Should I wait another year before applying?

[pbhigag]

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In short, my grades suck.. I had about a 3.7 cumulative GPA until my sophomore spring semester - there was a death in my family, so I missed school and wasn't focused at all when I got back. I just finished my Junior year and did ok, but not good enough to bring my GPA up to a competitive level (now a 3.4c, 3.3s). I'm signed up for the June 18th date for my MCAT and I'm usually getting a 30 or 31 on the practice tests.

So basically, I don't know whether to apply to med school this year or to spend an extra year in undergrad. If I take an extra year, I would get more time to study for the MCAT, a chance to raise my GPA, would graduate with a BS in Biology and a Bachelors (instead of just a minor) in History, I would be able to run for a spot on Student Government and as the Student Ambassador President, and depending on if I was awarded any scholarships, I could do Amizade (or some other volunteering), NOLS, or study abroad next summer. The catch is that not only would I fall a year behind, but the scholarship i'm on only lasts for four years, so I'd have to pay for the additional two semesters on my own.

I think I have good EC's (listed below), and hopefully an ok MCAT, but are those enough to make up for my GPA? If I applied this summer, what type of MCAT score do I need? Or would staying an extra year help my application enough to justify paying for two semesters on my own? Right now, I'm leaning towards staying, but I'm not sure...


Class of 2010(11?) at a large state school
Biology Major, History Minor
GPA - 3.4
Science GPA – 3.3
History GPA – 4.0

Extracurricular Activities and Awards

Academic Honors
- On full scholarship 2006-Present
- Dean's List two or three times
- Honorary - Alpha Epsilon Delta (Prehealth) - Officer 2008-2009, Member 2007-Present
- Honorary - Beta Beta Beta (Biology) - Member 2008-Present
- Honorary - Phi Alpha Theta (History) - Member 2009-Present

Clinical Experience
- Research - John Hopkins University – two semesters and a summer – my name was published in a journal
- Research – state school – Basically did grunt work for half the summer
- Volunteering - Hospital Emergency Department - 50+ hours
- Volunteering - Hospital Pediatrics - ~40 hours
- Volunteering - Johns Hopkins University - 150+ hours
- Shadowing - Observed an otolaryngologist once a week for about two months
- Shadowing - Observed a cardiologist a couple times a week for the summer
- Shadowing - Observed a neurosurgeon during surgery once (really cool)
- Shadowing – Going to be watching a pediatrician after my MCAT later this summer before I go to Baltimore
- Work – I was offered a job in the cardiologist's office and worked there for part of a summer and over winter break - greeted and assisted patients, got to take a couple blood pressures, help with filing, and fill a bunch of syringes
- Work – I was offered a paid position after working at Hopkins last summer and will start there after my MCAT and a week of shadowing

Clubs/Activities/Hobbies
- Student Ambassadors 2007-Present (120+ hours community service)
- Big Brothers Big Sisters 2008-2009
- Men's Rowing Team 2008-2009
- Worked with the Student Government to improve Pre-med advising
- TA for Biology 101
- Active in intramural sports – Captain of football, basketball, and dodgeball teams
- Amateur bull rider
- Member of a social fraternity

 

[pbhigag]

bump...

 

[flip26]

How much can/will you raise that GPA in one year, assuming you make all As? Consider that even if you do that, your GPA will still "suck" and you may have to consider either a post bacc to raise your GPA, or an SMP, but the SMP will only come into play after a bad app cycle.

Also consider that if you decide to delay applying for a year, that you may be rushing into the MCAT before being ready - you say your practice scores are 30/31 - you really need to bump that actual score up from there given your GPA - are you truly prepared for the MCAT in a few weeks? Did you do intensive prep, say Kaplan? You could put the MCAT off until next January, for instance...

 

[Mobius1985]

Your ECs are very good, but you'd need an MCAT of at least 33 to compensate for the low GPA to get consideration at the less-selective allopathic med schools. Rather than wasting money on a fruitless application cycle this year, work on raising your GPA, and do all the other neat stuff you mentioned, besides following flip's excellent advice.

 

[pbhigag]

How much can/will you raise that GPA in one year, assuming you make all As? Consider that even if you do that, your GPA will still "suck" and you may have to consider either a post bacc to raise your GPA, or an SMP, but the SMP will only come into play after a bad app cycle.

Also consider that if you decide to delay applying for a year, that you may be rushing into the MCAT before being ready - you say your practice scores are 30/31 - you really need to bump that actual score up from there given your GPA - are you truly prepared for the MCAT in a few weeks? Did you do intensive prep, say Kaplan? You could put the MCAT off until next January, for instance...

If I took 15 credits each semester, and got all A's (along with an A in the online class I'm taking now), I could raise it from a 3.4 to a 3.54. I'm studying my ass of right now for the MCAT - I took the Kaplan course so I'm just going through the online stuff and taking FLs right now. I'm going to talk to my parents and my advisor and then decide. If I stay an extra year, I'll just keep studying and sign up for a date towards the end of this year.

Your ECs are very good, but you'd need an MCAT of at least 33 to compensate for the low GPA to get consideration at the less-selective allopathic med schools. Rather than wasting money on a fruitless application cycle this year, work on raising your GPA, and do all the other neat stuff you mentioned, besides following flip's excellent advice.

Thanks for the advice!