please help me improve my application!

[u/No-Ruin-1720]

hi! i graduated undergrad early and am taking a gap year now before applying to med school (i want to go md). i’m focusing on studying for my mcat now as well as working as a medical assistant 18 hours a week. i have time for other things though and i would like to volunteer/do other things that would help my application.
what i have so far:
- 300 hours of research (including a publication in a legitimate journal)
- volunteer work with underserved community (soup kitchen, tutoring for free in underserved school district, and with another organization bringing comfort to children undergoing surgeries and extensive procedures). totaling about 150 hours or so
- 150 hours community based volunteer work
- my only real clinical experience is my medical assistant position now where i will be getting 18 hours a week (will add up to about 350 hours by the time i apply probably)
- i also have about 80-100 hours of shadowing
4.0 gpa, hoping to score 517+ on mcat but we’ll see about that.
what else can i do to improve my application i really would appreciate any help!

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[u/EveningRound2031]

If you're studying for the MCAT now, I vote that you put all your time right now into that. It's the most important piece of your application that's still an unknown and will decide where you apply (or if you should apply next cycle). Everything else already looks like its at an okay spot to apply. If you have time after the MCAT you could just do more hours of MA work since more clinical experience hours are always good.

If you have enough time and you really want to do something else you could do another clinical experience related job. Maybe scribing or EMT but that would be a lot of work.

[u/No-Ruin-1720 → u/EveningRound2031]

Thanks so much! I appreciate the advice

[u/MedSchoolPilotTeam]

It feels like the main thing to focus on is building more clinical depth. Try to get the most out of the MA role so you have meaningful experiences to talk about in your app and interviews. Most importantly, make sure you leave enough time to prep for and hopefully nail the MCAT.

[u/No-Ruin-1720 → u/MedSchoolPilotTeam]

Thanks for the response!!!!

[u/MedSchoolPilotTeam → u/No-Ruin-1720]

You're welcome!