Importance of graduating/getting Bach. degree for application?

[Shawnpremed]

I'm going into my 5th yr this fall, and will probably apply June '10, to study abroad for academic credit for 6+months. Will med schools look down upon the fact that after 5 yrs I don't have actually have a Bachelor's degree? Or is the declaring of graduation by say, Sept 2010 enough? (I realize most med students start with a bachelors) This is because I might come back to take some more classes during myapplication year to bump up my gpa.

i.e. When's the latest I can graduate when applying?

Thanks!

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[Schemp]

I'm pretty certain you can graduate any time up until the Fall that you start med school. So, if you were starting in med school in Fall 2010, you could be taking classes up through Summer 2010. As far as the length of time it takes you to finish that depends. If you, for example, just did things slow and weren't always full time or taking below 15 credits on a regular basis (in the case of a quarter system), then yeah, that might hurt you. If you've been busy and done well, but just did a lot of diverse classes that delayed your actual degree completion, that isn't such a big deal.

 

[acridknight]

I'm pretty certain you can graduate any time up until the Fall that you start med school. So, if you were starting in med school in Fall 2010, you could be taking classes up through Summer 2010. As far as the length of time it takes you to finish that depends. If you, for example, just did things slow and weren't always full time or taking below 15 credits on a regular basis (in the case of a quarter system), then yeah, that might hurt you. If you've been busy and done well, but just did a lot of diverse classes that delayed your actual degree completion, that isn't such a big deal.

as long as you matriculate with a bachelors, you're ok. the overall question is if you'll be wasting your extra free time. be sure you're at least doing volunteering/ other medically-related work to fill up your time. don't just take free time to goof off.

 

[chemolupusMD]

it took me 5 years to graduate and i did fine in the application cycle

 

[Shawnpremed]

Thanks everyone.

I was a bit worried because as I keep taking classes, it will be harder obviously to maintain a fulltime quarter load (min. 12 credits actually, at my UC). I'm considering studying abroad for credit though.
But if my GPA improves between my primary and secondary apps, will those help me, or even be considered? Or is it too late?

 

[acridknight]

Thanks everyone.

I was a bit worried because as I keep taking classes, it will be harder obviously to maintain a fulltime quarter load (min. 12 credits actually, at my UC). I'm considering studying abroad for credit though.
But if my GPA improves between my primary and secondary apps, will those help me, or even be considered? Or is it too late?

if your GPA (or other events) improve during the application cycle, you can send update letters after each semester to the schools that accept them (some are picky and only accept updates until after you interview).