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- Apr 5, 2012
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Hello,
I am currently a junior who has taken a long and oft changed path to pre med status. Starting as an engineering student, I inadvertantly got most of the prereqs out of the way but with an avg engineering gpa of a 3.1 and a sgpa of a 2.75. Now I have moved over to int'l studies major and am looking at possibly completing a bio major. I could graduate this coming summer with all prereqs done with just an international studies degree, but I don't really want to and my app would be really weak. My current cgpa is a 3.33 and a sgpa of 3.0, with no hospital volunteering, and minimal volunteering(~20hrs) with my pre med orgs, one of which I am a co-chair. If I maybe double that would be the extent of my app with a slightly higher gpa. Hence not graduating early, but I still have to apply with that. I am planning on a public health internship which would be about 400 hrs of clinical experience over the summer. However, I would like to study abroad as well, fall or spring it doesn't really matter, if I do study abroad I likely won't have a bio degree, probably shy about 10 credits, but having taken classes by then in physiology, epidemiology, parasitology, and immunology and hopefully raising my gpas. For reference I also have a 27 mcat.
This all brings me to my question: should I take a fifth year, finish the bio degree, apply during my fourth year instead of this summer with a better gpa, continue participation in orgs another year and probably tack on a few certificates just by sheer credit numbers(already have 110), or should I apply as is this summer and not finish bio? I would really like to study abroad, or at least do a summer program, which if I did the internship this summer I couldn't do. This is what sucks about becoming a premed late in college. Also, if I did graduate on time and didn't get in this coming cycle, would I be well served to do a MPH or not really?If I don't get in in the coming cycle, I would have to choose between a fifth year or a MPH, supposing I don't delay the application until two summers from now.
I realize this is a long and complicated question and I greatly appreciate anyone who took the time to read the whole thing. Thanks,
Trent
I am currently a junior who has taken a long and oft changed path to pre med status. Starting as an engineering student, I inadvertantly got most of the prereqs out of the way but with an avg engineering gpa of a 3.1 and a sgpa of a 2.75. Now I have moved over to int'l studies major and am looking at possibly completing a bio major. I could graduate this coming summer with all prereqs done with just an international studies degree, but I don't really want to and my app would be really weak. My current cgpa is a 3.33 and a sgpa of 3.0, with no hospital volunteering, and minimal volunteering(~20hrs) with my pre med orgs, one of which I am a co-chair. If I maybe double that would be the extent of my app with a slightly higher gpa. Hence not graduating early, but I still have to apply with that. I am planning on a public health internship which would be about 400 hrs of clinical experience over the summer. However, I would like to study abroad as well, fall or spring it doesn't really matter, if I do study abroad I likely won't have a bio degree, probably shy about 10 credits, but having taken classes by then in physiology, epidemiology, parasitology, and immunology and hopefully raising my gpas. For reference I also have a 27 mcat.
This all brings me to my question: should I take a fifth year, finish the bio degree, apply during my fourth year instead of this summer with a better gpa, continue participation in orgs another year and probably tack on a few certificates just by sheer credit numbers(already have 110), or should I apply as is this summer and not finish bio? I would really like to study abroad, or at least do a summer program, which if I did the internship this summer I couldn't do. This is what sucks about becoming a premed late in college. Also, if I did graduate on time and didn't get in this coming cycle, would I be well served to do a MPH or not really?If I don't get in in the coming cycle, I would have to choose between a fifth year or a MPH, supposing I don't delay the application until two summers from now.
I realize this is a long and complicated question and I greatly appreciate anyone who took the time to read the whole thing. Thanks,
Trent