.

Discover Your Odds of Getting into Medical School
This forum made possible through the generous support of SDN members, donors, and sponsors. Thank you.
Status
Not open for further replies.
D

DracoDormiens

Full Member
2+ Year Member
Joined
Jul 26, 2018
Messages
67
Reaction score
74
.
Members don't see this ad.
 
Last edited:
Volunteering is definitely the issue. Focus on that and try to get it up 200+ hours, especially non-clinical volunteer. Use your MPH program to your advantage and try to get volunteering hours to help you with your internship. FYI, just because I didn’t see you mention it, your MCAT will be expiring at many schools by the time you reapply in 2019. Look into that as soon as possible for the schools you want to apply to.
 
Applying early will help you a lot, especially with Texas schools. I have almost identical stats to yours as a Texas resident, and applied last cycle even later than you did. Luckily I was able to pull out one interview that led to an acceptance, but I definitely feel like being late set me back quite a bit. Between that and improving your volunteering, you should be good for Texas schools.
 
Members don't see this ad :)
Applying early is important. Few Texas residents attend OOS MD schools unless they attended undergraduate school in another state, are legacies, have high stats or are URM. The schools know this and avoid interviewing Texas applicants since they know from years of experience that Texas residents will attend Texas schools. You could try some of the newer schools such as Seton Hall, NOVA MD, California University, Quinnipiac, Oakland Beaumont. Tulane also accepts a few Texas residents.
 
Faha said:
Applying early is important. Few Texas residents attend OOS MD schools unless they attended undergraduate school in another state, are legacies, have high stats or are URM. The schools know this and avoid interviewing Texas applicants since they know from years of experience that Texas residents will attend Texas schools. You could try some of the newer schools such as Seton Hall, NOVA MD, California University, Quinnipiac, Oakland Beaumont. Tulane also accepts a few Texas residents.
Click to expand...
Do Texas schools tend to avoid Texas residents who did do undergrad in another state? I fall under that category (plus my MPH is also not at a Texas school) so I'm curious if that's true or if it's not something that's considered in the TMDSAS application process
 
No, Texas schools give a strong preference to Texas residents no matter where they went to undergraduate school.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 users
Your MPH and increased clinical/volunteer hours will help you demonstrate a strong commitment to medicine, and that should help you in a future application cycle. Your GPA and MCAT would be "in the range" (as they say) at many schools, meaning that your application would probably not get rejected because of them. However, they are not strong enough for you to stand out from the crowd either. You will need to use your personal story and your accomplishments to do that. I would suggest getting involved with a project or research during your MPH, then find people to help with your PS and application, as well as help practice interview skills. It might seem like a long road, but it's nothing compared to what you'll have to do during med school and residency.

Also, don't get down about the process. I know several people who reapplied (some of us twice!) and have gone on to be successful med students and doctors. There is a degree of luck in all of this, and you just have to keep at it and keep getting better.

Best of luck!
 
ThreadStalker said:
Your MPH and increased clinical/volunteer hours will help you demonstrate a strong commitment to medicine, and that should help you in a future application cycle. Your GPA and MCAT would be "in the range" (as they say) at many schools, meaning that your application would probably not get rejected because of them. However, they are not strong enough for you to stand out from the crowd either. You will need to use your personal story and your accomplishments to do that. I would suggest getting involved with a project or research during your MPH, then find people to help with your PS and application, as well as help practice interview skills. It might seem like a long road, but it's nothing compared to what you'll have to do during med school and residency.

Also, don't get down about the process. I know several people who reapplied (some of us twice!) and have gone on to be successful med students and doctors. There is a degree of luck in all of this, and you just have to keep at it and keep getting better.

Best of luck!
Click to expand...

Do you think it would be reasonable to take graduate level bio/chem/other hard science classes with the MPH classes to maybe bring up my GPA slightly? I considered this option but I was thinking it was probably more worthwhile to spend my time on my personal activities outside of school.
 
Thank you to everyone for the advice! I'll apply it through this next year and in the next application cycle
 
DracoDormiens said:
Thank you to everyone for the advice! I'll apply it through this next year and in the next application cycle
Click to expand...

People may think I am crazy but I did an SMP with your stats and wound up with 8 interviews and 3 acceptances this past cycle. Message me if you want details. Best of luck!
 
You are in the middle of the pack with respect to grades and MCATS. You need to give them a reason to choose you instead of the other 19 applicants for your seat who look the same on paper. Think of something that makes you unique, being a Gaurdian ad Litem for an at risk child, etc. Best of luck!
 
DracoDormiens said:
Do you think it would be reasonable to take graduate level bio/chem/other hard science classes with the MPH classes to maybe bring up my GPA slightly? I considered this option but I was thinking it was probably more worthwhile to spend my time on my personal activities outside of school.
Click to expand...

You've already completed something in the range of 120 hours of undergrad work with a 3.64 average. Adding 8-12 hours at 4.0 would only bring it to 3.67. I doubt that would make a real difference. I think you'd be better off investing that time in a project that you are really passionate about and that would give you the opportunity to learn about some aspect of medicine and health in general. This would give you something to talk about at interviews and may even inform your future career path.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
Status
Not open for further replies.
Next unread thread
Top