MD & DO (TX resident) 3.2 cGPA, 34 MCAT, non-traditional applicant

[jas972]

So let's dive right in (sorry for the length):
**I went ahead and bolded the key points**
Undergraduate
Education

• Ivy League (Cornell University), cGPA: 3.30 (gpa adjusted to include post-bacc), sGPA: 3.15 (last I checked). Took a leave of absence Fall of my junior year due to issues with depression. Vacated my classes so I have a bunch of W's on my transcript. I saw a therapist during my time off. Somewhat upward trend in GPA (3.3-3.4 last two years), but still was very undecided about what I wanted to do after graduation, so it was a case of trying to do too much (History/Neurbiology double major at one point, then a thesis project I dropped).
• Informal Postbacc at local university: 4.0 GPA, currently enrolled fulltime (15 hours) in upper level science courses while working full time (34 hrs. per week) as a scribe and at my family's business. Didn't have money to pursue a formal postbacc. Didn't take a lot of hours because I was working full time while studying for the MCAT. I decided to take a full load this semester to show that I can manage a heavy workload.
• MCAT: 34, BS: 12 VS: 11 PS: 11
• Texas resident

Extracurriculars (the last 6-12 months)

• I'm coaching youth basketball for kids 14-17 years
• not really an official EC, but I'm mentoring my younger brother who, for all intents and purposes, has had a rough go at school. Trying to keep him in line by doing homework and tutoring him 3-4 times per week. I've decided to forgo other EC's because he requires a considerable time investment and this is something that I believe is important since I haven't really been involved in his life all that much (OOS undergraduate)
• I have worked full-time more or less for the last 2 years.
• Perhaps too far in the past to make any considerable difference, but I did film and TV club in undergraduate (2007-2012) and was one of the editors for our historical society undergraduate journal (2012).
• Scribe. This is perhaps the most critical of my EC's. I've been scribing for 9 months now and it's not really the conventional scribe position that most would think of. I round with a critical care and pulmonology specialist at two hospitals and occasionally at his clinic. I often work 12 hour shifts when I'm with him. My responsibilities include pulling charts, writing progress notes, and putting in orders. It's been the single most important clinical experience for me and it more or less confirmed that medicine was what I really wanted to do. His clinic is where I do most of my patient interactions. I take medical histories, surgical histories, HPI's, input lab data, update e-charts, and take some vitals. I use this as an opportunity to practice my spanish too, as most of our patients are Hispanic. It's really helped with my people skills
• My other job started off as a manager at my father's granite business. While not relevant in terms of exposure to medicine, it helped me mature real fast. I had to deal with a lot of stress and responsibility in a very disorganized environment. I dealt with a lot of different personalities, some hostile. I had to fire people (which as an incredibly uncomfortable experience for me) and hire people (conducting interviews and such). We completely overhauled our production line during my time there to a more automated system which required a lot of learning of technology i was completely unfamiliar with. Overall, I hated the experience and it got me to get my **** together and focus on my future. But it was an invaluable learning experience and ultimately helped me grow as an individual. Not sure what value ADCOMS put on stuff like this, but I know for me personally it was pretty valuable

LORs

• Committee letter through Cornell, one from my history professor who is pretty much at the top of her field and who had a big influence on me in terms of problem-solving and communicating (written and verbal), and one from my current neurobiology professor and former lab advisor at my local university. I kind of got lost in the shuffle with my science professors at Cornell, so he's the one I feel most comfortable with writing me an LoR. And finally one from the doctor I currently work for

Research (most recent being in 2009 so take that into consideration)

• Did a semester at a neuro mouse lab in undergrad (2009) It was alright, but really wasn't for me. No resulting publications
• During my leave of absence I did 6 months as a lab tech at my local university. It was a neurbiology/neurophysiology lab where I had did lots of different things, including creating my own experiment (I catalogued a set of neural cells in sea slugs). I was a bunch of fun but didn't lead to any publications. Nevertheless, the professor is writing my LoR.

The majority of my focus will be for ISS through TMDSAS and Baylor and TCOM. Possibly some OOS schools, but not many.


I feel like my biggest selling point is my clinical experience. As someone who has struggled to set career goals for one reason or another, I feel a certain level of comfort in a clinical environment. And as an older student (25) I have no delusions of grandeur in terms of what the medical profession offers. This is not an easy profession and it requires as much sacrifice as can be asked of someone, and I'm going into this completely aware of the good and bad that comes with this profession.

So the big question: What are my chances?**

**I mean, I kind of know already because I've researched the crap out of this but I welcome an outside opinion(s) since I have a distorted sense of what I look like on paper to AdComs.

PS: I may have missed some things, so I'll be sure to update with whatever additional information is needed. I appreciate the feedback guys. It's pretty awesome that this kind of thing exists, as you guys have had some fantastic advice and insights into this whole process. Thanks again!

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[jas972]

Bump

 

[s5260205]

You seem to be on top of your game, so there isn't much we could say except to apply broadly and early (focus primarily on Texas schools but also add a few OOS-friendly MD schools and any DO schools). Not sure how MD schools would view your post-bacc (depending what courses and how many you've taken), but should you maintain your performance throughout, your chances are great at any DO schools.

 

[jas972]

Appreciate the feedback. As far as which courses I'm taking as a postbacc, I made it a point to take upper level science courses so they go as follows: immunology, molecular bio, genetics, and neurobiology.

And yeah, I kind of figured I've done all I can, but anxiety, self-doubt, nerves, etc. compel me to post something for some validation haha.

Thanks for the input!

 

[QuentinT88]

You should be a lock for DO schools if you apply early

And if you maintain a 4.0 in your post bacc, you should consider applying to schools like Tulane, Drexel, BU. @Goro has a good idea of which md schools value reinvention + a solid MCAT

 

[ConsultantMD]

OP, you definitely sound a lot like me in terms of trying to bring things around to make yourself look more appealing in terms of the numbers game-great job! You killed your post-bacc and did well on the MCAT. I also worked full-time for several years after college.

The big question now is how you can present yourself to admissions committees in a way that will explain your past academic history, how that contrasts with your recent accomplishments, and why you are ready for medical school. You're going to be working uphill, as many schools seem to be numbers-driven (despite 'holistic' approaches, and who's to blame them when they get thousands of applicants for a class of 100-150?). Being in TX is a nice perk because you have so many options in-state. I think you have a great shot if you apply broadly and smart and you have an excellent story to tell in your PS and secondaries. Feel free to PM me ideas you have about those or any other questions you might have from another non-trad.

 

[DrShephardWannabe]

One thing that you'll have to explain if you get Texas II's is how you're tied to the state. Resident status does help, but you also need to show them how you're dedicated to practicing medicine in Texas.

 

[jas972]

Appreciate the responses guys!

As far as my ties to the state, aside from being a resident, I fully intend to practice medicine in Texas, mostly with/in underserved communities (being from South Texas may help my case in that regard). For right now I think I want to go into primary care or ER medicine, but it's all preliminary of course. There's a million different variables to account for during this whole process, and as most have said, a large component of getting that elusive acceptance letter is mostly left to chance. I'm thinking that my PS will play a large role in who and how many schools extend secondaries and interviews.

 

[jas972]

Looking for some more feedback

 

[Aquinas]

As a Texas resident, you are in a sweet spot! Aim for the newer MD schools (Dell and Rio Valley) if you are worried. I think you are on top of your game with adding TCOM as well. Make sure your PS is well edited and captivating. Your EC's are cookie cutter but I don't see a problem with that. Had friends who did less and still pre-matched to their choice school. On May 1st, get that application in, transcripts done, and LORs upload.

Wish the best of luck!

 

[jas972]

So I thought I'd attach a question to this thread instead of starting a completely different one:

I took linear algebra sophomore year of college and got a D (I had absolutely no business taking that class, but I thought I was Stephen-****ing-Hawking at the time :/). I know this class is more or less irrelevant to medicine and if it were up to me I'd leave it as a lesson learned in hubris and move on. Still, I have to ask whether it would be beneficial to retake it or just leave it be and take another science class to up my sGPA (this would all be in the summer). Thoughts?

 

[Doug Underhill]

Take another science class. 70% of premeds would probably get a D in linear algebra, which is why we're too scared to take it.

 

[jas972]

Yeah I kind of figured that would be the reasonable thing to do. It's the biggest blemish on my transcript, but what can you do? A science credit is a science credit, no point shooting myself in the foot again over pride.

I remember getting a 90 on the first prelim thinking I rocked it only to find out the average was a 92...stupid engineers. It was all downhill from there haha.