Should I Bother To Apply This Year?

[A1phaZer0]

My problem is that I only have 4 Months (!) clinical experience, I really only decided to go to medical school this last summer and I had alot of personal problems last fall, so I had to start this spring, this isnt enough to apply to any school is it? My Overall GPA was 3.7, science 3.61, but after some Post-Bacc P-Chem and Calculus courses I am down to a 3.5 Overall and a 3.35 Science and I am waiting to hear on my MCAT. Any Advice is apprecaited.

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[Vdawg]

why not? you have good numbers, etc. and atleast you have some clinical experience.. just give it a shot if you really want to do it. the only thing you will waste is a little bit of money (ok.. maybe a lot of money) and you might get a few gray hairs from the application process. definitely go for it and don't let your recent decision stop you, just make sure this is what you want though

 

[rxfudd]

I see no reason you shouldn't apply. Remember, LOTS of people have no clinical experience at all and still get in (by making up for it in other activities). Four months is fine. As long as you have some experiences to draw from for your essay and/or interviews, you're in a good position to apply.

 

[otter]

Hi Mike, you say that your postbac math and pchem courses caused your overall gpa and science gpa to come down by .2 and .26, respectively. Am I right in assuming that you did pretty poorly in those classes? Up until your postbac, it seems that you were completely fine with respect to your coursework. However, it may be problematic that your most recent coursework (postbac) was poor.

As for the lack of clinical experiences, I agree with the above posters. Don't worry too much about it. But do continue your current clinical activity throughout the admissions cycle because you may be asked about it during interviews. Also, if you're worried, maybe you can add another volunteering activity to your current plate so you can present that on the AMCAS.

 

[BingGirl]

I say GO FOR IT. By the time interviews come around, you will have at least 9 months of clinical experience if you keep it up. If you are sure this is what you want to do and you can speak with conviction about it and share stories about the clinical experiences you have, you'll be a strong candidate! Good Luck, BingGirl

 

[Doctora Foxy]

Although applying late can be risky, I volunteered 100 hours in a clinic last June and applied after that (and rewrote my personal statement abot that experience). So maybe you could do something like that? I talked about this experience at all of my interviews, and I really don't think I would have gotten in without it. I think you should definitely apply, but maybe you could hold off for a month and do something really cool? In any case, while your apps are being processed you could be gaining more experience, which you can add to your apps at interviews.

Best of luck!

 

[A1phaZer0]

Thanks everybody for the input, I just started my AMCAS. Keeping my fingers crossed that I dont encounter the problems that most of you soon-to-be med students had last year.