Do Med Schools Care if You Graduate Early?

[philios]

I realized the other day that if I drop my second minor I will be able to graduate a semester early (Fall 08 instead of Spring 09). Id still be applying for the same med-school application cycle, but was wondering if they have any opinion on those who graduate early? Also does it typically show up on your transcript if you drop a minor (I havent taken any specific classes for it yet)? Thanks in advance

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[armybound]

I doubt they really care either about the minor or graduating early. If you want to do it you should.

 

[chable]

I suppose the most they could care about you graduating early is what you do with the extra time you have on your hands.

 

[philios]

actually the thing is i really DONT want to do this minor because i have lost interest in the minor, and also realized that med schools dont put as much emphasis on minors as i thought they would. Also I think being able to have a least a few months free between undergrad and med school would be nice. I still have the business minor, but I want to drop the cognitive neurosci. one.

 

[philios]

I suppose the most they could care about you graduating early is what you do with the extra time you have on your hands.

i would probably spend a bit of time traveling but spend most of it working for an ambulance service as an emt..is there any way to make them aware that this is what i would be doing with the extra time off?

 

[chable]

i would probably spend a bit of time traveling but spend most of it working for an ambulance service as an emt..is there any way to make them aware that this is what i would be doing with the extra time off?

That sounds like good activities to do. I, myself, graduated early and had a year and half between graduating college and matriculation to med school, so I had a lot of explaining to do. I simply wrote that I did some traveling, started to do some extracurriculars and was working a full time non-medical job. A lot of schools ask you to explain this on their secondaries.

 

[bbabul01]

I graduated early and I did fine with admissions. However, as stated above, you need to be sure you do something productive with your time. I did clinical research for a year and a half and had a lot to talk about in interviews. Also, minors are worthless. Drop it. Med schools won't know unless you tell them.

 

[cgscribe]

They don't care if you graduate early, just make sure the gpa stays high. Also, a lot of medical schools are hesitant to let in people that are younger than 21 unless they've shown a lot of maturity through their activities, etc. So, if you want to graduate early to have extra time to do something worthwhile, go for it. The gpa is important though, so make sure that doesn't suffer.

 

[gary5]

If you're not in school, they'll ask what you're doing. The wrong answer would be "nothing" or "not much".

 

[Law2Doc]

If you're not in school, they'll ask what you're doing. The wrong answer would be "nothing" or "not much".

Agree. If you are finishing early to do something useful, like more ECs, earning money to pay for med school, etc. then it will be regarded positively. If you are finishing early to travel, hone your video gaming skills, soak up some rays, then this is going to go over badly. Schools won't care at all about the dropping the minor thing. Majors/Minors are not particularly important to med schools.