Should I contact med schools?

Hmmm...tough question. Schools do sometimes move around interviews if someone's going to be in the area, but I'm not sure how it would work for this situation. Would schools that were planning to interview you in January and afterward (assuming there are any) want to do it so much earlier?

How many interviews have you had so far (or have you scheduled)? And how many schools are you waiting on?

-RA

 

Remember one thing. If you're not there to interview, then they'll find someone else to fill your spot. Why would you plan to leave the country during an application year???

 

I really suppressed the urge to ask that.

-RA

 

If I were you, I would NOT leave the country in January.
Unless you have steller stats and perfect CV and you already have a bunch of interviews lined up before you leave, I would strongly urge you not to leave the country for such a prolonged period of time during peak interview season. From my experience, I had 1 interview in December and 5 after January, so if I left the country, I would have been completely screwed. It's possible them to schedule an interview early, but most of medschools won't be able to accomodate your request. Good luck with your decision.

 

I couldn't help but ask because it's a simple answer. Apply when you get back or don't leave at all if medical school is really important. We all have to make choices and sacrifices to get what we want.

 

I'm planning on going abroad next semester, too. But I'm not leaving until late February, so I don't anticipate any interview conflicts.

Why leave during an application year? Maybe because some people have lives and interests outside of applying to medical school (and that's a good thing).

Go ahead and contact schools, I don't think it could hurt. In fact, Harvard's secondary specifically asks if applicants have conflicts such as yours that they need to schedule around.

 

I was an August MCATer last year, and I had the bulk of my interviews in February. That was with all files complete when scores came out. I suppose if you're a stellar candidate, and apply super early, and don't have to wait for August scores, and don't have any snafus with transcripts and/or LORs, then it could work to leave the country. But my experience with contacting schools to ask for consideration in scheduling interviews early for my convenience (i.e. another school offered me an interview and since I'm going to be in your neighborhood, if you're considering granting me an interview, etc. etc.) was that most schools were not very cooperative. A few were, but they were the exceptions. It never hurts to ask, though. Best of luck!

 

Hey, I'm in your boat too.

I'm leaving at the beginning of January for Australia for 4 months. I got my stuff in as quick as possible for that reason. Fortunately, interviews have been fluidly coming in, and I am only waiting on 6 places (Harvard, Penn, stanford, UNC, MCG, Northwestern).

I'm pretty sure I'll get most of them in. If not, it isn't a big deal in my book. I was planning on contacting people at the beginning of November if I hadn't heard.

 

No, it won't hurt your application. They'll either say yes or no. So call them and ask. This will provide the definitive answer to your question. I don't think anyone who has anything to do with making a decision on your app will even be considering the question. Whoever answers the phone will just tell you what their policy is and most likely won't let you speak to anyone higher up. In my experience they say, "Your application is still under consideration, and I can't say when or if you might be offered an interview."