MD & DO I need advice friends.

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So I have been out of school for over a year almost 2 (dec 2009) and I earned a bachelors degree in Biochemistry. Back in college, I wasnt too sure what I wanted to do and wasnt very focused on my work. I graduated with a not so stellar gpa and now after being out of school and working as home health attendant I realized medicine is the career pathway for me.
I know Im a little late on this but Im determined to make it happen and I have a great support system willing to help me through the process. These are my stats.

I graduated with a sgpa of 3.1 and overall gpa 3.4,
I have some hospital volunteering,
was a tech lead for a club in college,
have been working as home health attendant (take care of the health needs of old people) for about a year now(was job searching for over a year couldnt get anything and took)
did some acting in college(is that relevant?)

Im however not looking at those and being proactive about my life. I've decided to enroll in a clinical research assistant training program that will place me in a job upon completion and looking to start volunteering more to help my application. Im also going to take the mcat in march 2012




1. So now my question is how can i get a more competitive and hopefully be admitted to any of the school im going to be applying to.
2. I'm interested in ny state schools (resident). Can someone give me a list of very good ones that will be a good match for me.
3. I also need to know this- with my stats should I go ahead and work as a clinical research assistant or go for an smp program (like the ones designed to mainly fix gpa issues)
4. what are some other unconventional/conventional ways to spruce up my stats and help me get into a good school.

I know this aint a walk in the park and i need honest, objective answers from y'all knowledgeable pals. Thanks and please be NICE!!
pardon me for the long question.

Originally Posted by aspdocc

So I have been out of school for over a year almost 2 (dec 2009) and I earned a bachelors degree in Biochemistry. Back in college, I wasnt too sure what I wanted to do and wasnt very focused on my work. I graduated with a not so stellar gpa and now after being out of school and working as home health attendant I realized medicine is the career pathway for me.
I know Im a little late on this but Im determined to make it happen and I have a great support system willing to help me through the process. These are my stats.

I graduated with a sgpa of 3.1 and overall gpa 3.4,
I have some hospital volunteering,
was a tech lead for a club in college,
have been working as home health attendant (take care of the health needs of old people) for about a year now(was job searching for over a year couldnt get anything and took)
did some acting in college(is that relevant?)

Im however not looking at those and being proactive about my life. I've decided to enroll in a clinical research assistant training program that will place me in a job upon completion and looking to start volunteering more to help my application. Im also going to take the mcat in march 2012




1. So now my question is how can i get a more competitive and hopefully be admitted to any of the school im going to be applying to.
2. I'm interested in ny state schools (resident). Can someone give me a list of very good ones that will be a good match for me.
3. I also need to know this- with my stats should I go ahead and work as a clinical research assistant or go for an smp program (like the ones designed to mainly fix gpa issues)
4. what are some other unconventional/conventional ways to spruce up my stats and help me get into a good school.

I know this aint a walk in the park and i need honest, objective answers from y'all knowledgeable pals. Thanks and please be NICE!!
pardon me for the long question.

Biggest things I can say are:

1) Do some post-bacc course work (specifically in the BCPM) area to boost your sGPA. Ace each and every one of them and you will have the added benefit of improving your overall GPA. "Why?" - because you should so that you will need to show that you are capable of succeeding academically. Do at least 30 credit hrs.
2) Get the MSAR and look through the NY (and other) schools. This will give you the details that you are looking for and really is a great resource.
3) SMPs are very expensive. Your best bet would be to talk with the admissions staff at 1-2 schools and ask what they would recommend in or to strengthen you as an applicant. (Maybe post-bacc course work at a 4-yr school would be sufficient, and most likely MUCH cheaper).
4) Do you have any unique hobbies/activities? What about volunteering other than at a hospital? Very important since you are going to be a non-trad, you need to have some leadership as a part of your application (IMHO).

Originally Posted by aspdocc

So I have been out of school for over a year almost 2 (dec 2009) and I earned a bachelors degree in Biochemistry. Back in college, I wasnt too sure what I wanted to do and wasnt very focused on my work. I graduated with a not so stellar gpa and now after being out of school and working as home health attendant I realized medicine is the career pathway for me.
I know Im a little late on this but Im determined to make it happen and I have a great support system willing to help me through the process. These are my stats.

I graduated with a sgpa of 3.1 and overall gpa 3.4,
I have some hospital volunteering,
was a tech lead for a club in college,
have been working as home health attendant (take care of the health needs of old people) for about a year now(was job searching for over a year couldnt get anything and took)
did some acting in college(is that relevant?)

Im however not looking at those and being proactive about my life. I've decided to enroll in a clinical research assistant training program that will place me in a job upon completion and looking to start volunteering more to help my application. Im also going to take the mcat in march 2012




1. So now my question is how can i get a more competitive and hopefully be admitted to any of the school im going to be applying to.
2. I'm interested in ny state schools (resident). Can someone give me a list of very good ones that will be a good match for me.
3. I also need to know this- with my stats should I go ahead and work as a clinical research assistant or go for an smp program (like the ones designed to mainly fix gpa issues)
4. what are some other unconventional/conventional ways to spruce up my stats and help me get into a good school.

I know this aint a walk in the park and i need honest, objective answers from y'all knowledgeable pals. Thanks and please be NICE!!
pardon me for the long question.

1. Ace the MCAT. Getting a 40 will make you competitive for MD, getting a 24 will make you noncompetitive for DO. In between youll be fine for DO. Also on the application itself write a stellar personal statement and essays. Include everything that makes you different from everyone else even if its not related to medicine (including acting).

2. Apply to every school in NY both MD and DO and see what happens

3. Depends on whether or not your heart is set on MD as opposed to DO, your MCAT score, and aversion to reapplying. Ace the MCAT and be willing to reapply and you will be fine.

4. Its getting more competitive but numbers arent changing that much, what is changing is extracurricular activities etc. Have hundreds of hours of both clinical and non-clinical volunteering, shadowing, and research experience. Also have a story or two that stands out. Schools admit <<10% of applicants and its NOT the top 10% GPA/MCAT combination. Show in your application what sets you apart form EVERYONE else. Also do research on each school you apply to and show them you understand and fit their mission in your primary or secondary applicatoin. Good luck!

Alex

i don't agree that you're going to need a 40 to be competitive for MD, even though you have gpa repair work to do.

-you need to take science classes and up your sci gpa. if you did really bad in prereq classes might need to retake those. DO will replace your old grades MD will count the retake as a new class this may take time. it's probably worth taking that time and doing it right though, bc the app process is a long year. better to do it right, once.

-if you take the mcat march 2012, you're good to apply in summer 2013/2014. by summer 2015 that score will be expired so get a handle on what you need to do to prep for application.

-get your volunteering and shadowing going. dont just do it for a couple of months - LONG TERM commitments are important. your home health job is actually probably a good source of how you can talk about considering your idea and interacting with people. won't sub for clinical volunteering though bc in that kind of setting you get to interact with patients AND observe a healthcare setting/team/interaction which is good to be able to talk about. shadowing gives you a bit of an idea of real daily life. nonclinical volunteering/long term hobbies give you well-roundedness and give people an idea of you outside of medicine.

-consider now where your letters of rec will come from. jobs, academic profs, even organizations you volunteer for (though the one you HAVE to have is the profs and for some schools a research advisor if you had one). these are not unimportant so don't discount them.

anyway, make the big list o stuff you need to start doing and get long termthings started (like vol), then get your classes going however you do them, then once you're in the swing of being an awesome science academic i'd say do the mcat, and at that point you have a much stronger resume and story to hopefully get great recommendatins.

then apply EARLY and broadly, because no matter what awesomeness you do a lot of other people will blow you out of the water, so don't make assumptions about the process. good luck, it's a long road but it's also exciting!

Moving to 'what are my chances' forum.

Hello there,
I wanted to be sure about something. When you say "post bacc" isnt that for people that didnt major in a science in college. Do i still need to take a postbacc even with my biochemistry major. Thanks.

Originally Posted by aspdocc

Hello there,
I wanted to be sure about something. When you say "post bacc" isnt that for people that didnt major in a science in college. Do i still need to take a postbacc even with my biochemistry major. Thanks.

No, post-bacc just means taking courses after you've received your BS/BA degree. Some institutions have formal programs, but you can just as easily take classes as a non-degree seeking student. An individual make be taking undergrad &/or grad level courses and this term is used to signify that they are not seeking a master's degree.

I need friends in the first place.

Good to know. I have so many B's so i must consider taking some of those. Do you know if NYMC has a program like that.

For formal programs see: http://services.aamc.org/postbac/

For informal route: talk to your nearest 4 year college/university