Medical School Prospects/Best Schools for my resume

Random thoughts

Drop one of the majors, med schools are only impressed with double major if you have great GPAs. Unlike hs to college where rigor is of greater importance, rigor of college to med school, not so important.

It’s best to take MCAT one time and do well. Develop a plan to prep and then do well on MCAT

Drop the trip to Madrid, it’s not impressive at all to adcoms, comes across as a vacation. Aren’t there women’s clinics closer to your school?

Although you can’t stay at home and play video games during gap year, you have to do something. However, realize the your post grad idea of working at a nonprofit is fine but not that big of a deal because adcoms will care more about what you’ve done, not what you will be doing in your gap year. The gap year is typically important to give a student the extra time/ courses of a senior year to repair GPA.

As to “after you graduate” you’ll take the gap year to work on apps, understand med school app process is a year long process. So right at time you’re graduating your applications should be completed and submitted. So you’ll be working on them during senior year, not during your gap year. Applying early is extremely important.

IMO less shadowing, more volunteering in clinical situations. Also IMO less trying to do every single EC known to man as opposed to a few with longer term ECs especially clinically.

Become very familiar with MSAR and what different schools expect, school mission statements. MSAR is a must. As to realistically chances of getting in, approx 60% of applicants fail to get in anywhere, worse if you’re a CA resident.

Develop relationships with people who hopefully will be able to write you strong LORs. Although med school would expect LORs that are more currently than one written for say a soph/jr student, if you develop a close relationship with prof, ask him/her to write letter and then as a senior, provide same prof with updated info about what you’ve been doing and ask him/her to refresh LOR. Also keep in mind that med schools commonly want 3 LORS from profs who you have taken a class from with 2 being science profs, 1 non science.

If it offers any hope, S finished first year at a UC with GPAs below 3.2 and is now a resident. Good luck.