Hey Theshanthan,
As a little anecdote, I applied to NYU this year with a high thirties MCAT, many publications and relatively high gpA and havent heard anything from them since I was complete in mid summer. It is not about your MCAT or your gpa, although a boost in score will certainly help you. It is about your whole application. Its good to set your goals high, but you also have to be realistic. NYU is a high ranking medical school and as I can personally tell you, it is VERY difficult to get into, even with great numbers, ECs, LORs, etc.... You should certainly wait until next year if you think youll have a more competitive application (and I applaud you for having the patience and maturity to wait), but definitely expand your horizons when you apply then. The people who get into medical school are people who applied to a good balance of low tier, middle tier and high tier schools. The truth is tough to face but you have to accept the fact that you probably wont get into NYU, as most people wont (that isnt to say that you wont get into another good school--this is why you need to apply to a bunch of them). I know its tough and Im going through a little slump accepting this myself right now, but the goal should be to get in somewhere because ultimately you want to be a doctor. And at the end of the day, you make the quality of your medical education. Of course, if you get 40+ on the MCAT, scratch everything I just said.
Also, on a side note, once you submit that primary, you are a reapplicant. But, there is nothing wrong with being a reapplicant. As long as you improve your application, which it sounds like you plan on doing, it will actually work in your favor. Next year, you'll have an established background to show how much work you have put into improving yourself because you want to be a doctor, which says a lot more, to me at least, than someone who has everything from the beginning. Also, because you have your goals set, I think your application will be that much more cogent, mature and stronger for next year, since everything you do for the next year will be working towards accomplishing that goal. I have a friend who were rejected the first time around and got into top 30 programs when they reapplied (one was able to jump 6 points on his MCAT, so dont give up). When you reapply, they want to see improvement. Keep in mind, just over 50% of people who apply get rejected and I think 25% of applicants every year are reapplicants. It is a very common thing to reapply, like it is to retake the MCAT. Good luck with everything and I am sure you will be in medical school soon.
