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You should apply when you have the best possible app. Rushing things will only hurt, as will trying to hold to some un realistic schedule.Hey! So I just want to throw some of my thoughts out here to see if I can get a second opinion. I'll try to stick to the relevant information. I am pretty sure I know what advice I'll be given, but perhaps there are additional things that I haven't thought of, that one of you may present.
I suppose I am *slightly* late to the pre-med process. I am 23 years-old, soon going on 24 years-old. I will finish my bachelor's degree in the next 2-3 semesters, depending on how COVID-19 affects the classes offered at my university.
Plan #1:
So far, my plan has been to finish my MCAT-prep courses by the end of June 2021 and take the MCAT soon thereafter, ideally by the end of June. Assuming my MCAT is competitive, I would apply immediately as a part of the 2021 cycle, with the intent to matriculate in 2022.
~ Benefits of Plan #1:
This option is probably the more attractive option, as I feel I would be 25 at the start of medical school, which is already somewhat late in my opinion. Assuming I chose to pursue family medicine, I wouldn't be out of residency until I was 30-32. I could easily be wrong, but that feels pretty late to get started in my career. This would allow me to start my career a little earlier.
~ Challenges of Plan #1:
If I chose to apply this summer, the next few months of my life will be very busy and may detract from my ability to prepare for the MCAT and do well in coursework. I am expecting to be getting married to my girlfriend this spring and move-in together. Obviously that may take a lot of my attention away from coursework and MCAT prep. In addition, I will be carrying a science-heavy spring semester that will require diligence to perform well. This plan would also require that I take biochemistry in a shortened summer semester. COVID-19 has weakened by shadowing and volunteering experience and I would go into applications with a bit of a deficit in those areas.
Plan #2:
In this instance, I essentially postpone my MCAT by about 6-8 months and apply in the 2022 cycle, with the expectation of matriculating in 2023 at 26 years-old.
~ Benefits of Plan #2:
If I decided to do this, I wouldn't have to cram getting married, finishing up a science-heavy spring semester, and then cramming biochemistry into a shortened summer semester. This would also allow me to prepare for the MCAT without such chaos, take the MCAT earlier in the cycle (around Feb/March 2022), and complete my application/secondaries earlier and likely with higher quality. In addition, I would hope that such an extension of time would allow additional shadowing and volunteering (weak areas of my app) as COVID-19 becomes less of an issue (assuming a reliable vaccine is widely available). An ancillary benefit would be the additional time to work and save for medical school to try and lessen the impact of inevitable student loans.
~ Challenges of Plan #2:
Really the only challenge I see here is just the delay it will cause. As I said prior, I feel quite late to the premed process. This plan would have my matriculation at 26 years-old as opposed to a year earlier, with the likelihood of not seeing residency until after I am 30 years-old. I am not sure it should be of such concern, but it does give me hesitation.
What do you think? Obviously my major concern is how I feel that I am already late to the premed process and that waiting another year may cause harm to my future career. I think this may be an unreasonable concern, but I am hoping for additional opinions on the subject.
*Sorry I wrote so much...
30 years old is nothing. Some of my all time best students have been in thier 30s and 40s.
