MD Any chance? Non-trad, low GPA, good MCAT

[Dro133]

I am planning on applying for the 2015 cycle. My story is that I had a rough first couple of years in college, so I am trying to improve my application in other ways. I am currently working on a Master's in a medicine-related major at one of my state's public universities (4.0 gpa after one semester). Here's my basic info:

Major: B.A. in Neuroscience from top-20 private university
cGPA/sGPA: 3.31/3.10
MCAT: 33 (12B/11P/10V)
State of residence: AZ

EC's in college:

-100 volunteer hours as a tutor
-50 volunteer hours at homeless shelter (clinical setting)
-1 year research at my university's medical school (one abstract)
-2 summers research internships
-1 semester teaching assistant

Current activities:

-Working in lab 30 hrs/week (working towards a publication)
-Volunteering at a clinic (~50 hours so far)
-Shadowing family doctor (~40 hours)

So how screwed am I? Here's a tentative list of schools I'm applying to. Any others I should add?


Albany Medical College
Rosalind Franklin
Drexel
EVMS
GWU
Georgetown
Jefferson Medical College
Loyola - Chicago
Medical College of Wisconsin
NY Medical College
Rush
Temple
Tulane
Arizona - Tucson
Arizona - Phoenix
VCU
Virginia Tech
Creighton
USC
Mayo
Oakland University
Saint Louis University

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[gyngyn]

Your stats will make USC and Mayo wasted $ (unless you have FAP). Depending on the strength of the rest of your application you at least have a chance at most of the others.

 

[aspiring20]

your MCAT and ECs are both very good, but a 3.3 cGPA and 3.1 sGPA are VERY low for MDs

i recommend that you at least start to entertain the notion of considering DO schools.

 

[Goro]

You numbers are not competitive for MD schools, but fine for any DO program, including mine.

 

[aspiring20]

You numbers are not competitive for MD schools, but fine for any DO program, including mine.

just out of curiosity Goro, what is a competitive MCAT for DO these days? a 27+?

a few DO schools seem to have MCAT averages nearing/exceeding 30.

 

[Goro]

It depends upon the school, but I'd say high 20s (26+). I think <25 will be wait list territory, but that can be overcome by a good GPA at some schools.

just out of curiosity Goro, what is a competitive MCAT for DO these days? a 27+?

a few DO schools seem to have MCAT averages nearing/exceeding 30.

 

[aspiring20]

It depends upon the school, but I'd say high 20s (26+). I think <25 will be wait list territory, but that can be overcome by a good GPA at some schools.

thanks. what about GPA?

i recall you saying somewhere that a sGPA lower than a 3.2 will result in a waitlist at your school. the reason i am asking is that my AACOMAS sGPA will most likely be a 3.28 instead of a 3.31. but my cGPA is a 3.5+ and my MCAT is excellent. will my sGPA result in a waitlist at your school?

 

[Goro]

At my school a 3.1-3.2 sGPA won't be that lethal, especially if combined with a decent MCAT score. But a 3.1 and lower raises a lot of worries for most of y fellow AdCom members. For other DO schools, the floor can be as low as 3.0.

Therefore, you'll be OK pretty much anywhere with your numbers.

thanks. what about GPA?

i recall you saying somewhere that a sGPA lower than a 3.2 will result in a waitlist at your school. the reason i am asking is that my AACOMAS sGPA will most likely be a 3.28 instead of a 3.31. but my cGPA is a 3.5+ and my MCAT is excellent. will my sGPA result in a waitlist at your school?

 

[Dro133]

You numbers are not competitive for MD schools, but fine for any DO program, including mine.

What if I did a non-formal post-bacc to raise my sGPA to ~3.3? Would that greatly improve my MD chances?

 

[Goro]

It depends upon several factors. How many credits on the post-bac? All A's? Combined with your MCAT score, it might get the attention of your state school, and some of the low-tiers which believe on the power of reinvention, like Albany , NYMC, or Rosy Franklin.

What if I did a non-formal post-bacc to raise my sGPA to ~3.3? Would that greatly improve my MD chances?

 

[Dro133]

It depends upon several factors. How many credits on the post-bac? All A's? Combined with your MCAT score, it might get the attention of your state school, and some of the low-tiers which believe on the power of reinvention, like Albany , NYMC, or Rosy Franklin.

I've calculated that if I earn A's in 20 credits worth of classes, which would be tough but not unreasonable, my sGPA would come up to ~3.28.

A question for you -- how much weight, if any, does your school put into graduate school grades? I'm currently doing a Masters in a program that is affiliated with the college of medicine at my state school. Most of the professors who teach my classes also teach medical school classes. I know that graduate school grades are not included in the uGPA calculation, but wouldn't graduating with a 4.0 in 30 credits worth of science classes show something to adcoms?

 

[Goro]

It depends upon what the MS program is. If it's a typical research program in, say, neuroscience, then the hrs won't be counted as much, as a course in "DNA methods" or "Research Seminar" is nto the same as "Anatomy" or "Medical Microbiology". The gGPA would add to your cGPA, which does get looked at.

Now, if it's a SMP-like program, designed to mimic medical school, then it will definitely help you.

I've calculated that if I earn A's in 20 credits worth of classes, which would be tough but not unreasonable, my sGPA would come up to ~3.28.

A question for you -- how much weight, if any, does your school put into graduate school grades? I'm currently doing a Masters in a program that is affiliated with the college of medicine at my state school. Most of the professors who teach my classes also teach medical school classes. I know that graduate school grades are not included in the uGPA calculation, but wouldn't graduating with a 4.0 in 30 credits worth of science classes show something to adcoms?

 

[Dro133]

It depends upon what the MS program is. If it's a typical research program in, say, neuroscience, then the hrs won't be counted as much, as a course in "DNA methods" or "Research Seminar" is nto the same as "Anatomy" or "Medical Microbiology". The gGPA would add to your cGPA, which does get looked at.

Now, if it's a SMP-like program, designed to mimic medical school, then it will definitely help you.

The program isn't an SMP per se, but essentially all of the students are pre-med. Two of the classes I've taken so far are Neurobiology and Cell Biology, and I'll be taking Pathology this semester and Anatomy in the summer, so there is definitely more of a medical slant to the classes.

So just to clarify, my gGPA will be combined with my uGPA to give my cGPA, and that is what medical schools will consider? Thanks a lot for your help Goro.

 

[Goro]

They'll look at cGPA, sGPA and you gGPA. The program you're sound like a very good one, and so if you can do well there, you're likely to get lots of IIs, especially at the school where the program is!

Good luck!

The program isn't an SMP per se, but essentially all of the students are pre-med. Two of the classes I've taken so far are Neurobiology and Cell Biology, and I'll be taking Pathology this semester and Anatomy in the summer, so there is definitely more of a medical slant to the classes.

So just to clarify, my gGPA will be combined with my uGPA to give my cGPA, and that is what medical schools will consider? Thanks a lot for your help Goro.

 

[bball4]

Attempting to follow here. The AdCom members will see 3 GPA scores: sGPA (all science work both undergrad and graduate), cGPA (all coursework both undergrad and graduate) and then gGPA (strictly graduate level work)?

So hypothetically:

Undergrad
B in English 1 (3 creds, 9 points)
B in English 2 (3 creds, 9 points)
B in Bio 1 (4 creds, 12 points)
B in Bio 2 (4 creds, 12 points)
C in Chem 1 (3 creds, 6 points)
B in Chem 2 (3 creds, 9 points)
C in OChem 1 (3 creds, 6 points)
D in Ochem 2 (3 creds, 3 points)
***Graduates***
Post-bac
A in Chem 1 (12 points)
A in Chem 2 (12 points)
B in OChem 1 (9 points)
A in OChem 2 (12 points)

So for this example, the AdComs would see: sGPA = 3.45 (69 points/20 creds), cGPA = 3.35 (87 points/26 creds), and gGPA = 3.75 (45 points/12 creds).

Is this correct? They do not have a number strictly for undergraduate GPA (2.54 in this case)? Sorry for the long-drawn-out question but am very curious as I have a much better looking gGPA than uGPA.

 

[gyngyn]

We see your uGPA year by year, then your post bac gpa, then combined.