2.9, 35q

[shan564]

Get me into med school. I have a 2.88 GPA, a 35Q (10V, 13P, 12B... and I actually got 11V the other time I took it, so some schools might call it a 36) on the MCAT, a bachelor's in medicinal chemistry at Univ. of Missouri (minors in bio, med. physics, radioenvironmental sciences), a summer of working at a doctor's office, a summer research internship at Harvard Med School, and 8 months of working as an eye bank technicians (I take the eyes from recently-deceased organ donors). I've been working full-time at an applied clinical research lab at Univ of Missouri Med School (probably 6-8 publications eventually) for the last two years.

Is there any school in the US where I might get in? Let's be optimistic and assume that my essay and interview turn out to be spectacular.

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[MilkmanAl]

Well, I had a better GPA, the same MCAT score, more clinical and volunteer experience, and no research, and I got a grand total of 1 interview. That interview was not at Mizzou. You'll have to get really lucky and nail the crap out of your essays and interviews to get an acceptance.

It's too bad you didn't apply to any SMP's this last semester, because that would've been a great way to spend next year, assuming you don't have your senior year ahead of you.

 

[WDeagle]

What is your gpa trend like? I would try to do something to get your gpa to at least a 3.0 unless you wanna go to the caribbean. With a 35 MCAT you will get into medical school somewhere. Its a matter of when and where. Your application looks pretty good except for the really low gpa. Look into osteopathic schools, they are more willing to overlook a weakness in one part of your application if the rest of your application is pretty strong.

 

[MonkeyChow]

It's going to be very tough for you to get into an MD school even with that great MCAT. If I were you, I would look into DO schools.

 

[shan564]

My trend isn't too particularly outstanding. I found out after my undergrad that I had a sleep disorder, which is why I missed most of my classes (I always just thought I was lazy until recently).

I realize that it's a long shot because of my GPA. I was just wondering if there are any specific US allopathic schools where I might have a shot (for example, if they weigh the MCAT more heavily than they weigh the GPA).

 

[WDeagle]

Its not really a matter of schools weighing the MCAT more heavily its a matter of who else is applying. There will be plenty of applicants who have similar MCAT's but higher GPA's. ADCOM's will have a hard time justifying accepting a student with a 2.9/34 over a student with a 3.5/30 or even a 3.8/28.

 

[TexasTriathlete]

Apply to a million places, including DO. You'll probably get in somewhere.

If you've been a consistent B/C student, that will hurt you. If you started off slow and finished strong, like I did, that will help a lot.

 

[LilHouse]

 

[tbo]

Another thing that's been missed here is your LORs. Make sure these are solid since your UG profs may not be the ideal person to vouch for you if you scored a B or worse in their class. Apply broadly (30+ schools), consider the caribbean and DOs and you'll realize a career in medicine. I got into an MD school with stats not too dissimilar to yours.

 

[shan564]

Some schools have GPA restrictions which would automatically rule you out.

However, I wouldn't be surprised if you could do it.

Regardless of the GPA, if I were on an admissions committee member, I'd want to see what you could do. You really sold yourself.

Your GPA is very low, and many admissions committees would take this to mean that you're possibly lazy or unable to do the work.

Your MCAT says you have the intellectual abilities, so that's not the reason your GPA was low. You're obviously capable.

You have done a lot of great work, so you're definitely not lazy.

That would lead me to conclude that your coursework was really hard. I think admissions committee members would come to the same conclusion. Just make sure you clearly state why your GPA was low in your PS.

You sound like an interesting candidate that needs some work but has a lot of potential. That's what I'd think. Of course, if they just offer interviews based on MCAT/GPA as some do, you'd probably be ruled out in the paper cut.

Thanks for the advice. The reason why my GPA is low isn't because I'm lazy or because the coursework was too hard... the reason is because (as I found out after I finished my undergrad) I had a sleep disorder because of which I could never wake up on time for class (I must have skipped 80-90% of all my undergrad classes). At the end of my undergrad, I took a standardized field exam in chemistry and scored on the 90-94th percentile; I know the material, but I just didn't do a good job of knowing the little details of everything.

To the others... I realize why I'm a questionable candidate at most schools. I also know that I need to consider Caribbean, DO, etc... but that's doesn't answer my question. I'm filling out the AMCAS right now, and I just want to know which schools I should apply to. I'm not rich, so I want to avoid applying to 30-40 schools; is there any particular school that's relatively friendly to candidates such as myself?

 

[shan564]

Another thing that's been missed here is your LORs. Make sure these are solid since your UG profs may not be the ideal person to vouch for you if you scored a B or worse in their class. Apply broadly (30+ schools), consider the caribbean and DOs and you'll realize a career in medicine. I got into an MD school with stats not too dissimilar to yours.

I have good LORs, but only one of them is from a professor who taught me in class. The other two are from my current supervisor (knowing him, he'll probably just let me write the letter and he might not even read it) and from an old research supervisor (a tenured full professor at Harvard med school).

Where did you end up getting in? If you had similar stats, it'd probably be a good idea for me to apply there too.

I know I have plenty of options for med school, but I just wanted to know where I should be applying for US MD school. I've already been accepted to the University of Queensland (Australia), since their admissions are 85% based on MCAT score (as long as you have a 2.7)... but I'd like to have a choice between Australia and the US.

 

[MilkmanAl]

You'll need at least 2 LOR's from science professors and 1 from a non-science prof, all who actually had you in class. Anything else is gravy.

I can't give you a definitive list of schools that will cut you slack on your GPA, but the following schools took quite awhile to reject me, indicating that they probably at least had some interest in me:
Wright State
SLU
UIC
Wayne State
Louisville
UNC
Tulane
Creighton
UAB

Arkansas waitlisted and later accepted me, but I had close ties to the state, which they like a lot.

 

[WDeagle]

I wouldnt apply to UAB they are pretty stat heavy(i used to work at uab). Apply to your in-state schools.

 

[tbo]

I know I have plenty of options for med school, but I just wanted to know where I should be applying for US MD school. I've already been accepted to the University of Queensland (Australia), since their admissions are 85% based on MCAT score (as long as you have a 2.7)... but I'd like to have a choice between Australia and the US.

Your best bet might be to get a copy of the MSAR. Median GPA and MCAT are reported for each school. And however much you believe them, the text that the school provides (which include things like, we encourage out-of-state students and students with research experience to apply, etc etc). They also include out-of-state data, who had volunteer research experience, who had research experience, etc.

Also, heed the advice about LORs. Most require professors that taught your classes. They are generally strict about who LORs come from. You can still submit your supervisor LORs, but the requirements are requirements.

 

[shan564]

I wouldnt apply to UAB they are pretty stat heavy(i used to work at uab). Apply to your in-state schools.

Unfortunately, my only in-state school is the University of Missouri, which has an average undergrad GPA of like 3.7. They get a lot of WashU applicants, and they only accept 100 students a year.

 

[shan564]

Does anybody know off-hand which schools don't require rec letters from professors who taught me? I'm not sure I can get two good LORs from science professors... maybe I can substitute a committee letter instead.

 

[MilkmanAl]

Unfortunately, my only in-state school is the University of Missouri, which has an average undergrad GPA of like 3.7.

I'd bet my grandma that they screen GPA pretty harshly. I got rejected within 2 weeks of applying.

maybe I can substitute a committee letter instead.

I believe you can, but the committee will probably require you to have the 2 science and 1 non-science letters.

 

[WDeagle]

The good thing is that there are two pretty solid Osteopathic schools in missouri (KCUMB and KCOM).

 

[shan564]

The good thing is that there are two pretty solid Osteopathic schools in missouri (KCUMB and KCOM).

Well, I don't care about staying in Missouri unless I can get in-state tuition, which I can't get at KCUMB or KCOM.