How many are re-apps because of this?

[700003]

I'm thinking of taking the July MCAT and basically, being complete in mid-August when my scores come back. My primary will have been submitted and verified by then, and secondaries will be pre-written.

I have a 3.8 GPA from a mid-tier state school and okay EC's (although I am a bit average on clinical volunteering). Is this late enough that it will hurt my chances significantly? Should I just take a gap year? How many of you were reapplicants because of a situation like this?

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[bruwin2011]

Take a gap year- timing is everything, even for people with solid stats and outstanding EC. The year off will actually make your application stronger if you use it wisely and can open up more opportunities whether it's more interview invites, or a scholarship.

 

[Aurum]

If you have any serious reservations about your chances of admission, I'd just take the gap year and focus on improving your application if you can afford to do so. Get your clinical experience up (shadow or scribe if volunteering isn't your thing), try to get some research in if you so choose, and perfect your personal statement. I do advocate planning that gap year now so you can hit the ground running after graduation and include those gap year plans on your AMCAS. You also cannot rely on AMCAS to be punctual with your application, which could hinder your mid-August submission timeline.

Your situation resembles mine when I was doing my first cycle of applications. My ECs were decent, my GPA was identical, and I took a June MCAT. Unlike you, I was much lazier about writing my secondaries (i.e. didn't pre-write any) and thus didn't send a lot of them out until mid September. I still got 2 late-ish interviews from mid-tier schools in my hometown, but these resulted in waitlist purgatory. If I could do it all over again, I would have eschewed applying to medical school during my senior year. You're more on top of your game than I was, but I still would avoid any unneeded stress with this process and enjoy your senior year (while still being productive in terms of improving your application).