What to do for the year if I don't get in?

[RelicLTD]

6 interviews, no acceptances yet.

Applied with:
3.67 GPA
35P Mcat
Average EC's

This last semester went quite poorly (2.75), pulling my GPA down significantly. Obviously when I apply next year, this won't look pretty. I'm going to do everything I can to get a 4.0 my final semester.

I am considering a SMP to do damage control, and reaffirm that I can academically handle medical school. Do you think this is the right choice?

What have others done if they had a year off?

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[Glucagon]

Can't provide any personal experiences, but friends of mine have either done SMPs, went abroad to volunteer, or did internships for NGOs.

You've got pretty nice stats, hope some of those interviews turn into acceptances for you!

 

[Mithril]

.

 

[halethsonofhama]

Not getting in this round looks like a huge possibility for me.

I could continue with my research, but I feel that since I am not getting a publication out of it, the year that I have invested will be enough so I will probably cancel it.

I could also continue working as a medical assistant at a family practice office, but I've been there since 2007 and I would really think a change of scenery would benefit me so I might cancel that as well.

I might consider actually using my EMT certification, but I don't think the work would really be worth my time. Do you guys think working as an EMT would benefit me seeing that I already have 4 years of family practice and urgent care medical assisting?

My main concern though is trying to find a leadership opportunity. What is something I can get involved with that requires leadership that is outside college?

 

[mauberley]

I plan to [...] play WoW.

 

[MilkmanAl]

I am considering a SMP to do damage control

Are you serious?! Do not, under any circumstances, waste your time doing a SMP. Come up with a decent explanation for your crap semester, apply intelligently, and enjoy your acceptances. You'll be just fine.

Ideally, a post-rejection year would be spent working a healthcare-related job and/or fixing bad grades (which you don't have, so don't do that) to bolster your app for round 2.

 

[torshi]

I plan to do a summer research program and travel and play WoW.

Your time off will be over before you know it

 

[tomh98]

make sure you are doing a lot of practice interviews. You don't seem to be having problems getting to that point. the rest of your application is probably fine

 

[venacontracta]

This last semester went quite poorly (2.75)

What were the courses that you got bad grades in?

 

[Kaustikos]

6 interviews, no acceptances yet.

Applied with:
3.67 GPA
35P Mcat
Average EC's

This last semester went quite poorly (2.75), pulling my GPA down significantly. Obviously when I apply next year, this won't look pretty. I'm going to do everything I can to get a 4.0 my final semester.

I am considering a SMP to do damage control, and reaffirm that I can academically handle medical school. Do you think this is the right choice?

What have others done if they had a year off?

You have options at this point, but you need to address why you got a gpa that bad for that semester. If it's understandable, then mention it for your application. Otherwise, I'd look for jobs in health/research and also pursue volunteering gigs to bolster your application. Keep busy and reapply broadly/intelligently. Call schools and ask what they didn't like about your application. I'd mostly stick to the ones that interviewed you so you can figure out what you could work on to bolster your app. Otherwise, you could always apply for SMPs and not go.

 

[0919mmk]

I would say the most important thing you can do (assuming you dont get accepted this year) is call up the schools and see what happened. Academically you should be in good shape obviously (since they dont know about your most recent semester right?), so something else is up. Was your PS bad? Did you interview poorly? Get to the bottom of the issue asap so that you can start to address it for next time round.

 

[Etzio]

6 interviews, no acceptances yet.

Applied with:
3.67 GPA
35P Mcat
Average EC's

This last semester went quite poorly (2.75), pulling my GPA down significantly. Obviously when I apply next year, this won't look pretty. I'm going to do everything I can to get a 4.0 my final semester.

I am considering a SMP to do damage control, and reaffirm that I can academically handle medical school. Do you think this is the right choice?

What have others done if they had a year off?

Damage control for what? Your stats are fine, Im planning to abroad in my time off, do something else cool, or fun.

 

[rhesuspieces]

It's hard to give advice without knowing which schools you're applying to, what your ECs look like, which classes you did poorly in this past semester, and where you interviewed. The last point is particularly important. Were those six interviews at non-rolling schools? Were they at schools that are rolling but ultimately extend the bulk of their offers in March? Or did you interview at schools like Michigan that have doled out nearly all of their offers of admission?

I haven't seen too many people around here who have come out of 6 interviews without a single admissions offer by March.

 

[Etzio]

Just do anything that your passionate about for a year. It will be a lot easier to talk about something that you genuinely like to do versus something you did for the sake of doing it come admissions time.

Im planning to go abroad and do research in public health in China for a year. My pre med friend is going to do her masters, and another pre med buddy of mine is actually joining a professional orchestra (violinist) for some time. There are plenty of options out there. Just see what attracts you to it.