Should I apply to medical school?

[Emory15]

I'm currently first year student, classified as a sophomore at Emory University. At the end of last semester, I had a total of 45 semester hours. As everyone knows college is extremely expensive; one year here at Emory cost about $55,000. Currently I am a chemistry major, and I will have completed all of my premed requirements by the end of next year. A few of my friends told me to go ahead and take the MCAT next year and apply to medical school one year early. If I don't get in, I'll stay for my final year and reapply. By the end of my sophomore year, I should have well over 90 semester hours (senior status). Is this a good idea? I enjoy college, but I don't think paying $55,000 for a year of "fun" is a smart idea. I will have completed my major by the end of my junior year. If I stayed in college for another year, I'd be taking random courses for the hell of it. Yes, it'll be an easy and fun year, but it certainly isn't worth $55,000 out of my dad's wallet.

I'm mainly interested in applying to DO schools. Here are my stats as of last semester. I'm also an African American male:

GPA: 3.57
sGPA: 3.68

EC's: Volunteer EMT, Dental Assistant, Lifeguard, Chemistry Lab Assistant, Research Student (in fall), CERT member, Community CPR Instructor, and I have about 46 hours of shadowing. What else should I look at adding to my list?

I'm also 17, if age matters.

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[FrkyBgStok]

Absolutely not. First off, schools require over 90 credits, but virtually 100% of matriculating students have a degree (I say virtually because of joint programs). And every acceptance I have seen requires a transcript with a bachelors conferred. Secondly, your maturity will be heavily questioned because of yr age. Your gpa also isn't good enough to apply a year early. Sometimes people don't need a fourth year, but there are probably less than 5 in 20,000 applicants who are academic rock stars. You think you are I am sure, but a 3.5 gpa isn't academic rock star. Plus reapplicants are expected to have drastic changes and there is commonly a stigma. Why would you guarantee that stigma? That is just stupid.

Don't rush it as you aren't going to get in. You need a degree. Sorry.

 

[LifeTake2]

Being an A/B student at Emory living on daddy's money is not going to get you into medical school early.

Focus on your GPA and ECs and apply when you are going into your last year and finish your degree. FYI, if you think you are taking 'fun' classes to fill out a full year of your BS you are doing something wrong!!

 

[gdfernan]

Even if you complete a four year degree in 3 years, it will still be counted as a complete degree. So one option is to complete your degree in 3 yrs and spend the additional year volunteering/shadowing and building up your resume.

Second option is to transfer to a less expensive university. If that university is less strict in terms of grading, it will help you bump up your GPA as well. The SDN consensus seems to be the 3.9 GPA from noname university > 3.5 GPA from Ivy.

Once you become a doctor, where you did your undergrad will not matter except for the student loans you accumulated in the process or the hit on your Dad's wallet.

Under no circumstances leave after 90 credits without completing your degree.

 

[silleme]

I'm currently first year student, classified as a sophomore at Emory University. At the end of last semester, I had a total of 45 semester hours. ... Currently I am a chemistry major, and I will have completed all of my premed requirements by the end of next year. ....By the end of my sophomore year, I should have well over 90 semester hours (senior status). Is this a good idea? I enjoy college, but I don't think paying $55,000 for a year of "fun" is a smart idea. I will have completed my major by the end of my junior year.

I think you guys are misreading his post. It appears he's taking 45 credits a year, so at the end of the 3rd year he'll have enough to get a degree and have completed his major.

I agree with the focus on keeping your GPA up, and you'll need to make sure to find some time in your schedule for MCAT study your sophmore year to get as good a score as possible. I'm not sure how many hours of volunteering, but more patient-focused volunteering in a clinical environment wouldn't hurt. You seem to have a fairly full schedule, so don't do too many things that would hurt your GPA, but adding meaningful clinical volunteering hasn't seemed to hurt anyone's application on here. There's another thread in Pre-allo with someone who's in a similar situation here: http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=892447

And keep up the hard work you're doing.

 

[mauberley]

I think there are intangible benefits to staying in for the full ride. You could view it as a blow-off year, but I would say that it's still a formative year nonetheless. At least one other poster has already commented on your maturity being a question that will factor into consideration, and you might stand out negatively as a result.

Beyond that, depending on what you score on your MCAT, your app may or may not be competitive. Conventional wisdom (on the non-trad forum, at least) is to make your app as solid as possible the first time to avoid having to reapply, and that's not because non-trads are old.

 

[TriagePreMed]

If you can complete your degree in 3 years, do it. Apply once you have >90 credits. Nothing stops you from doing that.

 

[Prncssbuttercup]

I think the age may be an issue... Applying at 19 may be an issue in itself

 

[Emory15]

Thanks, guys.

I apologize if my post came off as arrogant, it wasn't intended to be that way. I know my GPA isn't extremely high, but I don't understand how my age alone can be seen as a negative to my application? I'm pretty sure that is known as discrimination. You can't determine the maturity of an individual solely by his/her age.

Before I begin with my response however, I just wanted to clarify a few points.

-GPA: My GPA is only a 3.57, but that's just from last semester. I didn't factor in the 29 semester hours I took through dual-enrollment (4.0 GPA). I didn't know medical schools counted courses taken in high school into the overall GPA. My 3.57 GPA from last semester wasn't great, but it was my first semester in real college. Not only that, but I took a very difficult course load last semester. I know my methodology goes against that of many premeds, but if I'm paying $55,000/year for my education I want to get the best education possible. I literally signed up for the hardest professors for every course I took last semester and this semester. I got a B+ in an introductory biology course, but that B+ was the highest in the class and I'm proud of it. I got a B in calculus, but even though it might not be considered as "good," I worked really hard for that B and performed at the top 5% of the class. Needless to say, I'm very proud of my GPA, even though it might not be as high as many of my peers. I've been able to become a great student as a result and I've learned so much more. I actually know how to think. For instance, while my friends in chemistry lab with an easy professor are reading a step-by-step lab manual on the synthesis of a coordination compound, my class ("inquiry-based chemistry lab") are testing the effect of chelating agents on cancer cell DNA replication. We have to give a presentation to the chemistry department and write three separate twenty page scientific papers about our research at the end of the semester. The class with the "easier" professor has to write a one page lab report.

Sorry for ranting. I've worked hard for my GPA, I just find it offensive when someone demeans it.

I will have completed my major by the end of my junior year, so if I did apply to medical school and get in I can graduate in May. I am also aware that age is not that only determining factor for maturity, correct? It is entirely possible that a 19 year old could be more mature than a 22 year old. I know this from experience. The majority of my friends are two years older than me, and several have/had no clue that I am only 17.

 

[Prncssbuttercup]

Here's the thing. I learned this the hard way, I thought, when I was your age, that med schools would care that I took the UL everything, the hard calc, the hard, physics, the hard chemistry, etc... Yeah, they don't. They want to see As, not B+s. I am glad you are working hard and learning a lot, that's what we all did in college. The people who got into med school were the ones who took the easy classes and got As, it's as simple as that...

Is it possible for a 19yr old to be more mature than a 22yr old, sure, of course it is. However, the school is more likely to pick the 22yr old who is as mature as many 25yr olds, over a 19yr old more mature than a 22yr old. There is no discrimination in medical school admissions, they can deny you based on any reason they see fit, and I can guarantee you if they want you, you'll get in, and if they don't want you, you won't.

 

[mauberley]

Thanks, guys.

I apologize if my post came off as arrogant, it wasn't intended to be that way. I know my GPA isn't extremely high, but I don't understand how my age alone can be seen as a negative to my application? I'm pretty sure that is known as discrimination. You can't determine the maturity of an individual solely by his/her age.

No one suggested that. But you may be under additional scrutiny to assess your maturity because of your relative age.

 

[Emory15]

-The "academic rockstar" post is why I thought this.

I know that medical schools will not see that I took the harder bio, the harder chem, etc., but I feel like the first step in becoming a good applicant is to not go day by day worrying about what medical schools will think of my application. My advisor, who is also the organic lab instructor, practically forced me to take the harder chemistry. She flat out told me that the students getting A's in her organic lab were the students who had my professor. I'm sorry, but I don't want to be one of those students my advisor cries to me about at work. There are so many kids here that don't know how to think. They're like machines. It took her three weeks to explain molarity and how to properly use a thermometer to half the class. By the end of the semester, the students who had the "easier" professors dropped. She gives no procedure. For the final exam last semester, she gave them two hours to extract caffeine from an energy drink. If they successfully did it with a good yield, they got an A. If they didn't, they got an F. A good portion of her students failed.

This semester I'm taking an upper-level zoology class taught by a former professor of medicine. On the first day he said, "This class is at the medical school level of difficulty and content. Over half the class will drop by the end of the semester, as usual." Due to my strong biology background from last semester, this course isn't nearly as bad as it is for many people

Once you truly learn how to think and apply yourself in the sciences, the professors that were once difficult, aren't anymore. My GPA for this semester is going to be substantially higher than last semester. Currently I have all A's. Once you've had so many hard professors, you realize what they truly expect from you.

 

[MossyFiber]

You COULD apply to med school. Should you? Probably not. I think it's kind of like getting married at a young age. You could but there's a lot that you may miss out on. It's great that you've worked so hard though, and it will benefit you in the long run. Have you considered taking time to pursue other interests (and you should have them) like research, clinical work, study abroad, etc?

I don't know you and for all I know you could actually make a great med student at a younger age. But most people either wouldn't make good med students at age 19, or it won't be the most beneficial experience for them at that point in their lives.

 

[Emory15]

I'm applying for a study abroad program next summer, and I'm doing research this summer and all of next year with a professor. I would really like to do a paramedic program and volunteer for an EMS service for a while. I grew so much as a person during ambulance clinicals. This summer I'm extremely excited about doing a few weekend shifts with local paramedics.

 

[MossyFiber]

I can understand the love for ambulance work. I did EMS for two years and it's my favorite thing I've ever done. It's good to hear that you're doing more than just trying to take classes as fast as possible.

 

[Prncssbuttercup]

Don't listen to your advisor. I'm serious. Don't do it. Take the classes that will fulfill the requirements and get As in them. I know what you're saying about not understanding how to think, but just memorizing the material, but it doesn't matter! The GPA is almighty, and your MCAT score will reflect your ability to think... I know of very few people who have had a school say they didn't believe their GPA was legit (strangely, one was RVU to a friend), and wanted them to take more science classes at a large university...

 

[clausewitz2]

If your advisor was the admissions committee of all the schools you were applying to, your approach would be the right one. Sad to say, very few of the actual adcoms will care very much that you took the harder classes. They will see the number and react accordingly. Emory might recognize from your transcript what you did, but how do you expect people at other institutions to know e ins and out of your science curriculum. I am assuming your transcript does not say "Chemistry for BOSSES NO SRSLY THIS IS HARD: B+"


This is blatantly unfair to you, but the process is capricious and arbitrary to a large extent. They can and will hold your age against you and may conclude some behavior or comment is immature that they would find unobjectionable coming from a 25 year old. Unfortunate fact about human psychology. Also, if they can even begin to articulate a legitimate reason why they turned you down, discrimination charges aren't going to stick.

As someone who also finished university in three years and would not have been at all ready at the time, take the extra year, even if you have the degree. Go volunteer somewhere. Backpack around Asia. Do something that will make you look like you have some life experience, since your stats are typical and not jaw-dropping.

 

[medhope4]

First of all, at 17 years of age, being able to take that many classes, and having completed that many credits shows me that you are mature than alot of people out there. People your age, and some people older than you. When I was in college, I pracitcially failed my first year because I was out partying.

Your GPA is actually not as bad as people have alluded to on this thread. Could you have a 3.7? Sure. But I'll tell you, most of the people that are criticizing it probably didn't have close to that. I think with your GPA and the fact that you are African American ( not being racist at all, but it is going to help you), and provided you do reasonably well on your mcat, and I believe you are a shoe in at a DO school.

That being said, I would not rush into anything. It is important to have your degree. What if you start med school, hate it, and drop out? What do you have to fall back on, do you want to go back to school? Another thing, supposing you do finish at 19 years of age, I dont think its necessarily a bad thing to start med school. You just need to be 100% sure of it. You are going to have to sacrifice some things in your life, and you know what that is. While your academic maturity is apparent, there are other aspects to maturity that come into mind. Physical, social, sexual. I mean it can be done. Kobe Bryant went to the NBA when he was 17 or 18, and look at the life he has now. I am just saying, these are important things to consider.

 

[sirenomelia]

Reality- an AA candidate with a 3.5 ish from Emory is a lock as long as you dont wet the bed on the MCAT. Relax, I think you can play this anyway you like- push ahead and finish early, take your time whatever. You're playing with house money now- in competition for med school scholarships, and picking and choosing where you want to go IMO.