Should i wait till next cycle?

Started by azdental89
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azdental89

Full Member
10+ Year Member
Hey Guys im one class away from finishing the prereqs which is ochem II which i may do in the summer if i decide to apply this cycle. I have a 3.5 science and cumulative gpa and have not taken the Dat yet which i can always add later, but the main issue is i dont have much shadowing/volunteer ( only about 20 hrs). Should i cram and try to get my application in this cycle or finish everything through fall and just wait next year? I just do want to waist time and money to get rejected by trying to rush. any advice is appreciated. Thanks!
 
Hey, I'm in exactly the same boat as you. The only difference is I have completed my all my pre-reqs and I do have volunteering and shadowing hours and I just finished my junior year. My advice is don't cram anything! You are more likely to mess something up if you cram. Take it easy, study the for the DAT with no pressure and get some vol. hours in as well as some shadowing hours. I think its better to get everything ready for next cycle and apply early rather then cram everything for this cycle and apply late and maybe waste some money. Hope that helped!
 
yea definately does just did wanna go in with just the bare minimums but wasnt sure if i might miss my chance to get accepted a year early
 
Well, it depends...do you have your LORs yet? If you do, you can still take your DATs in Late July/early August and still be considered "early".

Also, you don't need that many hours of shadowing. 40-50 is good and you won't have interviews until Sept anyway so you can definitely catch up.

It might be worth applying a year early 🙂 Unless you want to take a year off to "relax" which is also nice.
 
Go ahead and apply. I know of ppl who got in with very little to no shadowing experience. At least have a balance throughout the rest of your application (i.e research, community involvement etc etc).

Best of Luck
 
I'm in about the same situation. I'm taking some more pre-reqs this summer and next fall (biochem, microbiology, anatomy, physiology) and taking the DAT early June. I've requested my LOR's but have no shadowing experience. I'm going to start shadowing next week and am sending my application in on the first day.

I'd say go for it! Just get everything mapped out and do your best...
 
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