I need an honest opinion

[Sukh1980]

I was wondering if anyone could give me an idea of what my chances are of getting into an M.D. school. I am applying a year early and I am taking the August MCAT. I have research, volunteer, and internship experience. My science gpa is 4.0 and overall is 3.7. I haven't had that much time to study for the MCAT, so with my GPA, what are the minimum MCAT scores would I need considering how late I am in the application pool (August)?

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[Djanaba]

You could get by with mid-to-high twenties, if your record is strong and you have good interviewing skills. Obviously, you want them as high as you can get them. BUT...

... a year early? As in, after only 3 years of college? This is what may hurt you more than anything, unless your personal statement and interview display an exceptional maturity and wisdom beyond your years, or sufficient explanation (non-traditional student, etc.). With your gpa it's likely that you can get decent MCATs; I'd be more concerned with frothing at the bit to matriculate early.

 

[Arti]

Study for MCATS. With your grades and good MCATs you have a chance to get into some pretty good schools, depending on the strength of your essay + application. Blowing off MCAT will be a huge mistake. It is a bitch of a test but you have to do well on
it. There are lots of 4.00GPA 40+ MCATs that have been rejected from all the medical schools they applied to. Blowing off MCAT might show admission committes that you really don't care about getting in, so they
just might not take you.

Arti

 

[mvalento]

applying a year early? hmmm...although i find this quite ambitious i would recommend studying for the MCAT and taking it in april. your GPA is very good, so you could probably get by with a score in the high 20s, however if you score lower than that it could reflect poorly on your GPA. i guess you already know that taking the august MCAT puts you a few months behind most others, however there are some schools that do not use rolling admissions. they tend to be quite competitive (e.g. yale, columbia) but if you did really well on the MCAT you could have a shot at those with your GPA and extra-curriculars. and, of course, just because a school does not have rolling admissions doesn't mean there is no advantage to applying early. just one question- why are you applying a year early? good luck!