Taking a year off before applying to MD school, What to do?

[unperturbed]

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Hey guys,
I recently graduated with B.S degree (~3.3 cGPA with ~3.15 sGPA) in May, and was initially planning to apply this summer to MD schools.

However, i decided to take another year off, and will apply next summer.
During that time, i will study to ace the MCAT, which i have not taken yet. Since my GPA is low, i want to take some more time to study and really ace it the first time. I plan to take it sometime in September.

I am currently working at a lab, and doing my own research. Since i have been doing my own project since last year, my professor and I are planning to finish up this particular project and possibly publish a paper next january (which will take ~4 or 5 months to be approved and published).

I have volunteered in hospitals. Also, I have been a certified EMT since i was 16 and have been working as an active member in two ambulance stations.
I shadowed few doctors and gained experience, and i obtained about 6~7 reference letters from professors of science and ETC.

I was fortunate enough to do my own research, get a lot of experiences in medical-related field and obtained enough reference letters for my application. However,
What's missing/weak in my status is obviously the GPA and no MCAT score for now.

My question is about how to spend this summer and next spring before applying to medical school.

1. Should i work at health facilities or volunteer more to gain experience about medicine? and what type of health related work should i look for (specifically what type of medical related work do people follow when taking a year off before entering medical school or applying to medical school)?

2. Should i take classes to show better performance in science? I recently talked with my advisor and shared thoughts about post-bac programs, but they usually run 1~2years to complete. Not only they are high risk-high reward system, but i am also late in application process for next upcoming semester(it's now june). Should i just take non-degree classes? what types of post-bacs/ taking extra classes are available?

I know this really is a personal plan and thoughts, but i would like to hear some comments and advise on how to organize this one year efficiently.

Thanks for any comments and good luck with everyone's medical school applications !

 

[unperturbed]

any comments?

 

[dr seuss]

Take more classes to raise your sGPA.

 

[argonaute]

i'll have to agree and say take science classes. Your EC's seem strong, and your research sounds like is going well. however, the thing that will most bring down your application is your sGPA, so i would try to focus on that.

 

[unperturbed]

my advisor recently recommanded taking about 20 credits of classes.
Are there any set number of classes i should /am supposed to take whether i am doing a formal post bac program or a program on my own (taking non-degree classes)?

 

[jwrigh69]

You definitely need to get your GPA up.. that should be your prime concern. Your EC's are wonderful and you shouldnt worry much about that department. I would stop and ask a few questions though, namely:

If you're applying for the 2010-11 cycle, why in God's name would you take the MCAT this september? --- Personally given your GPA, and i'm not in any way trying to say you arent capable of doing great on the MCAT in a few months but given your GPA you'll prolly need to study a ton, i would take the MCAT no sooner than January 2010, and more than likely even put it off until march or april. Your primary application can't be submitted until June 2010 and there are a number of MCAT sessions before june.. so if you take it in january/march and dont do as well as you had hoped you could still retake it in april/may and apply early in the 2010 cycle. I screwed myself because I thought I was a genious and I didnt study enough for it, i only put in about 3 weeks and ended up making a 29P and i didnt get that score back until the end of june.. i was so dissapointed in myself for trying to rush it and i knew i could do better so i put it off for a month and really focused and took it again in august and my PS section went from an 8 on the first exam to a 12 on the second. So the moral of the story is study for the MCAT as much as you possibly can.. do not rush it.

Second:

It depends on your school. Post-Bac programs are different everywhere you go. First off, what was your major? I ask because it may be possible for you to get a dual degree by only taking 20-30 more hours.. at my undergrad the difference in a biochemistry degree and a B.S in biology was 24 credit hours.. So since i graduated with a b.s. in biology technically i couldve gone back and been a full time student for a 5th year and gotten a dual degree with a b.s in biology and biochemistry. That being said, you need to do the math but straight A's for 20-30 credit hours would prolly greatly improve your gpa and a dual degree would make your application that much more appealing.

 

[unperturbed]

yea I was a neuroscience major, and my major requirement is about 18 more credits than biology major.
Anyhow, i will take my time to ace the MCAT for sure. probably take one this year and if it doesn't go well take it again next year.

Secondly, i def. know that my weak point is the GPA/sGPA. Now, there are some concerns. I am out of state student here where i graduated, and if i decide to take class here, i can keep my research work and take classes, but tuition will be almost 20,000 for two semesters. In fact, i want to continue my research project because it's my own project and i can possibly publish a paper with my work before i apply next spring.

if i take it from my home state school (which i recently found out that i can register as non-science degree student), i pay only about 300 per credit. downside is, i CANNOT continue my research project.

of course just like many of us here, there's financial issue and i don't know if i can pay 20,000 for another two semesters. Should i just give up research and take classes in my home state?

 

[TexasPhysician]

yea I was a neuroscience major, and my major requirement is about 18 more credits than biology major.
Anyhow, i will take my time to ace the MCAT for sure. probably take one this year and if it doesn't go well take it again next year.

if i take it from my home state school (which i recently found out that i can register as non-science degree student), i pay only about 300 per credit. downside is, i CANNOT continue my research project.

of course just like many of us here, there's financial issue and i don't know if i can pay 20,000 for another two semesters. Should i just give up research and take classes in my home state?

I don't envy your situation at all. That is a tough decision.

All I know is that I would not plan on taking the MCAT twice. If you feel unprepared, delay it. You don't need another red flag on your record.