Advice on the effects of applying late and my MCAT predicament

[AZFutureDoc]

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Hey all, I've been on a little break from posting, but I have still been reading. Anyways, here is my situation:

I applied this cycle, interviewed only at my state school, and was recently rejected. I have GPAs around 3.6, but my MCAT was a 28 (VR of 7 killed me). ECs and other stuff is quite solid. So now I have two options:

1) Graduate in May, study for the MCAT retake all summer, and hopefully do well in a late August test date. Apply for the next app cycle. Unfortunately, I would not be "complete" at schools until late September!

2) Take the MCAT sometime between this August and January 2009, and apply the cycle after the next. I'll be complete in the very beginning of the cycle.


I just can't pick between these two options! It kills me to think about waiting 2 years to even start med school! But if I took route 1, did well on the MCAT, and then didn't get in, I would be looking at a third application cycle. I have heard that med schools kind of look down on applicants taking 3 or more times to apply. Anyways, any advice on which way to go?

Thanks!

 

[TexasPhysician]

I would say go option 1 and apply broadly (M.D. and D.O.). You may get tons of interviews or you may not. However, giving up a year of physician salary in the future because you are waiting to reapply doesn't make sense to me either.

 

[ChubbyChaser]

I say option 1, but dont waste your money...apply to schools where you would have a shot...State schools and a few lower privates....if you destroy the MCAT, then add some more.

 

[AZFutureDoc]

That is pretty much what I was thinking. I just wish I had some better, more concrete information (like numbers) about ones chances as they apply later and later.

 

[Conky]

That is pretty much what I was thinking. I just wish I had some better, more concrete information (like numbers) about ones chances as they apply later and later.

applying early is so overstated on this board (imo). I was complete late september due to a late mcat and got all the interviews I could have expected, being a very average applicant.

 

[Bacchus]

applying early is so overstated on this board (imo). I was complete late september due to a late mcat and got all the interviews I could have expected, being a very average applicant.

Your chamber didn't have the bullet in it. But, don't continue this game of Russian Roulette. Its too risky.

 

[Chuck's Right Foot]

applying early is so overstated on this board (imo). I was complete late september due to a late mcat and got all the interviews I could have expected, being a very average applicant.

Anecdotal evidence... durh.

No wonder they talk about Doctors not being able to understand statistics enough to critique articles.

 

[flip26]

applying early is so overstated on this board (imo). I was complete late september due to a late mcat and got all the interviews I could have expected, being a very average applicant.

Not even close, but thanks for playing!

The benefit of applying early is undeniable.

 

[njbmd]

That is pretty much what I was thinking. I just wish I had some better, more concrete information (like numbers) about ones chances as they apply later and later.

Numbers are not going to be of much help to you. You are only as competitive as you are within the pool of applicants to the schools that you apply to. Apply to some of those "so called middle range schools" in a competitive year and you might come up short. What happened in the past definitely does not predict the future especially in medical school admissions.

You put the best application out there that you can and if you are a reapplicant, don't use the old PS, LORs etc. Change everything that you can change and make sure everything is completed and reworked. If your application didn't work for you in the past, you can't expect that it's going to work for you in the future when things are most like to be more competitive (not less).

If you want to be a physician, get as much changed/reworked as you can. Don't screw up on the MCAT (a lower score would be a death blow) and get your application in as early as possible. If you wait for your MCAT scores, you negate any advantages of early application that might work for you.

 

[flip26]

Hey all, I've been on a little break from posting, but I have still been reading. Anyways, here is my situation:

I applied this cycle, interviewed only at my state school, and was recently rejected. I have GPAs around 3.6, but my MCAT was a 28 (VR of 7 killed me). ECs and other stuff is quite solid. So now I have two options:

1) Graduate in May, study for the MCAT retake all summer, and hopefully do well in a late August test date. Apply for the next app cycle. Unfortunately, I would not be "complete" at schools until late September!

2) Take the MCAT sometime between this August and January 2009, and apply the cycle after the next. I'll be complete in the very beginning of the cycle.


I just can't pick between these two options! It kills me to think about waiting 2 years to even start med school! But if I took route 1, did well on the MCAT, and then didn't get in, I would be looking at a third application cycle. I have heard that med schools kind of look down on applicants taking 3 or more times to apply. Anyways, any advice on which way to go?

Thanks!

Your tactical error was not retaking the MCAT already, during the present cycle. Should have done it in January or March, or even April/May/June. Waiting until summer to study, and then late August to retake, really puts you behind the 8 ball in terms of competitiveness (applying early vs late) in the coming cycle.

At this point, you should seriously consider holding off to apply until the following cycle. You could use the time to devote heavy prep to the MCAT and could push it off until even next Jan or March, and in the meantime you could boost all of your ECs, get new letters, boost your GPA a tad, etc. In other words, your Option 2.