<p>I will be a senior in the fall, and I have considered applying to med school. I have a GPA and MCAT scores that are on track for the school that I want to apply to.</p>
<p>But my problem is that I am graduating college a year early. I have 84 credits at the moment, and will have to complete the 08-09 year and the summer I (2009) session at my school before I can graduate (so I will graduate August 2009). However, at this time, I have completed all required courses for med school. Also, I have only taken 3 upper divison classes so far. But I will have my degree before I start in the fall of 2009.</p>
<p>Do you think that this will negatively affect my admissions, and so should wait out a year and then apply?</p>
<p>I know that each school is different, and the school told me that if I have completed the required courses, I must apply and wait. My pre-med advisor told me basically the same thing. What do you think?</p>
<p>I'm still a pre-med myself, but I've done a lot of reading on this type of subject and your advisor is right. </p>
<p>If you're graduating in 3 years and planning on going straight into med school, then the med schools that you're applying to will only see 2 years of grades (much like when you were in high school applying to college). This will make it harder for a medical school admissions panel to judge you as compared to an applicant that has 3 years of grades. </p>
<p>Additionally, finishing college next summer and going straight into med school would be a pain in the butt. I'll give someone else the chance to write the detailed "why are you rushing things" talk, but even if you have a sound reason to want to go straight through, in terms of your admissions potential you should wait. Even if your GPAs and MCATs are good for the school you want to apply to, keep in mind that it might not be high enough for the 14 other schools you'll be applying to (to have a good shot, many med school applicants apply to 12-18 schools; tho idk your specific circumstances and maybe your GPA and MCAT are stellar)</p>
<p>I have some friends that are EMTs and are spending their year before medical school getting their applications together and working on an EMS crew for private ambulances for fire departments. Alternatively, many people that are into research spend that gap year doing research. Many people get medically-related jobs.</p>
<p>Lastly, that extra year will allow you to get letters of rec from professors who are teaching you during your "senior"/last year, which is helpful because many times your senior year classes will be a lot smaller than what you get as a freshman/sophomore.</p>