Should I apply or wait?

[Strongstar]

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I am in crisis right now. I am a senior (graduating this fall). I am planning to apply to med school this summer. But now I questioned myself whether I should apply this year for class of 2010. I have pretty good GPA (3.97), average volunteer hours, but no research experience. I am going to take my MCAT at the end of this July.

My problem now is the LOR. I cannot find non-science professor to write me a LOR because for the last 2 years, I have taking all science class. I transfered from community college two years ago. There is no possibilty of me getting a letter for non-science. I also realized that i don't even have good LOR from science-professor. Everything is not going well. I don't know whether I should wait until after I graduate to apply so that I can make sure that I will have a complete package to apply to medical school. I am not sure what to do. I am so stress out about the whole application process.

 

[zayka]

I suggest perhaps taking a summer course? Something non-science on a topic you are interested in with a small class.

It's up to you whether or not you want to apply now or wait, but I think that if you wait, you can probably boost up your EC's and maybe apply to a lab that you find interesting. Anyway, best of luck!

Oh, and since you're graduating and considering waiting another year, why not do a Masters? It takes 1.5-2 years and you can learn a lot and develop yourself as a scientist (I am considering this for myself, but depends on how the cycle goes obviously since I'd rather go to med school!)

 

[Mattabet]

For me, this seems like less of a question of whether or not you could apply now and be successful, but of whether or not it would just be a million times easier to apply next year and not do a 'rush job'. It sounds like you've got a lot of cats to heard, and if applying next year will give you time to lock down some 'extra' extra curricular, make nice with some LoR writers, take the MCAT at your leisure, get a nice early application out, and take a little vacation for yourself; it's definitely worth considering.

 

[ucsfstudents]

I would take the time to get everything together and apply next year. It sounds like you have a lot on your plate, and could also use the break. If taking an extra year won't pose a significant hardship, I would take the extra time.

 

[Strongstar]

You are so right about the ease of applying next year. I know definitely that I am not going to have a strong commitee LOR. I am worried that it is going to hurt my application. I have list pro and con of applying next year and this year. I know I would have a better chance applying next year. But in my mind, I also feel that there is still hope for me to get accepted this year. I really do not know what to do.

 

[Ignition]

You are so right about the ease of applying next year. I know definitely that I am not going to have a strong commitee LOR. I am worried that it is going to hurt my application. I have list pro and con of applying next year and this year. I know I would have a better chance applying next year. But in my mind, I also feel that there is still hope for me to get accepted this year. I really do not know what to do.

How do you know your committee LOR won't be good? I know they strive for honesty, but unless something bad happened that made you stand out at the college/uni, I doubt they're going to try and torpedo your chances at med school.

 

[Strongstar]

How do you know your committee LOR won't be good? I know they strive for honesty, but unless something bad happened that made you stand out at the college/uni, I doubt they're going to try and torpedo your chances at med school.

I know so because both professors had delayed turning in my LOR many times. I am still waiting for both of the letters. I have also emailed them couple of times but they had not replied me back. I tried my best not to annoy them. One of the professors knows me pretty well while the other does not know me that well. Now I don't even know if I will get the letters from them. I also do not have a letter from a doctor. Is it stupid to not applying this year because of not so strong LOR?