Do you think it is worth taking a gap year??

[flyingeagle]

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Hey SDN,

I am a rising Junior. Based on the change in MCAT, I was originally planning on taking a gap year, but the more I think about it, I think I would prefer getting into med school as soon as possible.

Major: Psych
sGPA: 4.00
cGPA: 4.00

 

[chemist16]

Any evaluation somebody gives you on here should be viewed an incomplete opinion at best. It's incomplete because only you can know whether you would be a good applicant. You want to apply to medical school when you're at your best - do you think that your application would be better one year from now or two? The age of medical school matriculants is getting pushed back further and further and especially at the top schools, you'll be evaluated against many applicants who have taken a gap year(s) and done something significant. So you should make a list of reasons you want to get into medical school as soon as possible and a list of reasons why you should wait a year. There's really no reason to rush things unless there's some urgent factor.

 

[NeuResurgens]

MCAT is a priority - do what you need to excel on it. If that means a gap year, do it - I'm taking a gap year because I wouldn't have been able to finish all the classes (biochem) required for the MCAT before taking the MCAT, if I were to take the MCAT in time for the traditional junior-senior application cycle.

 

[flyingeagle]

Yes I want to do very well on the MCAT, but truthfully I don't see my application getting much better by waiting one year besides having more hours and the honors thesis under my belt. Do you think those would add much value to my application?

 

[efle]

Looks like you've got the boxes checked well enough to apply traditionally. Where you're competitive will now be mostly decided by your MCAT. Study for that and kill it. By your impressive (unless you're at Brown 😛) GPA numbers you will probably do very well

 

[skooper]

Looks like you've got the boxes checked well enough to apply traditionally. Where you're competitive will now be mostly decided by your MCAT. Study for that and kill it. By your impressive (unless you're at Brown 😛) GPA numbers you will probably do very well

75% likely at Brown or Dartmouth. those grades would be outrageous at any other non-HYP Ivy

 

[efle]

75% likely at Brown or Dartmouth. those grades would be outrageous at any other non-HYP Ivy

Is Dartmouth known to inflate like Brown and Harvard? In my head it was Harvard/Brown >> Dartmouth/Columbia/Penn/Yale > Cornell > Princeton

 

[vellez]

At this point, I'd say that you'd have a great AMCAS application. If you are sure you want to be a doctor, a gap year could just be a waste of your time.

 

[flyingeagle]

Thanks everyone! And I'm not at Brown or Dartmouth, I'm at an ivy known for grade deflation...that should give it away

 

[efle]

Thanks everyone! And I'm not at Brown or Dartmouth, I'm at an ivy known for grade deflation...that should give it away

Hah, Not HYP or Brown or Dartmouth, known for deflation....someone is in Ithaca

 

[skooper]

Thanks everyone! And I'm not at Brown or Dartmouth, I'm at an ivy known for grade deflation...that should give it away

are you in CAS? if so that's a 99.9th percentile GPA in the application pool

 

[efle]

are you in CAS? if so that's a 99.9th percentile GPA in the application pool

Since when does Cornell publish GPA distributions or percentiles?

 

[flyingeagle]

are you in CAS? if so that's a 99.9th percentile GPA in the application pool

I don't want to say as to give myself away any further...but yeah, where did you get that percentile?

 

[skooper]

I don't want to say as to give myself away any further...but yeah, where did you get that percentile?

My ass
Was just guessing

 

[skooper]

Since when does Cornell publish GPA distributions or percentiles?

since I found them in my ass this morning

 

[Dr. Jan Itor]

Yes I want to do very well on the MCAT, but truthfully I don't see my application getting much better by waiting one year besides having more hours and the honors thesis under my belt. Do you think those would add much value to my application?

A few more clinical hours wouldn't hurt, but you're probably going to start getting diminishing returns on everything else. Like others have said, at this point all the boxes are checked and you just need the MCAT. If it were me, I'd finish Biochem and Physics over the fall, and take the MCAT in the spring without taking a gap year. If you don't feel ready for the MCAT then, or get a low score, then you could decide to take the gap year.

 

[doc05]

don't waste your time with the "gap" year - you don't need it.

 

[RedPhys]

are you in CAS? if so that's a 99.9th percentile GPA in the application pool

For real. 3.99/4.00, and in arts and sciences? Enjoy the PBK invite, too.

 

[RedPhys]

Good luck fitting in Biochem, though
I guess you could just take the autotutorial in the fall, to have your Biochem knowledge all ready for spring semester

 

[skifast25]

I agree -- with having another whole year to get more clinical experience and study for the MCAT, you should definitely be all set.

 

[flyingeagle]

Good luck fitting in Biochem, though
I guess you could just take the autotutorial in the fall, to have your Biochem knowledge all ready for spring semester

Yes that's the plan, although I'm concerned with not finishing all of physics 2 by the end of Spring but I guess I could self-study the rest (plus I took AP so I have some background).

Thanks for the input everyone though, I'm leaning right now towards no gap year and will work on my clinical volunteering for sure, and maybe shadow a primary care physician.