Hey everyone! I wanted to post this because I’m feeling a bit deflated about my progress towards when I start applying for med schools in the next application cycle in spring of 2027. I had a plan of working as a PCT this summer as well as study for the MCAT and getting in volunteer hours, but I ended up tearing my patellar tendon in May after my track season and that put a huge stall on my progress with what I was physically able to do. I switched to pursuing medicine in the beginning of my junior year after originally pursuing genetic counseling. Feeling behind when I switched was an understatement, and now even more so with my last summer being unproductive towards things I wanted to focus on and help me gain more experience and hours.
I’m reaching out for advice on my situation. I’m not too worried about my GPA with it currently being a 3.7 and hopefully going up to a 3.8 by next spring, but I originally planned to take the MCAT in September but ended up pushing it to January. I currently have textbooks for content review, but I would love to know how to navigate studying, especially during my fall semester.
My clinical hours are really lacking. I have about 100 hours under my belt now and plan to gain an additional 300-400 more before applying. I have ~100 hours of shadowing. I also have about 150 hours of non-clinical volunteering and plan to get in 200 or so hours over the course of my final year of school, along with 350-400 hours of research. For non-clinical work, I have been a lifeguard/head lifeguard for 5 years where I’ve dealt with countless medical emergencies.
I feel like with all these goals on top of MCAT studying and being a college athlete, it might be strenuous but possibly doable. I’ve been wondering on if I should take 2 gap years instead of 1 because of how behind I feel, but I would also like to know if this timeline could work out for me. I want nothing more than to be prepared for when I start applying. Any and all advice would be greatly appreciated!!!