MD Kicked out of BS/MD, Bridge Year, Low-ish GPA, 3 MCATs, looking for advice!

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Chilbo_Baggins

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Well, I've wanted to post this for a while now, and I'm so humbled to finally be able to do so. Warning for those about to read it, it's going to be long! I'll put a smaller stats portion at the end if you'd rather skip to that.

But this is basically the story of rock bottom premed! Well, for most of College, I was enrolled in a BS/MD program. Unfortunately, the cliche fell in love with a guy, ignored my grades, relationship fell apart, and my lift was in disarray. At the time, I was pretty down in the dumbs, as this was my first real love, but in hindsight, of course it seems stupid. My program's MCAT cut off was a 26, with at least a 7 subscore in each section. I scored a 23 at the beginning of the summer (was so depressed I didn't study at all) and after the summer, scored a 25 with a week's worth of studying. I was subsequently kicked out of the program. Now, I mean it's easy to say, wow that was a horrible decision. And yes, I totally get that....now! Two years later, I no longer cringe at my lost opportunity. Instead, I laugh and say, what was going on with you?

That semester, I'd seriously messed with my GPA as well. At the beginning of senior year, in 2014, I sat a 3.64 cGPA and a 3.39 sGPA. I decided this wasn't me, this wasn't life, and this wasn't going to be my story. That last semester in college, I did my internship. I majored in Life Sciences Education, and was teaching a middle school at the time. I also took 12 credits that semester, and was studying 5-6 hours a night for the MCAT.

Lastly, I tackled a lifelong issue that I'd had - fitness. I'd been overweight most of my life, and gained even more during college. So, I started running which helped a lot with my mental sanity during MCAT prep, and trained for, and eventually ran a half-marathon about a year after I'd started. It wasn't easy, and I wish I could write that a million times. My days were so packed! I'd study for the MCAT, teach the kids at school, write my lesson plans during lunch, stay up until 11 at night, wake up at 5 in the morning to run. I was more busy than I'd ever been in my life. But I was hungry.

At the end of that semester, I dropped a lot of fat, and gained a lot of muscle. Today, I run about 5 miles a day. I got straight A's in all of my courses, boosting my cGPA to a 3.66 and sGPA to a 3.44. I published in an Education Journal, became a good teacher, and got hired at a wonderful middle school. At graduation, I delivered the graduation address, and graduated Cum Laude. And yes, I took the darned MCAT for the THIRD TIME! I scored a 36 (11/11/14). It was euphoric. I then backpacked through Europe for three months, returned, and have been teaching full time ever since. This upcoming cycle, I will be submitting an application.

I went from an anxiety ridden BS/MD dismissed student to a confident teacher. I absolutely adore teaching, and am so lucky to be able to live the life I have right now. And I hope I can soon add Medical School Student to that.



Now I'm getting ready to submit, and am confused about my chances, and my school list.

cGPA: 3.66
sGPA: 3.44
Residency: Maryland, but I currently live in Washington, D.C.
MCAT: 36 (11/11/14)
EC's: President of Horticulture Club, Judge on Student Conduct Board, and Columnist for School Newspaper, hobbies: fitness
Research: 2 2-year longitudinal studies, 1 publication, 2 summer programs
LOR's: 2 Science, 1 Non-science, 2 volunteering (One from my Boss, School Principal)
Volunteering: 400 + hrs at Hospital, 200 Hours at Food Pantry
Shadowing: Shadowed 1 internist for about 200 Hours, worked for him for free over the summer as an apprentice Phlebologist, and shadowed him



Any advice? SDN gave me a lot of advice during my MCAT prep, and I was hoping I might gain further insight into which schools are best for me, or whether I should think about going into an SMP prior to applying.

Over the year, I've especially admired posts from @Goro @gyngyn @LizzyM @NickNaylor and @Catalystik

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I think that you've turned yourself around both considerably and admirably. the key now will be to target schools that do not average, but take the highest/most recent score, or super score (best composite). Some examples are Vandy and Rosy F.

So do your homework , and cull from this list.
U MD
U AZ
U WV
U Colorado
U VM
U Cincy
U Toledo
Miami
St. Louis
Albany
Albert Einstein
Rochester
Rush
Rosy Franklin
BU
NYMC
EVMS
Wake Forest
Jefferson
Temple
Drexel
Creighton
Emory
USC
Tulane
Dartmouth
Loyola
Creighton
Baylor (maybe)
Mayo
NYU
Vanderbilt
Columbia
Duke
Case
Any new MD school, especially Hofstra. Skip Central MI though.
 
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I think that you've turned yourself around both considerably and admirably. the key now will be to target schools that do not average, but take the highest/most recent score, or super score (best composite). Some examples are Vandy and Rosy F.

So do your homework , and cull from this list.
U MD
U AZ
U WV
U Colorado
U VM
U Cincy
U Toledo
Miami
St. Louis
Albany
Albert Einstein
Rochester
Rush
Rosy Franklin
BU
NYMC
EVMS
Wake Forest
Jefferson
Temple
Drexel
Creighton
Emory
USC
Tulane
Dartmouth
Loyola
Creighton
Baylor (maybe)
Mayo
NYU
Vanderbilt
Columbia
Duke
Case
Any new MD school, especially Hofstra. Skip Central MI though.

Thank you for the kind words @Goro, I really hope to make it into UMD, but it is a high caliber institution. I am hopeful to gain admission into an MD school this upcoming year, however, if that does not happen, I will do a post-bacc or SMP to increase my odds. (Also Duke??? Total Dream. I'm a bit too nervous to even apply lol).
 
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I am no expert on school chances, but I just want to say that your story kicks ass! You should be really proud of yourself. I would not think that any school should be off your list with a story like this. I bet there are only a handful of applicants that have a recommendation letter from their middle school principle.
 
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Make sure your personal statement reflects the awesome changes you've gone through. With that mcat score people will be reading it. They want people with real life experiences and struggles. But yes you need to be confident too. As you should be. Great stats
 
262 views and 3 replies, that's SDN for you.

Lol, kidding, I earnestly thank everyone for their advice.

I am going to apply this year, to 30 MD schools, 5 MD/PhD Programs (Some MSTPs), and 5 DO schools. I have begun prewriting secondaries!!

Wish me luck!
 
Dude kind of in same position but hurrah for fellow teachers. I'm taking the new MCAT...hope to get a score like yours! I think you are golden.
 
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