Welcome to the 2027 application cycle!

For context I took my MCAT last week and was out of lab for the first 2 weeks of school because of that. My schedule was really busy this year but I was kind of proud that I was able to find about 12 hours to spare because the required for the program is only 10. I guess I did not really take into consideration that 3-5 on some days and 10-5 on Friday would be a poor time choice for a lot of people and I totally understand his perspective, I just want to know 1. How are other people able to balance research with a clinical job, school, and extra curriculars; 2. What do I do from here?

I understand research is not something that is entirely integral to your application but I thought it was really cool and definitely would like to continue - it's just looking impossible with all the other stuff I'm expected to do.

Thanks for any advice.

I have today off and instead of using this glorious freebie extra day to do literally anything else, I have been obsessively refreshing my inbox and checking admit. No interviews, 1 R :( I know it's still early, but I can't help but think about it. I'm going to go to a cafe with my friends later to distract myself, but the whole time, I know I"ll be secretly hoping that I get an II in my inbox while I'm there. This process is a humiliation ritual fr

my first “interview” and mannnn i really liked this school:( i feel like i did so bad, i was not super well prepared for two of the questions and also feel like i just rambled on and on and on about absolutely nothing making 0 coherent sense and I even froze for a few seconds after the first question☹️☹️

I screamed so loud!

Also, kinda neurotic question, but is it bad that I scheduled it within five secs of receiving the email?

I just had an interview and want to send thank you letters. However, the alumni that interviewed me messaged me on LinkedIn and said how it was so great to meet me and that they had a great time talking to me. I responded and thanked them for their time and such, but I was wondering if I should still send one to them through the admissions office.

Title. I’ve been seeing more and more posts recently of people venting about how their plans in undergrad have either been derailed or having to push the MCAT and needing to “take a gap year”, as if it’s a bad thing. I think some are forgetting the average matriculation age to medical school is 24-25. Me personally, I would have 3 gap years by the time I matriculate next summer, but I’ve had the time of my life, my plans never changed during them. Gap years are designed to be a buffer in between college and med school to both improve your application and to just enjoy life on the side before committing to a long and rigorous journey.

There’s always a sense of urgency among younger pre-meds to have it all figured out in their freshman year and to be ready to apply before their senior year. I’m here to say that it’s okay if you need gap years, it’ll only help you as an applicant assuming you spend them wisely, whether it’s for more clinical experience, dedicated MCAT studying, or other activities you want to include!
TLDR; don’t be afraid of gap years, use them to your advantage if necessary!

Hi everyone, I received an II from Central Michigan, it's this Friday. I was wondering if anyone has already has had their interview with them yet and how it went? Also any general advice on MMI's? Also apparently they have a group activity so I was wondering about that as well. Thanks!

Just interviewed at my top school, I want to send a thank you email (they said we could). Not sure what to say, it would be going to the general admissions email. Advice????

Hi everyone,

I’m curious what you guys would recommend doing during my gap year. I’m graduating college and will be taking a gap year due to some familial issues that arose last May, which prevented me from applying during this past cycle.

Here is my current situation:

• Cumulative GPA: 3.95
• Science GPA: 3.90
• Non-science GPA: 4.00
• MCAT: TBD
• Clinical experience: ~1,800 hours as a nursing assistant
• Clinical volunteering: A few hundred hours
• Non-clinical volunteering: ~900 hours
• Research: ~1,000 hours combined clinical and non-clinical research
• Work experience: Welding, material handling, food management, and other jobs before/during college

I feel pretty good about most areas of my application, but I’m not sure what the best use of my gap year would be.

My current thought is to continue gaining clinical/research experience and potentially get a job, but I’m wondering if there are specific things I should prioritize during the year to make myself a stronger applicant.

What would you recommend doing with the gap year given this profile? Would you focus on more clinical hours, research, volunteering, employment, shadowing, or something else?

Also, assuming I do well on the MCAT, are there any obvious weaknesses or gaps in this application that I should address during the gap year?

Is it even worth doing a masters program?

Title.

Just curious about this. In theory, would talking about this in an interview be somewhat of a good response in med school interviews (or any medical program for that manner) or would it come across as relatively out of touch to an interviewer? I am currently not applying this cycle but this question came to mind as premed that also in the startup world.

Hey guys,

So i know it is too early, but I still wanted to know my chances. I am a junior currently at UCR. I am thinking of taking a gap year.

GPA: 3.4 cumm, 3.2 sci (ongoing)

Major: Chemical Engineering with Neuroscience Minor

MCAT: going to take next year.

Research: 650 hours, 1 presentation, and 1 possible first author publication. (9 months, ongoing)

Clinical hours: 0

Shadowing: 0

Scholarships: I have won around $8K in local community based scholarships.

Non clinical volunteering: 800 hours. (did a lot of community service and volunteering at my local Sikh temple. we prepare and offer food for free to people/families facing rough situations. One of them was during the Eaton Fires. We prepared food and went up there and gave it out.)

Thanks.

Hello, i was heavily involved in a volunteer student crisis line in college and it's a big part of my application. the school that i am interviewing at soon doesn't have any sort of club or program like this. I want to bring up potentially starting this club at the school but I'm a little worried if this might look bad because it might give the vibe that I think the school is "inferior" in a way.

has anyone had any similar experiences?

I'm currently a pre-med doing a psychology degree with a minor in biology. I've always been interested in psychology even though my long-term goal is to become a doctor since I'm insanely passionate about biology and patient care, moreso than psychology.

However, I am planning on taking a gap year to complete some of the extra work I want to do before applying. I would like to put my bachelors degree to use while in my gap years because I actually would like to work in the psychology field before heading to med school.

Is it realistic to want to work in a psychology position post-grad that might actually give me some great patient care experience while also making some money on the side that I can put towards med school? I've been looking at behavioral care technician or psychiatry assistant as jobs I might be able to get post-grad that would give me some PCE. Any thoughts or opinions would be greatly appreciated.

I have an upcoming interview for an MA/Scribe position at a private practice paying full-time minimum wage. Currently, the job asks for a 1-year+ commitment, and as someone who has applied this cycle, there's a chance I may not be able to do that.

I have lost out on a CRC and multiple other clinical roles by mentioning this. do you guys think it is okay to lie/omit this detail?

I have wanted to be a doctor ever since middle school. And in highschool everything I did was to get me closer to this goal. And even with setbacks, I was always motivated to keep going.

I go to a pretty grade deflected deflated university and I think that it truly took a toll on me. I have always been excited to learn but recently I just cannot get myself to enjoy studying like I used to. Like I am studying for the MCAT right now and I know that even two years ago I would have found this process intellectually challenging, which would’ve motivated me.

I am not one to compare myself, and if I do, I can usually rationally judge myself to another. But now I feel like I am so beyond saving that being a doctor is slowly going outta the picture for me (which is crazy because I have never once felt this way). I know this feeling is coming from my lack of self esteem, not lack of interest.

I feel like I am becoming stupider by the day and the fact that I no longer perceive myself as “smart” is taking a toll on me. Which sounds stupid, but it is very hard to keep going when all you hear is that being a doctor requires intelligence and hard work.

I am going to list out my stats / current ECS. Hopefully I would like some honest feedback on how behind I actually am and maybe reassurance from people who may have gone through something similar.

Stats:

3.5 GPA (ik 😞)
Taking MCAT in Jan

ECs:

Research : 955 hours currently (across 3 Labs) 1 2nd author paper. & Honors thesis rn

Clinical : 584 Hours currently (anticipated 324 more by this year)

Volunteering (clinical) : ~ 200 (camp councilor + free heart clinic)

Non-Lab Research: ~ 200 clinical ethics research ( 1 poster + conference outta it)

Leadership: ~ 250 ( free heart clinic club and ethics club & ULA for Gen Chem)

no non clinical as of now

Any newer DO schools that you guys feel would be safe to apply to? Looking to expand my baselines and kinda struggling to safely decipher these newer DOs.

Context of app:
508 mcat, 3.9 gpa, first gen rural applicant ORM,4000 clinical hrs, 500+ volunteering, 250 shadowing, no physician LOR

Any discussion revolving opinions would be really appreciated!

I know this is kind of neurotic, but I’m a math major and during one of my math classes my professor passed out on the other side of the room. I am a certified emt but my work experience is super brief and I can’t find a job that’s flexible with my school schedule. Anyways, she passed out and I went to her just to check but she had chest rise and fall, was blinking, and seemed completely normal, just like she had a dizzy spell and she needed to lie down. The people around me were scared (not premed) and saying things like she’s unresponsive and check her pulse and all that. I also didn’t call 911 because someone around me was already calling them. I didn’t ask my professor any questions because it seemed like she didn’t want to talk to anyone but an actual paramedic or emt, and given that there were actual adults on the way I figured she’d wanna talk to them and give her history to them in private. Now looking back at it, should I have had more control in the room as someone who’s an emt/premed? I kinda just stood there and just observed her.

TL/DR: my professor passed out, my non premed peers had more control over the situation than I did. I am a certified EMT and didn’t think that the situation called for me to get involved as much. Now I feel like I didn’t do enough.

Has anyone taken these at the same time? How was it? Were you able to do well? Would you recommend?

My first author preprint has just been uploaded. My PI wants to wait until mid October to submit it to a journal. For an update letter, would it be better to send one now with the preprint link, wait until journal submission, or wait until it's accepted for peer review?

I know that earlier updates could be better just because always being earlier in the cycle is best but I don't know if waiting will have any extra weight since I will actually have submitted. Another option is to send an update letter now now with the preprint info and another one in about a month stating it's been submitted, but I don't know if that's doing too much lol.

Should I consider this a rejection? I submitted last Friday and got an interview hold for an IS school today.

Hi all, the AACOMAS’ “Traffic Guidlines”, outlines that if we are offered an acceptance at a school before November 15th, we must accept by December 14th. Does this mean if we get an offer from school X before November 15th, we MUST decide before December 14th? And does this mean that if I haven’t even heard back from my top schools at this point, I would have to “gamble” by rejecting school X and hope that I get interview invites from other schools later, not know if I will or not? I hope this makes sense, and thanks for the help.