Maybe I should just wait another year...

[IDoIt4Love]

hi.

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[olemissbabydoc]

I graduated in May and I'm currently in my glide year off. I take my first MCAT in June, which I will probably score maybe a 29 in. I graduated with a 3.7 overall/3.3 BCPM, dramatic upward trend (3.4 my first 2 years of college, 3.9 my last 2 years of college), good LORS, good ECs. But now I'm wondering if I should wait and apply next summer, instead of this summer. Here's my rationale:

Pros to waiting another year:
-I may have my research published by then
-I may have more time to get maybe a 33-35 on the MCAT
-I can do more shadowing and volunteering(right now I only have 40 hrs shadowing and 1 summer of full-time volunteering)
-I can actually get my full application w/ MCAT score in by June 2

Cons:
-What if I wait and I still don't get in?
-What if my stats can be good enough this year to get in SOMEWHERE(I'll take whatever I can get; I'm not too picky) Waiting will have been unnecessary.
-What if admissions stats go up even higher and it's even harder next year, and it counteracts my additional efforts?

This year, I'm doing the following things: prepping for and taking the MCAT, doing a summer research internship at the National Naval Medical Center, finishing and possibly publishing my sensation and perception research, doing more shadowing and volunteering, hopefully finding and nailing a hospital job by January, and doing some traveling.

For my second year off, I'd probably just continue working, volunteering, and getting through the admissions process.

So here are my questions:
-Should I wait a year and apply next summer- to both MD and DO schools?
-Should I apply this year to both MD and DO schools and reapply next year if I don't get in?
-How much of a disadvantage do you have as a re-applicant the second time around?
-Would I already be technically considered a re-applicant, since I submitted my AMCAS app last summer and withdrew it before AMCAS even had a chance to verify it or send it to any schools?
-Is my plan for my years off a solid one? Should I make any changes to my activities in those years?

Any advice would be much appreciated, especially from people who have been in my situation before. This is really a tough decision for me.

-No, you aren't technically a reapplicant this time
-Yes, you will be next year
-I didn't feel as though there was much disadvantage, however, taking your mcat this summer will make you later in the application cycle than many, so you may not have extraordinary luck. DO's cycle generally starts a little later than MD, so you may not be considered as late for them.
-I would apply this year with the understanding that you may be reapplying next year, OR take the year off, MCAT in June/July and then again in Jan/Apr if you need to and apply early next year.

Best of luck!!

 

[Mobius1985]

It would have helped to see a summary of the activities you plan to list, but looking at your back posts, it seems to me you have enough research, enough shadowing and clinical experience, and enough community service, though it's not clinical. Your BCPM is low, but you have an upward trend. Your cGPA is good. If you aren't planning to take more science coursework, I think you should go ahead and apply this year.

It's a leap of faith to apply to allopathic schools without knowing your MCAT score, so I'd go ahead and apply early, so your transcripts are certified before the waiting line is many weeks long, but to only one MD school until you get the MCAT score back to see how competitive you'd be. Schools you add after getting the MCAT score will receive your entire package in one business day. Also apply to DO schools now (you didn't say if you have a DO LOR, and if not, that would limit the schools you can apply to. Many take an MD LOR though).

 

[IDoIt4Love]

It would have helped to see a summary of the activities you plan to list, but looking at your back posts, it seems to me you have enough research, enough shadowing and clinical experience, and enough community service, though it's not clinical. Your BCPM is low, but you have an upward trend. Your cGPA is good. If you aren't planning to take more science coursework, I think you should go ahead and apply this year.

It's a leap of faith to apply to allopathic schools without knowing your MCAT score, so I'd go ahead and apply early, so your transcripts are certified before the waiting line is many weeks long, but to only one MD school until you get the MCAT score back to see how competitive you'd be. Schools you add after getting the MCAT score will receive your entire package in one business day. Also apply to DO schools now (you didn't say if you have a DO LOR, and if not, that would limit the schools you can apply to. Many take an MD LOR though).

I covered all my ECs in my back posts; you're correct. Basically:
-1 summer of full-time volunteer work at a mental health center
-1 year as editor-in-chief of my school's science journal
-1 semester of sensation and perception research; already won an award at my school's annual student research conference; hope to finish up my trials by the end of this summer and publish it
-1 year as a hospital lab assistant(not all year though; just full-time during summer and winter breaks. blood bank, phlebotomy training, filing and running patient sample tests, etc)
-40 hrs of shadowing my old pediatrician (1 week, full-time)
-1 summer internship at a National Naval Medical Center laboratory
-tons of hours tutoring middle/high school math and science (on an individual basis, not through a school program)
-10 years of violin study(actual study, not joking around)

 

[Mobius1985]

I actually did do phlebotomy training and mainly drew from babies. I would consider it a clinical experience.

Also, I forgot to mention, I definitely have done quite a bit of science and math tutoring--mostly for free.

I think it would be important to highlight the info in the first paragraph. Of course, I'm assuming this means you stuck more than, say, five babies if it is to be considered substantive, as your only other clinical experience was in a mental health unit. That most of the tutoring was free is important because it would be considered community service, also essential to your application. If the sensation and perception research was with patients, that would be clinical experience too (if you make that clear).

I think that if you apply this year, following through with the plan for more shadowing and clinical volunteerism is a good idea and is good fodder for update letters through the season.

 

[IDoIt4Love]

I think it would be important to highlight the info in the first paragraph. Of course, I'm assuming this means you stuck more than, say, five babies if it is to be considered substantive, as your only other clinical experience was in a mental health unit. That most of the tutoring was free is important because it would be considered community service, also essential to your application. If the sensation and perception research was with patients, that would be clinical experience too (if you make that clear).

I think that if you apply this year, following through with the plan for more shadowing and clinical volunteerism is a good idea and is good fodder for update letters through the season.

While my research was with humans, it was with university students, not with patients, so I don't know if it counts as clinical

My research internship at Naval Medical Center, however, involves administering drug vs placebo trials. Does that count as clinical?

While my phlebotomy experience was limited to babies, I did stick quite a few; I even went up to the NICU to stick a few of them. I would consider that significant, what do you think?

 

[dragonfly99]

I would apply this year to the state schools in Virginia. Depending on your MCAT score, and how you are able to sell your various volunteer and other experiences, I would think you might have a shot. In the mean time, I would consider taking a few more science classes, and getting some more clinical experience perhaps in a hospital. You could apply to one school now, then wait on the MCAT score. I think it will be really hard to get in anywhere if you don't break 30 on the MCAT, but stranger things have happened.

I think you have some interesting experiences, and this may come down to how well you sell them (assuming a 30-ish MCAT). I would consider drawing blood from babies GREAT clinical experience and something to talk about in your interview and application. Also I would talk up your research that you are doing.

I'm not sure how negatively the BCPM GPA is going to affect your application either...that's why I saw take upper level bio to show the adcom you can do the work of med school.

 

[Stratego]

My research internship at Naval Medical Center, however, involves administering drug vs placebo trials. Does that count as clinical?

If you interact with patients, eg gathering data on outsomes, it is indeed a clinical experience.

 

[IDoIt4Love]

I think the idea about applying to one school till my MCAT score comes out is a good idea. But here's a question: if I apply to that one school and don't get in, does that make ALL schools consider me a "re-applicant"? Or just the school I applied to and got rejected from?

 

[Stratego]

It depends on how/where the question is asked. You will be a reapplicant to AMCAS, regardless. AMCAS also asks for each school you apply to, if you've applied to that school before, and there the answer would be no. If you are asked in a secondary application if you've applied to medical school in previous years, the answer would be yes unless they specify their own school.