Unique Situation...Chances for Med School?

[racerchamp7]

I'm sorry if this topic has been beaten to death in the past, but I'm new to the forums.


I'm currently in a Ph.D. program in medicinal chemistry and molecular pharmacology. Over the past few years, I've gained a great desire to go to medical school, but I'd like to know what kind of situation I'm facing trying to get in.

For the past two years, I've been doing semi-daily volunteer work in the evenings at local hospitals, and I really enjoy what I'm doing. I got a 35 on the MCAT (only taken it once so far) and I've had a long history of laboratory research (even before Ph.d.).

Here's the rub: as an undergraduate, my GPA was only 3.14. I got an honors degree in biochemistry with a minor in chemistry, and I did an undergraduate thesis. Also, my freshman year (which is the major result of my mediocre GPA; my GPA increased after freshman year) was filled with engineering coursework, since that was my original major.

During the summer before my senior year of undergraduate work I was diagnosed with ADHD, which I apparently have had to deal with my entire life. Upon receiving treatment, my grades immediately shot up, and my next two semesters (with difficult class work and extracurriculars) resulted in a 3.9 and 3.5 GPA. I'm doing well in graduate school, but I know that may not matter tooooo much.

Again, I know that I really want to go to medical school, and I've had a good amount of clinical and volunteer experience in the field. Could I get an idea of my chances of getting in to medical school? Thank you so much!

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[0919mmk]

I'm sorry if this topic has been beaten to death in the past, but I'm new to the forums.


I'm currently in a Ph.D. program in medicinal chemistry and molecular pharmacology. Over the past few years, I've gained a great desire to go to medical school, but I'd like to know what kind of situation I'm facing trying to get in.

For the past two years, I've been doing semi-daily volunteer work in the evenings at local hospitals, and I really enjoy what I'm doing. I got a 35 on the MCAT (only taken it once so far) and I've had a long history of laboratory research (even before Ph.d.).

Here's the rub: as an undergraduate, my GPA was only 3.14. I got an honors degree in biochemistry with a minor in chemistry, and I did an undergraduate thesis. Also, my freshman year (which is the major result of my mediocre GPA; my GPA increased after freshman year) was filled with engineering coursework, since that was my original major.

During the summer before my senior year of undergraduate work I was diagnosed with ADHD, which I apparently have had to deal with my entire life. Upon receiving treatment, my grades immediately shot up, and my next two semesters (with difficult class work and extracurriculars) resulted in a 3.9 and 3.5 GPA. I'm doing well in graduate school, but I know that may not matter tooooo much.

Again, I know that I really want to go to medical school, and I've had a good amount of clinical and volunteer experience in the field. Could I get an idea of my chances of getting in to medical school? Thank you so much!

I think your chances are quite good actually! 35 is great, and will get you in the door of many schools. 3.14 is obviously an issue, but definitely not a dealbreaker. Depending on what state you are a resident in, you should have a good shot at the state school (unless you live in CA or NY, and MA is tough).

I think you have a good shot because I was/am in a somewhat similar situation as you. I applied in 2009 with a 3.1/32, no state school, good research, published in Nature, masters in biotech in progress. I got 3 MD interviews out of 10 apps, of which 2 waitlisted and 1 accepted that ultimately didn't work out for unusual reasons.

By the numbers, I probably shouldn't have gotten MD interviews, but I think I made an interesting case, and my numbers were just enough to not get me laughed out the door/get my app at least looked at. SO, it IS more than just numbers, and your numbers are sufficient anyway. Work on volunteering experience, perhaps some shadowing, but mostly, putting together an application that makes people say, "This person is interesting/mature/unusual/whatever."

Good luck!

EDIT: Also, apply to more than 10 schools! That was kind of dumb on my part Really people with a weakness in GPA or MCAT should apply to 15+ schools, and 25+ wouldn't be too unusual. And yes, you are correct that, unfortunately, grad work doesn't count for much numberwise, BUT it does make you stand out, which is something that you should aim to do, and is not easy to do in a sea of pretty uniform applicants.

 

[familyaerospace]

Honestly, yes this post has been answered before on multiple occasions.

1) Graduate school - there have been more than a few people that decided when in a PhD program that they would rather be MDs and apply to medical school. Medical schools would likely want you to finish the PhD. Positive note, you will have a ton of activities that will look rather good for the application (research and publications for example)

2) Low GPA - A lot of schools look at trends in your GPA. If you steadily improved or you just had the freshman year from h*ll, they will likely take that into account. Plus, a 35 MCAT could help you. Another thing, even if the MD schools turn up their nose at you because of the GPA (which I don't really think they will), there are always DO schools which give a fine education.

3) ADHD - Your story regarding ADHD is common. I can think of at least three people in the Non-Trad forum here alone that also have ADHD (not including myself). There is even a higher percentage in pre-allo.

 

[QofQuimica]

Welcome to SDN; your situation is far from unique. I am also a PhD-to-MD (MS in med chem, PhD in pharmaceutical chem). You can find links to many useful threads for people who want to go to medical school after grad school here. There is also an FAQs sticky at the top of this forum with links to many other threads that are helpful for overall nontrad issues.

In general, you can find answers to your questions by typing key words to search for in the "search" function located at the top of the page. This will allow you to find previous threads on your topic of interest and avoid reposting the same questions. If you have any additional questions, feel free to PM me or post. Best of luck.

 

[StudyShy]

I think that you have a wonderful chance. I'd even trade you situations.