My situation might seem new or unfamiliar. I am a non-traditional international pre-med applicant with an engineering degree from an international university (India). I have taken a gap year after graduating in spring '2020 with a BS in Biology (post bacc.) from the University of south Florida mainly to prepare for MCAT, shadow, and if possible some clinical experience. I am on a visa here, H4 (H1B dependent). Due to my visa restrictions I am not given an SSN which is hindering me from working in the US, essentially in a healthcare setup. I have been advised to volunteer. and I had volunteered for a year and a half at a family practice before I began my post-bachelorette degree. I have tried to contact a few health care facilities in my area in the last month to volunteer and they require SSN for a background check. I understand the importance of a pre-med applicant’s exposure to hands-on patient care however, is minimum to no patient care experience considered a red flag on my application? Could you please suggest what I could do to overcome this obstacle? I am open to any advice you would like to offer.
My other stats:
Post bacc. GPA - 3.77
cumulative GPA - 3.25
Two semesters of psychology research
Volunteering: family practice + hospital = 1000+ hours