kinda confused.....

[bkman]

Hello all!!!

I am new to this forum and hope you could help me. I am a Sophmore in college, who is looking forward to becomin a DO. My goal is to graduate one year early....so instead of graduating in 09, i am hoping to graduate in May of 08. When would I start my med school apps for the class that starts in fall of 2008?

I have a 3.4 GPA and i have yet to take the MCAT. I am planning on taking it this Sept. I still havn't taken my Physics I or II. I am planning on taking physics this coming fall. Do you think if i just take an MCAT review corse, i will be set for the MCAT physics part?

 

[Fermata]

You generally start your medical school application during the summer between your junior and senior year.

Thus, if you are a graduating one year early, you'd start between your sophomore and junior year.

 

[spicedmanna]

Hello all!!!

I am new to this forum and hope you could help me. I am a Sophmore in college, who is looking forward to becomin a DO. My goal is to graduate one year early....so instead of graduating in 09, i am hoping to graduate in May of 08. When would I start my med school apps for the class that starts in fall of 2008?

I have a 3.4 GPA and i have yet to take the MCAT. I am planning on taking it this Sept. I still havn't taken my Physics I or II. I am planning on taking physics this coming fall. Do you think if i just take an MCAT review corse, i will be set for the MCAT physics part?

Hold your horses, Pilgrim! In my opinion, there's rarely any advantage to graduating early, although this topic has been highly debated. You can use that extra year to round out your EC's and raise your GPA (the higher your GPA, the better). You will be more competitive, in my opinion, if you wait a little longer. Remember that adcomms consider maturity and the length of time you are involved in your EC's. Consider your decision with care and don't rush. Take your time, do things properly, because it's a long, arduous, road ahead. If do decide to go ahead, make sure you don't make any compromises that could hinder your application process.

For a Fall 2008 matriculation, you would need to apply this year, starting in June, 2007. You would need to complete all prerequisites by the Spring semester before your matriculation at the latest, which it sounds like you are set to do. The MCAT is now offered 22 times a year. You decide when you want to take them, but I strongly caution against taking the MCAT without having taken all of your prerequisites. If applying for 2008, I'd suggest taking the MCAT in April at the latest to get the early bird special. The earlier you are complete at the schools, the better.

Review classes aren't what they are cracked up to be. They just force you to study and provide you with full-length tests under real conditions. You will need to put in the leg-work. If you haven't taken physics, you've got your work cut out for you. You've got a lot of studying to do. I'm not saying it's impossible, but if you've got an extra year, why rush when you can take your time to take physics in school and study for the MCAT properly? There's no need to make things more difficult for yourself, just to gain one year. Think about it. If you decide to go ahead, you may want to hire a tutor or something to provide extra support for physics. Do as many problems as you can and try to apply the concepts and equations in various different way.

 

[madscientist50]

I would be very careful about graduating early especially being interested in DO programs as it seems that DO programs are very intune to those who have some life experience. As well as the fact that I personally know 3 people who have graduated early and not been accepted on the first or second try because of graduating early. I think schools wonder if you are ready or if you really know what you are getting into by 'rushing' into it. Just my two cents worth. If you are already going to have all your courses done just like was suggested above get some ECs and some shadowing/internships and you can really make yourself a very very strong applicant and pick where you want to go.

 

[rmsgolfer]

I agree, take an extra year. Enjoy the time while you can and take physics. You do better academically and gain some life experience. Youll come out better than you thought.

 

[bkman]

Thank you all for your very informative and kind help!!!!

 

[MountainEM]

I agree with taking time. It is healthy for you and healthy for your patients as everyone needs some life experience outside of the muffled atmosphere of academia. I took 6 yrs and they will probably be the best of my life. Not saying you need that much time but build your ECs and enjoy a passion of yours. Whats the point of saving lives if you are not persuing things outside of school that make you feel alive and well

dave

 

[GoodDoctor]

I would not take the MCAT without taking your Physics series first. If this puts off applying for a year, then maybe you can just take 4 years intstead of 3 to graduate. This will give more time for volunteer/clinical/research experience.

Also, have you thought about a double major? If you can finish in 3 years, then with a 4th year you could fit in a second major in some of the fields with low unit requirements (e.g. at my school, psych, sociology, history, anthro, ess, etc.) that interests you. An extra year of A's would boost your gpa and perhaps make you more well rounded academically to make you more competitive.

 

[cutievans]

well i don think graduating a yr early will put u at a disadvantage as long as ur gpa is not hurt and u got ur EC's in line. I am class of 09, graduating in 07. i have interviews at two schools, not sayin i'll get in but that tells u that they dont throw our ur app just based on u graduating early. but yeah as ppl have suggested double major is a good idea and u do need to get ur EC's in line cos they do look at those. I wish I had applied a lil early though cos at this point most of the class at most school is filled, but we'll see.

and i know two people, family friends, that graduated two yrs early as well and they both got into UTSW in dallas, tx, md school. i think as long as ur stats are good and ur ec's tell the committee u know what u r doing u should be fine. that's just my opinion though. but apply early for sure, if u r planning on applying for 08 get ur app in ASAP cos if i dont get in this year that's gonna be one of the top reasons. oh and take ur mcat early too. gluck and pm me if there's anything

 

[TerpDO]

Though a lot of people have taken time off after graduating college to start med-school (myself included), I know a few people who went straight into it and are doing very well. I definitely gained some important experiences during the last few years that I would not have if I were in school, on the other hand, some of my friends who are about to enter residency seem just as well off without taking any years off in between (though some others do seem a little stressed and worn from so many years of school).

The decision to go straight into medical school is a personal one and I think it also depends on the EC's you have done since you started college. While the average age of first-year DO students is 24 I think, I did interview once with a "kid" who was only 20 during the interview. He had many EC's under his belt and actually shadowed a DO for several years while he was in school. He also was accepted to his state DO school without an interview (it's the expensive one, very expensive). So I think there are definitely times when a person can go straight into med school from college and do perfectly well, even if you graduated early. If you don't feel any bit burned out once you graduate college, you may want to get in med-school so that you will have the opportunity to learn lots more. And who knows, perhaps you can get some more life experiences when you retire at age 60 while the rest of us retire at 65.

 

[MJB]

If I was typical traditional student age, there is no way I'd take the MCAT without having Physics first...I hadn't had Physics or Bio in 10 years, and had never had Phys. II before taking the MCAT and it hurt badly.

Another piece of advice...stay in undergrad at least 4 years...it's awesome...

 

[bkman]

as far as EC's are concerned, i think i got some.....i have been working in the ER since freshmen year, im an EMT and ride on a volunteer ambulance every now and then, i have followed a DO for 2-3 times a month X 1 year and am very involved with church and community activities.....does that sound like a solid EC?

I guess all i gadda worry about is my MCAT...rite?? that is if i wanna graduate early........

 

[MJB]

If you want to apply for '08, you would need to do so starting this summer...then take the MCAT in late summer/early Fall...

You can take the MCAT without the pre-req's, but I wouldn't recommend it.

And, I'd never recommend graduating early...college is too much fun.

 

[cutievans]

as far as EC's are concerned, i think i got some.....i have been working in the ER since freshmen year, im an EMT and ride on a volunteer ambulance every now and then, i have followed a DO for 2-3 times a month X 1 year and am very involved with church and community activities.....does that sound like a solid EC?

I guess all i gadda worry about is my MCAT...rite?? that is if i wanna graduate early........

your ec's look good, make sure u have something going on this summer as well and get that mcat score, and get it as early as u can and i say if u r not burned out, still wanna graduate early then by all mean go ahead and apply once applications are out in may. goodluck

 

[CTrainSJU]

Why on earth would anyone want to leave college early? Without question the best 4 years of my life.