Hi there,
I just submitted my primary Jul 31 to one school. I meant to apply way earlier, but I guess my personal statement took me way longer to write than I expected, plus certain life circumstances changed too. But yeah, I guess I'm wondering -- how much of a disadvantage am I at with this timeline? As things are going, it looks like AMCAS is behind compared to last year (based on tracker), and it looks like my app might not be verified until early-mid September, and I'm not sure about the secondary turnaround. So even if I pre-write my secondaries, it seems like there is a good chance my app is submitted early-mid September.
My sGPA is borderline (kinda like- 4.0 freshman at a regular school, but then 3.6X at a grade-deflating ivy w/o upward sGPA trend, actually slight downward sGPA trend), MCAT is 519 (130/130/127/132). I'm a NY resident, but SUNY's and NYMC likey won't accept my online physics 2 prereq (I haven't asked, but their policy says no... I might still ask, but I would be surprised). I graduated 2023, so it's been a few gap years (I wasn't always sure I was premed). I did AmeriCorps and have most of my clinical experience and service experience from that, and I'm looking at schools that are service-oriented. I have some research but not a ton. I'm not URM
I guess I'm wondering... should I cancel my app and apply next cycle? I could possibly take physics 2 at a community college and open the door to the NY friendly schools, plus I could submit earlier at schools like Tulane that are a good fit but I've heard fill up seats quickly.
This cycle, these are my realistic and best fit schools that I've found:
Loyola
Georgetown
George Washington
Rush - but I don't think they'll take my AP English credit :/
Creighton
Tulane
Drexel
Temple Katz
Rosalind Franklin
There are some others too that are probably a good fit, but I think these are the core (happy to hear any suggestions tho). Also, if I did apply to some schools and then reapply earlier next year... does it look bad if, for example, my personal statement has the same introduction? I would likely change up my personal statement somewhat if I get more clinical experience, but I feel like I talk about my first exposure to medicine in the beginning, and IDK if schools will expect me to have a significantly different application. This is part of why I'm thinking it might be better to apply next year.
I'm also thinking about DO, and I know they have a later cycle. I think the specialties I'm most interested in (primary care, family med, peds, neurology) are DO friendly, but I'm not sure if I'll change my mind later and become interested in a non-DO friendly specialty, so I'm kinda on the fence if I should just apply DO only this cycle?
I would appreciate any thoughts and advice. Thank you 🙂
I just submitted my primary Jul 31 to one school. I meant to apply way earlier, but I guess my personal statement took me way longer to write than I expected, plus certain life circumstances changed too. But yeah, I guess I'm wondering -- how much of a disadvantage am I at with this timeline? As things are going, it looks like AMCAS is behind compared to last year (based on tracker), and it looks like my app might not be verified until early-mid September, and I'm not sure about the secondary turnaround. So even if I pre-write my secondaries, it seems like there is a good chance my app is submitted early-mid September.
My sGPA is borderline (kinda like- 4.0 freshman at a regular school, but then 3.6X at a grade-deflating ivy w/o upward sGPA trend, actually slight downward sGPA trend), MCAT is 519 (130/130/127/132). I'm a NY resident, but SUNY's and NYMC likey won't accept my online physics 2 prereq (I haven't asked, but their policy says no... I might still ask, but I would be surprised). I graduated 2023, so it's been a few gap years (I wasn't always sure I was premed). I did AmeriCorps and have most of my clinical experience and service experience from that, and I'm looking at schools that are service-oriented. I have some research but not a ton. I'm not URM
I guess I'm wondering... should I cancel my app and apply next cycle? I could possibly take physics 2 at a community college and open the door to the NY friendly schools, plus I could submit earlier at schools like Tulane that are a good fit but I've heard fill up seats quickly.
This cycle, these are my realistic and best fit schools that I've found:
Loyola
Georgetown
George Washington
Rush - but I don't think they'll take my AP English credit :/
Creighton
Tulane
Drexel
Temple Katz
Rosalind Franklin
There are some others too that are probably a good fit, but I think these are the core (happy to hear any suggestions tho). Also, if I did apply to some schools and then reapply earlier next year... does it look bad if, for example, my personal statement has the same introduction? I would likely change up my personal statement somewhat if I get more clinical experience, but I feel like I talk about my first exposure to medicine in the beginning, and IDK if schools will expect me to have a significantly different application. This is part of why I'm thinking it might be better to apply next year.
I'm also thinking about DO, and I know they have a later cycle. I think the specialties I'm most interested in (primary care, family med, peds, neurology) are DO friendly, but I'm not sure if I'll change my mind later and become interested in a non-DO friendly specialty, so I'm kinda on the fence if I should just apply DO only this cycle?
I would appreciate any thoughts and advice. Thank you 🙂
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