MD & DO Gap Year (or not) suggestions?

[TeamDaenerys23]

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Long time follower of sdn, but finally decided to join! here goes my first post. Okay, here is my scenario:

Currently I am a Junior in a State school and as of now, I have more than enough credits to graduate in May with a BS in Bio and minor in both Economics and Psychology. My stats after graduation would likely be:
cGPA: 3.48 - 3.5
sGPA: 3.3
MCAT: taking in spring but averaging around 33 as of now.
EC: Tons of volunteering (hospitals, abroad, and local communities), research (1.5 years on prostate cancer and 1 year on lung biology) and shadowing (ortho doctor for a year)
So my question is should I graduate this spring and take a year off and do one of the following:
NIH IRTA
MedScribe
Grad school (MPH or some sort of MS program)
Or should I just stay in school and pursue a double major in either econ or psych?
Also, which option would adcoms appreciate more given my stats?

 

[nemo123]

So would you be applying next cycle or the cycle after that? Given that you still have the option of staying another year and taking more classes and given your GPA, it might be better for you to take more classes as a senior and try to boost up your GPA a bit (to maximize your chances at admissions into med school).

 

[TeamDaenerys23]

So would you be applying next cycle or the cycle after that? Given that you still have the option of staying another year and taking more classes and given your GPA, it might be better for you to take more classes as a senior and try to boost up your GPA a bit (to maximize your chances at admissions into med school).

Hmm, I see. I was really planning on applying this coming cycle. But I guess waiting another year could be an option too.

 

[nemo123]

Hmm, I see. I was really planning on applying this coming cycle. But I guess waiting another year could be an option too.

You might have a decent shot with your current stats, but I think if you want to maximize your chances, it might be best to try to bring your GPA up before you apply.

 

[Narmerguy]

Moving to WAMC.

 

[AquiVoy13]

I think the 3.3 science GPA is a bit low. I would also recommend staying in college for your senior year and trying to raise your GPAs. Depending on your financial situation, you could take a few science classes part time and also work part time. Note that most psychology classes probably wouldn't impact your sGPA, so I'm not sure changing your minor to a major would be the best (unless you planned on taking some biopsych/neurobio classes).

I also think the additional year would be helpful in terms of solidifying your EC's (maybe getting a publication or poster?). Or perhaps exploring a new activity.
Note that this is just my personal opinion, and you can still get into medical school with those GPAs... it's just more difficult.

It would be nice to take the MCAT this spring, as you have planned. Then you can have that finished and ready to go by the time you apply a year later.

 

[TeamDaenerys23]

Yeah I guess I could stay in school for another year....only thing is I kinda don't want to make my parents pay for another year of schooling, but maybe I might be able to do part-time and take on a chem minor and possibly even a few neuro classes. Depending on how my mcat goes, I think Ill also try applying this coming cycle to a few low tier schools. Do you know what kind of score I'll need to make me competitive given my gpa?

 

[nemo123]

A 33 probably would be competitive given a well constructed school list, but to be really safe, you'd probably want to aim for a 35+. Of course, this is also dependent on what state you're from, because if you're from California, it might be best to just do another year of school.

 

[TeamDaenerys23]

No I am from IL.
Probable schools for in state:
UIC, Rosland and Franklin, and Rush.
out of state:
GW (top choice), Georgetown, EVMS, Drexel, NYMC, and Albany.

 

[nemo123]

No I am from IL.
Probable schools for in state:
UIC, Rosland and Franklin, and Rush.
out of state:
GW (top choice), Georgetown, EVMS, Drexel, NYMC, and Albany.

If you're thinking of those schools, it might be safer to try to aim for a 35+ (i.e. your practice test average comes out to a 35+), considering GW and Georgetown get a ton of applicants (I think Drexel does too) and some of the schools on your list have average accepted LizzyM scores of around 70.