What are some good jobs to have or experiences to get after undergrad to boost your medical school application?
I'm about to be a senior in college and I really want to go to med school to become a psychiatrist. Psychology has been my passion since I was a junior in high school, so 4 years now. Psychiatry really interests me because I love looking at the brain, and the ever-changing field will fuel my love of learning. However, I'm taking a couple of gap years to work off student loans and get some more experiences that will boost my application when I will eventually apply. What are some things that I can do to that look really good when applying to med school? #doctor #psychology #medicine #medicine-school #psychiatry
3 answers
Linda Ann’s Answer
It's not clear to me if you've taken all of the science prerequisites required for entrance into a medical school. The typical, psychology curriculum doesn't include all of those science courses. So if you haven't really taken those courses, you need to take some of them during your senior year (biology, chemistry - both inorganic and organic, physics). Peruse the website for the Medical College Admissions Test (MCAT) which outlines all of the content that is covered by that examination. Another suggestion is to have a discussion with the Pre-med Advisor at your current institution. There are a number of programs that are designed to help students, post-bachelor's degree, to obtain the necessary coursework for medical school. Drexel University, here in the Philadelphia area is one of those schools. I know that there's such a program in Boston as well (as I wrote a letter of recommendation for a student who I knew as an undergraduate); sorry but I cannot remember the name of that school.
I'm assuming that you've developed relationships with faculty at your college/university that can write strong letters of recommendation. If you don't have at least 4 such relationships, you need to be focusing on those as well during your senior year. Have your worked with any faculty members doing research? This type of experience is also helpful and almost necessary for medical school admission, as the faculty member with whom you worked doing that research will be in a better position to write a strong letter of recommendation, having an opportunity to observe your critical thinking skills, diligence, perseverance, etc.
So, now back to your question...I would suggest a Research Coordinator type of position with a university, which goes along with the idea of securing strong, letters of recommendation as outlined in the paragraph above. Many psychology professors have grants and hire psychology graduates in such positions!
I wish you the best in realizing your dreams! Good luck.
i wish you the best of your dreams good luck thank you!
Richard’s Answer
This is a list of programs provided by the AAMC.
https://apps.aamc.org/postbac/#/index
Good luck!
