Advice on when to apply & take MCAT

[pnoybballin]

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Hey whats up everyone. I am deciding on whether or not I should take the MCAT and apply to Medical School towards the end of my junior or senior year. I have finished all my prerequisites except for Physics which I will take during my junior year. I also intend on doing research in the summer following my junior year. Since I have a lot planned at the end of my junior year, I am kind of iffy on taking the MCAT as well as applying to Med School. I also don't want to wait a year before possibly matriculating into Med School. So what do you guys think? Should I just take the MCAT during my junior year and apply as well? Or should I just wait until my senior year? Any help is appreciated. Thanks a lot everyone.

 

[ryandote]

Hey whats up everyone. I am deciding on whether or not I should take the MCAT and apply to Medical School towards the end of my junior or senior year. I have finished all my prerequisites except for Physics which I will take during my junior year. I also intend on doing research in the summer following my junior year. Since I have a lot planned at the end of my junior year, I am kind of iffy on taking the MCAT as well as applying to Med School. I also don't want to wait a year before possibly matriculating into Med School. So what do you guys think? Should I just take the MCAT during my junior year and apply as well? Or should I just wait until my senior year? Any help is appreciated. Thanks a lot everyone.

It's going to be really hard for us to determine your personal subjective valuations. It's not going to make you any "less competitive" if you wait a year. It may give you some time to do something you enjoy, something you may not get a lot of time to do in Med School (travel, work, write a book...)

Moneywise, if you wait a year you will have one less year of salary likely at your maximum earning potential. But..... as a physician, you will make enough money that if you manage it wisely you will already retire much better off than most of America.

 

[pnoybballin]

I plan on applying to all the schools in CA and a couple of out of state friendly schools in the midwest and east coast. Currently my GPA is 3.34 which is terrible but I hope to raise it to around 3.5 or higher. I have a couple of volunteer experiences. I guess one more year would actually help me boost my gpa as well improve my extracurriculars but if it is possible for me to have a decent shot of getting into med school early on I wouldn't mind giving it a try.

 

[Tropicana100]

If you take the MCAT in senior year, you'll have to take a year off. This is a good thing to plan carefully. I chose to take a year off (took MCAT spring of senior year) because I wanted more time to improve my application and enjoy my college experience. Some reasons why people take extra years off are travel, research/clinical experience, Peace Corps, master's degree, and work. In recent years, many med school applicants are non-traditional and more "mature" because they take time to get life experience before applying. Traditional students tend to have very strong stats and are all ready to breeze through med school. Right now you can ask yourself what your goals are and think about practical issues like how you plan to support yourself after undergrad in the event you take a year off. It's a pretty big life decisions so talk to family, friends, and advisors who know you best. Good luck.