When Should I Apply?

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kj8210

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Hey there. So my cGPA is a 3.36 and I want to use the spring and summer semesters coming up to bring up my GPA. I know I can bring it up but the only problem is time. I am planning on taking my MCATs in May and hopefully doing well enough to not have to retake them. I basically want to wait till after I receive grades for my summer classes because, if I'm correct (I might not be), that would be the last chance I have to bring up my GPA for the upcoming application cycle. So my question is since the last day of summer sessions would be August 17th, should I start my application process after that date or is there anything I can do before hand?

Also one more question: is there a huge difference between say a 3.5 cGPA and a 3.58 cGPA? Would medical school admissions put a large weight in the .08 difference if you are well-rounded applicant?

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Take May MCAT and get the score back in June. Apply with the June batch and don't worry about your summer grades for your primary. You can get the secondaries finished quickly and hopefully get an early interview.

Save the summer grades for an update later.

After the MCAT, do the primary application while you wait for the score to come back. Come up with a school list based on your practice test scores. You should have the entire application ready to submit the moment you get the scores back.
 
So basically if I were to take summer classes, schools wouldn't even see them? If thats the case should I even spend money on them since the only reason I wanted to take them was to bring up the GPA that Admissions sees?
 
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So basically if I were to take summer classes, schools wouldn't even see them? If thats the case should I even spend money on them since the only reason I wanted to take them was to bring up the GPA that Admissions sees?

Your GPA is too low to be submitting your application that late. This is an example timeline of how your application season will go down. If school ends mid August, then grades will be available late August (normally about ten days after the last day of class). You have to wait for that to submit your transcript and then the waiting time for AMCAS to add them to your application will pretty much finish off August. The earliest you could submit the application to be verified would be like September 1st.

However! That means add six-seven week on for your application to be verified. Your application would be finally submitted to schools around October 15th. You would get all your secondaries finished by late October to early November. That is what we call late. Your GPA is just not high enough to get interviews that late.

How many points will your GPA even go up? I don't think it is worth it. Plus, taking classes will subtract time from applying. You could use the extra time to proof-read and rewrite. This will increase your chances.

Keep in mind, this is just one person's advice. Hopefully more people write in on this.
 
well by the end of this spring semester I can bring my cGPA up to a 3.5 and my sGPA to a 3.4ish. If I were to take summer classes I could realistically bring up my cGPA to around a 3.55 or 3.56. I'm personally torn whether or not that .05 change in my gpa is worth it.
 
I agree with BABS.

Applying with a 3.4 and early is probably better than applying with a 3.5 and super late.

How is the rest of your application in terms of extracurriculars? Are you URM?

well by the end of this spring semester I can bring my cGPA up to a 3.5 and my sGPA to a 3.4ish. If I were to take summer classes I could realistically bring up my cGPA to around a 3.55 or 3.56. I'm personally torn whether or not that .05 change in my gpa is worth it.

Basically a 3.56 is the same as a 3.5 to an adcom. And a 3.45 is the same as a 3.4, etc.
 
DO NOT WAIT. NEVER EVER WAIT.

My protip is to pick a few schools you are 100% certain you will apply to, no matter what (state school, etc) and have your app ready to go (letters, transcripts, everything). On the first day possible, submit your app so that it can be verified. If you need to add schools later, you can do that. The key is getting everything else complete early so that you don't spend months waiting for AMCAS to verify you--that screwed me over pretty good this cycle.

In terms of grades, you can always send updates or include the info in your secondary. There are a few schools that will not accept any information after your app is complete (primary + secondary) so double check.
 
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