Graduating Early...Can I get in?

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SmplySwt

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So, I'd like to get into a Top 20 program. I'm fine with UTSW or Baylor.

I'm at UT. Double major. Both honors programs plus pre-med requirements.

I'm a freshman. Technically, I'll have the course requirements done to graduate next year. So, can I apply to med school? :oops:

Both my science and overall GPA are above 3.8. If this is even a remote possibility, I'll take a practice MCAT and get back to you on how I did.

EC:
2 research pubs.
400 hours doctor shadowing-->this year alone.
hospital volunteer and music program at hospital-(this year+high school).
president of some freshman orgs.
run a non profit benefiting children at a place i volunteer.
the place I volunteer.


So is this even a possibility?
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You can, but why not enjoy college and grow a bit as a young adult before you fling yourself head-first into the life of medicine?

Or, if you feel more college would be a waste of time, find something else to do for a few years and enjoy some youth!
 
Honestly, because I'd like to be closer to my family (for personal reasons, but nothing that would interfere with studying), rather than take time off.

My two degrees I'd graduate with from UT are from 2 different paths already.

Also, I know I want to do medicine but I dont want to be first starting to to practice at age 31.

Any other opinions. Do I have a fighting chance or will my age and short amount of time spent in college put me at too much of a disadvantage.

Also, I'm thinking about EDing to Baylor or UTSW. I know that puts me at a significant disadvantage at other med schools. So is it possible that I ED to Baylor or UTSW and only go there if get in, but if I don't get in I spend another year in school (still graduating a year early) and reapply to schools like UCSF, JH, etc. or will I be seen as a reapplicant
 
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SmplySwt said:
So, I'd like to get into a Top 20 program. I'm fine with UTSW or Baylor.

I'm at UT. Double major. Both honors programs plus pre-med requirements.

I'm a freshman. Technically, I'll have the course requirements done to graduate next year. So, can I apply to med school? :oops:

Both my science and overall GPA are above 3.8. If this is even a remote possibility, I'll take a practice MCAT and get back to you on how I did.

EC:
2 research pubs.
400 hours doctor shadowing-->this year alone.
hospital volunteer and music program at hospital-(this year+high school).
president of some freshman orgs.
run a non profit benefiting children at a place i volunteer.
the place I volunteer.


So is this even a possibility?
Click to expand...

If you're double majoring AND doing premed prereqs, how are you going to graduate sometime next year? Are these not that rigorous degrees? Or are you cramming 22+ hours of upper divs per semester this year and next? Remember that you need to maintain a strong GPA. The fact that you have a semester 3.8 is excellent, but you can't let your GPA slip from course load.

You could make yourself a much stronger applicant if you spread out your course load and develop your EC's for awhile. Being president of a few orgs, while really good, would be much better if you continued it for another year.

I highly discourage doing ED, but you have final say on that.
 
Well, I actually have a 4.0 lol, but I didn't want to get called out as a troll. Yes, I agree that I need to keep my GPA up.

I knew this is something I wanted to do, so I did a of dual credit and AP in high school. Then I took college classes (not community college) the summer before freshman year, and I'm doing 2 summer sessions this summer.

Both of my majors are quite competitive.

Also, not sure why I wrote freshman. I'm a sophomore (well second year)!! Sorry!!!
 
SmplySwt said:
Well, I actually have a 4.0 lol, but I didn't want to get called out as a troll. Yes, I agree that I need to keep my GPA up.

I knew this is something I wanted to do, so I did a of dual credit and AP in high school. Then I took college classes (not community college) the summer before freshman year, and I'm doing 2 summer sessions this summer.

Both of my majors are quite competitive.

Also, not sure why I wrote freshman. I'm a sophomore (well second year)!! Sorry!!!
Click to expand...

That makes much more sense. Very nice job on the 4.0! Make sure that your prereqs themselves aren't covered by AP Credit only. If you were exempt from a prereq via AP, take an upper division course or retake the class again. You want all of your prereqs done with a letter grade.

If you're going to be graduating early, then why not just apply the cycle after this one? You'll be applying at the same time as your peers, except you won't have to worry about classes while traveling to interviews.
 
SmplySwt said:
So, I'd like to get into a Top 20 program. I'm fine with UTSW or Baylor.

I'm at UT. Double major. Both honors programs plus pre-med requirements.

I'm a freshman. Technically, I'll have the course requirements done to graduate next year. So, can I apply to med school? :oops:

Both my science and overall GPA are above 3.8. If this is even a remote possibility, I'll take a practice MCAT and get back to you on how I did.

EC:
2 research pubs.
400 hours doctor shadowing-->this year alone.
hospital volunteer and music program at hospital-(this year+high school).
president of some freshman orgs.
run a non profit benefiting children at a place i volunteer.
the place I volunteer.


So is this even a possibility?
Click to expand...

Definitely possible. Just remember you have to be as competitive as people who have an additional year of experience. Which based off of what you have said seems like you are on the right track. Try to score 34+ on the MCAT and bolster your ECs. Make connections with professors for strong LORs.

Still, you have to remember that with 2 target schools it could go either way regarding whether you get into one or both or whether you don't get into either. Random variation is relatively high.
 
So I acutely discovered SDN when I first decided to be a doctor, and searched for this topic so I knew going in that my prereqs had to have upper division grades. My dual credit classes were actually mostly core and business related bc of this, and one of my honors majors correlates with 2 upper division science classes.

Yes I have a social life outside of my pursuit of medicine. I manage my time wisely.

I would definitely apply to more than two target schools, but those two are ones that came to mind bc of proximity to family. I am aware that getting into any American medical school is an accomplishment itself and did not mean to come off as patronizing and elitist though I can see why my post came off that way.

Aerus, I like your idea but I don't want to wasted year, get distracted, etc.id rather use that year to pursue either a full bs in bio or another bachelors degree within the business program, but I'm not sure what benefit it would be to have both the honors and accounting degree if my ultimate goal is medicine.

Would staying a year (but still graduating early by one year) increase my chances at schools like WashU and UCSF or does graduating a year early just take me out of the running? Would these schools care if I just graduate next year?

Any advice is appreciated.

Thanks for the help. Im just confused, my head and heart say go for it (utsw and baylor) but I've heard only bad things about graduating early and applying to medical school on this site (until now).
 
Hey, I'm graduating early and applied pretty much right after my sophomore year.
By non-SDN standards, I'd say I'm having a great cycle, having even received interviews at three fantastic schools.
By SDN-standards, I think my cycle is still good, maybe a bit meh.

I had a good mix of ECs and was even complemented on some by my interviewers, but I was undoubtedly comparatively short on clinical exposure. I didn't include anything from high school and I recognized the timeline makes it almost impossible to achieve the same amount as many other superstar applicants. I was grilled at my interviews about this at interviews. I'm still waiting for final decisions, but I'd say go for it.
The worst thing is you'd have to reapply, but without having to pay tuition and picking up an extra job should balance it out financially.
 
So if you're accepted, you'll be entering med school when most of your peers are seniors?

How did you respond at your interviews? What schools? Or what tier?

Are you placed a disadvantage when you reapply?

Thank you for your help! You seem to be doing amazing! Congratulations :)
 
SmplySwt said:
So if you're accepted, you'll be entering med school when most of your peers are seniors?

How did you respond at your interviews? What schools? Or what tier?

Are you placed a disadvantage when you reapply?

Thank you for your help! You seem to be doing amazing! Congratulations :)
Click to expand...

I am nowhere near being an expert in these matters, but I'll try to answer.

At the interviews, I was the youngest in my groups. It was always an awkward moments when anything about bars and alcohol came up and I just had to say I wasn't legal age yet. Other than that, there really was no other perceivable difference.

If you look at my MDApps, it was at Pitt, Northwester, and NYU. All three of these dug into my clinical experiences. I was ready for this because I knew I wanted a career in pediatrics and all off my clinical experiences had been pediatrics-based. I just responded by explaining how these experiences contributed to my dedication to this path. I have no idea what they thought of my responses yet as I'm still waiting on news.

And I have no idea about the reapplication process. I know significant improvements need to be made and I have kept up a full schedule of extracurriculars, some new and some long-time commitments, in case I need to submit an improved app.

Good luck to you too! You sound like you're really on top of things.
 
SmplySwt said:
So, I'd like to get into a Top 20 program. I'm fine with UTSW or Baylor.

I'm at UT. Double major. Both honors programs plus pre-med requirements.

I'm a freshman. Technically, I'll have the course requirements done to graduate next year. So, can I apply to med school? :oops:

Both my science and overall GPA are above 3.8. If this is even a remote possibility, I'll take a practice MCAT and get back to you on how I did.

EC:
2 research pubs.
400 hours doctor shadowing-->this year alone.
hospital volunteer and music program at hospital-(this year+high school).
president of some freshman orgs.
run a non profit benefiting children at a place i volunteer.
the place I volunteer.


So is this even a possibility?
Click to expand...
Maturity is one of the most desirable characteristics in an applicant. You will need to show this even if your age is less than the other applicants. Early graduation is important only to you. It confers no independent advantage and can certainly be a disadvantage.
 
Take the mcat first then worry about how top schools will view graduating early.

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MedPR said:
Take the mcat first then worry about how top schools will view graduating early.

Sent from my SGH-T999 using SDN Mobile
Click to expand...

Agreed.

To be honest, we have no clue what your prospects are without a valid MCAT score. If you're gunning for a Top 20 school or Baylor/UTSW, your MCAT is going to need to be pretty substantial, even with that solid GPA. A 34 or higher is a nearly a must, barring other circumstances, to give you a good shot at these schools. As colorfulfishies' cycle represents, even an incredibly GPA/MCAT combo like a 3.85/37 isn't going to guarantee you any success. This is essential as a complement to a well-rounded application otherwise, including ECs, clinical/nonclinical experiences, leadership positions, and research, as well as a good primary, PS, and set of LoRs.

Maturity, as stated, will be of utmost importance when you do end up applying, but secondary to your overall application if looking for admission to Top 20s. Young applicants (even traditional students) are often perceived as less mature, and it is up to you to show that you're a true adult. That comes up secondary to everything because this will be the last step between you and an MD acceptance, the interview.
 
So basically, what I've learned from this discussion is that no medical school is going to look at an applicant with stellar ec's, GPA, test scores, LOR's, and statement and boot 'em for being too young, unless they are too immature. However, getting those stellar ec's, GPA, etc. are the challenge.

Also, what happened to colorfulfishies?
 
If I had waited one more year, I might not be prepping for a second cycle right now. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for an acceptance, but gotta be realistic about what needs to be done and how you are being judged.
 
SmplySwt said:
So basically, what I've learned from this discussion is that no medical school is going to look at an applicant with stellar ec's, GPA, test scores, LOR's, and statement and boot 'em for being too young, unless they are too immature. However, getting those stellar ec's, GPA, etc. are the challenge.

Also, what happened to colorfulfishies?
Click to expand...

Yep, that's pretty much the idea
 
@Colorfulfishies: I know things might be tough right now, but I think somehow you'll end up where you need to be, even if its medical school this year (or next) or not at all. Thank you for your insight :)
 
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