Finished undergrad - next steps?

[trivix]

I have a 3.5 gpa. I really want to pursue medicine. I'm looking at options for a clinical job to get some clinical hours, and I plan on doing more nonclinical volunteering (currently sitting on 200 hrs.) I'm going to study for MCAT in the meantime. And I hope to get in by 2026. Does this sound reasonable? (btw pls recommend some clinical jobs I can do with no experience, currently looking at scribing and its really low pay and seems very cookie-cutter.) Appreciate all responses.

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[Mr.Smile12]

Welcome to the forums!
What advice have you gotten from your prehealth advisor? There's not enough information here to properly advise you.

 

[JAK2-STAT3]

Are you hoping to apply in 2025 to start in 2026? Or apply in 2026?

1. Have you completed all prerequisites, including 2 years of biology, gen chem 1+2, orgo 1+2, physics 1+2, biochemistry, and possibly psychology, stats, etc? Do not take the MCAT until you have completed the prerequisites.
2. Depending on the state it may be possible to work as a medical assistant without a certificate. These jobs pay more than scribing and tend to give you good patient interaction as opposed to being a fly on the wall. Otherwise, look into being a hospital volunteer.
3. You'll need at least 50 hours of shadowing, including primary care.

If you've completed prerequisites, are able to accumulate 150+ hours of clinical experience plus 50+ hours of shadowing, and are able to do well on the MCAT in the next year applying in May of 2025 should be doable.

 

[trivix]

Are you hoping to apply in 2025 to start in 2026? Or apply in 2026?

1. Have you completed all prerequisites, including 2 years of biology, gen chem 1+2, orgo 1+2, physics 1+2, biochemistry, and possibly psychology, stats, etc? Do not take the MCAT until you have completed the prerequisites.
2. Depending on the state it may be possible to work as a medical assistant without a certificate. These jobs pay more than scribing and tend to give you good patient interaction as opposed to being a fly on the wall. Otherwise, look into being a hospital volunteer.
3. You'll need at least 50 hours of shadowing, including primary care.

If you've completed prerequisites, are able to accumulate 150+ hours of clinical experience plus 50+ hours of shadowing, and are able to do well on the MCAT in the next year applying in May of 2025 should be doable.

1) I've completed everything. I have a bio degree so hopefully I will already have a good foundation for that section of the mcat. I took orgo and gen chem a while ago so likely going to be rusty, but I feel like I can grind it through in content review.
2) I'm located in NYC, and all the med assistant jobs I've looked at require a cert. Scribing just seems better suited for me, and I'm not too interested in hospital volunteering.
3) I believe that scribing will help me with the shadowing part right, considering I'll be working alongside physicians?

Also, I'm currently volunteering with a program called NYCares. It's sort of like freelance volunteering, as you go do stuff for many different organizations around the city. Do you think this is a good experience, or is it better to stick with one place? Do I need LORs from any one?

 

[JAK2-STAT3]

2) I'm located in NYC, and all the med assistant jobs I've looked at require a cert. Scribing just seems better suited for me, and I'm not too interested in hospital volunteering.
3) I believe that scribing will help me with the shadowing part right, considering I'll be working alongside physicians?

Also, I'm currently volunteering with a program called NYCares. It's sort of like freelance volunteering, as you go do stuff for many different organizations around the city. Do you think this is a good experience, or is it better to stick with one place? Do I need LORs from any one?

I'm not an adcom, but many of my classmates were scribes before medical school and scribing seems like a perfectly acceptable activity if you can stomach the low pay. Doing a bit of shadowing outside your scribing position is still a good idea though, especially if you're scribing for something like ortho or optho. You should be able to take a day off to shadow primary care (if you're not scribing for primary care) and a day or two more to shadow some other things, or spend a random weekend day shadowing ER, anesthesia, etc.

From what I've seen on this site LORs from volunteer organizations aren't necessary. Check individual school website for the exact letters that they want. It's hard to say about your non-clinical volunteering, but I would err on the side of sticking with one or two places longitudinally.