Is it too late?

[qcolhour]

Hello everyone! Thanks so much for the help! Here is the situation. I am a recent graduate who is planning on taking a gap year before matriculation. My GPA is 3.8 and my MCAT score is 510. I have roughly 150 hours of clinical experience and about 20 hours of shadowing experience. The summer has been hectic, and I have been less than optimally organized. This resulted in my application being submitted around July 20th and my transcripts not being submitted until recently. I am considering withdrawing my application and waiting until the next cycle in order to maximize my chances of acceptance. I am applying to only M.D. programs but am not picky about where I enroll so long as it is in the continental United States. I am a Missouri resident. Needless to say, I need to make a decision very soon. Here are some questions I have.

1. If I apply this cycle and am unsuccessful, will medical schools that I apply to during the next cycle know that I am a reapplicant if I also applied to those same schools them during this cycle? If they do, will that place me at a disadvantage?
2. My girlfriend is a year behind me and is also planning on taking a gap year and so would be matriculating a year after me, if I were successful this cycle. If I were to withdraw my application in favor of applying at the same time that she did, would this increase our chances of being at the same medical school?
3. If I do plan to proceed with this cycle, should I apply to a smaller list of schools given the time constraints? I had originally planned to apply to 30, but a friend suggested that I curb this list extensively if I plan on proceeding.

So sorry for the length! Thank you so much!

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

Welcome to the forums.

We don't have a sense of your application to know if you applied smartly to schools who could give you a shot at interview.

Your application is not late. If you don't get an offer, it won't be because your application is late.

It's great to think about your future, but you don't really make your life easier if you wish to withdraw or wait for your partner. If it is serious, you probably could have coordinated applications much better. But then, the worry about not going to the same place for medical school or if only one gets accepted comes into play.

It's easy to worry about everything, but, to your chief complaint, move forward and do your best to present the best application you can. Half of the applicants in the pool get into a medical school. Being a reapplicant isn't a negative by itself.