WAMC/School list (515 high MCAT mid GPA URM)

[Diktoor11]

1. 3.42 CGPA, 3.07 AMCAS sGPA, 3.45 AACOMAS GPA
2. MCAT (first attempt): 516 (127/128/130/131)

3. State of residence: Washington (I spend a lot of time in North Carolina as well)

4. Ethnicity/Race: Black (Horn/East African)

5. Clinical Experience:

105 hours hospital volunteering
70 hours shadowing (25 peds, 30 opthal,15 infectious diseases)

6.
Nonclinical volunteering: > 200 hours over the last 4 years.

____________________________________________

QUESTION:

I personally want to apply as early as possible in 2023 for matriculation in 2024-2025 BUT my advisors tell me I should wait to apply in 2024 to have time to strengthen my GPA (particularly my SGPA).

But I think my MCAT will kinda compensate for it, at least enough for MD schools to consider me.

+ If I apply in 2023, I’d only have two quarters and could at best get to a 3.5 (if I do amazingly).

On the other hand, I’m low SES so I wouldn’t wanna exhaust myself applying to places I’m not getting into LOL.

TLDR: my question is, should I or should I not apply in 2023 with a relatively weak GPA but strong MCAT?

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[Faha]

You are fine to apply in 2023 but try and increase your sGPA to 3.2 . Also accumulate another 200+ hours of clinical volunteering with patient contact. I suggest these schools:
U Washington
Washington State
Howard
Meharry
Morehouse
UCLA Drew
Kaiser
UCSF
Tulane
Miami
Emory
Duke
Wake Forest
Georgetown
George Washington
Drexel
Temple
Jefferson
Pittsburgh
Ohio State
Cincinnati
Case Western
Einstein
Mount Sinai
Northwestern
Vermont
Dartmouth
Brown
Boston University

 

[Diktoor11]

You are fine to apply in 2023 but try and increase your sGPA to 3.2 . Also accumulate another 200+ hours of clinical volunteering with patient contact. I suggest these schools:
U Washington
Washington State
Howard
Meharry
Morehouse
UCLA Drew
Kaiser
UCSF
Tulane
Miami
Emory
Duke
Wake Forest
Georgetown
George Washington
Drexel
Temple
Jefferson
Pittsburgh
Ohio State
Cincinnati
Case Western
Einstein
Mount Sinai
Northwestern
Vermont
Dartmouth
Brown
Boston University

Would it be more beneficial to apply as soon as primaries open, or should I wait until the end of June when I have another quarter of high grades bolstering my GPA? I was also wondering if taking summer classes and applying in August with an even stronger SGPA would make sense.

I was told by my advisor the negatives of a late app outweigh the positives of a slightly higher GPA I get to report.

 

[Faha]

Would it be more beneficial to apply as soon as primaries open, or should I wait until the end of June when I have another quarter of high grades bolstering my GPA? I was also wondering if taking summer classes and applying in August with an even stronger SGPA would make sense.

I was told by my advisor the negatives of a late app outweigh the positives of a slightly higher GPA I get to report.

Applying in late June is fine. Do not wait until August.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

Would it be more beneficial to apply as soon as primaries open, or should I wait until the end of June when I have another quarter of high grades bolstering my GPA? I was also wondering if taking summer classes and applying in August with an even stronger SGPA would make sense.

I was told by my advisor the negatives of a late app outweigh the positives of a slightly higher GPA I get to report.

You should wait for spring grades to submit. You usually should not wait until summer grades are posted.