Seeking advice for an underdog's 2nd application

[yellowpepper]

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[DrMidlife]

The combo of MCAT and GPA?

This. A few more MCAT points would help.

I'm studying to retake the mcat

Can we agree that this won't be for a 2014-2015 MD app? Please? I beg you.

In other words, yes, retake, but it won't help you this year. Take it by April.

but should I also be considering an SMP/something to improve my science gpa?

Tough call, since you got interviews. There are boatloads of people in SMPs with your stats.

Watch out for student debt. If you borrowed for one masters already, that's a lot.

Note that SMP apps open starting in October and close starting in February. Be ready.

My undergrad advisor is not helpful and consistently says my application is wonderful, but the mcat is lacking. Is the mcat really the only problem?

Usually premed advisers are completely out of their depth once things don't go perfectly. You'll get better advice from SDN. Just don't take any one opinion too seriously.

My vote: get a job for this year, focus on the MCAT retake, maybe take a couple classes, and keep up clinical volunteering. Apply to SMPs starting in the fall so you have that option. Be ready with a freshened app in June '15.

Unfortunately grad work in the humanities doesn't do anything to help your lower stats, so I advise against reapplying for this cycle. You don't have a different app yet.

Best of luck to you.

 

[yellowpepper]

This. A few more MCAT points would help.

Can we agree that this won't be for a 2014-2015 MD app? Please? I beg you..

Thank you for your thorough response! I really appreciate it and will take all of it into consideration.

 

[apr27]

were your interviews at MD or DO institutions? both? How are you applying this year? Are you submitted? I want to believe I received more interviews because I applied earlier. My stats aren't as good as yours, but I was able to get into a DO school. I would say if you are doing MD exclusively, take the MCAT again and merck it. Think about a SMP for next Fall if you have to.

On second thought, you've received interviews already. There is something about your app that they like. Have you thought about how your interviews went and how you can improve upon that?

All the best. You'll be in soon enough.

 

[Goro]

The easier path will be going the DO route.

If not, the MCAT is close to circling the drain, and I suggest a retake. I susepct it was your wonderful rising trend that got you the interviews.

You may have been told the interviews were fien merely out of politeness. No one is going to tell you to your face that you bombed an interview. I sugegst that working on interview skills is one more thing to work on.

If you going to reapply, then you need some improvement.

Hi everyone. First of all, thanks for clicking on this thread and taking the time to read. I am in need of guidance moving forward, and would sincerely appreciate it if anyone could offer their opinion.

I applied to 28 med schools (broadly) this year. I received 3 interviews. 1 at my state school, and 2 private schools. I am wait listed at all 3.



My stats are: 28 mcat, 3.4 science gpa, and 3.5 cumulative gpa
--My story explains the low gpa. I had an awful semester in which I received a D in orgo and C- in an upper level biology class. During this semester I had MAJOR family issues and myself became very ill and had to take a semester off. When i went back to school the semester after, I had an uphill trajectory of consistent As in upper level sciences (with a couple B+s) and all of my other classes, ended up double majoring in Neurophysiology and a Humanities major, graduated Magna Cum Laude.

I studied abroad, have 1,000 hours of hands-on clinical hours, 250+ hours community service not including the 500+ hours of EMS volunteering. I was the president of several organizations in undergrad, I have had numerous international medical experiences, and I have a couple humanities publications. I did an honors thesis in undergrad in neuroscience and have a really really strong letter form my PI.

This past year I have gotten a master's degree in a humanities field from a top 5 university.

I have been told that all 3 interviews were really strong. So what's the problem? Is it my MCAT only? The combo of MCAT and GPA? How can I improve? I'm studying to retake the mcat but should I also be considering an SMP/something to improve my science gpa? Please please please help! My undergrad advisor is not helpful and consistently says my application is wonderful, but the mcat is lacking. Is the mcat really the only problem? Thank you in advance!!

 

[yellowpepper]

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[yellowpepper]

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[familyaerospace]

I did the calculations and found that my science gap would at most be raised to a 3.5 from 3.4 from the master's program. Is that enough? To be competitive, what should my target MCAT score be (assuming I raised my science gpa to 3.5 and cum to 3.6/3.7)?

Over 30.

I think the average this past year was a 32 or so for MD.

 

[DrMidlife]

yellowpepper keep in mind that if your GPA is below average, then the MCAT is an opportunity to produce an above-average stat. Go after the highest MCAT you can squeeze out of yourself.

 

[Stagg737]

GPA is a little low for a lot of MD schools, but I don't think it's a killer. It will also be difficult to raise significantly, and pretty much impossible to bring up to a point that it will really be a strength. Additionally, you said you had a strong upward trend with a legitimate reason as to why your GPA isn't as high as you want it to be. However, your MCAT is a much easier fix provided you are capable of scoring higher and there aren't really good reasons for low MCAT scores. This is probably why you keep hearing schools tell you to retake the MCAT. Obviously shoot for the moon with your score, but I would guess that if you could hit a 32 or higher you wouldn't have a problem getting into an MD school next time around.

You obviously know to apply early and broadly, and are a decent candidate if you got 3 interviews. Personally, I think you'd benefit more from finding a health-related job where you can do some research and get published than you would from an SMP. I think it would add something new to your app instead of spending thousands of dollars on trying to improve something that isn't a major issue. Another consideration is the DO route. If you're not gung ho about going MD/aren't totally against the possibility of not specializing, you would be a strong candidate at almost any DO school. Either way, you seem to be on the right track so long as you stay committed.

 

[Jamie561]

I did the calculations and found that my science gap would at most be raised to a 3.5 from 3.4 from the master's program. Is that enough? To be competitive, what should my target MCAT score be (assuming I raised my science gpa to 3.5 and cum to 3.6/3.7)?

Masters coursework counts separately