Third-Year Premed: Peace Corps, Major, On The Right Track?

WayOutWestMom
Wed, 04 Jan 2017 19:48:06 +0000

1. Medical schools do not favor any particular major over any other major. If you’d prefer to change your major to protect your GPA, go ahead. But you may want to consider the impact a major change will have on: a) your ability to graduate on time; b) your opportunities for future employment should you not get accepted to med school.

2. Your ECs are seriously lacking. You have very little shadowing --and none at all in primary care health fields. You have no community service and almost no clinical exposure. You have zero research experience. And I can’t tell if you have any teaching/tutoring/coaching. Without improving your ECs, I can pretty much guarantee you’ll end up with no acceptances.

There is no way to “make up for” a lack of clinical volunteering. You either have it or you don’t. You need to start volunteering at a clinical site ASAP. Adcomms are looking for people who understand the kind of life they are signing up for through in-depth exposure to working with the sick, injured, mentally ill, physically disabled, elderly and other medically vulnerable populations. Your intention to work with adaptive sports is nice, but it’s too little, too late and too limited. (And unless you are working directly under the supervision & direction of medical personnel, it falls under community service, not clinical exposure.)

You also need to find a community service opportunities ASAP. Get involved with a project–and stay involved for the next couple of years. Adcomms are looking for evidence of altruism and service to others in applicants. Long term involvement with a single project is favored over multiple short- term activities.

Ditto for research, if at all possible.

I would strongly suggest postponing your application to med school for at least a couple of years until you can get your ECs together. Consider finding post-graduation employment in a clinical setting. (CNA, medical scribe are often suggested.)

3. RE: Peace Corps. Since your commitment to the Peace Corp is for 28 months, you would need to postpone applying to med school until near the end of your enlistment term. Med schools will only grant enrollment deferrals in cases of grave personal emergencies; some don’t grant deferrals at all.

Interviews by Skype are not available except under very rare & unusual circumstances. (Peace Corp overseas service isn’t one of them.) You’ll be expected to fly back to the US for any med school interviews. You may be able to request that your interviews be bunched around a time when you’d be back in the US, but there are no guarantees that interview slots would be available at those times. Also some med schools assign you an interview date when the II is extended and do allow date changes.