I have read many of the posts on the board and have finally decided to ask for advice. I apologize if I have missed the answers to my questions posted somewhere else.
First, a bit of background before my questions: I am a 28 year old Californian who graduated with a 3.8 GPA from a university in the Bay Area in 2004 with a BA in History and Spanish. Recently, I have taken some 'intro to' science classes at a local--Orange County--community college and done well in them. I should be able to secure strong recommendation letters; I have some volunteer experience at a health clinic shadowing and currently work in a sleep lab doing clerical work, with lots of exposure to both the sleep technicians and the doctor there.
Here is my dilemma: My SAT scores are not so hot as compared to my college grades and subsequent experiences-- 1230 total, 700 Verbal and 530 Math my second time around. I have contacted many of the schools I want to apply to, and it seems that if I want to get in to Mills, Bryn Mawr, Scripps or Goucher, I would have to take the GRE and do very, very well in the math section (which would put off my applications for another year). Some of those schools are one year programs, and I am honestly not sure if I want to compress all the classes into a single year. However, I would like to know if going to one of the above-mentioned schools would truly affect my prospects for acceptance to med school as opposed to going to somewhere like USC, University of Vermont and the like, where I should be accepted as is for the coming term. I know the grades you get are of the utmost importance, but does the name of the school where you went for your postbac really matter--other than the linkages? Basically, it boils down to waiting a year and taking the GRE (and hopefully getting into a 'top' school) or not applying to them (as I was told my SATs were a problem) and going somewhere else at the start of the next semester.
First, a bit of background before my questions: I am a 28 year old Californian who graduated with a 3.8 GPA from a university in the Bay Area in 2004 with a BA in History and Spanish. Recently, I have taken some 'intro to' science classes at a local--Orange County--community college and done well in them. I should be able to secure strong recommendation letters; I have some volunteer experience at a health clinic shadowing and currently work in a sleep lab doing clerical work, with lots of exposure to both the sleep technicians and the doctor there.
Here is my dilemma: My SAT scores are not so hot as compared to my college grades and subsequent experiences-- 1230 total, 700 Verbal and 530 Math my second time around. I have contacted many of the schools I want to apply to, and it seems that if I want to get in to Mills, Bryn Mawr, Scripps or Goucher, I would have to take the GRE and do very, very well in the math section (which would put off my applications for another year). Some of those schools are one year programs, and I am honestly not sure if I want to compress all the classes into a single year. However, I would like to know if going to one of the above-mentioned schools would truly affect my prospects for acceptance to med school as opposed to going to somewhere like USC, University of Vermont and the like, where I should be accepted as is for the coming term. I know the grades you get are of the utmost importance, but does the name of the school where you went for your postbac really matter--other than the linkages? Basically, it boils down to waiting a year and taking the GRE (and hopefully getting into a 'top' school) or not applying to them (as I was told my SATs were a problem) and going somewhere else at the start of the next semester.
