Take additional classes vs. work on EC for gap year

[medicalmnt]

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I'm currently a Junior at a state school in VA. I will be taking a gap year, plan to take 1year off and apply to NIH-IRTA programs, school based 1-year research programs, or 1-year scribe work. I was wondering when taking additional non-degree or seeking a masters degree would be warranted.

My stats as of right now are:

-B/S in Micro (tons of upperlevel bio/chem courses)
-3.4 cGPA with 3.4 sGPA..freshman year = 3.0 GPA...sophomore year = 3.55 GPA...(hoping to finish junior year with a 3.5 to 3.6 GPA)
-1summer of NIH-SIP
- 100hours hospital (no hospital near my school, only obtainable over summer - must complete 100hours within 3months)
-about 60hours of shadowing
-various EC's such as office positions and active club sport member.
-tons of blue-collar work experience

I hope to graduate undergrad with a 3.5 or 3.6 cGPA and a 3.6 sGPA with 1year of in-school research experience, 2x summers of summer research, and was planning on using my gap-year for 1-year research program.


I've been pretty set on not taking additional classes after undergrad but have been talking to a friend about it and if I were to graduate with a 3.5 or even 3.4 cGPA, and I have every intention on applying MD.. would I have to take additional classes to get into a comfortable range? I know people say that GPA isn't everything but VA-state schools all have an average GPA of 3.6 (UVA at 3.9).

I plan to study all year of my senior year for the MCAT, but would a 3.5 cGPA rule me out of these schools regardless of what my EC's may be?
Does it even matter what my EC's are if my cGPA isn't close to their average? (scratching the low 10%)

 

[palatopharyngeus]

I'm currently a Junior at a state school in VA. I will be taking a gap year, plan to take 1year off and apply to NIH-IRTA programs, school based 1-year research programs, or 1-year scribe work. I was wondering when taking additional non-degree or seeking a masters degree would be warranted.

My stats as of right now are:

-B/S in Micro (tons of upperlevel bio/chem courses)
-3.4 cGPA with 3.4 sGPA..freshman year = 3.0 GPA...sophomore year = 3.55 GPA...(hoping to finish junior year with a 3.5 to 3.6 GPA)
-1summer of NIH-SIP
- 100hours hospital (no hospital near my school, only obtainable over summer - must complete 100hours within 3months)
-about 60hours of shadowing
-various EC's such as office positions and active club sport member.
-tons of blue-collar work experience

I hope to graduate undergrad with a 3.5 or 3.6 cGPA and a 3.6 sGPA with 1year of in-school research experience, 2x summers of summer research, and was planning on using my gap-year for 1-year research program.


I've been pretty set on not taking additional classes after undergrad but have been talking to a friend about it and if I were to graduate with a 3.5 or even 3.4 cGPA, and I have every intention on applying MD.. would I have to take additional classes to get into a comfortable range? I know people say that GPA isn't everything but VA-state schools all have an average GPA of 3.6 (UVA at 3.9).

I plan to study all year of my senior year for the MCAT, but would a 3.5 cGPA rule me out of these schools regardless of what my EC's may be?
Does it even matter what my EC's are if my cGPA isn't close to their average? (scratching the low 10%)

depends on what gpa you graduate with. if you graduate with a 3.4, definitely take a few more classes after graduating and bring yourself into the 3.6-3.7 range. if you graduate with a 3.6, you might get away with not taking any more classes, but I personally would still recommend a couple of classes to bring yourself closer to a 3.7

edit: ^ above advice is for MD schools. alternatively, you can just apply to Do schools, in which case your gpa is fine

 

[mehc012]

Do both. You should always do both.

 

[medicalmnt]

@palatopharyngeus , should I still take classes if I end up getting a ~3.5 cGPA?

@mehc012 , If I graduate with 122credits, should I still consider taking classes if I graduate with a ~3.5 cGPA? How much credits should I sign up for and in a span of 1year while doing research or scribing full time should I sign up to take non-degree classes for credit?

 

[mehc012]

@palatopharyngeus , should I still take classes if I end up getting a ~3.5 cGPA?

@mehc012 , If I graduate with 122credits, should I still consider taking classes if I graduate with a ~3.5 cGPA? How much credits should I sign up for and in a span of 1year while doing research or scribing full time should I sign up to take non-degree classes for credit?

First of all, if you end up with a 3.5/3.6, you're probably fine without any postbacc work. However, if you're taking the time off anyway, you certainly can take some classes on the side and it may help. I'm not doing the math for you...take those 122 credits and see how many more at a 4.0 you'd need to make the difference you want. I guarantee you it's possible to take courses and do well in them while working fulltime. However, it's not always fun. How much effort you want to put in for it and how many credits you think would actually be beneficial to you? Those are judgement calls you have to make.

 

[resiroth]

You cannot always take classes while at the NIH. It has to be approved by your PI and in some labs you may be expected to work 60 hours a week with varying and sometimes odd hours. Some labs are much more relaxed. Just something to be aware of and confirm with a PI before agreeing to work with them.

 

[palatopharyngeus]

@palatopharyngeus , should I still take classes if I end up getting a ~3.5 cGPA?

you don't HAVE to, but it definitely wouldn't hurt to take a few more classes and get it to a 3.6. it also depends on your mcat...if you do phenomenally well on your mcat (i.e. 34+), then the 3.5 won't be as big a deal. on the other hand, if your mcat is borderline (i.e. ~28-31), then a higher gpa will definitely help your application