Military Favor to overshadow low GPA.

[Narnian]

I was in the military for 4 years as a combat medic. I have a low undergrad GPA. Like a 2.8 right now. I have no formal degree and I have enough classes left to pull it up to a 3.2 or 3.3 My question is this. Due to my military service, will this give me an advantage over my lower than standard GPA?

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[canjosh]

You need to get a degree (I take it you're planning on this), and no I wouldn't say that the military service will help cancel out the GPA. They get to your extracurriculars after they screen for GPA and MCAT. You better get all As and nail the MCAT to give yourself the best shot. And consider osteopathic medicine if you're not already.

 

[Nasrudin]

I was in the military for 4 years as a combat medic. I have a low undergrad GPA. Like a 2.8 right now. I have no formal degree and I have enough classes left to pull it up to a 3.2 or 3.3 My question is this. Due to my military service, will this give me an advantage over my lower than standard GPA?

I'd say your clinical experience is as good as it gets. I would snatch you out of the low gpa pile for an interview. Too bad I'm not an adcom member.

My gpa is right where yours will be at. And I'm not getting screened out of any place yet. Except for UCSF. But they have an unusually stiff screen.

What that means is that someone somewhere will be reading your application at least. So your bait will get some nibbles. But to sink the hook in them you'll have to really present yourself well. This is an aspect of the application process that is completely aside from your personal sacrifices and valor. Some would favor a highly polished approach. I'm putting my cards on straight forward desire for the job. We'll see.

My short answer is you've done some you've got some unusually honorable experiences. That's good stuff that many don't have. But you'll still have to come from the back of the pack grade wise. Get everything else together sharp. And maybe you've got a shot. Wish I could be more confident and peppy but I'm not starting off this app season with any fireworks so, this is the best I can say to you now. Of course, I'm not a combat medic either. So take that for what it is.

 

[mfrizzo3]

I was in the military for 4 years as a combat medic. I have a low undergrad GPA. Like a 2.8 right now. I have no formal degree and I have enough classes left to pull it up to a 3.2 or 3.3 My question is this. Due to my military service, will this give me an advantage over my lower than standard GPA?

No. It will not.

 

[NTF]

Your military career will be a huge plus, but one that won't overcome a sub 3.0 GPA. What will help is the strong upward trend of grades that bring your GPA from a 2.8 to a 3.3. Show them a long string of A's at the end of your transcript, do well on the MCAT, apply early and broadly, and add some volunteer work. You'll get in somewhere.

Good luck! I'll be rooting for you. My deepest gratitude for your service.

PS. My cGPA was 3.35 and I got into 6 schools. My last 12 classes were A's (nearly all upper level science).

 

[Narnian]

Thanks everyone for the replies. I have been getting all A's mostly and plan to quit work to focus on grades. (Post Sep 9-11 GI bill ) The sciences only get harder and I was struggling to make A's working over 40 hours a week and taking 14 credits . I get to finish my undergrad on the GI bill , so all I will have is school for the 1st time in my life. I know I can get all A's Thanks everyone.

 

[apumic]

I think if you can get your GPA up into the 3.2+ range, your field clinical experiences will be quite helpful, but frankly, they can't really overcome a poor GPA or poor MCAT. Remember that they are essentially evaluating you on a few criteria that GPA, MCAT, clinical experience, research experience, etc. all represent. What adcoms basically want to see is that you are strong enough in all of them to succeed and 1 or more of them to be outstanding. You've got the latter part (i.e., excellent clinical experience showing a potentially very strong desire to be a physician); however, in addition to a focused desire to practice medicine, they need to see that you will be successful in all areas and a VERY major area in medical SCHOOL is the academic part. A sub-3.0 simply doesn't promise much in terms of success in your studies and they're not going to want to risk a spot on you if you have a 40-50% chance of failing out based on their calculations.

 

[Caprica6]

People are accepted to medical school every year with below average GPA and MCAT scores due to the rest of their application. I would be worried if you couldn't get it up to a 3.2, though. Some of the above posts have mentioned that your experience as a medic has given you great clinical experiences, but don't forget about all of the other skills and experiences you will be leaving the military with. Truth be told I am biased, but if I was sitting on an ADCOMM and I was looking at two applicants, one civilian one military with slightly lower stats, I'd take the military one every time.

 

[phrygian]

Ex-Navy Corpsman here who is in his 3rd year. Your experience may or may not help you when it comes to admission time. It is impossible to say since every adcom is different. On a positive note, it will help a lot in clinicals. You will laugh when people complain about being "yelled" at, and your stress level should be much lower than your classmates.

Getting in needs to happen first. I don't really have much more to add to what others have already said, but do all you can to get those A's, and put a lot of effort into the MCAT. It is sometimes easier to get a good MCAT score than to bring up a lower GPA. The rest of your application should be good, and I assume you will be able to put a nice personal statement together with your military experience. Once you get to the application time, make sure you apply to many MD/DO schools. There is no such thing as a sure thing... The hardest part is getting in to school, once you get in, you should excel! Good luck and study hard!

 

[americans]

Very interesting to read wfrom different minds. I Can only hope millitary experience gives us some points during the selection process.
Good luck everyone.