Decision: Apply now or later?

[_Junebug]

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I'm pulling my hair out on whether I should apply for the 2018 matriculation year or the 2019 year. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated and/or any suggestions to beef up my application would be greatly appreciated!

Major: Biochemistry *Honors emphasis
Overall GPA: 3.822
Science GPA: 3.734
Non-Science GPA: 4.000
MCAT: Will be taking in August
State of Residency: Utah

*Do want to go to medical school in the PNW.

Volunteer Work (Clinical)
-Front Desk Volunteer (150+)
-Vision screener (150+)
-Patient Tech (100)
-Hospice (100)
-Guatemala service trip as first assistant in operating room


Volunteer Work (Non-clinical)
-Volunteer Coordinator (300+)
-High School Tutor (300+)
-Refugee committee (100)



Leadership
-Scholarship Mentor (300+)
-Cross-trainer in the operating room (300+)
-TA (100+)


Shadow Experience
-Cardio-thoracic surgery (20)
-Family Medicine (20)
-Hematology/Oncology (20)
-Melanoma (20)
-Breast Surgery (10)

Research
-Melanoma (close to 200+)

 

[NeuroSoph75]

Depends, what would you do with the upcoming year and the one after that? Applying without an MCAT score can be risky, especially since you won't have time to retake if you don't like the score you get back in September. Everything else looks good, research is kind of light though.

 

[Toutie]

When in August for your MCAT? Late or early August? If it's late August it might be best to wait util next year. Don't focus on wanting to go to school in a specific area, such as the PNW...as it is unlikely you will be that fortunate. Also, your trip to Guatamala may hurt you more than help. You might want to consider not including it in your app. If you do include it, do NOT include any details of what you might have been doing in the operating room. Best rule of thumb to use...if you would not legally be allowed to do those procedures in a US operating room with your current level of experience, then you should not be mentioning doing it abroad.