Should I still apply this cycle? Desperate for help…

[Gladiolus23]

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[Grace184]

Your chances are hard to gauge without an MCAT. You GPAs are great, but that doesn't mean it will equal a great MCAT. End of August is late in the cycle, but if you have pre written your secondaries and do well on your mcats you have a shot. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.

 

[candbgirl]

And what if you don't do as well on the MCAT as you want to do? What's the rush? Take the test in July if you are absolutely ready. Then beef up your ECs and plan to apply day 1 next cycle. You have lots is shadowing but not much hands on face to face time with patients(I actually only see 30 hours of Music Therapy at a hospice. Maybe move that experience out of community service and put it with clinical experience). And then build on your clinical experiences.

 

[GrapesofRath]

Wait a year

 

[Gladiolus23]

I advise heavily about applying without MCAT. While you wouldnt be that late in the cycle with July, you seem desperate enough now to not have the proper mindset to crush MCAT. Better to wait and make yourself the strongest candidate possible and add MCAT, copious EC, etc. Having dealt with the Associate Dean of Admissions at VCU for sometime, they certainly seem to look keenly at those with significant clinical exposure as well as strong roots and desire for practicing in Virgina.

I see…so would you say my clinical volunteering is not enough for a school like VCU then? Let's say I get like a 31 MCAT score…could my research/other activities or GPA make up for this? I just want to know if I stand a good chance as an in-state resident…

 

[Gladiolus23]

Your chances are hard to gauge without an MCAT. You GPAs are great, but that doesn't mean it will equal a great MCAT. End of August is late in the cycle, but if you have pre written your secondaries and do well on your mcats you have a shot. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.

And what if you don't do as well on the MCAT as you want to do? What's the rush? Take the test in July if you are absolutely ready. Then beef up your ECs and plan to apply day 1 next cycle. You have lots is shadowing but not much hands on face to face time with patients(I actually only see 30 hours of Music Therapy at a hospice. Maybe move that experience out of community service and put it with clinical experience). And then build on your clinical experiences.

Personally, I'd wait until next year if VCU is interested in clinical activities. In the mean time, boost that up. It's definitely possible to get in if you apply late, but your chances do go down, and it's kind of risky to apply without knowing your MCAT score.

For now, just worry about the MCAT. No need to distract yourself from that by prewriting essays to a school list that might not even be appropriate for you.

I know I won't be at my absolute best for MCAT in July…but I think I can get to at least an average score (~31-32) If this average score can still get me in somewhere at a low-tier MD school, I'd like to take it, rather than take a gap year. I've always known I want to be a doctor, so why wait more?

 

[starlite911]

I also support team gap year. Sure, you might have a shot now, but why not be sure? Better to apply your best once.

 

[coffeesnob]

I know I won't be at my absolute best for MCAT in July…but I think I can get to at least an average score (~31-32) If this average score can still get me in somewhere at a low-tier MD school, I'd like to take it, rather than take a gap year. I've always known I want to be a doctor, so why wait more?

there is nothing superstitious or wishy-washy about MCAT or med school application.

many of my friends and also SDNers who apply to med schools when they are not fully ready without MCAT scores end up having to reapply the year after.

have you taken practice tests yet? have you been scoring around 31-32 consistently?

there is nothing wrong with taking a year off. it may significantly improve your chance of acceptance.

 

[butternutsquash]

The MCAT is one of those tests that you don't want to rush under any circumstance. Take the time to prepare thoroughly and make sure you're at your absolute best. Even if you consistently score a 31/32 on practice tests, there's a chance your actual score is lower, so don't risk it by taking the MCAT when you don't feel truly ready.

 

[claduva94]

I don't see much clinical volunteering. Just a lot of shadowing. AM I missing something?

 

[Temerit]

+1 for taking a gap year. Focus on the MCAT for now, crush it, and between now and next June beef up your clinical experience credentials.

I was in a similar mindset regarding not wanting to take a gap year. After having gone through the horror that is the application process I realized taking a gap year would not have been bad at all.

 

[Holmwood]

Mmm.... I'm not even sure.

While alot of your extracurriculars are very short commitments, you have two long term experiences that stand out: the JHU research and volunteering with disabled children. My question is whether working with disabled children counts as clinical experience... because if it was in a clinical setting, I think you're fine to apply to VCU. Can't really say much without more information about the experience however.

As others have said, the other concern is of course the MCAT. Since you're taking it so late, I really can't recommend applying unless you're thinking about applying very broadly. You're going to be fighting for less seats as a late applicant, so it's more of a gamble than if you were to apply earlier. I guess you already knew this, but the overall consensus is to not apply because of the risks. If you score turns out to be superb (not 31-32, but higher), then I think the consensus would be to go ahead and apply broadly to schools that interview until later into the cycle (like January and February).


My recommendation:
1) Study the **** out of the mcat.
2) Start verification process with one random school about a month from when you expect to have your scores (not VCU!)
3) After taking the test, start researching schools that interview later into the cycle. Just go to the school specific threads and see the latest posted interview invites for each school.
4a) When you receive the score and it's not very good or average, don't bother continuing. Continue working on your ECs and research, and maybe save up cash for next application cycle.
4b) When you receive the score and it's reaaally good, CONSIDER applying broadly.

*Drawbacks! If step 4b doesn't pan out, you're going to have to improve your application as a reapplicant. That's not a very fun process, but step 4b requires a superb MCAT.... and with a superb MCAT, a retake is something you won't have to worry about. *Continue to work on your ECs from now until you get an acceptance as a backup plan.



But if I was in your position, I would just take the gap year and make sure I have absolutely no holes in my application. You really only want to apply once because it's a very costly process. 1 extra year isn't going to kill you as much as you think, in the grand scheme of things.

 

[tea guzzling traveler]

The gap year will be much less stressful than likely two application processes. Focus on the MCAT for now, crush that, and then go for next year with a better application. Also +1 to the getting more clinical experience.

 

[Donald Juan]

I'll be the odd ball here: Apply this year contingent on getting your MCAT back with a decent score. You can verify to one school so you don't have to waste all your money if you get back a crappy mcat and decide to wait.

I want to be clear and up front on my feelings before I continue: Applying early is important. It is more important than it should be. However, it is not the end-all be-all of an application that SDNers make it out to be. My letters of recommendation weren't ready (meaning my app wasn't ready) until mid-september, and aside from my 37 mcat, your app looks better (including your GPA) and overall more rounded than mine ever did. I got into my state school, which has a slightly higher average GPA and mcat than VCU, the first cycle--without being on the waitlist.

If I, and probably the majority of my class, thought that August was too late to apply, we wouldn't be starting our final year of med school right now.

Applying early is important, but I promise you that most people who will be in your class never get on student doc, never hear the freak outs about not getting your app off until late June, and submit that crap between august and october.

 

[Gladiolus23]

I'll be the odd ball here: Apply this year contingent on getting your MCAT back with a decent score. You can verify to one school so you don't have to waste all your money if you get back a crappy mcat and decide to wait.

I want to be clear and up front on my feelings before I continue: Applying early is important. It is more important than it should be. However, it is not the end-all be-all of an application that SDNers make it out to be. My letters of recommendation weren't ready (meaning my app wasn't ready) until mid-september, and aside from my 37 mcat, your app looks better (including your GPA) and overall more rounded than mine ever did. I got into my state school, which has a slightly higher average GPA and mcat than VCU, the first cycle--without being on the waitlist.

If I, and probably the majority of my class, thought that August was too late to apply, we wouldn't be starting our final year of med school right now.

Applying early is important, but I promise you that most people who will be in your class never get on student doc, never hear the freak outs about not getting your app off until late June, and submit that crap between august and october.

Thank you for the info. Can I ask when you were complete by at schools? Did you submit your primary app in August, making you complete in September? Or were you complete in August itself?

 

[thegooddoctor2015]

wow looks great! Hopefully you're MCAT is good!

 

[Donald Juan]

Thank you for the info. Can I ask when you were complete by at schools? Did you submit your primary app in August, making you complete in September? Or were you complete in August itself?

I believe I submitted it in August, but didn't get the letters until September. So my sapp was complete in September

 

[doc05]

1. your clinical experience is good. don't worry about that.
2. don't apply without the mcat. better off waiting till next year.