What were your stats?

Age when you applied: 28 (current cycle)

cGPA (cumulative GPA): 3.8 upon completion of BA in History, 3.7 when applying.

sGPA (science GPA): 4.0 upon completion of degree, 3.6 when applying.

MCAT:32Q 10ps 11bs 11vr March 2011
32R 9ps 12bs 11vr April 2008 (re-taken due to nearing expiration date for most schools)

Extra Curriculars: Various jobs, including tutoring during undergrad while earning bachelors. Started hospital volunteering same month as applying, <30 hrs at that plus a couple hours shadowing pediatrician my only clinical experience by time of interview. No research/leadership listed. Worked in post-Katrina New Orleans as a security guard for 3 months. Worked in 3 chemistry lab-based jobs, including current job at a biomedical tech company performing chemical synthesis.

Did you do a post bacc? (Formal/self done): Yes, self-organized, completed all pre-reqs in spring 2008, took additional classes toward a BS in Biochemistry as required by current job, including Calc I through III (including C+'s in II and III ), Stats, metabolism, p-chem, pharmacology of drug addiction.

Age when you applied:35
cGPA (cumulative GPA):3.73
sGPA (science GPA): 3.76
MCAT:25 M (9 Bio, 9 Verbal, 7 Physical)
Extra Curriculars: various coaching/teaching related activities; DO shadowing;
I'm also a dentist of 10 years
Did you do a post bacc? (Formal/self done): None

Any wise words for other non-trads?: I was pretty shocked at how heavily the MCAT was considered. I have not taken a science course since 2000 and premed courses were in 1994, so I thought I did alright with 2.5 months studying. Only a few schools valued my clinical experience as a dentist. However, I am going to my number one choice next June!

Age when you applied: 35

cGPA:2.80 (Bachelors in Comp. Sci was 2.56)
sGPA: 3.09
Grad GPA: 3.00 (International Management)

MCAT:34O 11P/12V/11

Extra Curriculars: 12 years management experience in Japanese auto industry, long-term volunteer with Boy Scouts, ~70hrs shadowing, moderate large online medical patient community, have adopted medical needs children
Did you do a post bacc? (Formal/self done): self done, I took 44 hrs of lab sciences in 17 months (4 semesters including summer).

Any wise words for other non-trads?: Don't underestimate the power of motivation and be honest with yourself along the way. My grades say don't even apply, yet I have one DO acceptance, one MD wait-list and the results of an excellent MD interview due next week. I credit this more than anything to the fact that I wanted it more than words can express.

Age when you applied: 24, 29,30,31
cGPA (cumulative GPA): 3.2
sGPA (science GPA): 2.5
MCAT:24P (the 3rd time)
Extra Curriculars: Worked as ward clerk/ CNA for 7 years
Did you do a post bacc? (Formal/self done): Self post bacc 3 yrs after graduation. Chem I/II, Orgo I/II, Orgo lab, Biochem, Phys I/II and worked full time, had one child. GPA for that year 3.9 (pure science) I had my bio and math grades that didn't need fixing.

Any wise words for other non-trads?: Don't give up if you really want it. Just because you don't get into "your top school" doesn't mean its the end of the world. If you have to move out of state, then move. Can you do it with family? Yes. Do you miss out on their lives? No. Can you expect to be in the medical field you think you deserve? Maybe. Will you be a doctor? Absolutely.

I'd love for this to be stickie

Lots more of this here: http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=675835

lnphan said:

I'd love for this to be stickie

Click to expand...

I'll link it to the FAQs sticky, but I can't give every thread its own sticky or we'd have about 100 of them.


Age when you applied: 30
cGPA (cumulative GPA): N/A (I went to a P/F college.)
sGPA (science GPA): N/A
MCAT: 43S (14PS, 14VR, 15BS)

Extra Curriculars: 15+ year history of volunteering in various capacities (including co-founding the MCAT Q&A subforum on SDN), 10+ years of research experience (have an MS and PhD in organic chemistry and also had two years of part time clinical research experience), 10+ years of teaching experience through Kaplan and two years as a chemistry instructor at my university, listed several jobs (all research or service-based, one international job in a remote location that was the single EC I got asked about most often)

Did you do a post bacc? (Formal/self done): No, I had taken all prereqs in college and chose not to re-take them for grades.

Any wise words for other non-trads?: See this post. And actually, read the whole thread if you haven't already while you're at it, because I don't think there's a better collection of success stories and app advice anywhere on SDN. Those of you who just got accepted this cycle should please feel free to add your own stories.

QofQuimica said:

I'll link it to the FAQs sticky, but I can't give every thread its own sticky or we'd have about 100 of them.


Age when you applied: 30
cGPA (cumulative GPA): N/A (I went to a P/F college.)
sGPA (science GPA): N/A
MCAT: 43S (14PS, 14VR, 15BS)

Extra Curriculars: 15+ year history of volunteering in various capacities (including co-founding the MCAT Q&A subforum on SDN), 10+ years of research experience (have an MS and PhD in organic chemistry and also had two years of part time clinical research experience), 10+ years of teaching experience through Kaplan and two years as a chemistry instructor at my university, listed several jobs (all research or service-based, one international job in a remote location that was the single EC I got asked about most often)

Did you do a post bacc? (Formal/self done): No, I had taken all prereqs in college and chose not to re-take them for grades.

Any wise words for other non-trads?: See this post. And actually, read the whole thread if you haven't already while you're at it, because I don't think there's a better collection of success stories and app advice anywhere on SDN. Those of you who just got accepted this cycle should please feel free to add your own stories.

Click to expand...

Wow!! I needed you before I took on the MCAT!!!

drgioiadds said:

Wow!! I needed you before I took on the MCAT!!!

Click to expand...

Heh, my MCAT days are long over; I took the test seven years ago, stopped modding the MCAT forum five years ago, and stopped teaching MCAT classes three years ago. I may apply to teach USMLE in a couple of years after I get licensed and finish my residency though. We'll see.

QofQuimica said:

MCAT: 43S (14PS, 14VR, 15BS)

Click to expand...

I almost fell over when I read this. WOW! Amazing!

Ok, now that I feel completely humbled... I have to go study. Great thread guys.

Age: 32
GPA: cumulative/science 3.2
MCAT: 11VR, 12BS, 12PS
Post-Bacc: Upper level sciences 44 credits, 4.0
Accepted: MD

Age when you applied: 37 and 38, turned 40 four weeks into my first semester of med school (accepted DO in 2nd app cycle)
cGPA (cumulative GPA): 3.7
sGPA (science GPA): 3.4
MCAT: 27Q (the 2nd time)
Extra Curriculars: volunteered at an animal shelter but otherwise no standard ECs because I had been working for over a decade with patients at various jobs.
Did you do a post bacc? (Formal/self done): self done
Any wise words for other non-trads?: As much as you can, try to have a strong science background before you start med school. A science degree is really best if you have the option. Take anatomy before med school. I know people will disagree with this but the people in my class who had anatomy prior to med school had less trouble. I also recommend biochem, immuno, genetics, cell bio. I don't have a strong science background, it has been years since I was in school, I am struggling because almost EVERYTHING is new to me.

I'm going to have to agree with Helen. Take as many upper level science courses as you can. Many of the subjects like biochem, immunology, and genetics are glossed over in med school, and they expect you to understand (memorize) some of the advanced details without thoroughly covering the basics. It's nice to have that additional exposure. Undergrad A&P is nothing compared to the medical school version, but it gives you a great foundation. A&P is a great introductory course to acquaint yourself with medical terminology.

I'd say take anatomy if possible - studying for anatomy is very different imo then studying for any other course. it is super helpful if you've taken a basic anatomy course before at least to have a general outline of where things are in the body and basic terminology (distal/proximal/medial/saggital) before learning all the details you have to learn in medical school.

Physio is helpful but I'd say not so much as anatomy. But physio does help for the MCAT.

Age:25
cGPA 3.7 science same
MCAT 35
Informal post-bac
EC: worked as a staff nurse for 3 then as a charge nurse for a year and a half. Volunteered at a hospice and did some free clinic work.

Age when you applied: 33
cGPA (cumulative GPA): 3.67
sGPA (science GPA): 3.57
MCAT: 31Q 8PS, 11VR, 12BS
Extra Curriculars: lots of volunteering (tutoring, soup kitchen, hospital ER), full-time researcher in lab at top 20 medical school, undergrad research, lots of jobs.

Did you do a post bacc? Did a non-thesis MS in Biology. This was a great choice for me. I was able to take a variety of upper level bio courses that I thought would prepare me for med school (advanced physiology, endocrinology, histology, immunology, neurobiology, virology, etc). Plus, I gained teaching experience by being a TA for undergrad science labs (also gave me tuition waiver and stipend).

Any wise words for other non-trads?: I would say to learn as much as possible about the admissions process and requirements for individual schools early on, like a year or more before you apply. That way you aren't scrambling for letters or trying to round off your ECs and clinical experience at the last minute. Also, don't underestimate the significance of your life experience. Simply being old won't get you into a school, but it will help convince admissions committees that you'll contribute to the diversity of their class, and that's very desirable. I'm not done with the admissions process yet, but things have worked out pretty well so far. I have one DO acceptance, one MD waitlist, and another MD interview coming up. Wish me luck!

Age when you applied: 24
cGPA (cumulative GPA): 3.19
sGPA (science GPA): 3.05
MCAT: 29 N (12 PS, 7 VR not to make any excuses but I genuinely ran out of time on this section- the passages were huge!, 10 BS)
Extra Curriculars: Important ones are extensive volunteering and shadowing, tutoring, community service at a cultural center. A bunch of other ECs but I don't want to bore you.
Did you do a post bacc? (Formal/self done): NO
Any wise words for other non-trads?: Apply early and broadly ( I can't even explain to you how major this will be), have strong LORs and a wide variety of ECs especially if you're non-traditional.

Age when you applied: 27

cGPA: (cumulative GPA): 3.38

sGPA: (science GPA): 3.41

MCAT: 33S (13PS 10V 10BS)

Extra Curriculars: I did a lot of health related volunteering as well as non-health related volunteering. I am an officer of the student veterans organization on campus. Several years of leadership from being an non-comissioned officer in the military.

Did you do a post bacc? (Formal/self done): No

Any wise words for other non-trads? GPA isn't everything. When I was first looking into this process it seemed like everywhere I looked there was an overwhelming number of people claiming that getting into medical school with anything less than a 3.5 was impossible. I knew my GPA was going to be a weak spot from the beginning and did everything I could to offset it by making every other part of my application as strong as possible. Also I should mention that my low GPA is not solely as a result of poor grades in the past. I took on very heavy course loads after returning to school in 2009 and got a lot of Bs mixed in with a handful of As. In fact I got nothing but Bs in the two semesters right before applying. Of course if As are possible they are better, but I just wanted to share a success story from someone who isn't a grades superstar. I applied only to the state M.D. schools in Texas, got interviews at five of the seven and prematched to three of those I interviewed at on Tuesday, the very first day of prematch, including my top choice. Grades are important but they are definitely not everything.

Age when you applied: 21, 34
cGPA (cumulative GPA): 2.87 (AFTER my postbacc )
sGPA (science GPA): 3.00 (AFTER my postbacc )
MCAT: 31, 32 (1997, 1998 or thereabouts)
38S in 2009
BS 13, PS 14, VR 11, S
Extra Curriculars:
150 hours in ER

Did you do a post bacc?
One year (2 semesters) DIY Post-bacc program (took upper level Bio courses, got to know the faculty really well)

You can see my MD Apps page for more details.

Any wise words for other non-trads?
Take this seriously, act professionally, and you may find great success. I think you have to go "all-in". While this may be scary, no matter how it turns out you'll know you tried your hardest.

I forget if it was NTF or someone else, but they once said you have to have that "fire in your belly" to do this. N=1, but man - I surprised even my most ardent supporters (not to mention myself).

Arrode said:

I'm in the process of doing my post-bacc work as a non-traditional applicant. I wondered what accepted non-trad's stats were if they were accepted to medical school. If you were accepted to med school, consider yourself a non-trad, and want to share please tell the rest of us hopefuls about your stats! Share as much or as little as you feel comfortable with.

I'm just curious because I consider myself a med school underdog due to my lower than average GPA (3.4) and normal extra curriculars.


Age when you applied:
cGPA (cumulative GPA):
sGPA (science GPA):
MCAT:
Extra Curriculars:
Did you do a post bacc? (Formal/self done):
Preclinical honors:
Step 1:
Clinical honors:
Research:
Any wise words for other non-trads?:

Click to expand...

Fixed.

Age when you applied: 29
cGPA (cumulative GPA): 3.1
sGPA (science GPA): 2.7
MCAT: 30M (12BS, 11VS, 7PS)

Extra Curriculars: This is where I shined, with a lot of really high quality EC's.

I volunteered at a summer camp for teenage cancer patients for 3 summers.

I volunteered as a medical assistant for 3 years at a Free Clinic for Homeless Patients.

I did a 1 year service internship ($20K stipend to support myself while I volunteered for the homeless clinic 40 hours per week). During that time I did a lot of really cool things, like training the volunteer docs in the use of the clinic's new EHR (this meant a few hundred hours of shadowing as I usually saw the patients with the doctors). I also organized a huge H1N1 vaccination campaign where I had other pre-meds help with paperwork and vaccine administration (those who were licensed and trained to do so). We vaccinated around 4,000 people, 2nd highest total in the state (after the state health department system).

Advanced EMT trained, used the skills at the free clinic. Started IV's, wound care etc.

I also spent a summer aboard a US Navy hospital ship as a volunteer medic. Including a week on camping in a remote part of East Timor for a Primary Care clinic. There I did wound care, crowd control, assisted the physicians whenever possible, and translated (portuguese).

I've also started a family (wife and 2 kids).

Did you do a post bacc? (Formal/self done): No

Any wise words for other non-trads?: Work hard, don't let ANYONE tell you that you won't succeed. Take as much science as you can, because you're going to get slammed with a lot of science right from day one in medical school. Not that that's a surprise, but I can see classmates who did the bare minimum struggling, and I wonder if it's because they're not that comfortable with science in general?

Also, like someone above me said, take Anatomy. I took it, didn't even try that hard and made a B-, yet as a result I've still not felt the need to study for anatomy at all. Perhaps my class in undergrad was abnormally excellent, but it's made things easy.

Last of all, ADCOM's know (at least the members at my school do) that non-trads, especially those with kids, really tend to do well. I've been told many times that the school notices that most of their best students have families, they attribute that to the no-nonsense attitude toward studying that people with other large responsibilities tend to take. Not that we're the best in our class, but we're all excelling as far as I can tell.

Lastly, be confident. You need to sell yourself during this process and confidence goes a long way!

I only applied once, had my eye on a particular school, interviewed only there, and got in. I attribute it to knowing what the school was looking for, knowing what I was looking for, and making sure those two things lined up. I'm as happy as can be with my school, and can honestly say I'd have turned down an acceptance at just about any other program in the country to go here, it's made a lot of difference.

My data points:

• My MDApplicants profile
• My contribution to the "Non-Trad 'Secrets' of Success" thread

Best of luck to you, OP!

Age when you applied: 29. Applied to around 15 allopathic schools - admitted to two.
cGPA (cumulative GPA): ~3.6.
sGPA (science GPA): ~3.6
MCAT: 23 (9, 7, 7)
Extra Curriculars: Many. This is where I excelled.
Did you do a post bacc? (Formal/self done): No.
Any wise words for other non-trads? Be persistent. Find what that school likes, and try to look like such an applicant. Don't "apologize" for any perceived weakness - just smile confidently, and let them ask for clarification. Go in with the attitude that you know you're capable - they will give you the chance. If you act like you deserve to be rejected, that is what will happen. There is also an element of luck. Stay humble.

Age when you applied: 32. Applied to osteopathic schools only (17)
cGPA (cumulative GPA): 3.2
sGPA (science GPA): 2.7
MCAT: 26
Extra Curriculars/Life Circumstances: Lived in Africa for 10 years, CF research for 1 year (with poster presentation), HIV clinic pharmacist for 6 months, free clinics, worked in a hospital for 7 years (still working in a hospital).
Did you do a post bacc? (Formal/self done): No. Completed a doctorate in pharmacy.
Any wise words for other non-trads?
I listened to a lot of nay-sayers when I told them I wanted to be a physician. This lead to my decision to pursue a PharmD. I thought that it would be similar enough to medicine to satisfy the desire to be a physician. It didn't, so here I am. Point: do what YOU want to do, not what someone else thinks you should do.

Age when you applied: 41

cGPA (cumulative GPA): 3.7

sGPA (science GPA): 3.8

MCAT: 42M (apparently a crappy writing score does not keep you out)

Extra Curriculars: sailed my yacht for five years from atlantic canada to alaska, 7 year career at a well-known software company, summited all fifty states and another dozen countries/continents, americorps project, walked from mexico to canada one summer, endowed a scholarship at a medical school, thousands of hours voluteer ski patrol / fire fighter / search+rescue, LORs from police/fire/physician all from a rural village hometown of population 2,000, etc, etc, etc. Notably no research, no paid medical work.

Did you do a post bacc? (Formal/self done): self, at a no-name branch campus of a no-name university

Any wise words for other non-trads?: As non-trads, we have many more years to become unique. Emphasize the uniqueness on your app and see which schools appreciate it. I don't think we are competing for the same slots as the 3.5/31P/22yo traditional students.

Age when you applied: 35

cGPA (cumulative GPA): 3.18 (after PB work)

sGPA (science GPA): 3.18 (after PB work)

MCAT: 26Q (10bs, 9vr, 7ps)

Extra Curriculars: Over 3500 volunteer hours with various organizations, EMT training, worked in a clinic briefly (this may or may not have helped)...

Did you do a post bacc? (Formal/self done): Yes, self done, 5+ semesters. PB work 3.83cGPA, 3.91sGPA.

Any wise words for other non-trads?: Be dedicated, and what Cabinbuilder and Q said. They are wise and all knowing... I will have to move away from my husband, but... this is a sacrifice for a long-term goal...

Age when you applied: 22, 23
cGPA (cumulative GPA): 3.59
sGPA (science GPA): 3.86
MCAT: 35Q
Extra Curriculars: Volunteered 20-25 hrs/wk at a free clinic + 5 hrs/wk at a low cost women's clinic, shadowed a physician for 6 months, volunteered at hospitals, worked on a masterplan for the first school for freed slaves after the civil war, internship for a major corporation for 3 months, designed a mobile food pantry for the northern illinois food bank
Did you do a post bacc? (Formal/self done): workin on my MS in biology
Any wise words for other non-trads?: Keep trying! Even though every rejection is like a fresh roundhouse kick to the face from Chuck Norris, it ultimately gives me a chance to realize what I did wrong and become a doctor. Also, don't let people tell you you're crazy, cause you're not.