The most challenging part of pre-med is balance. There are a few different categories that should be a part of your medical school application when you apply: Research, Volunteering (clinical and non-clinical), and Shadowing. Of course, there are many other things that you can include on your application and many different things that qualify for these three main requirements. What is difficult is figuring out when to do these specific things. Below I have compiled a tentative schedule outlining what I recommend you get involved in every semester from freshman to junior year. This schedule is specifically created for those planning to go directly into medical school without a gap year. However, this schedule is only a GUIDE that you can use to create your own plan.
After the tentative schedule, I will include how you can modify it based on your application cycle and how far you are in undergrad.
Don't worry! I will have other blog posts about each involvement area and different resources you can use to get started in them! This is just a suggested way to organize your time.
"Typical" Progression- Junior Spring Application Cycle
This schedule begins freshman year and ends junior spring, so it is recommended for those planning to go directly into medical school without a gap year.
Freshman Fall
Learn how to study! Focus on your classes and getting acclimated to campus.
Make some friends and find something that you like to do for FUN. Even on a medical school application, there is room to put stuff you are passionate about. These things are what help you stand out. Go join a magazine, a running club, a sports team, greek life, anything. Learn how to balance school and your social life!
This may also be an excellent place to get involved in non-clinical volunteering or a club. Typically you want this to be something you will continue for the next fours years to show continuity.
Freshman Spring
This is when I suggest starting to volunteer. This can be clinical or nonclinical volunteering (future posts will dive into the differences). Tip: if you plan to volunteer in a hospital, the applications typically come out in the late fall, so make sure you apply early.
Sophomore Fall
Continue volunteering or switch to another type of volunteering.
This is when I recommend starting to reach out to professors about research. This is typically a long process, so it is good to get started early (possibly over summer). The paperwork and training also take a long time, so you may not get into the lab for a few weeks or months after finding a project.
Sophomore Spring
Continue to do research/look for research if you don't have any yet.
Start finding people to shadow. Sometimes this can be difficult to do in a college town, so this might involve finding some people from your home town that you can shadow.
Start looking for potential clinical jobs for the summer or during the semester if your class schedule allows. Paid clinical work is not required, but it does look good that you have worked in medicine.
This is also the space for you to find something unique that will make you stand out in your application.
Junior Fall
Wrap up any gaps in your application. This can be more shadowing, research, volunteering, working, etc.
Start researching medical schools and start thinking about which ones you are interested in.
This may also be where you start studying for the MCAT, depending on your course load and the pre-requisites you have completed.
Junior Spring
Take the MCAT. This may be later in the semester, depending on where you are in your studying, or you may have already completed it.
Prepare for your application. I suggest having your personal statement and a list of the experiences you want to include ready before the end of the semester so you can submit your application in early June.
Gap Year(s) Modification
A gap year gives you extra time! It is important to remember that if you only plan to take one gap year, you will submit your application before the gap year starts. Even though you will have an opportunity to talk about your gap year in interviews and secondaries, you must get all of the experiences you want on your primary application done before you graduate. I will discuss more in future blog posts about the benefits of a gap year.
Regarding the schedule above, a gap year gives you more time to find what you are genuinely interested in. There are many different things you can do to alter the schedule. One option is adding another element to your application and finding something that will make you stand out. Another option is strengthening a particular aspect of your application and getting a lot of hours/letters of recommendation out of it. Additionally, if you are "behind, " you can pick up in the schedule wherever you are and complete everything within the specified timeframe because you have an extra year!
In my opinion, a gap year only gives you more options and allows you to adapt your personal schedule to what you genuinely care about, therefore making you a better applicant.
"Shortened" Timeline
This timeline is for those of you that have either switched to pre-med later in your undergrad or are starting extracurriculars after freshman year. Depending on how far into undergrad you are, I may suggest a gap year to make your application as strong as possible. However, as I have said, this schedule is just a suggestion for those that are quite honestly "ahead." I myself was not able to stick to this (largely because of COVID-19). My recommendation to those who are not "ahead" is to start combining some of the semesters I listed above to match the time of your application cycle. Below is a suggested way to "shorten" the timeline by combining certain areas of the first proposed schedule.
Skip Freshman Fall, as hopefully, you have already found some things that you are interested in outside of your resume. But if not, there is never a wrong time to become involved in something just because it's fun.
Freshman Spring + Sophomore Fall
This would mean starting to volunteer while you look for research positions.
Sophomore Spring
Securing and actively working in a research lab while looking for and participating in shadowing.
Junior Fall + Junior Spring
This combines MCAT prep, medical school research, and beginning your medical school application into one.
Conclusion
I can't say it enough that this is a GUIDE for a possible way you could set up your involvement timeline. If you are already decently far into your undergraduate career, I urge you not to feel pressured if you are "behind" because I myself have not followed any of these schedules. I have felt constantly behind throughout my undergraduate career because I was unsure what I was supposed to be doing and when I should be doing it. I want you to use this as a base for you to create your own schedule, not as something to make you feel "behind." Everyone has different interests, and everyone has a different timeline.
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