<p>I am currently attending The Pennsylvania state university for pre med. I am in the Philadelphia area and am looking to transfer out to Temple. My problem is, is that I currently work full time at a financial company ( yes completely out of my intended field) so this is causing me to only take 2 classes per semester. I was full time my first year and now part time. </p>
<p>My question is when should I plan to take my MCAT. </p>
<p>Stats
GPA: 2.6/4.00 (very bad)
completed all my gem chem and biology and working organic and physics</p>
<p>Get your GPA above a 3.2 before worrying about the MCAT. You have no real chance of getting into medical school with your GPA no matter how well you do on the MCAT. So focus on the GPA first, then worry about the MCAT.</p>
<p>Mmm, yes my gpa is my main concern at the moment. After my transfer I hope to get a fresh start at Temple. Is it common to take the MCAT spring of senior and have a year off? </p>
<p>This is what I’m doing, and what a lot of my friends have done… it’s not uncommon to take a year off. Since you have some serious GPA repair to do, you’ll want all the semesters of good grades you can get, meaning you should apply after you’ve finished your last semester, when you can include that semester’s grades in your GPA, so you’d probably want that year off anyway.</p>
<p>mmmcdowe is totally right. Really no point in taking the exam when your GPA is too low to be competitive, so first get your GPA up, then start thinking MCAT.</p>
Hmm…Just thought of a question. If a student from state A stays at state B during the gap year, will this student be considered by the medical schools as a resident of state A or a resident of state B when he applies in June in the year he graduates?</p>
<p>I’m guessing I would only make sense that it would apply to being considered a resident of state B. But I may be incorrect because I know some applications ask if you have been a resident of the state for more than 5 years or not.</p>
<p>It really depends on the state, a lot of states do residency differently. But yeah, it could affect where you qualify for instate tuition, so people who take a year off will want to look into the residency rules of both states.</p>