Appyling without an Undergrad?

[dbutz02]

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Alright I'm only 20 and I'll be starting my 3rd year of college this fall. By next spring I'll have finished all my requirements to get into med school plus quite a few other actually. I'll have 112 credits, give or take depending on research. I took my mcat this april and got a 33P, VR10 PS10 BS13, on it and have a 4.0. I was wondering if anyone has heard of how med schools look at students applying without intentions of getting their undergrad. (obviously if I don't get in I'll take another semester)
And I attended a small private school, Edgewood college, which I know isn't nearly as competitive as larger schools and my gpa reflects that. Do you think they'll look down on that also?
Give me any advice. I know my mcat and gpa look good and are good but the small school kind of scares me. And only having 2 years in I haven't done any research and very few service opportunities. I do play soccer, which has been a large time commitment.
Thanks for the advice. Some people say I shouldn't worry but I'd like to hear the opinions of those who are and have already gone through it.

 

[Gfunk6]

If you are talking about MSTPs then I think you have virtually no chance of admission - considering that you are applying without research and even a BS or BA and coming from a college that is not well-known nationwide (I was in the same situation as you in the latter case).

We have had a handful of MSTPers in our school who entered after finishing their undegrad in 3 years at age 20 and that, in itself, is not uncommon.

 

[dave613]

Alright I'm only 20 and I'll be starting my 3rd year of college this fall. By next spring I'll have finished all my requirements to get into med school plus quite a few other actually. I'll have 112 credits, give or take depending on research. I took my mcat this april and got a 33P, VR10 PS10 BS13, on it and have a 4.0. I was wondering if anyone has heard of how med schools look at students applying without intentions of getting their undergrad. (obviously if I don't get in I'll take another semester)
And I attended a small private school, Edgewood college, which I know isn't nearly as competitive as larger schools and my gpa reflects that. Do you think they'll look down on that also?
Give me any advice. I know my mcat and gpa look good and are good but the small school kind of scares me. And only having 2 years in I haven't done any research and very few service opportunities. I do play soccer, which has been a large time commitment.
Thanks for the advice. Some people say I shouldn't worry but I'd like to hear the opinions of those who are and have already gone through it.

That's a very impressive MCAT score for only a sophomore. What type of Biology courses have you taken already in college? Also, how did you study for the verbal?
P.S. I think you'll be fine with admissions.

 

[Neuronix]

Are you applying for MD/PhD? If so, you have little or no chance without research experience.

 

[gschl1234]

To the OP, when you get accepted to med school, they send you a contract. The contract states the conditions of your acceptance including the fact that you must have an undergraduate degree before matriculating. If you do not fulfill all aspects of the conditional offer, they will reject you and put in your place, someone from the wait-list.

 

[SaltySqueegee]

MSTP and other Joint Programs aside, a bachelors degree is required by nearly all LCME licensed Medical Schools in the U.S.

You might be able to find a few schools, ~20 out of the ~125 that will not require a bachelors degree. However, those schools may have other 'hoops' to jump through: State-residency, clinical EC, unit requirements (which essentially equal getting a bachelors degree), specific U-grad feeder school programs, etc.

In all, your chances are pretty slim without an undergrad degree, moreover, you are somewhat DOA if you are applying to MD/PhD-MSTP spots without a degree or research experience.

Some advice: Slow down, take the extra time to explore undergraduate education a little more, finish a bachelors degree, get some research experience, and then throw your bitchen 4.0 GPA and 33P MCAT at the AdComs, and watch them weep and cry as you entertain only the best offers. 👍

 

[u2psalm40]

To the OP, when you get accepted to med school, they send you a contract. The contract states the conditions of your acceptance including the fact that you must have an undergraduate degree before matriculating. If you do not fulfill all aspects of the conditional offer, they will reject you and put in your place, someone from the wait-list.

re: contract? maybe at some schools, but this doesn't go for all.. alot of schools require only 3 years undergrad, MCAT, and fulfillment of prereq courses. and for mstp-- ++research experience(s). that's it (alot to do in 3 years and still remain competitive, but it can be done).

the catch: alot of schools also require a certain amount of humanities, other courses on top of the regular premed stuff (i.e. Hopkins) so it pays to take that 4th year and do research/ take other interesting classes/ (go abroad!). it also boosts your application in comparison to everyone else taking 4 years worth.

If there are any doubts as to the strength of your application (school strength, research) take another year to boost your app.

check the MSAR and also MSTP program-specific material for details on requirements. Also don't hesitate to contact programs directly for advice. good luck

 

[dbutz02]

Thanks for your opinions. Dave613 I took general Biology 1 and 2, Genetics, Immunology, Microbiology, Anatomy and Physiology. As far as my score I have to give a lot of credit to a princeton review course I took which really helped me a lot, especially with Physics, since I haven't taken it since HS, and Verbal, which isn't a strong spot. I would recommend it over Kaplan.
So A few other things:
I am only applying for an MD spot.
I have taken a few humanity courses and I'm currently in the UK doing a month long program in Humanities: British Lit, Hist, and Art. (The program is through the KU)
I'm also have a few different research options that I could start next fall...hopefully one of them actually works out.
And I'm also all set up to start Volunteering at a local hospital when I return from Europe. Unfortunately you can't put things you're planning on doing on your application. So I'm just going to have to hope for the interview to fill them in.
Oh and I've researched the schools I'm applying to to make sure they do accept students without degrees. I'm just going to go for it and if it doesn't work out this year I'll take an extra year strengthen my application and hopefully be set for 06.
Thanks for all the advice

 

[SaltySqueegee]

Unfortunately you can't put things you're planning on doing on your application.

I'm pretty sure you can. You just select the date range for the specified activity to occur in the future on the AMCAS app. Then during the interview or in a 'bimonthly' update letter, you can bring them up to speed if some of the things you did, or expected to do, changed.

Best of luck, 👍