Apply Now [LOL] or Wait

[AnonymousDoctorGuyPerson]

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So let me preface this by saying I took the MCAT in August 2017. If I don't apply now, many schools wont accept my MCAT next cycle (mainly my state schools and a bunch of other schools, actually the only ones that will take it are most of the higher tier schools). My MCAT is also a 522 [132/127/132/131] and retaking it would be... well... lmao... plus I work 60hrs a week minimum right now with no wiggle room to drop that so prepping for the MCAT again wouldn't be too fun.


I didn't apply this cycle due to circumstances that I don't see the need to get into as it doesn't affect my current decision. As of now, I can actually apply to med schools for this cycle. My application is done, it's technically before the deadlines, but it's late. Very late. Extremely late.

My app: Amazing ECs over the course of almost a decade with lots of clinical, non-clinical, research etc, a subpar uGPA of about < 3.0 graduating in 2014. A very strong post-bacc year of about 3.8 and a very strong 2-year SMP where I took med school courses, got a 4.0, and won an award for rank 1 in the class. I also have that 522 MCAT. I pretty much fit the bill of the "competitive applicant" minus the fact my uGPA is abyssmal, which I know is a huge hindrance and honestly the only thing preventing me from just pulling the trigger right now.

WAMC? What should I do?

Do I apply this cycle to have a chance at all the schools that wont take my MCAT next cycle? It's late, but those deadlines exist for a reason, the app would still be looked at. Or do I wait until next cycle for better chances overall at the schools I apply to, but most of the schools that would accept my August 2017 MCAT next cycle will be these top tier schools that according to the MSAR seem to take older MCATs than my state schools and most of the other schools.

Thanks guys.

PS - If the advice is apply next cycle regardless, what's the best thing I can do to improve my app? My stain is my uGPA but at this point I cant do anything more for it.

 

[deleted859689]

My understanding is med schools save interviews for late stellar applicants. I’m not an adcom and cannot say whether or not your app is stellar. However, if all your ECs are in order, maybe pull the trigger and also apply DO and not risk having to retake your great MCAT score.

 

[AnonymousDoctorGuyPerson]

My understanding is med schools save interviews for late stellar applicants. I’m not an adcom and cannot say whether or not your app is stellar. However, if all your ECs are in order, maybe pull the trigger and also apply DO and not risk having to retake your great MCAT score.

Thanks for the response, and congrats on the acceptance!

 

[deleted859689]

Thanks 🙂 means a lot.

 

[notsobabydoc]

I would apply now. 523 is good to go even though you are late. uGPA is a little bit of a concern, but your other grades are excellent. Retake is a huge risk given your distribution. CARS is a tad too low, but you will be fine overall.

 

[AnonymousDoctorGuyPerson]

I would apply now. 523 is good to go even though you are late. uGPA is a little bit of a concern, but your other grades are excellent. Retake is a huge risk given your distribution. CARS is a tad too low, but you will be fine overall.

Thanks! Yeah it is very risky. I have to essentially be "perfect" again with the added task of doing better on CARS. I've been tutoring the MCAT which I think would allow me to still do strongly but at the 132 subsection range a lot of that comes down to chance and how you're feeling test day imo.

 

[notsobabydoc]

Thanks! Yeah it is very risky. I have to essentially be "perfect" again with the added task of doing better on CARS. I've been tutoring the MCAT which I think would allow me to still do strongly but at the 132 subsection range a lot of that comes down to chance and how you're feeling test day imo.

right, think of this way, if you apply now, you have a good shot, and worse comes to worst, you reapply and retake the MCAT. However, if you don't apply now, you certainly have to re-take. It's just obvious that you should apply right now.

 

[AnonymousDoctorGuyPerson]

If it isn't too much trouble I was hoping I could get the advice of some extra knowledgeable folks such as @Goro, @Faha and the like. Feel free to yell at me.

Thank you <3

 

[Faha]

If it isn't too much trouble I was hoping I could get the advice of some extra knowledgeable folks such as @Goro, @Faha and the like. Feel free to yell at me.

Thank you <3

What are your sGPA and cGPA including undergraduate school and your post bacc ? Where is your state of residence ?

 

[AnonymousDoctorGuyPerson]

What are your sGPA and cGPA including undergraduate school and your post bacc ? Where is your state of residence ?

cGPA = 2.7
SGPA = 2.8
This is with my postbacc which was about 24 credits at 3.8. My undergrad was a LOT of credits. A lot of mistakes. Working full-time with no intention on going into medicine so "Cs got degrees" so to speak, but also was trying to "make use" of all the money I was spending on college so took as many credits as I could. Wooops.. I know this isn't an excuse, just giving this slight background to put it into some light that hopefully my apps reflect as well.

SMP which is graduate was 4.0 at about 70 credits. The first year's coursework was alongside what the 1st year med students at that school were doing (about 70% of their coursework), if that means anything as well.

My state is NY, residence NYC if that means anything.

 

[Faha]

You are late to apply this cycle. You could apply and have all your secondaries in by late October. However, you should apply to DO schools also. For MD schools I suggest these:
All 4 SUNYs
New York Medical College
Albany
Rochester
Hofstra
Einstein
Columbia
Vermont
Quinnipiac
Seton Hall
Drexel
Temple
Jefferson
Penn State
George Washington
Georgetown
Eastern Virginia
NOVA MD
Oakland Beaumont
Wayne State
Western Michigan
Medical College Wisconsin
Loyola
Rosalind Franklin
Rush
Creighton
TCU-UNT
Your SMP may help you at some schools. There is no guarantee that if you retake the MCAT and score 518+ that you would receive an acceptance in next June's cycle so you need to include DO schools no matter which year you apply.
For DO schools I suggest these:
TouroCOM
NYIT (all schools)
LECOM (all schools)
UNECOM
PCOM
CCOM
ATSU-KCOM
KCU-COM
DMU-COM
MU-COM
AZCOM
TUNCOM
BCOM
UIWSOM
ACOM
You are not late for a DO application.

 

[AnonymousDoctorGuyPerson]

You are late to apply this cycle. You could apply and have all your secondaries in by late October. However, you should apply to DO schools also. For MD schools I suggest these:
All 4 SUNYs
New York Medical College
Albany
Rochester
Hofstra
Einstein
Columbia
Vermont
Quinnipiac
Seton Hall
Drexel
Temple
Jefferson
Penn State
George Washington
Georgetown
Eastern Virginia
NOVA MD
Oakland Beaumont
Wayne State
Western Michigan
Medical College Wisconsin
Loyola
Rosalind Franklin
Rush
Creighton
TCU-UNT
Your SMP may help you at some schools. There is no guarantee that if you retake the MCAT and score 518+ that you would receive an acceptance in next June's cycle so you need to include DO schools no matter which year you apply.
For DO schools I suggest these:
TouroCOM
NYIT (all schools)
LECOM (all schools)
UNECOM
PCOM
CCOM
ATSU-KCOM
KCU-COM
DMU-COM
MU-COM
AZCOM
TUNCOM
BCOM
UIWSOM
ACOM
You are not late for a DO application.

Thank you! <3 that's a tremendous help

 

[deleted859689]

Just curious, you going to pull the trigger?

 

[AnonymousDoctorGuyPerson]

Just curious, you going to pull the trigger?

I'm gonna! Not being in med school for 2 whole years sounds exhausting, especially with how long it's been already. Plus, a small factor, while I'm making decent money right now my interest from my undergrad and grad loans are just accruing and accruing and while in the grand scheme of things it isnt the biggest deal sitting on it for an extra year is rough.

 

[deleted859689]

I'm gonna! Not being in med school for 2 whole years sounds exhausting, especially with how long it's been already. Plus, a small factor, while I'm making decent money right now my interest from my undergrad and grad loans are just accruing and accruing and while in the grand scheme of things it isnt the biggest deal sitting on it for an extra year is rough.

You got this and i believe in you. GET THAT A! I totally 100% believe you will get at least one acceptance (MD/DO) this cycle and look forward to stalking you. Best of luck!

 

[AnonymousDoctorGuyPerson]

You got this and i believe in you. GET THAT A! I totally 100% believe you will get at least one acceptance (MD/DO) this cycle and look forward to stalking you. Best of luck!

Thanks! <3 It truly means a lot! No point in being anything but optimistic at this point so yeah I got this! I look forward to relaying you the good news 😛

 

[Dr.Gains]

So let me preface this by saying I took the MCAT in August 2017. If I don't apply now, many schools wont accept my MCAT next cycle (mainly my state schools and a bunch of other schools, actually the only ones that will take it are most of the higher tier schools). My MCAT is also a 523 [132/127/132/132] and retaking it would be... well... lmao... plus I work 60hrs a week minimum right now with no wiggle room to drop that so prepping for the MCAT again wouldn't be too fun.


I didn't apply this cycle due to circumstances that I don't see the need to get into as it doesn't affect my current decision. As of now, I can actually apply to med schools for this cycle. My application is done, it's technically before the deadlines, but it's late. Very late. Extremely late.

My app: Amazing ECs over the course of almost a decade with lots of clinical, non-clinical, research etc, a subpar uGPA of about < 3.0 graduating in 2014. A very strong post-bacc year of about 3.8 and a very strong 2-year SMP where I took med school courses, got a 4.0, and won an award for rank 1 in the class. I also have that 523 MCAT. I pretty much fit the bill of the "competitive applicant" minus the fact my uGPA is abyssmal, which I know is a huge hindrance and honestly the only thing preventing me from just pulling the trigger right now.

WAMC? What should I do?

Do I apply this cycle to have a chance at all the schools that wont take my MCAT next cycle? It's late, but those deadlines exist for a reason, the app would still be looked at. Or do I wait until next cycle for better chances overall at the schools I apply to, but most of the schools that would accept my August 2017 MCAT next cycle will be these top tier schools that according to the MSAR seem to take older MCATs than my state schools and most of the other schools.

Thanks guys.

PS - If the advice is apply next cycle regardless, what's the best thing I can do to improve my app? My stain is my uGPA but at this point I cant do anything more for it.

This is a beautiful story of reinvention. It's amazing how you went from a subpar to exceptional student. I really wish the best of luck to you and I'm really hoping you get accepted somewhere this cycle. Please update us when you do, and you should think about sharing your story to the < 3.0 group in the non-traditional section. So others can learn from you and use you as motivation. 😉

 

[LeaveNoTrace]

@Goro: might OP be helped by adding top schools that reward reinvention like Columbia, Duke, or UCSF? Yes, it is probably a bit of a long shot and his undergrad GPA might be autoscreened out. If it's not, however, the reinvention is platinum and the OP of now is by no means the OP of then.

 

[Goro]

So let me preface this by saying I took the MCAT in August 2017. If I don't apply now, many schools wont accept my MCAT next cycle (mainly my state schools and a bunch of other schools, actually the only ones that will take it are most of the higher tier schools). My MCAT is also a 523 [132/127/132/132] and retaking it would be... well... lmao... plus I work 60hrs a week minimum right now with no wiggle room to drop that so prepping for the MCAT again wouldn't be too fun.


I didn't apply this cycle due to circumstances that I don't see the need to get into as it doesn't affect my current decision. As of now, I can actually apply to med schools for this cycle. My application is done, it's technically before the deadlines, but it's late. Very late. Extremely late.

My app: Amazing ECs over the course of almost a decade with lots of clinical, non-clinical, research etc, a subpar uGPA of about < 3.0 graduating in 2014. A very strong post-bacc year of about 3.8 and a very strong 2-year SMP where I took med school courses, got a 4.0, and won an award for rank 1 in the class. I also have that 523 MCAT. I pretty much fit the bill of the "competitive applicant" minus the fact my uGPA is abyssmal, which I know is a huge hindrance and honestly the only thing preventing me from just pulling the trigger right now.

WAMC? What should I do?

Do I apply this cycle to have a chance at all the schools that wont take my MCAT next cycle? It's late, but those deadlines exist for a reason, the app would still be looked at. Or do I wait until next cycle for better chances overall at the schools I apply to, but most of the schools that would accept my August 2017 MCAT next cycle will be these top tier schools that according to the MSAR seem to take older MCATs than my state schools and most of the other schools.

Thanks guys.

PS - If the advice is apply next cycle regardless, what's the best thing I can do to improve my app? My stain is my uGPA but at this point I cant do anything more for it.

Try these schools:
Columbia
Sinia
BU
Duke
Vandy
Case
Emory
Dartmouth
UCSF
Keck (maybe)
Pitt
Hofstra
Western MI
SLU
Creighton
Your state MD schools
EVMS
Netter
Rush
Loyola
Rosy F
GWU
Gtoen
Miami
Wake
Wayne State
Tufts
Any DO school, except the five on my Bad Boy List

 

[LeaveNoTrace]

Goro told you to toss in a few reaches, even as late as it is; who knows? You might get lucky and have a fighting chance at 'em. I'd go with Goro's advice if the IIs aren't too much for you or something. Good luck!

 

[AnonymousDoctorGuyPerson]

Try these schools:
Columbia
Sinia
BU
Duke
Vandy
Case
Emory
Dartmouth
UCSF
Keck (maybe)
Pitt
Hofstra
Western MI
SLU
Creighton
Your state MD schools
EVMS
Netter
Rush
Loyola
Rosy F
GWU
Gtoen
Miami
Wake
Wayne State
Tufts
Any DO school, except the five on my Bad Boy List

Thanks for the response!

I submitted my app but I've run into an issue. I had to max out a credit card just to pay for the primary, I have no money left for my secondaries. My student loan bills + rent + living expenses is just barely met by my income. Are med schools receptive to giving secondary waivers if they're e-mailed? Otherwise, I'm pretty much doomed out the gate.

 

[deleted859689]

Thanks for the response!

I submitted my app but I've run into an issue. I had to max out a credit card just to pay for the primary, I have no money left for my secondaries. My student loan bills + rent + living expenses is just barely met by my income. Are med schools receptive to giving secondary waivers if they're e-mailed? Otherwise I'm pretty much doomed out the gate haha.

This is probably the last resort, but short term personal loan? Or maybe borrow money from friends/fam? Still rooting for you. Not applying DO is a risk!

 

[AnonymousDoctorGuyPerson]

This is probably the last resort, but short term personal loan? Or maybe borrow money from friends/fam? Still rooting for you. Not applying DO is a risk!

Unfortunately, my credit wouldn't allow for a personal loan (been harboring a lot of student debt for years now haha). My family and friends are also in no better financial situation than myself. I would apply DO but it's another application I can't afford.

I will look into the personal loan to see if I can find something somewhere that will cut a deal.

 

[deleted859689]

Unfortunately, my credit wouldn't allow for a personal loan (been harboring a lot of student debt for years now haha). My family and friends are also in no better financial situation than myself. I would apply DO but it's another application I can't afford.

I will look into the personal loan to see if I can find something somewhere that will cut a deal.

DO a safe route so you don't crash and burn if you don't get into an MD school. With what you are describing, I could not fathom being in your situation and having to apply for another cycle after this one. If you start a go fund me, I would like to invest in your future haha. Honestly want to see you succeed.

 

[AnonymousDoctorGuyPerson]

DO a safe route so you don't crash and burn if you don't get into an MD school. With what you are describing, I could not fathom being in your situation and having to apply for another cycle after this one. If you start a go fund me, I would like to invest in your future haha. Honestly want to see you succeed.

This really means a lot <3 I'm going to ask a close friend of mine if he is willing to co-sign a personal loan to help me both pay for my secondaries as well as open a DO app. I'd hate to ask him but I know he'd be willing to help.

 

[Goro]

Thanks for the response!

I submitted my app but I've run into an issue. I had to max out a credit card just to pay for the primary, I have no money left for my secondaries. My student loan bills + rent + living expenses is just barely met by my income. Are med schools receptive to giving secondary waivers if they're e-mailed? Otherwise, I'm pretty much doomed out the gate.

Haven't a clue

 

[AnonymousDoctorGuyPerson]

@Sheeshtopher @Dr.Gains I promised to keep you two updated!

Just got an II to a MD school and I can barely contain myself!

 

[deleted859689]

Guy who keeps his promises? Going to get that A. I believeeee.

 

[Dr.Gains]

@Sheeshtopher @Dr.Gains I promised to keep you two updated!

Just got an II to a MD school and I can barely contain myself!

I'm so happy for you!!!!! You motivate others like myself to keep striving. Thank you so much and I'm really hoping you turn that II to an A. Wishing you the best of luck on your interview day!!!

 

[AnonymousDoctorGuyPerson]

I'm so happy for you!!!!! You motivate others like myself to keep striving. Thank you so much and I'm really hoping you turn that II to an A. Wishing you the best of luck on your interview day!!!

That means a lot! <3

I think my interview went super well as well! The entire day was very chill and I had a lot more fun that I expected. The faculty interview went more like a conversation and honestly I was very appreciative of how obviously indepth they reviewed my entire app before speaking with me. Hopefully can update you all with that A in the coming weeks.

 

[AnonymousDoctorGuyPerson]

@Sheeshtopher @Dr.Gains I promised to keep you two updated!

Just got an II to a MD school and I can barely contain myself!

This will be the last time I necro post in this thread but.... aCCEPTED! 😀 I'm gonna be a doctor! Holy crap that was a lot of work haha.

Also have an interview to one of my top choices coming up so eeeeeeeek.

 

[deleted859689]

This will be the last time I necro post in this thread but.... aCCEPTED! 😀 I'm gonna be a doctor! Holy crap that was a lot of work haha.

Also have an interview to one of my top choices coming up so eeeeeeeek.

Ez for the anonymous doctorguyperson guy. 😉 congrats, future Dr.

 

[bjt223]

This will be the last time I necro post in this thread but.... aCCEPTED! 😀 I'm gonna be a doctor! Holy crap that was a lot of work haha.

Also have an interview to one of my top choices coming up so eeeeeeeek.

Congrats! you totally deserve it and inspiration for sure. If you dont mind if I can PM you about your journey?

 

[AnonymousDoctorGuyPerson]

Congrats! you totally deserve it and inspiration for sure. If you dont mind if I can PM you about your journey?

Of course! And this is an open invitation to anyone else in a similar situation who stumbles upon this thread.

 

[Dr.Gains]

This will be the last time I necro post in this thread but.... aCCEPTED! 😀 I'm gonna be a doctor! Holy crap that was a lot of work haha.

Also have an interview to one of my top choices coming up so eeeeeeeek.

That is incredible news. I'm extremely happy for you, I can't imagine how you feel right now. Seeing the years of sweat and tears you put in to have it finally mean something. Congratulations future doctor!!! ‍⚕️ I hope to be in your position one day. Thank you for keeping us updated!