<p>My freshman gpa is around a 3.4 at a top 15 university. My science gpa is a 3.3. Is it even worth it for me to keep considering medical school?</p>
<p>Also, I'm planning on studying abroad junior year. Should I study abroad in fall and plan to apply to medical school in spring of junior year? Or should I study abroad in spring of junior year and apply to med school a year late?</p>
<p>If i do apply a year late (which I am leaning towards), what do I do for a year? Do med schools care what you do? Or does it have to be med-school related? Like what if I spent a year abroad, doing, something random? like coaching kids in basketball?</p>
<p>You still have a shot, and you could always retake a few classes to boost your DO school applications. I think applying a year late is a good idea. It has to be something other than sitting around on your butt. It’s a great opportunity to build up service or health related ECs, however. I know people who have coached youth sports during their time off.</p>
<p>I can tell you right now that if you plan on studying abroad your junior year, it will be near impossible for you to apply to medical school in spring of junior year (That is actually one of my regrets of this whole premed thing). You will not be able to fulfill all your reqs, will barely have time to prepare for the MCAT and if your school has a premed Committee , it wont give you the necessary exposure for them to get to know you (and write you a strong Committee Letter).</p>
<p>You still have time to raise your GPA (which you will have to) so probably the best thing would be to take a gap year - do research, travel, do volunteer work, get involved with the community in something you genuinely like and…enjoy it !!</p>
<p>TOTALLY disagree that you cannot study abroad and apply to med school. I studied abroad in the Fall (although it wouldn’t have changed anything if I had gone in the spring) and 100% had no problem applying. All of my science classes were done by the end of sophomore year, took the MCAT summer before I went abroad, and then applied the SUMMER before senior year. There is no rule that you need to be in the US for any part of the application process except getting to your interviews! Talk to your schools premed advisor, but why would it be a problem to meet with them before you go abroad, and ask for the letters of recommendation before you go away for the semester in person. Then all follow up can be through email. Just like you should never not major in your passion just because you are premed, you shouldn’t not go abroad because of it. No only is it great for you on a personal level - but it makes you a far more interesting medical school applicant to the schools.</p>
<p>Your grades are FINE. Don’t let people freak you out. It was your first year. Work hard, do well, and just bring it up next year.</p>
<p>And do anything you want with a gap year. Teaching basketball abroad is a fantastic idea. It’s that kind of stuff med schools eat up. No one cares about doing something related to medicine. As long as you are doing something you enjoy, go for it. However - it could be a pain to INTERVIEW while abroad. I know some people who did it. They basically had to come back to the US for a month or two, or three (depending on how they scheduled it) to go to all the interviews.</p>
<p>Grades are fine for URM, otherwise GPA is low. Chance of improving? The first year is easiest… These are the facts. Perfect grades are very possible, but they need adjustment in working habits. Some pre-meds are skipping abroad for the reason that they cannot fit it in their schedule. Clarifying your goals and setting priorities would be very helpful at this point. At least, you are trying to plan, good starting point. Gap year needs to be discussed with your family. Some kids cannot afford it because of their family situation. Finding ANY positions job/internships/volunteering… is very difficult now because of economic conditions. Connections are plus. Do you have any? If so, use them even if you would hate your future job. ANY job is a good one, there are hundreds who would be happy to have ANY job. Be realistic about your current situation and goals .</p>
<p>I do not think that OP is confident about completing the MCAT before Junior year at this point. If OP decides to postpone taking the MCAT after 6 weeks of preparation during next summer, would studying abroad during Junior year require OP to restart the MCAT preparation the summer before senior year?</p>
<p>VassarGrad, I am glad that the semester abroad worked for you without taking a gap year. I do not know anyone in my school who has been able to pull that and it probably has to do with the timing and offering of certain courses. In fact, 70% of premeds who apply from my school end up doing so AFTER a gap year. I am in the minority 30% who is doing it summer prior to senior. The advising office encourages us to take our time and explore!</p>
<p>No one has said that there is a rule that you need to be in the US for interviews. As a matter of fact, no one is mentioning ANY rules here. However, for someone with a GPA of 3.4 and 3.3 (which is not that FINE, by the way), taking a semester abroad may be
a little too distracting, and grades may suffer. That’s all.</p>
<p>Your fine. Chill out. Most (Northwestern/WashU/Cornell/UChicago,–I don’t know about others) top 15 schools have a 80-90 percent acceptance rate for students with 3.5+science/3.5+overall/30 mcat scores. From my friends who go to top 15 schools (Cornell/UChicago/Northwestern/WashU), the upper level science classes get easier after you are done with the basic sciences. The intro classes are used to weed out a lot of pre-meds, but after kids are weeded out, the upper level classes are easier (profs aren’t as afraid to give out As). As a result, your science gpa should go up, as should your overall gpa.</p>
<p>
^^^ MiamiDap, schools vary A LOT. </p>
<p>
Curm did your D study abroad her senior year? I am thinking about studying abroad at LSE my senior year, but if it is too much of a hassle with interviews, assuming I get any, I might not do it.</p>
<p>“Curm did your D study abroad her senior year? I am thinking about studying abroad at LSE my senior year, but if it is too much of a hassle with interviews, assuming I get any, I might not do it.”</p>
<p>I am friends with a couple of people who were abroad during interviews, and I have interviewed a few people living abroad at the time. It’s pretty difficult, but can be done. It’s a very expensive way to interview as well - it either requires returning to the states for one or a few extended periods of time, and being okay not interviewing at places that won’t grant you interviews outside of that window, or doing a lot of flying. I wouldn’t recommend studying abroad while interviewing since you would be missing a substantial amount of class time.</p>
<p>It wouldn’t be hard to be living abroad the summer of applications though, as long as you have good internet access, are in a country with a reliable postal service, and are willing to spend time while abroad working on secondary applications.</p>
<p>By the way - I am in no way suggesting that students should power through for the sake of making it to the finish line. I am all for exploring - and did quite a bit of it myself. However, I am saying that for students who do not want to take a gap year, it is possible to study abroad. More importantly, I was trying to say that one shouldn’t NOT study abroad just because they are premed. Studying abroad is one of the most amazing experiences any student can have - and is a really unique way to experience another culture - a way you likely will never have the opportunity to do again. I would encourage every college student to go abroad. Maybe your schools make this more difficult than my did, and if they do, it is most unfortunate.</p>
<p>This is also what i was able to do. I did a summer language immersion in France but between Soph and Junior year. I consider myself fortunate enough!</p>