shook33 said:
If you dont mind me asking could you tell me a little bit about your situation so I can compare it with my own? (gpa, MCAT, number time applying, state residency, extras?, schools applied to?)
I'll try to remember everything (I have a selective memory-- haha). Seriously, though, I left UG b/c of a serious illness but not before I let the grades tank. I think I ended with ~2.6 (or maybe 2.8) GPA after 4 semesters in '95. It took me until 98 (technically, it was 99 b/c of the graduation date) to complete my UG degree part-time while I worked in medical research full time. A lot of it was "credit" or "P/F" (not unlike Q's issue) so getting another 60 credits did very little for the GPA... it ended around 2.8 something. I also began my grad degree in 99 and completed it (part-time, again, while doing my research thing 60 hrs/wk-- so have sympathy for my slowness!!) in May 03.
I applied in 02/03 to 7 schools only in DC, MD, and PA (I'm a MD resident) and didn't even get an interview. Granted I still had one course to complete for my grad degree and I had only done 2 post-bac courses (physics) and wasn't really fully satisfying some pre-reqs (was riding on the orgo type course in my grad program to satisfy Orgo II--- big mistake on my part). The Aug MCAT back then, I think, topped out at 27 (also had a 25 before that in Apr). So, really, I was SOL for the applications that year for many reasons. I was also riding my research a little too much... so, I:
1. completed 40 credits of post-bac with a 3.99
2. brought the MCAT up to the (yay) 30 range
3. shadowed 3 physicians (one allo ENT neuro specialist for a year, one Int Med for 8 months, and one DO spine surgeon -orthopoed- for 3 months)
4. continued my research and got more publications (1st author)
It was a long road. I literally decided to apply to med school late in life-- Dec 2001, and did so that summer. It's been since this past app year that I "fixed" a lot of things and this time I actually was very successful. I applied to 28 schools this year (8 D.O.) and not only got a lot of interviews, I was accepted at all but one and I even had the luxury of saying no to interviews. It was an insane roller coaster and totally worth the work.
If you'd like more details on anything I've mentioned, or even my comments/suggestions for your personal situation, PM me any time. Part of the battle is also filling out apps-- marketing yourself and making yourself stand out from the cookie cutter applicant. We're non-trads, so we should have an interesting story (and even a story you think is dull could be made interesting if you approach it the right way!).
FD
