Medical Should I apply this cycle or wait until next year? (Repost)

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Goro

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My stats:
I'm a rising senior Neuroscience major
cGPA - 3.67
sGPA - 3.62
MCAT - 521
- As a side-note, I'm latino (Colombian)

Research:
- 300 hours at a Blood Brain Barrier Lab (no publication yet, no longer working here)
- 35 hours at an Aphasia Lab (no publications yet, current lab)
- Helped my dad over the summer, an associate professor at a different university, work on a paper

ECs:
Latin Dance Team - 400 hours
Nu Rho Psi (Neuroscience Honors Society) Regular Member - 120 hours
- Secretary of NRP - 80 hours

Volunteering:
260 hours with Health Leads, a "national healthcare organization that connects low-income patients with the basic resources they need to be healthy". Specifically worked with Spanish speaking clients work through government programs like Food Stamps or getting government documents.
Volunteered with CASA giving mental health lessons in Spanish through a JHU club called Salud, have 30 hours with them.
- I am the project lead for this program, so a leadership position.
Volunteered as a tutor for a program, volunteered around 25 hours here.
Volunteered at an Aphasia center, working with people with aphasia on their personal projects. I volunteered about 52 hours here.

Work:
Worked as a docent at a museum for 2 years, have about 525 hours here.
Currently working as an Organic Chemistry Lab TA, have worked 90 hours so far.
Also working at the same Aphasia center I volunteered at as a research assistant/temp. speech language pathologist, have worked about 140 hours here.

Dilemma:
As do most premed students, I'd like to get into the best medical program that I can. The top of the line schools like JHU or Harvard may be out of my reach because of my lower GPA, but some seem to be feasible like Case Western from looking at the stat ranges on MSAR.
I don't know, however, if it is worth trying to apply this year or not. My reservations are because:
- I feel like my GPA is too low/average for the "middle tier" colleges
- I haven't asked any professors for letters of recommendation, and if I ask them for letters now, I feel as if they would be subpar because they haven't interacted with me long enough yet.
- I have no shadowing experience whatsoever in college.
- I am not published

If I wait to apply next year, the advantages I see are:
- potentially higher GPA, max like 3.75
- More potential leadership positions, including:
- Vice President of Salud (just got confirmed as VP today)
- President of Nu Rho Psi (already confirmed)
- Dance captain of Latin Dance Team (not happening)
- On the board of something called the Undergraduate Neuroscience Steering Committee, something that comes with being President of NRP
- Greater chance of getting published in one of the 3 research experiences I mentioned
- Better letters of recommendation that aren't rushed
- Can get shadowing over the summer or January through JHU programs or connections my dad has

However, the way my parents see it, none of these pros are game changers, they're just nice touches. And they may be right, I just would want to be as strong as I can when I apply. They argue that there will never be a time that I'm completely ready, so might as well apply now when I'm strong enough.
Publications are rare for UG students. They are NOT a requirement even for the Really Top Schools.

You have until at least Labor Day to get your LORs collected and submitted.

None of the things that you propose to do will make up for the GPAs at the Really Top Schools. They already have a surplus of candidates who have GPAs at thier 25th%ile and higher.

is it your goal to get into a Really Top School, or get into medical school. In the long run it won't make a difference if you go to Harvard or Drexel.

Thus, in order to save you a year of attending salary, I suggest that you apply this cycle.

I suggest these schools, but rule those where GPAs are < their 10th %iles.

NYU
Columbia
WashU
Vanderbilt
Yale
JHU
U Chicago
U Penn
Northwestern
Harvard
Mayo
Cornell
Stanford
Case
Duke
Sinai
U VA
BU
Baylor
UCSF
Pitt
USC/Keck
UCSD
UCLA
U MI
Rochester
Hofstra
Ohio State
U Cincy
Dartmouth
Western MI
USF Morsani
U MA
U IA
Albert Einstein
Emory
Tufts
NYU-LI
Jefferson
Temple
Miami
Wake
U CO
SLU
U VM
Gtown
GWU
U WI
Your state school

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