How to Avoid Glide Year?

[zeedreams]

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Hello!

Starting a local postbacc/premed program next month and will be done in May 2020. Is there any conceivable way to matriculate that Fall? I would love to skip having to wait an entire year before starting school in Fall 2021.

I’ve done some research on linkage programs but they all require you to be in their postbacc programs and I’ve missed the deadline for almost all of these programs.

 

[Campana]

Hello!

Starting a local postbacc/premed program next month and will be done in May 2020. Is there any conceivable way to matriculate that Fall? I would love to skip having to wait an entire year before starting school in Fall 2021.

I’ve done some research on linkage programs but they all require you to be in their postbacc programs and I’ve missed the deadline for almost all of these programs.

I'm sure you've probably already looked at the schedule, but it is a theoretical possibility. The success of it depends on how prepared you already are for the MCAT and your GPA before finishing your postbacc. Working backwards, to enter US MD/DO school Fall of 2020, you'd be in the 19-20 application cycle, the one starting this spring/summer. General SDN/adcom wisdom is that your application should be "Complete" as early in the cycle as possible, let's say July/August 2019 - that would mean that you've got all your letters or rec and MCAT score by then. It also means that your application GPA will not include your grades from the 2019-2020 school year since it is the verified GPA of the transcripts sent in this summer. You generally don't have to worry about completing pre-reqs before applying, just so long as they are done before matriculation; of course, the pre-reqs are usually the bare minimum you need in order to be prepared for the MCAT anyhow. Then, you'd be working on secondaries over the summer and into the fall while you're still in your post-bacc.

This is the normal path for the ultra traditional applicants who apply summer after Junior year, doing the secondaries and interview cycle during Senior year of college. But, they've had three years of college to do the pre-reqs and take the MCAT and collect letters.

Common advice: don't apply till you have the best application possible, even if it means you have to wait a year...or two or three.

 

[BluMist]

Common advice: don't apply till you have the best application possible, even if it means you have to wait a year...or two or three.

Definitely echo @Campana, especially the last part.

Unless you feel confident about taking the MCAT and finish the application in the next two months, you will not be ready to enroll in Fall 2020. Use the extra year to work on volunteering/shadowing/clinical experiences.

 

[zeedreams]

I'm sure you've probably already looked at the schedule, but it is a theoretical possibility. The success of it depends on how prepared you already are for the MCAT and your GPA before finishing your postbacc. Working backwards, to enter US MD/DO school Fall of 2020, you'd be in the 19-20 application cycle, the one starting this spring/summer. General SDN/adcom wisdom is that your application should be "Complete" as early in the cycle as possible, let's say July/August 2019 - that would mean that you've got all your letters or rec and MCAT score by then. It also means that your application GPA will not include your grades from the 2019-2020 school year since it is the verified GPA of the transcripts sent in this summer. You generally don't have to worry about completing pre-reqs before applying, just so long as they are done before matriculation; of course, the pre-reqs are usually the bare minimum you need in order to be prepared for the MCAT anyhow. Then, you'd be working on secondaries over the summer and into the fall while you're still in your post-bacc.

This is the normal path for the ultra traditional applicants who apply summer after Junior year, doing the secondaries and interview cycle during Senior year of college. But, they've had three years of college to do the pre-reqs and take the MCAT and collect letters.

Common advice: don't apply till you have the best application possible, even if it means you have to wait a year...or two or three.

Thanks for the response. I definitely AM NOT in a position to take the MCAT. I’m an RN & will be taking all of my prereqs through this postbacc premed.

 

[zeedreams]

Definitely echo @Campana, especially the last part.

Unless you feel confident about taking the MCAT and finish the application in the next two months, you will not be ready to enroll in Fall 2020. Use the extra year to work on volunteering/shadowing/clinical experiences.

Thanks. If I’m applying for a Fall 2021 start, which means I’ll be submitting my application next summer, any volunteering or ECs I do that extra year won’t be part of the application for review right?

 

[BluMist]

Per AMCAS applicant guide (highlight mine):
"Total Hours Enter the total number of hours that you completed (or expect to complete) for the experience during the date range you indicated. If you have a nontraditional schedule, use the Experience Description field for any explanation. "

You can enter future hours into the application AS LONG AS the experience started before your submission.

Thanks. If I’m applying for a Fall 2021 start, which means I’ll be submitting my application next summer, any volunteering or ECs I do that extra year won’t be part of the application for review right?

 

[Campana]

I definitely AM NOT in a position to take the MCAT. I’m an RN & will be taking all of my prereqs through this postbacc premed.

One thing that some of us postbacc students forget is how much time it takes to study for the MCAT. If you are taking your pre-reqs this year, and if you're still working as an RN, even part time, then you likely won't have much time to study for the MCAT during school.

I hated having to take what amounted to two gap years, but I'm starting medical school this fall and I can't be certain that would be true if I'd rushed my MCAT. I finished my post-bacc in May of 2017 and really wanted to take the MCAT that June. I knew I wasn't ready, so I postponed to Sept. Then I faced the reality that my MCAT practice tests were not what I felt I was capable of and I was very late in the 17-18 cycle - better to apply early than late, especially if I had some strikes against me. So, I kept studying for the MCAT (while still working full time and mom-ing a lot) till I took it Jan of 2018, then applied the 18-19 cycle.

So...recommendation is to allow yourself to study for the MCAT until you know that you've studied enough for the score to really reflect all that you're capable of instead of reflecting a rushed schedule.