Disadvantaged and Desperate: any chance at an MD?

[Pwayne55]

My story is long, non-traditional, and a bit convoluted, so I'll summarize my stats below to make it simpler.

I'm really worried about my GPA, which is my biggest weakness in my opinion. I have worked hard to try and turn things around, but I am still not sure if it's really worth applying MD with my numbers. I would be applying as a disadvantaged applicant if I did. I have looked at Table A-18 on the AMCAS website, and I'm within the standard deviation for my race/ethnicity in terms of the GPA of matriculants, and my MCAT score is at the very high end of the standard deviation for my race/ethnicity. Table A-24 shows that 100% of the applicants of my race that are also in my bracket were accepted to med school, but that's only 3 people lol, so I'm not sure how valuable that statistic is.

My Stats:

Undergrad:
Top tier school
French Major Bio Minor
Very difficult family and financial situations (3 jobs every semester to pay tuition)
Significant clinical and research activities
1 Molecular Bio Publication, 2nd Author
Collegiate Athlete

Post-Bacc:
2 years, 16 classes (primarily through an official post-bacc in the state I hope to go to medical school in), all A's and one A- (biochem)
520 on the MCAT (Bio: 130, Psych: 130, Physical Sci: 132 , CARS: 128)
sGPA: 3.98 (Postbacc), cGPA (3.25)
Financially Independent and working full time
Continued clinical and research activities
Multiple abstracts and one presentation (Medical)

I have worked a lot during my post-bacc, but I realize that my numbers are still not where they need to be. There aren't many more classes I can take though, and I don't know how much more it would be able to boost my GPA at this point. Should I aim only for DO? Is it worth it for me to apply MD? Any advice would be helpful!

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[candbgirl]

Nice MCAT. Congratulations! But what do you mean "my MCAT score( converted) is at the very high end of the standard deviation for my race/ethnicity"? What race/ethnicity are you talking about? Have you read what disadvantaged means in AMCAS?

 

[passivelynonaggressive]

Nice MCAT. Congratulations! But what do you mean "my MCAT score( converted) is at the very high end of the standard deviation for my race/ethnicity"? What race/ethnicity are you talking about? Have you read what disadvantaged means in AMCAS?

OP might be talking about converting the new MCAT to the old in order to use the chart. This is assuming that no version of the chart is available with MCAT 2015 scores. Just a guess, I could be wrong.

 

[WedgeDawg]

I think you have a definite shot at MD, but it might be worth it to apply to 2-3 DO schools as well if you're okay with that (if not, that's fine). Would you be comfortable sharing your ethnicity? Certain schools (such as Howard) are mission based towards creating doctors of certain ethnicities and so it might help us better advise you. If not, that's perfectly fine, but we won't be able to give you as targeted advice. Feel free to PM me as well if you don't want it to be public.

 

[Pwayne55]

Nice MCAT. Congratulations! But what do you mean "my MCAT score( converted) is at the very high end of the standard deviation for my race/ethnicity"? What race/ethnicity are you talking about? Have you read what disadvantaged means in AMCAS?

Hi and thanks for the response!

I looked over the AMCAS app and it said you could be disadvantaged for a few different reasons. I was advised to check that box when I apply based on the socio-economic status of my family/financial hardship. However I'm not really sure what that means in terms of how my application would be reviewed. Will it be put into a separate pile from the rest of the applications?

 

[Pwayne55]

OP might be talking about converting the new MCAT to the old in order to use the chart. This is assuming that no version of the chart is available with MCAT 2015 scores. Just a guess, I could be wrong.

Yup, that's exactly what I meant!

 

[Pwayne55]

I think you have a definite shot at MD, but it might be worth it to apply to 2-3 DO schools as well if you're okay with that (if not, that's fine). Would you be comfortable sharing your ethnicity? Certain schools (such as Howard) are mission based towards creating doctors of certain ethnicities and so it might help us better advise you. If not, that's perfectly fine, but we won't be able to give you as targeted advice. Feel free to PM me as well if you don't want it to be public.

Thank you, yes I was looking at Howard. Some of them have a preference for in-state applicants though, according to the MSAR (I'm in California). Do you think it would still be good to apply to those with in-state preferences? I started looking through the DO application and I would definitely be open to applying to them as well.

 

[GrapesofRath]

A URM with a 3.2/38 can generate alot of interest from plenty of schools of various tiers and variety. Only 17 African Americans the past 3 years applied with 3.0-3.4/36+ scores but 15 of them were accepted so going by historical norms by such a small sample size can be tricky but needless to say you are in competitive position.

 

[gyngyn]

You have a good chance just about anywhere.

 

[Goro]

You should start your list with all HBCs (including UCLA-DRew) and ALL CA schools. Yes, even Stanford and UCSF.

Thank you, yes I was looking at Howard and other HBCUs because I am African American. Some of them have a preference for in-state applicants though, according to the MSAR (I'm in California). Do you think it would still be good to apply to those with in-state preferences? I started looking through the DO application and I would definitely be open to applying to them as well.

 

[NYISHOME]

You have a good chance just about anywhere.

You should start your list with all HBCs (including UCLA-DRew) and ALL CA schools. Yes, even Stanford and UCSF.

OP got into Stanford. You guys were right!