Some guidance - Finishing high school with Associates, Not sure what route to take

[Justanotherlostpremed]

Hey Everyone!

Aspiring doctor here, I just graduated high school with an Associate in Science degree via Dual enrollment from the local community college. After going through older posts on this topic, I believe this was not the best course of action for a pre-med as I now have a lot of my intro science classes completed at a community college and that graduating extremely quickly was not necessarily as glorious as it sounded back in my sophomore year of high school. However, as I stand right now, I have maintained a strong GPA with a 4.0 sGPA, and something above a 3.9 cGPA (Expected since CC). I decided to commit to a less prestigious undergrad as it made significantly more sense financially, and I would be able to maintain more extracurricular participation here like say a part-time job, and more support from my family. I currently am a junior based on credits at my college, but am not sure if this is helping me in any way. Here are some of my thoughts on routes I could pursue from here and would appreciate your opinion on these -

1. I could graduate in 2 years, with my biology degree (or chem I'm still debating), take the MCAT in early 2022, and apply right after. However, would likely fall significantly short in extracurriculars comparing with other pre-meds who have thousands of hours to list on their applications and I do not believe the fact that I have been out of high school for a year helps my case. This was what I thought I would do back when I started dual enrollment however seems dumb as hell now.
2. I could reduce my average number of classes, or add a minor, graduate in 3 years, with significantly more extracurricular involvement and maintain a part-time job consistently. Take my MCAT in early 2023, and apply the following cycle. I believe this is much smarter as I will be more competitive as an applicant.
3. I could graduate in 2 years, plan for a gap year after. Take the MCAT in 2023 and apply the following cycle. I should have decent extracurricular involvement in this route however my family will despise the idea of a gap year, and additionally, I will have much more work experience/extracurriculars in the gap year. I am not sure how that works in the application, not sure if those go under the "projected hours" category (not sure if that's a thing but I have heard adcoms generally ignore these).

What should my course of action be? I would appreciate any suggestions or thoughts about this. If any of you believe I could attempt something totally different feel free to let me know!

Thank you for spending your time reading this!

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[deleted1079620]

#2 sounds like a good option, allowing you an extra year to take upper level courses or add a minor in your area of interest, work part time and have lots of time for extracurricular activities.

You might also consider doing the 2 year option, then getting a Masters degree if your school offers one that pays you with an assistantship & free tuition. You would be more mature at the end of it, receive a graduate level education, and possibly have to opportunity to teach or do an in depth research project, if that interests you.

 

[LunaOri]

2 or 3. 2 if you want to enjoy your college years. 3 if you need to save money, or want some experience in working and living independently. In any case, if you do not have sufficient hours in volunteering, shadowing, and clinical exposure, you will need at least one gap year.

 

[LizzyM]

I was getting confused by all of this so I made a calendar:

2021-22: junior year of college
2022-23: senior year of college
April 2023 take MCAT, June 2023, apply to medical school
2023-24: extra year of college (due to minor or a masters) or gap year employment. Hoping to do interviews and garner admission to med school
Hope to start medical school in 2024.

Does your university have a "committee letter" for applicants to medical school? Are individual letters of recommendation solicited by the student and submitted to the committee to be appended to the letter? How early in the year does that process begin.? Will you have enough time with faculty that they can write strong letters of recommendation (e.g. is the letter strong enough if they've only known you for 15 weeks at the time you ask for the letter?)?

Are you limiting your options by using community college credits to fulfill pre-med requirements? Buy the MSAR and find out which schools will not accept community college credits or discourage their use?

Could you see your way to taking an extra year and doing something outside your comfort zone such as a semester abroad?

 

[husky_doc16]

Hi! I was in your boat about eight years ago. What I would advise you to do is take upper division courses at your university to illustrate that you can do well at a more rigorous institution. I would take my time and finish up your bachelors over 3 years and take the MCAT in 2023 or later. TBH, there's no need to plan this far ahead with the MCAT and applying. Focus on your GPA and extracurriculars for the time being, and get LORs.

 

[Justanotherlostpremed]

Does your university have a "committee letter" for applicants to medical school? Are individual letters of recommendation solicited by the student and submitted to the committee to be appended to the letter? How early in the year does that process begin.? Will you have enough time with faculty that they can write strong letters of recommendation (e.g. is the letter strong enough if they've only known you for 15 weeks at the time you ask for the letter?)?

Are you limiting your options by using community college credits to fulfill pre-med requirements? Buy the MSAR and find out which schools will not accept community college credits or discourage their use?

Could you see your way to taking an extra year and doing something outside your comfort zone such as a semester abroad?

Hey LizzyM,

Thank you for taking the time to look at this!

My university does have a "pre-professional faculty evaluation community" that prepares recommendation letters for students. I believe this is what a committee letter is. I am not sure if I can submit letters to the committee to be added to the packet. I will email the school to get more information about this. I understand your concern about the lack of time to establish relationships with my professors and believe that around a year of working with a professor should be enough to expect a strong letter? How long do students usually know their professors for before asking for LORs?

I have purchased the MSAR and realized that some options have been limited as I have CC credits for pre-med requirements. I do see a decent number of colleges that accept them with higher-level coursework completed in the subjects which I do plan on doing. I do believe that this could make me DOA for some schools as well so might have to apply more broadly.

Unfortunately, a semester abroad is probably not an option for me considering my family finances however an international medical mission trip might be possible. I do find these trips interesting and would love to participate in one, however not sure if they mean much/anything to medical schools. Would you be able to comment on how adcoms look at these?

Thank you once again

 

[LizzyM]

Hey LizzyM,

Thank you for taking the time to look at this!

My university does have a "pre-professional faculty evaluation community" that prepares recommendation letters for students. I believe this is what a committee letter is. I am not sure if I can submit letters to the committee to be added to the packet. I will email the school to get more information about this. I understand your concern about the lack of time to establish relationships with my professors and believe that around a year of working with a professor should be enough to expect a strong letter? How long do students usually know their professors for before asking for LORs?

I have purchased the MSAR and realized that some options have been limited as I have CC credits for pre-med requirements. I do see a decent number of colleges that accept them with higher-level coursework completed in the subjects which I do plan on doing. I do believe that this could make me DOA for some schools as well so might have to apply more broadly.

Unfortunately, a semester abroad is probably not an option for me considering my family finances however an international medical mission trip might be possible. I do find these trips interesting and would love to participate in one, however not sure if they mean much/anything to medical schools. Would you be able to comment on how adcoms look at these?

Thank you once again

"Medical mission trips" are frowned upon these days as bad for the communities that the visitors intend to serve. (See More harm than good? The questionable ethics of medical volunteering and international student placements)

A semester abroad is often no different-- and sometimes less-- in terms of tuition and living expenses than attending in the US. Schools sponsor these exchanges and usually have info sessions; you can also ask your advisor and other students about opportunities abroad.