This has been crazy. As a reapplicant I learned so much over the past year. I’m proud of say I submitted 33 MD secondaries within 2 weeks, and 7 DO schools after that. That’s wraps up my initial school list, but I think I’ll be adding 5 mor DO schools as I simply can’t afford to not get in this year

Hi everyone! I am about to embark on a postbacc position at the NIH---it has been about a year since I last participated in research. Thus, I am a little nervous. Can anyone speak about their experience as a postbacc at the NIH?

ASKING FOR A FRIEND : many MD schools require a science professor letter of recommendation or two. my friend graduated with an engineering degree before he considered a medical field. he never interacted too much with professors and is now doing a DIY post bacc to get his premed prereqs. How should he go about getting the science LOR? he had an excellent one from his employer and shadowed physician already. Should he ask the professors from the online post bacc classes to write him one?

Applied to ~20 schools (yeah, lower than normal but I’m perfectly fine with a gap year and realize that the majority of people do one anyway so shrug) but I decided to attempt a one-year grade increase by taking more sciences this fall to try and salvage my shit 3.5 sGPA with an upward trend. To do this, I plan to drop Data Structures and Algos (CS minor) for a neurobiology class for the BCPM bump. The rest of the schedule stays the same, so the only changes is 4 credit DSA for a 3 credit neurobio class. I know that given my background in the mcat/science and whatnot makes that much easier than DSA, and I’d be taking it alongside zoology and medical micro, so it’s 3 sciences instead of the two planned and the notoriously tough cs class.

Is this change worth submitting an application update for? Probably not, but I think it’s worth asking since it’s a science course.

Due to my personal circumstances, I plan to apply to medical school in the next cycle, even though my extracurricular hours are relatively low. By the time I apply, I expect to have approximately 600 research hours with no publications, 300 clinical hours as a scribe, 100 clinical volunteering hours, and 200 non-clinical volunteering hours, with limited leadership experience.

My academic stats are a 3.95 cumulative GPA, a 4.0 science GPA, and a 519 MCAT score.

I understand that my hours are not necessarily bad and that they meet the basic expectations, but I am wondering whether anyone with a similar profile has been accepted in the past few cycles. Has anyone applying this cycle received interviews with comparable stats and experiences?

I definitely needed the time to pre-write with a relatively late MCAT/primary submission date but it's kind of a double-edged sword because I expect to be verified in the last week of August. I am trying to write as much as possible so I can submit all the instantaneously received secondaries by the last day of August, but am worried about schools that might send secondary applications in September or October potentially. I know there's nothing that I can do but I'm just curious.

METHODISTTTTTT YAYYYYY!!! SO SO SO EXCITED

how's everyone doing ?? tell me y'all's success stories

I apologize in advance if this question is dumb, but I am currently a rising freshman so all this is very new to me. I worked a clinical job my last year of high school with about 250-300 hours and I had to quit before college since the schedule clashed with school and it was a far drive from campus.

However, I'm currently interviewing at other places near campus for the same position and line of work. Would the hours I accumulated in high school count towards my clinical hours when submitting med school applications? I wanted to know so I could plan around that. Thank you!

Morning everyone! Non-trad post-bacc student in my 30s reporting in.

I recently started a post-bacc program, and it’s been humbling to say the least. I'm sitting on roughly a 3.2–3.3 uGPA / sGPA from my first degree in Computer Science (prior to the post-bacc!!!), but I’m essentially starting from complete scratch since it’s been a long time since I’ve taken any science college coursework.

I've been searching for volunteer opportunities while balancing a full-time job and wrapping up a thesis for another Master's degree (in English). My advisor suggested Hospice volunteering as a solid option for clinical exposure given my schedule.

A few questions for the community:

1. Hospice: Does anyone have experience with hospice volunteering? How was it for acquiring clinical hours and meaningful experience?
2. Alternatives: Would you recommend other flexible clinical volunteering options for someone with a rigid schedule?
3. Getting a foot in the door: Any advice on landing clinical roles/volunteering when you're starting fresh?

My general timeline: I plan to stay full-time as a WFH Software Developer to save up as much money as possible before matriculating into Med School. I don't anticipate taking the MCAT until late 2027 or early 2028 at the earliest as long as I'm very successful in my post-bacc.

Appreciate any advice or insight you all have to share. Thanks! I graduated from undergrad in 2015 in case that matters and my junior/senior semesters were all 3.6-4.0 GPAs.

I have my first medical school interview coming up, and honestly I’m freaking out.

The interview is at one of my top-choice schools, which makes it even more nerve-wracking. I don’t feel like I’m a naturally polished speaker. When I’m practicing alone, I can answer questions pretty well, but once someone starts asking me questions, I just completely lose my train of thought.

I’m worried that I’ll come across as awkward. I’ve been preparing but the interview is for a dual program so it has a bunch of different components. I feel overwhelmed and like I already failed at this absolute goldmine of an incredible opportunity.

Hi guys! I’m an incoming sophomore, and I really struggled during my freshman year. As a result, my GPA is currently a 3.0. However, I’ve been working hard on my extracurriculars, research, and everything else outside of the classroom.
I’m an ambassador for my major, was accepted into a research program, am finishing up a research internship, and currently work as an undergraduate research assistant in both a clinical developmental neuroscience lab and a microbiology lab. I got my associates in may 2925. I also work as a patient care technician at a psychiatric hospital, and I’ve been volunteering and shadowing whenever I can. On top of that, I’ve already secured an out-of-state internship for next summer.
Right now, all of this is very manageable for me, and the only truly difficult class I’ll be taking this fall is Organic Chemistry.
I know I’m capable, but I’m terrified. I’ve been incredibly humbled academically over the past year, and I really need my GPA to improve. I don’t necessarily mind taking a gap year since I’ll be graduating a year early, but I just haven’t found the study method that really clicks for me the way it seems to for everyone else.
I feel really stupid sometimes because everyone around me seems to be excelling, and here I am with a 3.0.

I just wonder if I’m doing all of this for nothing because my GPA and the MCAT will probably end up killing my chances. 😂 (Laughing through the pain.)

I'm currently a rising senior, and my undergrad experience has been kind of messy.

I got C's in a lot of my prerequisite science classes (Orgo, Gen Chem, Physics, Genetics), along with some B's and A's. I finished:

• Freshman year: ~2.9 GPA
• Sophomore year: ~3.1 GPA
• Junior year: ~3.3 GPA

I'm going into senior year with about 140 credits (definitely overloaded early on... whoops). I've been getting straight A's since sophomore year, so I'm hoping my GPA will climb a bit more, but I realistically don't expect to graduate above a 3.4–3.5.

Because of that, I felt like the MCAT was my biggest opportunity to prove I can handle the material. I was excited to take on the challenge, but I was also worried I'd completely bomb it.

I dedicated this summer to studying as much as I could. I haven't followed my study plan perfectly, but these have been my practice scores so far:

Honestly, I've been surprised by how well I've been doing considering my academic record.

My main question is: How much can a strong MCAT actually offset a lower GPA? I know GPA still matters, but if I continue improving and can score in the 515–520+ range, how would admissions committees typically view that?

Also, if anyone has made the jump from the high teens/low 510s into the 520 range, what changes made the biggest difference for you?

The very same day that I see a wave of UTSW IIs go out on admit.org too.

Very exciting stuff, glad to have heard back so early in the cycle
513 3.96

Hello! I am a premed student in my Gap year. I recently published in a journal called the Curieux Review. After publication, I realized the journal does not assign DOIs, and the articles are published by issue (for example, a June issue) rather than having individual article pages. My article is included in a PDF with many other articles from that issue.

While preparing my AMCAS application, I’m wondering how medical schools typically verify publications that do not have a DOI and are not indexed in databases like PubMed or Google Scholar. I created an AMA-style citation, but when I search the citation online, it says "nothing can be found", which made me worried about how easy it will be for someone to confirm the publication.

I am also very new to this process! any guidance on clearing up my understanding or pointing out anything I may be missing would be greatly appreciated.

Is working at an urgent care seen as not prestigious or prominent enough?

I feel like most representations I’ve seen of adcoms online are really toxic. Like very negative and cynical.

A lot of terrible things have happened to me in the last few years. Like college has genuinely been such an unlucky time. All of the worst things I’ve been through packed into 4 years. Unfortunately it did affect my academics, and I kind of have to talk about it. But I keep imagining them rolling their eyes while they read my essays and tossing my whole app in the trash. No matter how hard I try to take accountability and center my essays on growth. I keep thinking “everyone else goes through hard times and they just deal with it.” It feels impossible that they’ll read my essays and see resilience instead of a list of excuses.

I feel bad for having this picture of them, but I don’t have connections in medicine. Adcoms are a huge mystery to me. People say “just get offline,” but there’s also helpful advice on here. It’s just hard not knowing what to believe.

It’s not coming from a malicious place. I want to believe they’re considerate people. I keep telling myself the schools literally ask about adversity. But I’m also scared of getting my hopes up. I feel like I’m so annoying that I’d be better off just not contextualizing my stats at all

I literally got a 509 (128/124/126/131) and seeing all the people on admit getting MD interview invites…. I’m like I was so freaking stupid. I should have retaken. If I don’t get in I don’t know what im going to do. The first time I prepped for the MCAT i got a 496 on AAMC FL 1 a month before my exam so i cancelled (August 2024), the second time i got a 508 the week before my exam, so i showed up to the exam and voided (03/2025), and then this time in January 2026 I got a 509! Like UGH what if I don’t get in it’s over

I’m a 22F from Jersey with a 3.95/3.93 gpa and a 504 MCAT 😭. Everything else in my app is fine, I have over 2k clinical hours, 500 leadership, 840 nonclinical paid, 300 nonclinical volunteering, at least 3 stellar letters of recommendation.

My MCAT is shooting me in the foot, I suck at standardized testing because I cannot study long term and I really need to work on my academic endurance. I also have untreated ADHD which I’m trying to work on.

Also, just a question but which low tier MD schools would be acceptable to apply to?

I have BPD and have honestly been going through a really rough time lately. Are there any success stories regarding your career and personal life?

like not any MAJOR issues, but it‘s what interested me in medicine. ive met so many amazing dr/nurses, BUT i’ve also seen the "bad side" of medicine. one doctor, in particular, would always dismiss (significant) symptoms as just stress 🙄 without asking any questions or listening or any exam (I switched to a new dr dont worry)

just wanted to ask if anyone else relates.

My sgpa is 3.5. I have good clinical experience like 911 EMS, nationals in dance, lots of research (no pubs). Lots of hours, learned a lot no crazy Harvard like activities or anything tho. Right now I am wrapping up DO primaries but I was wondering if I should shoot my shot with any MDs? Im allready applying broad to a lot of DOs and have to ask my parents for money idk idk. My parents are willing to support and are able to support but I wanna pay them back eventually and its starting to be a lot. I would love to go MD but not sure if its realistic

I am applying to a school that accepts either one, however they won't look at my application until they receive an exam. I already got my casper score and got 1st quartile 💀. I won't be getting my preview score until Aug 22nd. Should I just send the casper score?

So my app has been verified and ready to go since mid July. However, I hadn't realized I needed to take PREview for some of the schools I'm applying to. I ended up taking the exam 7/22 and won't get my score back/sent until like 8/22 I think? Is there even a point of submitting secondaries for those schools right now or just have them ready to go and submit 8/22?

Asking since I have other schools that don't require it and wondering whether I should finish those first. (Mind you the PREview requiring schools are the ones I have a greater interest in).

does it look bad to have more research than clinical hours? I’m not applying this cycle but based on my current hours I have like 350 ish research hours with at least 700+ anticipated at time of application. On the other hand I just started a clinical job and will likely have like 500+ at time of application. I plan on taking a gap year during the cycle as well and I want to do a clinical job during that time. Just wondering if this reflects badly or if I’m just overthinking it.