How many hours a week were you studying?

Do you have any tips to efficiently study and maintain a high GPA?

in light of several stressful interview posts i've seen, i thought i'd share one of my interview experiences from last cycle, where my interviewer at one of my top choices told me i was a poor fit for mdphd and would be a bad doctor and a bad PI (literally verbatim).

i thought i was never getting in and cried after. anyway, i got into that particular school and had 9 As total 🤷‍♂️

it really isn't over until you get an R.

im screwed aren't i IM SCREWED

I'm interested in doing philosophy for my premed. I understand things like required courses needing to be fit in, but how will philosophy affect opportunities or ability to get clinical and research hours?

505 MCAT (Retake from 498) / ~3.85 cGPA / T10 Undergrad
Demographics: Hispanic, FGLI, MA resident (Strong NY ties)
Undergrad: T10, Biology major
cGPA: ~3.85 (3.77 university, 4.0 community college)

MCAT: 498 → 505 (123 CARS)
Application Cycle: 2027–2028
Clinical Experience
~4,000+ projected hours as a full-time clinical navigator at a community health center
Patient care, phlebotomy, care coordination, community outreach
Research
~1,380 hours across two biomedical research labs
Additional qualitative research experience
Senior thesis in gene editing
Shadowing
~68 hours (adult/internal medicine and family medicine), ongoing
Nonclinical Volunteering
~576 hours (fundraising, cancer patient support initiatives)
Leadership
Founder/director of a community service organization
Director of a healthcare mentorship organization
Multiple executive board positions and treasurer roles
Teaching/Mentorship
Biology tutor
Undergraduate mentorship
Undergraduate research journal peer reviewer
Nonclinical Employment
~1,400 hours across two undergraduate jobs
Additional student radio employment/leadership
Extracurriculars
Knitting, astronomy, student organizations

I just recently moved back to the Houston area to take some postbac classes, and with my current schedule I am not able to work full-time. I have not had luck finding a position in Houston through Scribe America, which I find so shocking. Regardless, if anyone knows of any clinics looking for a scribe or willing to train on the job for medical assistant please let me know.

They promised the Kira email & interview package would appear on my interview page 2-3 weeks before my scheduled interview, but it never did and I'm around 1 week away.

Sent them email this morning and got auto replied their expected answer "within 5-7 business days" :((

Like I’m freaking taking Chem1 , bio 1 and like I’m studying freaking the whole day and would be lucky to scrap by the classes with an B for chem and a- for bio. Like how are people pulling perfect 4.0 gpas and barely studying. Like I know I probably have ADHD but gosh dang man, a lot of this info doesn’t click for me right away. Idk what’s going if I don’t have the right methods, slow or what but yeah.

I’m also a non traditional student currently so not sure just overall is this is a bigger learning curve for me than what I expected

hi everyone! I am a junior and was looking at potential med schools to apply to. for reference, I have a lower GPA right now, and of course have not taken the MCAT yet. When considering where I could apply, is there a certain percentile I should fall into to even consider applying to a particular med school (even on the lower end), especially for MD, or is it still too early because I haven’t taken the MCAT yet? I appreciate any advice :)

E.g is it ok to prioritize only nonclinical volunteering if I already have a clinical job (where I have more hands on clinical experience than I would get being a hospital volunteer) or is it a red flag?

Being the first person in ur fam to pursue medicine is not for the weak. My name got on a Nature paper this month and my fam has no idea how special and huge it is for me. They too focused on how much they dislike I am taking a gap year 💀 💀 Its so difficult to explain how long and intense the process of getting into med school is to ppl who arent in the medical field

To give some background, I went to one of the top schools in my home state on a full ride back in 2020. I started my freshman year as a computer science major, but unfortunately, due to multiple factors (being burnt out from working my butt off in HS, never developing good study habits, & discovering a little too late that I actually DON'T like computer science as much as I thought I did) my grades tanked & I lost my full ride (freshman year was literally the 1st time I've ever gotten a D in a class)

So having NOT learned my lesson from freshman year, I switched to Psychology (I thought that it was interesting) & started my Sophomore year. I barely finished that year...& I eneded up dropping out before my Junior year could start.

I've been working ever since then, & now I've been with the post office for almost 2 years. Recently, Anesthesia as a career path came up on my radar. I thought it was interesting, so I did some research & i think it's really interesting. I learned that the post office actually has deals with select schools to give us discounts on our tuition (It's nothing massive, but its a discount nonetheless), so I'm thinking of using that to my advantage to go back to school to finishing my degree, then apply to med school & work my way up to being an Anesthesiologist.

I am aware that me dropping out is on me, & that if I am to pursue this, then I will have to dedicate a LOT of time/energy/ & money to it. I just KNOW that I can do better than being a mailman (not that theirs anything wrong with being one) & honestly, not finishing school is one of the biggest regrets in life so far.

So..that's the cliffnotes version of my reasoning. I want your honest opinions on this.

tl;dr: College burnout/dropout wants to know if going back to school for one of the hardest professions is a good idea.

Got an II on 10/13 and they stated to email the admissions director within 3 business days with availability. I emailed them 10/14. I still haven’t gotten back any response/ verification about my email.

They explicitly say not to send repeated emails but I’m getting worried my email got lost or they didn’t see it.

I called the SOM a few times but the admissions directors phone number is unavailable and we can only leave messages. Unsure on what to do, please help.

Wow... I cannot believe I am having to write this right now. I am currently a junior and have a 4.0 GPA. I study a lot and believe myself to be a good student but currently my university's physics department is undergoing a lot of change and to say the least.. it sucks. I just got my grade back for our last test and received a 49. I am completely devastated. What even is the best option for me? Should I try to take it at a different university? I obviously have to take physics I and II so now I don't know what is best. I have never done this horribly and the worst part is that the material is actually not to bad they just don't teach or give any practice material similar to the exam... Is taking a science course at a community college really as bad of a decision as people make it out to seem?

Georgetown 😋😋

Surprisingly did not feel any reaction but probably because already have an MD A

Howdy. I am reaching out to whomever is diligent and is seeking a clinical experience in the state of Maryland - near the Rockville, Bethesda, Gaithersburg, and Germantown areas.

This is a medical scribing position for an orthopedic practice. You will be scribing for orthopedic surgeons, pending schedule.

PM me if interested, so I can connect you with the site manager. Pay should be much more competitive than ScribeAmerica and other companies within this area.

Also PM me if you want more details.

i have one interview only and it feels like my entire future is riding on this 😶i am so scared and for some reason everytime i sit down to prepare i can’t get myself to do anything because i feel so doomed already… does anyone have any advice on how to deal w this feeling or like should i get on medication 😬

hi everyone,

i'm curious about whether i should send an update letter for some of the schools i haven't heard back from. i had mentioned my plans for my gap year in my primary and secondary application, and i don't really have any major updates (apart from confirming i'm on an NIH PREP grant which i didn't know at the time when i applied and developing my projects for my postbacc research). should i even bother to send anything to them, or is worthwhile to later on in the cycle?

thanks!

My projected CGPA will sit around a 3.1, and at the end of my first year I ended in the low 2.0’s. I was at a CC before this university and left with a 3.4. I’ve yet to take my MCAT & am Non- Trad so my story includes a lot of “why” and how I found my passion in medicine through my years of being an MA in different fields and seeing the different roles (I switched from wanting to do nursing to pa, now I’m set on Md)

Outside of academics
- 6k if not more clinical hours in different specialties as an MA
- 2.5-3 years in a research lab, hoping for Atleast 1 pub
- lacking volunteer & shadowing hours but can easily work on these
- Leadership position as a club president at my uni for 2 years, and 1 year as treasurer
- LOR , 4 from MD’s 1 from a PA and 1 from my research PI
- Acceptance into undergrad summer research program at my school for 2026

What are my chances of getting in? I’d prefer to not do a post- Bach / masters but worry that my stats are not even considerable

Count your days MMI. I blanked on a follow up question to the prompt. Like actually blanked. Caught me so off guard. It wasn’t even a hard follow up just got nervous and blanked. I saw the timer counting down for the next interview and ran out of time but the interviewer said, “Oh, it’s ok we have another minute”. And even the additional time didn’t help. I apologized and said that I’m unable to answer and that I would have to pass on it. “Pass on it” you absolute idiot. It came out faster than I could think. Nothing I can do now. gg interviewer, you got me.

Hey guys! Looking for some advice on where to drop/add for MD admissions. Hoping to apply 10-15 MD and 20 DO. Will be applying as either a high 3.7 or low 3.8, 504 MCAT. URM Hispanic, OH in state and strong FL ties. urban/suburban campuses only

Research: around 3000, 4 diff labs. 1 pub 1 poster

Clinical: 1000 ish from home health aide work and hospital volunteering

Shadowing: 100, 4-5 diff specialties (20h each)

Non-clin volunteering: 2000 ish, but mainly from guide dog raising and working with that community + some crisis counseling.

Other: 2000 from RA/TA/admissions/etc.

Hobbies: 900 ish between martial arts and reading

VTC

Wright State

NEOM

Toledo

Wayne State

OUWB

MSU

Rush

Basically the title

Hello! I’m a 26 year old college grad who’s been working in the library field for about 2 years. I recently began a masters program to get my MLIS, but overall the program and my job both feel unfulfilling.

I’ve always wanted to be a doctor, but I suffered some health issues in late high school/early college that led from me switching from a biology major to an English major. I do love English as well but frankly it was just easier for me.

Now that I’m older and more settled, I would really like to get back on the path to medicine. But I worry that I’m too old now. Or that I’ll fail, because I’ve never taken a college chemistry class and don’t know what to expect. And I’m frankly bad at math.

But when I apply myself I do very very well. This plan would involve me taking on about a year and half of undergrad courses before taking the MCAT.

Is it worth it?

Hi! I posted yesterday but it seemed really long so I am back with a trimmed down version. I am planning on applying next year and want advice on my application planning. I feel like I have a solid idea of what I need to get done, but am not sure about how many hours of ECs would be sufficient with my stats and background since everywhere online has different answers.

Academically, I will end with about a 3.65 cumulative and 3.7 science gpa on the low end, 3.73 and s 3.8 on the high end depending on my grades in my last 4 classes (Orgo 1 and 2, physics 1 and 2). I am going to shoot for taking the MCAT in march of 2027. Is there a better time to take it?

Paid Clinical hours- I have been working full time as an MLT and then MLS for 3 years, and am recently signed off on phlebotomy to get patient facing hours and better accommodate my class schedule. I’ll be at around 500 hours of phlebotomy by the time I apply, but should I solely rely on phlebotomy for clinical experience?

Research- I have no research (that I think counts) and feel like I need to focus on my other ECs since my choice school doesn’t seem to prioritize research. If I do decently on the MCAT, will having no research matter, or should I suck it up and try to get some done?

Volunteering- I’m aiming for around 200-250 hours between my two areas with about 50 hours from the clinic and 200 from the crisis text line. I also have volunteered to paint for several years in a row in an art show that raises scholarship money for my local community college, which would be about 50 hours. Not sure if I should list that last one or if it would be too much of a reach.

Leadership- I have been a designated trainer (1.5 years) and shift leader (6 months) at a previous non medical job. We get students, interns, new techs, and frequently have new nurses and med students that come down to the lab for education and I probably spend at least 500 hours a year training staff and students (have been working this job for 3 years) I think these are valid leadership experiences that I have plenty to talk about on apps, or am I off base?

Shadowing- I am working with docs in my hospital and shadowing specialties I am interested in during my days off. Still working my way down my list, but is 40 hours a good goal or should I aim higher?

I really appreciate any advice y’all have to give!

Received THE call from my top choice MD school after interviewing in September. I am on cloud 9, I genuinely never thought this would be possible for me.

510 mcat, 3.92 undergrad GPA, 4.0 masters, no volunteering hours, no research, only 12 hours of shadowing, no clinical working hours either. Just public health work experience!!!!

Don’t let the subs scare you. You don’t need 1000+ hours of everything and a 515 to have a chance, be yourself and have a passion and it will all work out!!!!!!!