to apply or not to apply

[batista_123]

thats is the question
I have a high science gpa and high overall gpa, i dont know what exactly, but should be somewhere around 3.9
I will get my mcat score next tuesday
I have shadowing, some volunteering, and I won some contest last year.
I want to go somewhere in california.
I have not started anything as far as my app is concerned. as you see, i dont even know my GPA. the only thing i have ready the the first half of my personal statement. I am an idiot for waiting this long.
I would prefer to apply this year because I am 24 turning 25 soon and i dont want to put my life on hold anymore and postpone things
I want to ask your opinion, what should i do?
can i rush and apply now? should i just forget about it and postpone everything? i really dont want to waste another year though...
I know your opinion may depend on my mcat score, so ASSUMING that i will get a 25 (10 PS, 6 VR, 9 BS) should i apply?
Now assuming that i will get a 34 ( 13 PS, 8 VR, 13 BS) should i apply?

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[njr3332]

thats is the question
I have a high science gpa and high overall gpa, i dont know what exactly, but should be somewhere around 3.9
I will get my mcat score next tuesday
I have shadowing, some volunteering, and I won some contest last year.
I want to go somewhere in california.
I have not started anything as far as my app is concerned. as you see, i dont even know my GPA. the only thing i have ready the the first half of my personal statement. I am an idiot for waiting this long.
I would prefer to apply this year because I am 24 turning 25 soon and i dont want to put my life on hold anymore and postpone things
I want to ask your opinion, what should i do?
can i rush and apply now? should i just forget about it and postpone everything? i really dont want to waste another year though...
I know your opinion may depend on my mcat score, so first assume that i will get a 25, and then assume i will get a 34 and tell me what you think. i will be checking back and refreshing every 10 seconds, this is a big deal for me, thanks

I would say apply only if you get a 34 but even then I would wait until next year. Assuming you could get your application finished today, it will be late october before you are even processed by AMCAS which, for a ultra-competitive state like california, is the kiss of death. Unless you just have tons of money to burn, your best shot is to apply EARLY next cycle and if you make a 25 definitely retake the MCAT.

 

[lstone13]

Just my opinion, but....

First of all, go ahead and have everything ready just in case you decide to apply this cycle. Finish your personal statement today or tomorrow. Have your AMCAS started and transcripts requested. Know what you will be putting in those 15 work/activity spots.

If you do well on the MCAT, I say sure, go ahead and apply. If your GPA and MCAT are both good, I don't feel you're really at too much of a disadvantage by applying so late.

If you do poorly on the MCAT, I say wait. It is not worth the money to send in your application when you know you will be late. Take MCAT again and then apply early next cycle.

 

[azrael87]

My personal recommendation is that you wait a year (definitely if that 25 happens somehow), especially if you are applying to California schools.

After skimming through the MSAR, it looks like the primary app deadline for several schools in Cali is November 1st, which you could make but would be a the very end of the cycle. The UC Davis School of Med is already eliminated since their deadline is tomorrow. Stanford and UC San Francisco have Oct. 15th deadlines, which would force you to rush. You also have to remember that it takes time for your school to process and for AMCAS to recieve your transcript. Then at least another month to get verified.

Rushing through your primary is a bad idea. It's your first impression and the biggest summary of your accomplishments. You want it to look good. You want well written, well edited activity descriptions as well as personal statement. Also, if you rush and make a mistake somewhere, you have to wait for AMCAS to notice and tell you. Then you're forced to go back, fix it, and resubmit pushing back your date even more.

You should wait, take your time, and apply the first day possible in June next year. The AMCAS app for that cycle will open in May. Take this time to work, save up money, volunteer more, do some research if possible, and maybe shadow more doctors. If you end up getting below a 30 on the MCAT, retake that too.

One more year of your life isn't that much and for the time you'd be applying, there's a chance you might have to wait that year anyway. Take your time deciding which schools you want to apply to. Read up on everything you can about the AMCAS application. You can even use the current cycle AMCAS app to practice (just don't hit submit make sure you save copies of everything you type since they don't save this year's app for next year). When you've got your primary stuff down and know which schools you want, you can use the "School Specific Discussions" forum to get a head start on your secondaries as well.

 

[DirtyJustice]

I agree with the California schools.... you have to think supply and demand. They have a set supply (ie. how many they want to interview/accept) and the demand is a lot (seems like everyone wants CA).

Not to sound like a dick or anything, but they have seen a lot of 34s/ high gpas from people who have already sent in their secondaries. Unless there is something that makes you a MUST have, I'd wait till next year and be one of the people I just got done talking about.

Again, we are all (or at least most) pre-med students ourselves so take our word with a grain of salt and go prove us wrong.

 

[Contrarian]

If you get a 25, you HAVE to wait.

If you get 34, you still should wait.

1 year isn't that long in the grand scheme of things. you can submit on the very first day, and you won't constantly feel insecure about whether you are late or not. Like me, I submitted in August (late by SDN standards), and I'm left wondering whether I haven't heard back from certain schools because they don't like me, or because I'm just too far down in the pile.

 

[JJMrK]

thats is the question
I have a high science gpa and high overall gpa, i dont know what exactly, but should be somewhere around 3.9
I will get my mcat score next tuesday
I have shadowing, some volunteering, and I won some contest last year.
I want to go somewhere in california.
I have not started anything as far as my app is concerned. as you see, i dont even know my GPA. the only thing i have ready the the first half of my personal statement. I am an idiot for waiting this long.
I would prefer to apply this year because I am 24 turning 25 soon and i dont want to put my life on hold anymore and postpone things
I want to ask your opinion, what should i do?
can i rush and apply now? should i just forget about it and postpone everything? i really dont want to waste another year though...
I know your opinion may depend on my mcat score, so ASSUMING that i will get a 25 (10 PS, 6 VR, 9 BS) should i apply?
Now assuming that i will get a 34 ( 13 PS, 8 VR, 13 BS) should i apply?

Sure you can. You might have some luck and pull an acceptance, but if it were me, I would wait.

1. If you wait you've got a much better shot at a ton of schools, and have a better shot of getting in somewhere you actually want to go because a) it will be earlier in the cycle and b) you'll have spent a year improving your app.
2. You'll save a lot of money. If you apply early next cycle, you'll save money because you don't have to apply to as many schools. If you apply now and don't get in, you'll have to do it all over again next year.
3. This is a minor point, but: You risk the possibility of not knowing what you're going to be doing next year until the very last second. Next May, it wouldn't be fun to manage a bunch of waitlists and deal with a new AMCAS.

 

[drareg]

wait a year ...