early decision program, is it a good idea?

[kwu]

Hello,
I am currently a Junior, expected to graduate next Fall. I am planning on applying to medical school this cycle.

Quick summary of my stats:
GPA: 3.7 sGPA: 3.8 (Science GPA is higher than the school average while overall GPA is 0.1 lower)
Upward trend, started getting straight A's after Freshman year.
Plenty of shadowing and volunteering.
International student.

The early decision program of the school I am applying to will open June 2 and the deadline is August 1. The decision will be made on October 1.

That being said I have to take my MCAT June 18 which will give only 5 weeks of serious studying after finishing finals.
I am really interested in this school and it's my number 1 choice.

Do you think it's a good idea to apply early decision risking lower MCAT grade due to short study time?

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[DrBowtie]

Hello,
I am currently a Junior, expected to graduate next Fall. I am planning on applying to medical school this cycle.

Quick summary of my stats:
GPA: 3.7 sGPA: 3.8 (Science GPA is higher than the school average while overall GPA is 0.1 lower)
Upward trend, started getting straight A's after Freshman year.
Plenty of shadowing and volunteering.
International student.

The early decision program of the school I am applying to will open June 2 and the deadline is August 1. The decision will be made on October 1.

That being said I have to take my MCAT June 18 which will give only 5 weeks of serious studying after finishing finals.
I am really interested in this school and it's my number 1 choice.

Do you think it's a good idea to apply early decision risking lower MCAT grade due to short study time?

I would not apply EDP without knowing your MCAT score.

 

[WedgeDawg]

Honestly, it's generally a bad idea to apply ED anywhere, more so if you're an international applicant and don't have an MCAT score.

 

[NicksMD]

Ditto to the above post and 5 weeks of studying for the MCAT is a horrible idea.


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[njtrimed]

Hello,
I am currently a Junior, expected to graduate next Fall. I am planning on applying to medical school this cycle.

Quick summary of my stats:
GPA: 3.7 sGPA: 3.8 (Science GPA is higher than the school average while overall GPA is 0.1 lower)
Upward trend, started getting straight A's after Freshman year.
Plenty of shadowing and volunteering.
International student.

The early decision program of the school I am applying to will open June 2 and the deadline is August 1. The decision will be made on October 1.

That being said I have to take my MCAT June 18 which will give only 5 weeks of serious studying after finishing finals.
I am really interested in this school and it's my number 1 choice.

Do you think it's a good idea to apply early decision risking lower MCAT grade due to short study time?

I agree with everyone else that you shouldn't risk ED without knowing your MCAT score. I have also heard that if you're serious enough about a school to want to apply there ED, you should try to get in touch with admissions regarding your chances. They may be willing and able to advise you better about your application specifically.

 

[PugsAndHugs]

5 weeks of studying for the MCAT AFTER finals is a bad idea. Give yourself adequate time for one of the most important tests you will have to take. Once you start studying, you will realize that you will need more than 5 weeks to study.

(Science GPA is higher than the school average while overall GPA is 0.1 lower)

Thank you for the explanation, we didn't realize that from GPA: 3.7 sGPA: 3.8

Kidding, just thought it was funny

 

[cardzkp]

I did precisely what you did and did fine on my MCAT. Finals finished May 10th last year, took MCAT June 20th. Y'all are crazy. Make it your full time job (and when I say full time I mean 60+ hours) each week and take the final 3-4 days off. I only got 87th percentile but I'm content with my state schools.

Edit: N=2. Good friend here at college who has also been accepted into multiple programs took MCAT same date, with same time allotted for studying. He got 91st percentile.

 

[Ismet]

I did precisely what you did and did fine on my MCAT. Finals finished May 10th last year, took MCAT June 20th. Y'all are crazy. Make it your full time job (and when I say full time I mean 60+ hours) each week and take the final 3-4 days off. I only got 87th percentile but I'm content with my state schools.

Edit: N=2. Good friend here at college who has also been accepted into multiple programs took MCAT same date, with same time allotted for studying. He got 91st percentile.

That's all well and good but EDP is a different animal. The caution in this thread is about applying EDP without knowing his MCAT score, which is not a good idea regardless of how much time you have to study. Not necessarily that he won't be able to do well on the MCAT.

 

[Ismet]

Hello,
I am currently a Junior, expected to graduate next Fall. I am planning on applying to medical school this cycle.

Quick summary of my stats:
GPA: 3.7 sGPA: 3.8 (Science GPA is higher than the school average while overall GPA is 0.1 lower)
Upward trend, started getting straight A's after Freshman year.
Plenty of shadowing and volunteering.
International student.

The early decision program of the school I am applying to will open June 2 and the deadline is August 1. The decision will be made on October 1.

That being said I have to take my MCAT June 18 which will give only 5 weeks of serious studying after finishing finals.
I am really interested in this school and it's my number 1 choice.

Do you think it's a good idea to apply early decision risking lower MCAT grade due to short study time?

Have you met with someone in the admissions department at that school about applying EDP? Vast majority of successful EDP applicants meet with the admissions dean or someone in admissions in order to go over everything and make sure the applicant isn't wasting their time by applying EDP.

 

[ryan1342555]

Hello,
I am currently a Junior, expected to graduate next Fall. I am planning on applying to medical school this cycle.

Quick summary of my stats:
GPA: 3.7 sGPA: 3.8 (Science GPA is higher than the school average while overall GPA is 0.1 lower)
Upward trend, started getting straight A's after Freshman year.
Plenty of shadowing and volunteering.
International student.

The early decision program of the school I am applying to will open June 2 and the deadline is August 1. The decision will be made on October 1.

That being said I have to take my MCAT June 18 which will give only 5 weeks of serious studying after finishing finals.
I am really interested in this school and it's my number 1 choice.

Do you think it's a good idea to apply early decision risking lower MCAT grade due to short study time?

What school are you thinking ED for? I'm thinking about ED too. Try to meet with someone form admissions before you decide

 

[kwu]

@DrBowtie @WedgeDawg @URMfutureDoc @njtrimed @PugsAndHugs @cardzkp @Ismet @gonnif
Thank you all guys for your great advice.
I think the best think to do now is to meet with someone from the admission to discuss my situation and then go from there.

@ryan1342555
I sent you a private message. Good luck.

 

[zygzy]

What school are you thinking ED for? I'm thinking about ED too. Try to meet with someone form admissions before you decide

Can't stress this enough to be honest. The school I did early admissions at actually had higher requirements before they would consider the app. They weren't made available unless you talked with admissions at the school.