Should I ride the bench for a year?

[Canesmed]

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Dear sdn,
So I've been reading for a while now but this is my first post and I need your suggestions for applying to DO/MD

My dilemma is whether i should take a year off after undergrad. Im currently a junior studying biochemistry with a cGPA:3.35 and sGPA:3.1-3.2. I am a Missouri resident but go to school in south Florida. I am also the starting setter on our club volleyball team who placed 16th nationally in 2010 and won the silver bracket this past year 2011. Additional credentials include my involvement with my fraternity. 1 year serving on fraternity's judicial board and 2 years as the treasurer. My shadowing experiences include shadowing an anesthesiologist (20 hrs) and an orthopedic surgeon (40-50 hrs). Completed 1 semester of research and plan to continue into the fall. Volunteer hours: +70 hrs in the trauma intensive care unit (TICU). I haven't taken the MCAT yet but plan to take it in august after a summer of studying. I don't plan on working this summer, but plan on just studying MCAT and possibly shadow a couple physicians/volunteer (TICU) in the hospital. I expect to score a 30 based on practice exams.

I need your opinions/suggestions:
1) should I take the MCAT in august and apply later in the application cycle or should I take a year off and apply next cycle.
(the main skepticism I have with applying this year is the fear of not getting accepted this year. I would likely take more science courses during my senior year to raise my sGPA. I would like to apply to MD as well as DO but know my gpa isn't competitive enough for MD as of now.)
2) I am a 1st generation Asian American citizen whose parents originated from Taiwan and only recently immigrated to the states in 1985. Do med schools show preference towards 1st gen applicants?
3) are there any other suggestions you have to strengthen my application? (others activities to do this summer, during my "off" year, classes to take, etc.)

[]__[] Go Canes!

Thanks, canesmed

 

[Mahliah]

Take a year off, apply early next cycle.

 

[dbizzy]

It's normal these days for undergrads to take a year off after college. You are still young so there's no need to rush things, especially since your GPA isn't quite where you want it to be.

Unless you're in a big rush, take the MCAT when you're ready, kill it, then apply early next cycle. You'll not only be more likely to get acceptances, your selection will probably increase with the improved stats.

Raising that sGPA would definitely help you out. Retaking some C's or D's can do wonders to your GPA in DO-land, while taking (and doing well in) additional upper-div science courses can show you're capable of the rigorous med-school curriculum. Can't go wrong either way.

Asians tend to get little love in terms of "preference," regardless of generation, since med schools are demographically dominated by Asians, Indians, Whites, etc. So unless you can show that you came from an economically disadvantaged background, or that you're 1/8 Navajo Indian, I think you'll have a tough time getting any preferential treatment based on race.

As for glide year...do you have research experience? You could start that before senior year and continue it through your glide year, and you could also continue to take courses to raise your gpa. These would be good fallbacks to help improve your app for the following cycle, in case you need to reapply. Hell, it might be good enough to get your application competitive enough for US MD schools the following cycle.



There are countless other things you can do that year.

 

[Prncssbuttercup]

Dear sdn,
So I've been reading for a while now but this is my first post and I need your suggestions for applying to DO/MD

My dilemma is whether i should take a year off after undergrad. Im currently a junior studying biochemistry with a cGPA:3.35 and sGPA:3.1-3.2. I am a Missouri resident but go to school in south Florida. I am also the starting setter on our club volleyball team who placed 16th nationally in 2010 and won the silver bracket this past year 2011. Additional credentials include my involvement with my fraternity. 1 year serving on fraternity's judicial board and 2 years as the treasurer. My shadowing experiences include shadowing an anesthesiologist (20 hrs) and an orthopedic surgeon (40-50 hrs). Completed 1 semester of research and plan to continue into the fall. Volunteer hours: +70 hrs in the trauma intensive care unit (TICU). I haven't taken the MCAT yet but plan to take it in august after a summer of studying. I don't plan on working this summer, but plan on just studying MCAT and possibly shadow a couple physicians/volunteer (TICU) in the hospital. I expect to score a 30 based on practice exams.

I need your opinions/suggestions:
1) should I take the MCAT in august and apply later in the application cycle or should I take a year off and apply next cycle.
(the main skepticism I have with applying this year is the fear of not getting accepted this year. I would likely take more science courses during my senior year to raise my sGPA. I would like to apply to MD as well as DO but know my gpa isn't competitive enough for MD as of now.)
2) I am a 1st generation Asian American citizen whose parents originated from Taiwan and only recently immigrated to the states in 1985. Do med schools show preference towards 1st gen applicants?
3) are there any other suggestions you have to strengthen my application? (others activities to do this summer, during my "off" year, classes to take, etc.)

[]__[] Go Canes!

Thanks, canesmed

1. Apply next year
2. No
3. yes, get a job with clinical experience. Retake some courses, or take more UL science courses at the local university. Research may help them think you have a brain, but clinical experience will likely help you more than research will. As in, study for the MCAT and get an EMT cert over the summer and go get a job in the ER... but again, GPA could use some boosting, and it may help the adcoms feel like you're trying...

4. Don't give up...

 

[Bungie]

Try and get some non-medical volunteering.

 

[gatorfann14]

I'd say go for it you have an ok GPA and if you can do well on the MCAT then you should get more than a few interviews this fall. If you can take the MCAT earlier that wuld be ideal, but otherwise you seem to be in pretty good shape.