Timing for application

[jvquarterback]

Hi, I posted this in the general forum and didn't get much feedback so I was hoping someone here could shed some light.

I'm mentoring a young woman from our tribe who definitely wants to go to medical school but is worried about timing. She's at UC-Berkeley, will graduate in May 2015 in Bio, currently has a 3.92 GPA, has completed all of her required courses, has plenty of great extracurriculars, including varsity sports, shadowing, a couple of second author papers from work she's done with a friend of mine at UCSF, etc.

Unfortunately, she doesn't feel comfortable taking the MCAT until August (though she got a 30 on her blind practice MCAT) and she's considering applying right away versus taking a gap year for some research or to spend time doing public health stuff on our reservation. One of the reasons she's considering the gap year is because she's been told by advisers and other students that taking the August MCAT and applying late puts her at a disadvantage in getting interviews and being accepted to the school of her choice, as well as scholarships.

From my experience (worse grades and extracurriculars, but somehow got a great MCAT score) when I took the MCAT in August back in 1999 and applied late, I still got plenty of interviews, but I didn't interview until very late with some of the upper tier schools (I interviewed at Stanford during their revisited weekend) though I still wound up at WashU. Have things changed so much in 15 years that taking an August MCAT would put her at a huge disadvantage?

I've advised her to take the MCAT and apply immediately rather than burning a year doing something other than what she really wants to do but I'd reconsider if it meant she had a better chance getting into her top choice of medical school or getting a merit scholarship.

If you can help me out as a mentor I'd appreciate it.

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[Ambitionista]

I think the general consensus on SDN is that applying early will always help and is pretty much a necessity if you have average to below average stats. That being said it sounds like she will be a competitive applicant especially if she cuts a good MCAT score (30+). As an applicant myself who applied this cycle after pushing my MCAT back to mid-August, although I certainly felt 'late' by SDN's definition, I don't think I was adversely affected. I submitted my secondaries and was marked complete at most schools by the end of October. I applied to 16 schools, received 10 interview invitations, and have been accepted to 6 of the 8 interviews I actually attended. My interview season spanned from late-October to early-January. Do I think I would have had a better shot at an interview at say Harvard had I applied on Day 1? Possibly. But if she is ready to apply and wants to, I personally think she will be fine if she applies broadly.

 

[jvquarterback]

Thanks for the reply. Sounds about like how my process went. Hopefully for the young woman I'm mentoring as well.

Good luck.