@devereaux
Realistically, you will need a glide year because med school adcomms will want to see 2 years of grades from a 4 year college (which is presumed to be more a competitive environment than a CC) before tendering you an interview invitation.
Med schools expect 2 different types of volunteering: clinical (working with patients) and non-clinical (community service). Med schools especially like to see that your community service helps those who are part of a disadvantaged population (poor, mentally ill, non-English speakers, isolated elderly, etc.).
You don’t need to join a math club just to express your affinity for math. It’s nice, but not necessary. Only join a math club if you like math and want to be involved w/ math competitions. (Both my daughters were math majors. Neither ever belonged to a math club because they weren’t interested in competitions. D2 did coach a high school math team, though.)
Research is nice, but not a 100% necessity for people applying to med school. (Unless they are gunning for top research-oriented med schools.) But if you have an opportunity to get some lab research experience, I’d recommend you do it.
The activities that med schools want to see in applicants are:
- clinical volunteering or employment
- community service with the disadvantaged
- physician shadowing, especially w/ physicians in primary care specialties
- leadership roles in their activities
You can be a CNA or EMT while going to school, but it easiest to work at these jobs during summers, and not during the school year. Once you have experience and recommendations from supervisors, it’s easier to find part-time volunteer or paid positions as an EMT/CNA that you can fit around your class schedule. But always remember that getting good grades is your #1 job if you want to go to med school. It’s easier to add ECs to a resumé than it is to fix a weak GPA.
Med schools very strongly prefer LORs from professors at a 4 year college. You will need LORs from both science (math, chemistry, bio or physics) professors and from non-science professors.
Some colleges offer what’s called a committee letter and med schools strongly prefer/require one of those if your college offers it. Each college will have its own specific requirements for getting a committee letter.
Start studying only after you have finished all your pre-req classes and know that you will be applying to med school in the near future. A MCAT score is only valid for 3 years (2 years at some schools) from the date of the test. It takes a full year to apply to med school so taking the exam too soon can mean your score will expire before you can be accepted.