Does staying for a 5th year help you get into Med School?

Pre-Med & Medical School Pre-Med Topics
1

<p>I go to the University of Michigan, and I'm considering staying for a 5th year to boost my GPA, have some more clinical experience, and do more research in order to have a higher chance of getting into medical schools.</p>

<p>My GPA isn't the best because of my freshman year, so that's one of the reasons I really want to boost it. If you take my freshman year out of the equation though, I have a decently good GPA. Do you think if I mentioned this during the interview, med school admissions would understand? Is there usually a place on applications where I can mention this?</p>

<p>Also, if I apply to a certain medical school, but don't get in, and then apply again after staying for a 5th undergraduate year, then would my chances be lower than if I just applied after my 5th year alone? The reason I ask this is because I heard that some med schools have your application flagged after the first time you apply, so if you apply a second time they'll know and it might decrease your chances.</p>

<p>Thank you for any light you can shed on this topic!</p>

2

<p>also curious about how 5th year is looked at</p>

3

<p>If your GPA is not very good, I suggest doing a SMP rather than staying for extra years. With so many years of undergrad already under your belt, staying a 5th year isn’t going to make as much of an impact as if you just do a SMP and get good grades.</p>

4

<p>Don’t worry, several people I know even did a 6th year and got in just fine. Also, if you’re not in the US, I wouldn’t recommend a SMP because it’s only in the US (Canada has 4 but they are very expensive and no scholarship is available).</p>

5

<p>Taking a fifth year is great, but don’t think you have to be in school to take a year off.</p>

6

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<p>If they don’t bring it up in the interview, you shouldn’t either. And they are unlikely to bring it up, unless your grades are just dismal. Med schools tend to give you a bit of a break on freshman year grades.</p>

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<p>Well yeah, they’re going to know, but its not a huge red flag or anything. Think about it - half of the people who apply to med school in a given year won’t get in anywhere. Lots of those will reapply the next year. Reapplying in an of itself won’t decrease your chances. Reapplying without having improved your application certainly will, however.</p>