Hi all,
I'm a longtime reader of these forums, but it's my first time posting. I am currently a rising senior and trying to decide whether I should scramble to try and apply to med schools this summer, or if it's too late and I should wait until next year (thus creating a gap year between when I graduate and when I start med school).
To start with my stats: My overall GPA is ~3.8 and my math/science GPA is also ~3.8. My worst grades at my current institution have been a B+ and a B in introductory science classes, a B in Orgo I, and a W in a non-required class. The rest of my grades have been A's with a couple A-'s. However, I transferred from a lesser state school to a better one after completing 60 credits and, while my GPA there was really good (3.97), my start to college was a bit rough, and my first semester I withdrew from all my classes (so a semester of all W's) with a single administrative failure in one class b/c I didn't attend (I didn't really know what I wanted out of school at the time and made bad decisions). I am worried as to what effect that may have on my chances.
I have not yet taken Orgo II and had not planned on applying to med schools this summer, but am at the last minute second-guessing myself and wondering if I should shoot for it (I had previously had a reason for not applying until after graduating, but circumstances have changed). I haven't yet begun preparing at all for the MCAT, though I blindly took the Princeton Review practice test the other day and received a 25 (an 11 in the verbal and two 7s). I have not started the application process either. My extra-curriculars are on the lighter side, with clinical experience only being having volunteered in a hospital for a year and a half (probably 150ish hours?) and having taken a Nurse's Aide course where we worked in a nursing home.
If I have the chance to get into a half-decent med school (allopathic or osteopathic), it would totally be worth it to me to do whatever's necessary to cram study and take the MCAT, apply, and find people to write my LOR's, rather than wait an extra year (I'm already graduating a year late due to my aforementioned rocky start). However, if I don't really have a shot then I don't want to risk doing worse than I could on the MCAT and have that follow me around if I have to reapply next year.
I really appreciate your advice and thoughts on this! Thanks so much!
I'm a longtime reader of these forums, but it's my first time posting. I am currently a rising senior and trying to decide whether I should scramble to try and apply to med schools this summer, or if it's too late and I should wait until next year (thus creating a gap year between when I graduate and when I start med school).
To start with my stats: My overall GPA is ~3.8 and my math/science GPA is also ~3.8. My worst grades at my current institution have been a B+ and a B in introductory science classes, a B in Orgo I, and a W in a non-required class. The rest of my grades have been A's with a couple A-'s. However, I transferred from a lesser state school to a better one after completing 60 credits and, while my GPA there was really good (3.97), my start to college was a bit rough, and my first semester I withdrew from all my classes (so a semester of all W's) with a single administrative failure in one class b/c I didn't attend (I didn't really know what I wanted out of school at the time and made bad decisions). I am worried as to what effect that may have on my chances.
I have not yet taken Orgo II and had not planned on applying to med schools this summer, but am at the last minute second-guessing myself and wondering if I should shoot for it (I had previously had a reason for not applying until after graduating, but circumstances have changed). I haven't yet begun preparing at all for the MCAT, though I blindly took the Princeton Review practice test the other day and received a 25 (an 11 in the verbal and two 7s). I have not started the application process either. My extra-curriculars are on the lighter side, with clinical experience only being having volunteered in a hospital for a year and a half (probably 150ish hours?) and having taken a Nurse's Aide course where we worked in a nursing home.
If I have the chance to get into a half-decent med school (allopathic or osteopathic), it would totally be worth it to me to do whatever's necessary to cram study and take the MCAT, apply, and find people to write my LOR's, rather than wait an extra year (I'm already graduating a year late due to my aforementioned rocky start). However, if I don't really have a shot then I don't want to risk doing worse than I could on the MCAT and have that follow me around if I have to reapply next year.
I really appreciate your advice and thoughts on this! Thanks so much!
