Reapplicant Contingency Plan

[Walter Raleigh]

I'm looking for advice if this cycle doesn't turn out well and I wind up as a reapplicant. My stats are as follows, as of now:

820 hours research with 3 poster presentations
500 hours on ambulance corps as attendant
100 hours volunteering in local emergency room
130 hours nonclinical volunteering - mentoring students, soup kitchens, miscellaneous stuff.
50 hours with Habitat for Humanity
500 hours as private MCAT tutor.
50 hours shadowing local doctors - radiology, emergency medicine, physiatry.
1500 hours as triathlete (trained and competed solo; was not on a college or any other team)
GPA: cGPA 3.60, sGPA 3.59. U-shaped trend, 3.80/3.46/3.50/3.80
MCAT: 520, 130/130/130/130, late June 2017
Graduated college in May, 2017.

I'm thinking about a few potential plans:

• Apply again in June, 2019, to MD and DO schools.
• Take two more years off, and do a DIY postbacc to raise my GPA to 3.7.
• Work with troubled teens in the wilderness for a year, then apply in June 2020.
• Do Americorps VISTA service for a year, then apply in June 2020.

By the next application cycle - by June, 2019 - I should have about 600 hours of tutoring, 750 hours on the ambulance corps, and 150 hours with Habitat for Humanity.

Is there anything that stands out to you? If I applied in 2020, I'd need to retake that 520 MCAT...and that's slightly worrisome. Wouldn't want to let a score like that go to waste.

Any suggestions?

 

[PreMedStudent55555]

How's your application cycle going so far? Any interview invites yet? What was your school list?

I would stick to plan number 1 and try for lower schools because that's an amazing score and I don't know if you can replicate it.

Be patient also. It's not thanksgiving yet.

 

[candbgirl]

Where did you apply? Did you use thevMSAR to develop your list? What state is your permanent residence?