Should I go for it, or should I wait a year??

[wiscRD]

I need some advice. I guess I would be considered a non-traditional student, but I am not extremely non-traditional. I am a Registered Dietitian and finished my MS degree in nutrition and dietetics in Dec 2009. I had been premed during undergrad, but really enjoyed nutrition as well, so I decided to do the nutrition track first and then see where life took me. While I love nutrition, I now know that I definitely want to be a physician. I am wondering if I should try to apply this year or if I should wait another year. Sorry in advance that this is so long, but since I am a non-traditional student, I don't have a pre-med advisor who only advises pre-meds. Here are my stats:

cGPA (undergrad): 3.73
sGPA (undergrad): 3.63
cGPA (grad): 3.86

Research/pubications:
-1 semester in a meat and muscle biology lab in undergrad for 3 credits
-1 year in a biochemistry lab doing enzyme kinetics in grad school for 6 credits – co-author on an article for this that has been accepted but not yet published by a peer reviewed journal
-Thesis on body perceptions in young children for my thesis (psychology and nutrition/dietetics focused)
-Two practice articles in peer-reveiwed journals on vitamin D (I am first author in both)

Leadership:
I've held leadership positions at the university, state, and national level dietetic associations (including president of the university dietetic association for 1 year and secretary for 6 months). I was also a volunteer coordinator for a different club in college for 1 semester.

Awards/scholarships:
-university fellowship in grad school
-summa cum laude (I transferred schools ½ through undergrad – my 2nd school GPA was a 3.94)
-chancellor's medallion
-outstanding student award for my undergrad graduating class (with acceptance speech at graduation)
-2 scholarships (1 grad school, 1 undergrad)

Community Volunteer:
I have quite a bit of volunteer experience. During undergrad I volunteered with big brothers big sisters, my university's elementary school mentor program, a local after-school program, for the salvation army, AIDS Resource center, my church, habitat for humanity, local humane society, a local insurance company (as a wellness advisor for their wellness program) and a community heath challenge. During grad school I volunteered at the local human society. Since grad school, I have started volunteering with my county's community heath improvement program.

Clinical experience:
I volunteered in an ER for about 300 hours, worked in a position similar to that of a medical assistant at a clinic for 2 summers, spent 500 hours of my dietetic internship in a hospital and 300 hours in community health settings, and now work in a community hospital as an RD (registered dietitian). I probably have close to 2500 or 3000 hours now.

Other info:
-I tutored organic chemistry for 3 semesters.
-I spent 1 month in India for an HIV/AIDS and Public Health Challenges program.
-I will be starting a Spanish health care certificate program at our tech college that includes a 2 week immersion this summer in Mexico and will go through 4 levels of Spanish.
-I have not yet taken the 2nd semester of physics and plan to do this fall.
-I am studying for the MCAT and will be taking it in August.

Should I apply for schools this June and then submit my MCAT score in September, or will the fact that I don't have the 2nd semester of physics or my MCAT score in by the time of application hurt me?? I am planning to apply to schools with more of a public health focus.

Any advice will be apprecaited!!

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[illegallysmooth]

Your app is looking REALLY good. You've done great work with both your academics and your extracurricular activities.

If I were you, I'd wait. The idea of applying without having your MCAT score in hand is a little scary to me, but I know people do it. What are you doing to prepare for the test? Have you taken practice tests? At any rate, the late arrival of your score won't help. I know many people who were scoring consistently in the mid/high-thirties on practice tests, and then scored high twenties-low thirties on the real test. If I were you, I wouldn't feel comfortable applying now unless I was scoring consistently in the high thirties, just to be safe.

You've got a great chance at multiple acceptances now, and I'd hate to see anything close a door to you.

 

[wiscRD]

I have purchased EK and Kaplan books from a friend and am studying with them. I also plan to do 4 or 5 online practice tests. I took the free practice test before starting and did okay for not touching some of the materials in 5 years.

Thanks for the advice!

 

[noshie]

I am always very excited to read someone’s profile that is unique! I think your background in excellent and will help you stand out. I feel that you have a great chance, however not knowing your MCAT is a bad position to be in when applying. If you think you can get upper 20s at least and you will be taking your MCAT before August, then I would say go for the application cycle this year. However, if you are just starting to think about applying this year then you should wait.

There are many things to consider when applying, and you should have all of the pieces in place way before the application opens in May. Do you have letters of rec and a good personal statement ready? These things take way longer than you would think, and they may eat into your study time. So what’s the point of applying if you will really be applying late? Applying late is a make or break thing. I met a girl a few days ago that has a great profile, a masters in forensics, tons of oncology clinic experience, 3.9 GPA and a 30 MCAT. She applied last year and didn’t even get an interview because she applied in September. This was mostly due to her getting her MCAT score back around that time. It’s really a waste. Preparing yourself for next year is a safe bet. Good Luck!

 

[Catalystik]

Other than some needed physician shadowing, your ECs are excellent. Your cGPA is good. You just need an MCAT score, and unfortunately Physics II is important (unlike OChem II). Do you feel confident about your self study skills? If you're like most of us, then you'll need the class to master the material. I'd hate to see an expensive application cycle go to waste because of an unexpectedly low MCAT score or late timing.

 

[wiscRD]

I do have some physician shadowing and plan do to more throughout this next year. I am a little nervous about the physics II part of the test, but I am pretty confident in my ability to teach myself. My first physics class in college was terrible, so I had to teach myself anyway. I have been exposed to the physics II material back in high school, which is obviously not at the same level, but at least I will recognize some of the main concepts.

I have decided to wait to apply. I am still going to try to take the test late this summer or early fall. If it doesn't go well, then I always have the spring.

Thanks everyone!!

 

[noshie]

That is probably a wise decision. Rushing this process can be really hard on you.