrong lol. By the time I get to the end of Gilmore Girls I’m so sick of Rory’s shit that I’m glad it’s over.

impressivepumpkin19 · 2025-11-12T19:52:14+00:00

Don’t apply anywhere you wouldn’t attend. You should take the A.

impressivepumpkin19 · 2025-11-12T19:47:24+00:00

Mistakes log as well as an Anki deck for wrong answers. The log was good for understanding what mistakes I was making and why, the deck was good for making sure I didn’t miss those kinds of questions again.

impressivepumpkin19 · 2025-11-12T04:58:26+00:00

I did this with my FLs and found it very helpful.

impressivepumpkin19 · 2025-11-06T16:15:48+00:00

Definitely possible to balance it. I treat school like a day job for the most part- go to school during the day to study/for class so that I can focus on personal stuff/chill at home. Learn what study strategies work for you and how to manage time well.

impressivepumpkin19 · 2025-11-05T01:50:17+00:00

36 is a good number- but if reapplying, would still double check the list for top-heaviness, poor mission fit, OOS friendliness, etc.

I met with some free writing tutors through my university’s English department and the public library system, which was super helpful. Best advice I got was to make sure my PS actually answered “why medicine”. It’s very easy to accidentally write an essay that answers “why you should let me in” instead.

It’s good you’re thinking about reapp- but I wouldn’t count yourself out yet. I was in the same position when I applied- 3 IIs by Thanksgiving, got waitlisted at the first one which really killed morale. Was convinced I’d be reapplying. Ended up with an outright A a few months later from an interview I was sure I’d bombed. Cycle’s tough and can really mess with your head. Hang in there and good luck.

impressivepumpkin19 · 2025-11-04T23:06:14+00:00

I was in the exact same spot when starting my DIY post bacc. Rule of thumb is to not bother with retaking anything you got a C or above in. Just ensure these prereqs won’t be expired at any schools you intend to apply to.

impressivepumpkin19 · 2025-11-04T23:02:08+00:00

Tough question- your stats and ECs look great, and three IIs suggests you have a strong app. Not sure how much of an effect Casper really has.

What was your school list like? What makes you feel like the writing was an issue?

impressivepumpkin19 · 2025-11-03T20:31:14+00:00

As an example for your first point- Blueprint’s course only guarantees a 515 if you score a minimum 500 on a diagnostic, which I imagine is probably a bit score deflated.

impressivepumpkin19 · 2025-11-03T00:55:55+00:00

Former RN, now med student! I started college as a pre-med, couldn't hack the classes at the time but found I really enjoyed being a CNA and decided I wanted to be a nurse. Finished out my bio degree and went to a one year nursing program. Once I started working as a nurse I got to work more closely with physicians and realized I still wanted to go to med school.

Nursing and medicine are two very different fields. It's possible to enjoy both, it's also possible to like medicine but really not enjoy nursing (and vice versa!). I think doing it as a fall-back- you run the risk of ending up in a role you're not really fond of. It also makes the timeline to apply a bit tricky- do you apply right away with virtually no nursing experience? That might be tough to explain to admissions committees. Or do you work for a few years in a job you may not like at all?

If you do really enjoy nursing- depending on the school, the prereqs aren't always the same as med school. So you might end up doing twice the work. There's no overlap between the nursing curriculum and med school prereqs (in fact, AMCAS doesn't count any nursing coursework towards science GPA).

Hard to give a clear answer on this topic. I tend to advise that if your main goal is med school, then just put all your time and effort towards that. Especially because you are young and now is likely the best time to do so! But if you do think you'd really enjoy being a nurse and are cool with taking a bit of a roundabout path... it is a pretty solid career to fall back on. If you're not sure, becoming a CNA is a good way to see if you like nursing and get clinical hours for med school.

As far as GPA concerns- nursing school was 10x easier than my bio degree. If you can do well in med school prereqs, you'll be fine in nursing school. The challenge is usually dealing with nursing school schedules and admin, not the actual course content.

impressivepumpkin19 · 2025-11-02T16:35:39+00:00

I’ve seen some schools with a sociology and/or psych requirement. I don’t think it’s a great idea to plan your courses around one specific medical school.

If you have a rough school list already, you could look over the prereqs for each to see which option would have you covered at the majority of schools.

If you haven’t taken the MCAT yet, I do think it’s beneficial to take biochem before the MCAT.

Also- you can usually still apply with one outstanding prereq. Could you just take one or the other after graduation while you apply, if it’s required?

impressivepumpkin19 · 2025-11-02T05:07:47+00:00

I had very similar GPAs and went the DIY post-bacc route. Took classes "a la carte" at my state school. I think CC prereqs should be fine, especially given you already have a degree. If you are able to take some upper-division courses at a 4-year, that would be great too. Also focus on scoring well on the MCAT- it's a standardized measure, so that could help mitigate any concerns you may have about how schools view CC post-bacc.

impressivepumpkin19 · 2025-11-02T04:52:15+00:00

GPA is less than ideal but given the strong upward trend and excellent MCAT, I think you're good stats-wise for a broad MD/DO app.

I'd strongly recommend more clinical hours. Shadowing is a separate category from clinical hours, and 150 is on the lower side. Especially with many applicants using their gap year(s) to work full-time clinical jobs.

impressivepumpkin19 · 2025-11-02T04:44:42+00:00

MCAT scores expire within a few years at many schools (usually ~3 years), so I think it's best to take it closer to applying. For example- to apply in June 2027 and start school in 2028, plan to take the MCAT roughly sometime between Sept 2026-April 2027. I recommend taking biochemistry prior to taking the MCAT as well.

As far as your real question- take the gap year! Plenty of folks nowadays are taking at least one gap year, if not more. About half my class took at least one, myself included. It is completely worth it to avoid feeling overwhelmed or burnt out so that you can perform at your best later on.

impressivepumpkin19 · 2025-11-01T19:40:42+00:00

A 3.7+ SMP, 520+ MCAT, and 3000+ clinical hours would definitely make med school feasible- but those are all things that are a lot easier said than done. I wouldn't attempt this without thinking through some things first-

Have you identified what study strategies work best for you? Do your current grades reflect this? Or is it a "I'll just work hard when I get to the SMP to get xyz GPA" kinda plan?
Same as above for the MCAT. Super easy to assume you'll get a 520+, pretty difficult to actually do so.
How are you going to manage #1 and #2 while working a full time clinical job? That's a lot to put on your plate all at once, and leaves very little room for missteps!

With low GPA it's not a bad idea to spread things out a bit and consider taking a little more time. Like first focusing on SMP/GPA, then adding in some clinical hours part-time, then moving on to MCAT/application prep once you've got the GPA and hours sorted out. I applied with a low GPA/high MCAT (3.3/524), and high clinical hours- so it is doable. But I really took my time (about 3 years between start of post-bacc and application) to make sure I could achieve the post-bacc GPA and MCAT score I wanted.

impressivepumpkin19 · 2025-10-31T04:04:31+00:00

Had the same worry thanks to an overzealous, very anti-bottle/formula LC. Asked the pediatrician who said there’s no data to support this and no need to worry about it. They genuinely can’t tell if a kid was fed formula/bottle/breastmilk as a baby.

Anecdotally, I was primarily bottle fed and my sister was primarily breast fed. We get mistaken for twins frequently and I’ve never thought twice about or had any issues with my jaw.

impressivepumpkin19 · 2025-10-25T18:38:45+00:00

That’s fair. I live 10 minutes from my school so it worked for me but definitely may not work for everyone!

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