When To Apply (Saba)?

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Confused 20

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Hello, I am a college student who is very much interested in applying to Saba this summer in hopes of gaining admission into the January 2011 class. However, I feel that it may not be possibility for I to gain admittance because I do not have enough of the prerequisites. I plan on applying without the MCAT, Physics and Organic Chemistry II (will be taking Organic Chemistry II in fall 2009). If this is not a wise decision, then I hope to apply in early 2010 for the May 2011 class with all the recommended prerequisites except for the MCAT. Can you please provide for I an honest assessment on how likely my chances of gaining admittance will be? What plan should I follow: applying this summer without the MCAT, Physics, and Organic Chemistry II or applying in early 2010 for the May 2011 class with all the recommended prerequisites except the MCAT? A very brief synopsis of my
statistics are as follows:

B.A. in Political Science from the University of Connecticut (May 2009)
Overall GPA - 3.830
Science GPA - 3.810
Occupation - EMT Basic
Volunteer in local hospital Same Day Surgery Department - 855 hours
Research Assistant at UConn Health Center Genetics Lab- 205 hours
Research Assistant for Gonopodium Research Project - 1 semester
Research Assistant for Ascophyllum Research Project - 2 summers
Research Assistant for Guadalupe Research Project - 2 summers
Biology Tutor - 1 year
Excellence in Biology Award - 2007
New England Scholar - 3 times
Dean's List - 7 times
Phi Kappa Phi Honor Club Member
Golden Key Honor Club Member
National Merit Scholar Honor Club Member
Honor's Note - Economics
Capital Scholarship winner
Member of Premedical society - 1 year
Volunteer at Soup Kitchen - 2 years
2 Letters of Recommendation from Science Professors

No MCAT
No Physics
Will be taking Organic Chemistry II in Fall 2009

OR

All the above but with Physics and Organic Chemistry II
Applying in early 2010 for the May 2011 class
No MCAT

This is an extremely important dilemma that I am currently engulfed in. Thank you in advance to anyone who may provide any input on the above request. Have a great day.

Note: I do not plan to apply in the United States because of my age (which is a great deal older than that of the traditional applicant). If I were to apply in the United States I would take the MCAT in May 2011 and apply in the summer of 2011. This could be a great deal of wasted time because if I fail to earn a 30 on the MCAT(which is very likely) I of course would find the Caribbean as my only option.

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Note: I do not plan to apply in the United States because of my age (which is a great deal older than that of the traditional applicant). If I were to apply in the United States I would take the MCAT in May 2011 and apply in the summer of 2011. This could be a great deal of wasted time because if I fail to earn a 30 on the MCAT(which is very likely) I of course would find the Caribbean as my only option.

I hate to say this, but with your GPA not taking the MCAT and trying to get into a US school is somewhat shortsighted IMHO. You might do well on the MCAT. If you don't do well on the MCAT, you might not do well in medical school -- getting lowish grades in the Carib will seriously limit your options for residency. Getting lowish grades in a US school will still leave doors open. US Med schools seem open to non-trad applicants.

personally, I'd give the MCAT a shot. Perhaps you shouldn't wait until 2011-12 to take it -- try it in the near future and see how you do. If you bomb it, you can still apply to the carib and not release your scores (I think, or perhaps you have to release your scores? if so, then I guess there is a risk to taking it)
 
Agree with APD.
OP, how old is "old" to you?
I was 25 when I entered med school, and some classmates were older. I understand the not wanting to waste time, but think it would behoove you to forget about the maybe 1 year you'd be saving by going to the Carib straight off. You could try x one year to get into US schools, and consider DO schools as well if you don't get a great MCAT score. With your GPA, you might well get into a US school with <30 on the MCAT. You might not...but you might. And besides the MCAT is a test that can be studies for to some extent. Even if you dodge the MCAT by going to the Caribbean, you're going to have to pass 3 US medical licensing exams (2 before finishing med school) which are as hard as the MCAT, so you need to know that you can do decently on the MCAT (like mid to high 20's) or I'd really worry about you being about to pass the USMLE tests. If you can't then you'll never be able to practice medicine (as an MD) in the US. SABA is probably a decent school, but I think you'd be better off at least trying once for a US schools, even if you feel like you are "too old" or it wastes too much time. Med school + residency is a minimum of 7 years, so one extra year or so doesn't mean jack. Also, if you start @some Caribbean school off-cycle, I'm not sure when you'd be actually ready to do residency in the US...residencies only start once/year so you might not end up saving time, or would probably save 1 year @most...
 
Your age makes no difference unless you are over 35.
 
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