Should I Wait a Year?

[344742]

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Hi Guys! I've been reading the posts here and they have been super helpful. I feel like I'm in a bind. I just decided I wanted to go to medical school after a year off of school. I graduated from UCLA in 2009 with a 3.53 GPA in Psychology and have an SAT equivalent of around 1400. I worked as a legal assistant during the past year as I explored the possibility of Law School, but realized this wasn't for me. Since I just decided this is what I wanted to do, I have very little medical volunteering experience but am exploring some opportunities to start volunteering soon. I started volunteering at a lab at UCLA Medical Center in July. I really want to get into one of the top 3(BM, Goucher, Scripps) since I love the structure of those programs or at least another top-tier program, but I want to know if I'd be an attractive candidate for admission June of 2011. Or, should I spend the next year gaining medical experience and then applying next fall? I really don't want to spend an additional year off, but if this is the only way I can get into one of the top schools, I'm willing to do this path. Thanks so much in advance for any help and/or tips!

 

[chibrown01]

You shouldn't apply to med school yet. Med schools want to see that you are dedicated to medicine. Volunteer, shadow, do a postbacc. This will take 2 years. So you will have to sit out this cycle, you may be ready to apply next June. Make sure you do well and master pre req material so mcat studying will be a little easier.
Don't rush!!!

 

[NewmansOwn]

You lose less than $200 bucks applying to all three of those programs. Why not just make yourself seem as strong an applicant as possible and apply? If you get in (which I will say might be a bit of a stretch at this point), then great, you've saved a year and you're good to go. If not, not much lost and you can apply next year -- re-applicants who improve their applications are looked upon very favorably.

 

[344742]

Thanks Newman! Yeah, if I didn't make it clear in my original post, I want to apply to a post-bac program, not medical school right away. I'm glad that re-applicants are looked upon favorably if they improve their application/experience.

 

[lacey17]

you should wait, and remeber; we all wanna become a Dr, and 10 yrs from now, the only thing that matters is the fact that you MADE it , and if by waiting around , you become a much more stronger candidate, thats the thing u should do.

 

[drizzt3117]

I think you'd be a competitive candidate for Scripps. A lot of la and Berkeley and Stanford grads attend. Your stats seem reasonable. You just need to show a strong interest in medicine.

Hi Guys! I've been reading the posts here and they have been super helpful. I feel like I'm in a bind. I just decided I wanted to go to medical school after a year off of school. I graduated from UCLA in 2009 with a 3.53 GPA in Psychology and have an SAT equivalent of around 1400. I worked as a legal assistant during the past year as I explored the possibility of Law School, but realized this wasn't for me. Since I just decided this is what I wanted to do, I have very little medical volunteering experience but am exploring some opportunities to start volunteering soon. I started volunteering at a lab at UCLA Medical Center in July. I really want to get into one of the top 3(BM, Goucher, Scripps) since I love the structure of those programs or at least another top-tier program, but I want to know if I'd be an attractive candidate for admission June of 2011. Or, should I spend the next year gaining medical experience and then applying next fall? I really don't want to spend an additional year off, but if this is the only way I can get into one of the top schools, I'm willing to do this path. Thanks so much in advance for any help and/or tips!

 

[EJS1979]

I agree with NewmansOwn -- apply this year; it can't hurt. While my usual advice is to apply as early in the application year as possible, I might suggest waiting a couple months (maybe November-ish) so you have a little more experience in your volunteering position and, therefore, more to say about it.

Good luck!

 

[344742]

Thanks all! Drizzt, how should I show my strong interest in medicine without having the relevant volunteering experience yet? Is the general consensus to wait until November-ish so I have more medical experience to talk about, or apply ASAP so I have a better shot at early admission? Thanks again!

 

[drizzt3117]

Thanks all! Drizzt, how should I show my strong interest in medicine without having the relevant volunteering experience yet? Is the general consensus to wait until November-ish so I have more medical experience to talk about, or apply ASAP so I have a better shot at early admission? Thanks again!

I think waiting till November is OK. I don't think I put in my applications until around xmas, and got interviews in Feb from all the programs. I don't know very much about the new program director but I do know that she was a dean at Scripps for many years and has a lot of very good experience in career development and preparing students for professional school applications. I imagine the interview process will be pretty similar with JSD faculty.

 

[jefflikescake]

I also have a similar question, although my conditions are a little different. I am currently studying human biology and have one more year in college. My GPA is a 3.46 (cumulative overall) and 3.4 (science). I have limited lab work (during the summers) and I am torn as to what I should do. I am planning on taking my MCAT next january and then apply to a post bacc (don't know which one is best for me yet) and hopefully get into med school in 2012. The reason I am confused is that most of these SMPs are designed for people with a low GPA and low MCAT scores. I have a decent GPA but my problems are getting hands on experience, letters of rec (is it too late), etc. I hope some of you experienced gurus could help me out! thanks a lot!

 

[drizzt3117]

I also have a similar question, although my conditions are a little different. I am currently studying human biology and have one more year in college. My GPA is a 3.46 (cumulative overall) and 3.4 (science). I have limited lab work (during the summers) and I am torn as to what I should do. I am planning on taking my MCAT next january and then apply to a post bacc (don't know which one is best for me yet) and hopefully get into med school in 2012. The reason I am confused is that most of these SMPs are designed for people with a low GPA and low MCAT scores. I have a decent GPA but my problems are getting hands on experience, letters of rec (is it too late), etc. I hope some of you experienced gurus could help me out! thanks a lot!

Seems like you answered your own q, you need clinical exp so go get some!

 

[jefflikescake]

Seems like you answered your own q, you need clinical exp so go get some!

i do understand this but on a very general term. I just applied for this shadowing opportunity at my school but I am not sure if I can get in. Are my grades even competitive enough for med school? And also, if you could tell me from your experience, what is the best course of action for me...I have been reading and hearing a lot of different things but I think most of the information point me to some sort of Post bacc (SMPs or what not) but I don't know which ones..Thanks again guys (esp. Dr.izzt), any help is appreciated!

 

[NewmansOwn]

i do understand this but on a very general term. I just applied for this shadowing opportunity at my school but I am not sure if I can get in. Are my grades even competitive enough for med school? And also, if you could tell me from your experience, what is the best course of action for me...I have been reading and hearing a lot of different things but I think most of the information point me to some sort of Post bacc (SMPs or what not) but I don't know which ones..Thanks again guys (esp. Dr.izzt), any help is appreciated!

Your GPA is low for US allopathic admission, especially with the lower science portion. You should probably wait until you take the MCAT to make any serious scheduling decisions. If you get a 40+, your GPA will be much less of a limiting factor. Extracurriculars are not hard to find (good ones are, I suppose), so as has already been said -- just start volunteering wherever you're needed. You'll probably have to apply to more than one place, as there's no shortage of premeds looking for an edge in med school admission.