Applying to Med school: Gap year or no Gap year?

[medschoolhopeful!]

I am in my 1st sem. of my junior year @ Colgate University. My major is Molecular Bio & I have a cGPA of 3.61 & 3.43 for sciences. I know it is not ideal, but I also know that Colgate is known for grade deflation & some have told me that will be considered (?)

I am trying to decide if I need to take a gap year in order to be competitive for med school. Otherwise, I will sit for the MCAT this spring (study 4 months...while taking a lighter course load) & apply to medical school in the next cycle (June).


related info:

-studied a semester abroad
-have done over 100 hours of shadowing
-I am hispanic (not sure if that changes chances)
-Probably 50+ hours volunteering (both clinical and non-clinical)
-Involved in clubs on campus (not a leader in any though)
-both parents are physicians
-I know that I can get 2 very strong recommendation letters (one character letter from a boss and one from a non-science prof) and possibly a strong one from a physician I shadowed. I could get one from a science prof as well but I am not sure about how strong it would be.
-Also, I have not conducted any research (I will be my senior year, after applying)
-I don't have a preference for MD over DO so I am interested in my chances for both.

I know that taking a gap year could potentially help my GPA (and maybe even MCAT score because I could study over summer rather than in semester, although I will take a lighter course load) but I am wondering what my chances of acceptance are (I am assuming pretty low) without taking one.


So I guess my question is: What would you do/what are my chances? Would I be forcing it to apply this coming cycle? Or do I have a solid chance at acceptance if I do alright on the MCAT? Also, will studying for the MCAT while at school be too much? If I apply this cycle, will not having research before I apply look bad?

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[jvm317]

I think you have a solid chance of being accepted applying for this next coming cycle. Your GPA is at the median for most osteopathic and above for some schools. For MD I think you should raise the GPA closer to 3.6ish and an Mcat 512+ would be a asset to your application. Your URM status will defiantly be beneficial in terms of admissions. If you want to go DO I would aim for a MCAT of 505+ and you should get a good amount of offers.

 

[PapaGuava]

Take time to study for the MCAT and you shouldn't have too many issues getting offers from DO schools. I agree with what jvm said in regards to MD schools as well. Research won't be a huge deal breaker, its more of like the icing on top of the cake haha. So don't delay your application cycle based on waiting for research.

Be sure to stick around SDN, there is plenty of people/resources to help you along the way.

 

[sinigang14]

Taking a gap year allows you to not be as stressed. I think you should take the time to volunteer more to show adcoms your commitment and longevity towards service (as opposed to just the number of hours). Also, being hispanic means you are a URM and this will benefit you when applying to both MD and DO.

With that being said, i also believe you could apply for the 2019 - 2020 cycle and have success depending on your MCAT score. Good luck!

 

[medschoolhopeful!]

I think you have a solid chance of being accepted applying for this next coming cycle. Your GPA is at the median for most osteopathic and above for some schools. For MD I think you should raise the GPA closer to 3.6ish and an Mcat 512+ would be a asset to your application. Your URM status will defiantly be beneficial in terms of admissions. If you want to go DO I would aim for a MCAT of 505+ and you should get a good amount of offers.

did you mean 3.7ish for MD? Just wondering because I was thinking the same!

 

[On_The_Way_Up]

You need a gap year. You need more clinical and nonclinical volunteering. 50 hours isn’t much at all. You need research. Putting it down as a future activity isn’t the same as having already done it. Also a lot of schools require 2 letters from science professors. Some kind of leadership experience would be nice too.

Shadowing is good and GPA is good for DO schools and being a URM will be good for some MD schools.

I think you should take the gap year. Get that research in so you can actually talk about it on your application. More volunteer hours. Increase science GPA and get a couple solid letters of rec from science professors. More time to study for MCAT.

 

[gyngyn]

This thread may be followed here: Applying to Medical School: Gap year or no gap year?