Medical Education US

So, I am at an interesting point of decision. I am former military, and just finishing up my first year of pre-med undergraduate work. After this past year of school, I have begun to narrow decisions on medical school based on my performance so far...when I began after I left the Navy I didn't even know for sure if I was even capable of getting decent grades. Now I sit at roughly a 3.95 overall weighted GPA, and found out I really love Biology. I narrowed my choice of medical schools down to the most consistently ranked top ten primary care schools, which, unbelievably, includes Harvard. I have been thinking over whether or not even considering sending an application to Harvard (after MCATs, etc), and have come to this conclusion: If I set my sights high enough to put Harvard on my list, in the event that I fall short I will still land somewhere respectable.

Here is a potential dilemma though:

Since I have realized this is a possibility for me, I have discovered that I will need to spend an extra semester finishing up all the requirements and recommended courses that Harvard has listed, which my major (Biology) does not require. The extra semester comes from my starting University in the spring, which causes some fall/spring only courses to be pushed farther out in my schedule; it also comes from pursuit of a minor in intercultural studies that I am working toward in addition to my concentration. Trying to finish all of these things in 8 semesters is not an option as it puts me over 21 units per semester from now until graduation.

My question comes in this form: Considering the extra semester (for a total of 4.5 years of undergrad work before med school), does that put me at a disadvantage? Is my goal of Harvard unreasonable?

Some additional stats that may help answer my question: My field in the military was as a Medic, I deployed twice with the Marines (this gave me extensive clinical and field experience as both an aide to a pcp and as and acting pcp), I am currently 25 and married, and spend my summers doing 3-ish month long volunteer stints at kid's church camps.

jfowler85,

As you are just finishing your first year of college, you are very early to be considering options for medical school. Most people apply to multiple medical schools and select those later in their course of study. I think a common approach for solid applicants is to select 3 schools where you think you definitely should be accepted, 3 schools that you may get accepted but maybe not, and 3 schools that are "reach" schools that you think you probably won't be accepted but might get lucky. Everyone has their own reasons for how they select where they are applying.

First off - going to college for 5 years (or 4.5) vs 4 years should have no impact on your medical school application. As long as you graduate and meet the pre-med requirements, you can apply.

Anyone can apply to Harvard (unless they have rejected you twice already or are already in medical school). I'm sure you see the flaw in the logic that just because you set your sights high enough to include Harvard does not mean that you will land somewhere decent.

I'm not sure which requirements at Harvard would require an additional semester beyond the typical medical school requirements. I didn't review the new requirements Harvard will have for students entering in 2016 or later, as you would be entering medical school before that time. Based on what I read on the Harvard Medical School requirements page, it seems they will accept the pretty standard coursework of:

1 year biology with lab
2 years chemistry with lab
1 year physics
They do require 1 year of calculus which most medical schools don't require - but I think most medical students probably have taken calculus
They also have an expository writing requirement which most medical schools don't require. I would imagine most college graduates have at least one course that would meet this requirement.

They also mention some general recommended coursework, which I also think most students who would be applying to Harvard would have completed.

If you keep your GPA high (although I'm not sure what you mean by "weighted" GPA - as that can mean several different things) and do well on your MCAT, you will be a solid candidate for a variety of medical schools. Getting accepted to Harvard, though, is one of those difficult to predict sort of things. My uneducated impression is that they tend to look at many more factors than most medical schools. They will look more closely at your particular undergraduate school and what unique experiences you bring to their medical school class. They may be looking for someone just like you.