This summer taking Bio+Chem I at community college, so far I’m top of my class in both, I’m in class 28 hours a week but don’t feel stressed really. So far so good…
Fall Take Physics I, Bio II and Chem II at community college, as well as volunteer
Spring Physics II, Orgo I, Advanced Biology course at 4 year school, continue volunteering, and do MCAT prep.
Summer 2011. Orgo II and take MCAT, probably in late July. Hopefully get out applications in late Aug-Early Sept.
The thing that bothers me about this is 1. I’d like more MCAT prep time and possibly an opportunity to take a but more advanced classes before taking MCAT (how much does that help?). 2. I don’t have any time to work in research really.
Anyway, I don’t have a job right now and am living off savings, I’d like to go to med school in 2012 because of that.
The thing I really dislike about this is from fall 2011-fall 2012 I really have nothing to do, which seems kinda wasteful considering how hard I’m working this next year.
Anyone got any suggestions? Thanks
PS One more option would be to take next summer off and just really prep for MCAT then take orgo II and any other school specific requirements I might need in fall of the next year. I am not sure how that will affect my MCAT or admission decision though since I’d be taking them after sending in my apps.
Also,
I could transfer to a 4 year school this fall. I’ve gotta get on that if I do though, probably making the decision this weekend.
imho you need both semesters of orgo to take the MCAT even though as of the most recent tests there seems to be a de-emphasis on orgo and more emphasis on bio in the BS section.
i braved the beast 3 times.
the first i only studied 4 months while i was taking classes…BIG mistake!! it was not enough time to prep me properly and i found out that i was reteaching myself physics. my score suffered as a result.
the second time i took a kaplan course. i think this helped some because it gave me a schedule. this was over the summer when i had nothing else going on. the drawback is that it didnot allow me to focus in on areas where i felt i was weak because there was a lot of busiwork associated with the class. i did end up scoring 2 points higher than previously though.
the last time i took it i self studied again. i knew my weak point (physics) and spent a majority of my studying time devoted to that. i also reviewd the other material as well but i really hit and focused in on physics. i started studying in feb while i was in classes but had a lighter load, amped it up over the summer and braved the beast in august. i ended up scoring 2 points higher than i did previously and am now on my way to med school.
can you take it after you take second semester orgo? absolutely
would i recommend that? not if it can be avoided.
My suggestion: slow down. Submitting your med school applications in August/September is TOO LATE! Many schools have early deadlines for secondaries, and by September, many interview slots have already been given away. So you’re putting yourself at a HUGE disadvantage if you apply that late in the cycle. As we heard at the OldPreMeds conference last month, you want to get your med school applications in by mid-June. That will give you the best shot at getting in.
As I’ve heard so many say on this forum, this is a marathon, not a sprint …
If I don’t get in to somewhere I am willing to go then I can just reapply the next year right?
You should not apply to a school to which you are not “willing” to go. From what I understand if you are offered acceptance and decline the offer you are very unlikely to gain acceptance again. Unless there is an extenuating circumstance such as a death in the family that would not allow you to pursue your training at that time. If your attitude is if you don’t get in to where you want you will just wait a year, then just wait the year and make your application count.
I have also heard that “reapplication” raises a flag for adcoms.
- LJSimpson Said:
This issue was also raised at the OPM conference in June. If you don't get in somewhere, and then you want to reapply, you can't just reapply with the same application -- the school will want to see IMPROVEMENT in your application.
You need find out from the school (as in, call them) why you didn't get in, and then do things to fix those problems (i.e., do you need more volunteer work, shadowing, upper level coursework, better MCAT, etc.).
- HeyEveryone Said:
The thing I really dislike about this is from fall 2011-fall 2012 I really have nothing to do, which seems kinda wasteful considering how hard I'm working this next year.
To answer this, pretty much everyone who's an OPM is in this boat -- this is your "glide" year. You can take upper-division courses (ie, biochem or microbio if you didn't have time during your other pre-reqs), get some more clinical experience, etc. Or maybe work and save up some money.
The point is, that's just how the cycle goes for non-traditional students. There's not really a way to squeeze that gap closed, as far as I know.