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Hey guys, I have a small dilemma that I have to solve by application time in June. Hopefully some of you experienced people can help me out...
Heres my situation:
I'm a senior at UCLA, and my GPA after my first two years was ~3.3. Definitely not competitive for medical school. At that point I wasn't even considering medical school. However, I shadowed the ophthalmologist whom I do research with around the beginning of my junior year. The experiences I had made me really want to do medicine, and this was a turning point in my life. At that point I told myself that nothing was going to stop me from reaching my goal.
I settled down, finally moved out of the dorms, and improved study habits/started going to office hours/started attending every class. I have received perfect 4.0's ever since then (with the exception of one A- in spanish). The A's have been in classes ranging from evolutionary biology, to psychology, english, neuroscience, biochemistry, and even GE's like linguistics. I just got my grades in fall quarter, 4.0 again, this puts my GPA at a 3.55. At this point I'm just excited to even have a shot at medical school considering I didn't have a chance in hell a year and a half ago.
Now to my dilemma. I am confident that I will get 4.0's my next two quarters (winter and spring) and this should put me at a 3.62, in the range of some great schools! (I have a 30Q on the MCAT in case you were wondering, 10 10 10). The thing is, I want to apply June 1st. Everyone always underscores the importance of applying early, and of course I want every advantage. Unfortunately at UCLA the spring quarter ends mid june (~15th or so), and by the time I wait for my grades to be updated into the system and send my transcript it will be July.
Do you guys think I should apply June 1st with a ~3.59 (this is all assuming I get all A's that is), or should I wait until July so I can show the 3.62? Will it make much of a difference? Can I just apply, and later on send an transcript update to schools with the secondary? I've heard stories of people sending update transcripts but the schools never get them. What are your experiences with this?
I really appreciate any help or valuable advice you guys have for me. Thanks in advance,
Andrew S.
Heres my situation:
I'm a senior at UCLA, and my GPA after my first two years was ~3.3. Definitely not competitive for medical school. At that point I wasn't even considering medical school. However, I shadowed the ophthalmologist whom I do research with around the beginning of my junior year. The experiences I had made me really want to do medicine, and this was a turning point in my life. At that point I told myself that nothing was going to stop me from reaching my goal.
I settled down, finally moved out of the dorms, and improved study habits/started going to office hours/started attending every class. I have received perfect 4.0's ever since then (with the exception of one A- in spanish). The A's have been in classes ranging from evolutionary biology, to psychology, english, neuroscience, biochemistry, and even GE's like linguistics. I just got my grades in fall quarter, 4.0 again, this puts my GPA at a 3.55. At this point I'm just excited to even have a shot at medical school considering I didn't have a chance in hell a year and a half ago.
Now to my dilemma. I am confident that I will get 4.0's my next two quarters (winter and spring) and this should put me at a 3.62, in the range of some great schools! (I have a 30Q on the MCAT in case you were wondering, 10 10 10). The thing is, I want to apply June 1st. Everyone always underscores the importance of applying early, and of course I want every advantage. Unfortunately at UCLA the spring quarter ends mid june (~15th or so), and by the time I wait for my grades to be updated into the system and send my transcript it will be July.
Do you guys think I should apply June 1st with a ~3.59 (this is all assuming I get all A's that is), or should I wait until July so I can show the 3.62? Will it make much of a difference? Can I just apply, and later on send an transcript update to schools with the secondary? I've heard stories of people sending update transcripts but the schools never get them. What are your experiences with this?
I really appreciate any help or valuable advice you guys have for me. Thanks in advance,
Andrew S.