Early graduation

[deleted647690]

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Is there any benefit to an early graduation for med school admissions? I just got an email that I am near the credit number for graduation, and it was unexpected. I am about to be a senior. I guess I could graduate a semester early and that would save on tuition costs. That would mean I would have an entire free couple months to study for the mcat and prepare to apply. On the other hand, I think I would benefit from the extra GPA points if I stayed in school.

 

[Big&Juicy]

At this point, your GPA is pretty much set in stone. I would graduate early and use the semesters time to study and prep for the MCAT.

 

[deleted647690]

At this point, your GPA is pretty much set in stone. I would graduate early and use the semesters time to study and prep for the MCAT.

I am taking 18 credits this semester. If I took like 20 credits in my last semester, wouldn't that help? I'm mainly concerned with my science GPA, which does have less credit weight than my total credits, so maybe it would help

 

[JustaDO]

Not really since pretty much all medical schools start around same time. In terms of personal benefits, there are many, in terms of admission, only if you use it productively like FT scribe, research etc.

 

[Big&Juicy]

Not to burst your bubble, but even if you do take 20 credits, you'd have to get straight As for positive movement. What happens if you just get a prof that doesn't like you? What happens if you just bomb an exam you should have nailed? Even if you get your GPA up by 0.1, the work needed to do that is probably best used to prepare for the MCAT. Plus you have your entire life to work hard, senior year is a time for you to have fun and go out a lot.

 

[deleted647690]

According to my calculations, I may be able to raise my sGPA by .15

 

[deleted647690]

Not to burst your bubble, but even if you do take 20 credits, you'd have to get straight As for positive movement. What happens if you just get a prof that doesn't like you? What happens if you just bomb an exam you should have nailed? Even if you get your GPA up by 0.1, the work needed to do that is probably best used to prepare for the MCAT. Plus you have your entire life to work hard, senior year is a time for you to have fun and go out a lot.

Yeah you're right. But the way I see it, I screwed up my first year. So I think the only way to redeem myself now is to work hard up until the end

 

[Big&Juicy]

Think of it like this. If you had two applicants both with a LizzieM of 67, the one with 3.4, 33 MCAT will probably have more success than the applicant with a 3.9, 28 MCAT (Sorry I am not too familiar with the new MCAT scoring system).

 

[deleted647690]

Think of it like this. If you had two applicants both with a LizzieM of 67, the one with 3.4, 33 MCAT will probably have more success than the applicant with a 3.9, 28 MCAT (Sorry I am not too familiar with the new MCAT scoring system).

Hm. Would a 5 point increase be realistic to expect if I studied for those extra few months instead of studying at a different time, maybe waiting for another gap year and studying later? Maybe I could just take a really light schedule in the spring and study? But then I guess that wouldn't make sense because that would increase my gpa even less. You have a point

 

[FindMeOnTheLinks]

What is your GPA at the moment?


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[Goro]

Wrong. Both of these candidates are behind the eight ball with one parameter so well below the median. There success will be highly dependent upon their school list. SLU will not take the first, but CN"U" would, while Oakland-B or Netter might take both.

Think of it like this. If you had two applicants both with a LizzieM of 67, the one with 3.4, 33 MCAT will probably have more success than the applicant with a 3.9, 28 MCAT (Sorry I am not too familiar with the new MCAT scoring system).

 

[deleted647690]

My cGPA is like a 3.7 and I think my sGPA is like a 3.6

 

[FindMeOnTheLinks]

My cGPA is like a 3.7 and I think my sGPA is like a 3.6

Don't waste your time taking more classes for a minuscule bump in your already adequate GPA. Graduate early, save tuition dollars, study your ass off for the mcat, then ride off into the sunset.


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