Hi everyone! I'm a nontraditional student planning to apply both MD and DO this cycle. I have a bad GPA, and I am not sure how possible it is to overcome it.
sGPA: 3.1
cGPA: 3.3
MCAT: 516
Graduate certification in Medical Microbiology with 3.8 GPA (15 credits)
Disadvantaged, ORM, 27 years old.
Excuse my inexact hours listed, the AAMC website is down at the moment.
Thousands of non-science work hours. (Many jobs from age 16 and up, ranging from retail to bartending to editorial work for a scientific website)
Thousands of research work hours. (Cancer research, histopathology; toxicogenomics)
Hundreds of research volunteer hours. (Undergraduate neurology biomedical engineering, one publication acknowledgment)
Hundreds of nonclinical service volunteer hours. (Literacy program for disadvantaged students, American Cancer Society, Meals on Wheels)
~200-400 medical work hours. (Sterile processing/surgical support, kicker: no direct patient contact, operating room prep/coordinating)
Beginning shadowing June 1, likely 60ish hours of surgical shadowing by secondary submissions.
5 strong letters (Research (work), Research (volunteer), Research PI (work), Professor of Molecular Bio, Service Coordinator)
1 hopeful letter (Surgeon I will be shadowing)
My circumstances have been extremely turbulent, came from a physically abusive household, and was thrown out at age 17. I've been independent financially ever since. Lived in four different states and attended four colleges, frequent moves were due to spousal military relocation. Faced marital abandonment during my second semester at my dream university and filed for divorce which was extremely difficult for me and of course, affected my GPA. I also faced a violent sexual assault at this university which, while I won't discuss, perhaps gives some context to you all as to my poor performance. Forgive me for writing a "sob story" which is the opposite of my intention on my actual application... just want to lay it all out there.
I had to work to support myself through every phase of my education. COVID prevented me from getting the meaningful clinical experience I really wanted during my time at my dream university. I could not afford to work as a medical scribe and needed to leverage my research experience to get a good-paying job, which brings me to my current position as a histopathology technician for a great company that focuses on high-throughput proteomic and genomic analysis of enriched tumor tissue from American servicemen and women, with a strong focus in gynecological cancers.
I'm struggling to maximize my school list. What do you think? I have made up my mind to apply this semester as I've received financial aid to do so and my MCAT score (4/15 tester) looked like a green light for me. If I need to apply in a different cycle, I'll do that too. There is very little that can dissuade me from this path, and I've never wavered yet.
Any advice & school recommendations would be wonderful. I know my GPA ****ing sucks, but I hope my MCAT can provide a balance to make me competitive for some lower-tier schools. Thanks for this fantastic resource.
sGPA: 3.1
cGPA: 3.3
MCAT: 516
Graduate certification in Medical Microbiology with 3.8 GPA (15 credits)
Disadvantaged, ORM, 27 years old.
Excuse my inexact hours listed, the AAMC website is down at the moment.
Thousands of non-science work hours. (Many jobs from age 16 and up, ranging from retail to bartending to editorial work for a scientific website)
Thousands of research work hours. (Cancer research, histopathology; toxicogenomics)
Hundreds of research volunteer hours. (Undergraduate neurology biomedical engineering, one publication acknowledgment)
Hundreds of nonclinical service volunteer hours. (Literacy program for disadvantaged students, American Cancer Society, Meals on Wheels)
~200-400 medical work hours. (Sterile processing/surgical support, kicker: no direct patient contact, operating room prep/coordinating)
Beginning shadowing June 1, likely 60ish hours of surgical shadowing by secondary submissions.
5 strong letters (Research (work), Research (volunteer), Research PI (work), Professor of Molecular Bio, Service Coordinator)
1 hopeful letter (Surgeon I will be shadowing)
My circumstances have been extremely turbulent, came from a physically abusive household, and was thrown out at age 17. I've been independent financially ever since. Lived in four different states and attended four colleges, frequent moves were due to spousal military relocation. Faced marital abandonment during my second semester at my dream university and filed for divorce which was extremely difficult for me and of course, affected my GPA. I also faced a violent sexual assault at this university which, while I won't discuss, perhaps gives some context to you all as to my poor performance. Forgive me for writing a "sob story" which is the opposite of my intention on my actual application... just want to lay it all out there.
I had to work to support myself through every phase of my education. COVID prevented me from getting the meaningful clinical experience I really wanted during my time at my dream university. I could not afford to work as a medical scribe and needed to leverage my research experience to get a good-paying job, which brings me to my current position as a histopathology technician for a great company that focuses on high-throughput proteomic and genomic analysis of enriched tumor tissue from American servicemen and women, with a strong focus in gynecological cancers.
I'm struggling to maximize my school list. What do you think? I have made up my mind to apply this semester as I've received financial aid to do so and my MCAT score (4/15 tester) looked like a green light for me. If I need to apply in a different cycle, I'll do that too. There is very little that can dissuade me from this path, and I've never wavered yet.
Any advice & school recommendations would be wonderful. I know my GPA ****ing sucks, but I hope my MCAT can provide a balance to make me competitive for some lower-tier schools. Thanks for this fantastic resource.