Where to go from here

[mkj07]

I applied this past cycle (09-10) with 3 interviews and 0 acceptances. My plan is to take the 10-11 cycle to work on my app and apply the cycle after that (11-12).

My stats (09-10):
cGPA: 3.61
sGPA: 3.59
MCAT: 28 (10, 7, 11) and 32 (12, 10, 10)

However, I have a downward GPA trend:
Freshman: 3.71/3.78
Soph.: 3.64/3.58
Junior: 3.37/3.25
Senior: 3.46/3.38

So, including senior year, my cGPA and sGPA are 3.55 and 3.51, respectively. The reason why the junior and senior GPAs dipped was because there are A LOT of B's. There are no grades in my transcript below a B.

EC-wise, I need a lot of work as well and I should have known going into this past cycle.
- Hospital volunteering for 4 years (~450 hours)
- Sports medicine/athletic training (too many to count, but this was like a part/full-time job depending on the season, hence I couldn't really do anything else.)
- Tutoring/teaching experience
But yeah, other than that, I have no other significant ECs to speak of.

I have already started volunteering at a local foodbank and will shadow some physicians next week. I also plan to look for clinical research.

With all this in consideration, I have three questions:

1) Should a significant amount of time be spent improving my grades?

2) If so, should I be looking into SMPs? I was under the impression that SMPs are generally for applicants with low GPAs/high MCAT scores. But I have a downward trend and I don't want adcoms thinking that I can't handle the work.

3) Am I heading in the right direction EC-wise?

Sorry for the somewhat drawn-out explanation. Thanks for the input and recommendations! I really appreciate it!

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[emno]

I applied this past cycle (09-10) with 3 interviews and 0 acceptances. My plan is to take the 10-11 cycle to work on my app and apply the cycle after that (11-12).

My stats (09-10):
cGPA: 3.61
sGPA: 3.59
MCAT: 28 (10, 7, 11) and 32 (12, 10, 10)

However, I have a downward GPA trend:
Freshman: 3.71/3.78
Soph.: 3.64/3.58
Junior: 3.37/3.25
Senior: 3.46/3.38

So, including senior year, my cGPA and sGPA are 3.55 and 3.51, respectively. The reason why the junior and senior GPAs dipped was because there are A LOT of B's. There are no grades in my transcript below a B.

EC-wise, I need a lot of work as well and I should have known going into this past cycle.
- Hospital volunteering for 4 years (~450 hours)
- Sports medicine/athletic training (too many to count, but this was like a part/full-time job depending on the season, hence I couldn't really do anything else.)
- Tutoring/teaching experience
But yeah, other than that, I have no other significant ECs to speak of.

I have already started volunteering at a local foodbank and will shadow some physicians next week. I also plan to look for clinical research.

With all this in consideration, I have three questions:

1) Should a significant amount of time be spent improving my grades?

2) If so, should I be looking into SMPs? I was under the impression that SMPs are generally for applicants with low GPAs/high MCAT scores. But I have a downward trend and I don't want adcoms thinking that I can't handle the work.

3) Am I heading in the right direction EC-wise?

Sorry for the somewhat drawn-out explanation. Thanks for the input and recommendations! I really appreciate it!

Apply early and yo more schools. Yout stat are great

 

[dragonfly99]

Your grades are not THAT bad, but I agree with you that the downward trend may have been worrisome to some adcoms. Therefore I would recommend taking some upper level science classes (like 300 or 400 level biology or biochem). You should pick ones that you can commit to and where you really can do well...you need A or A- and nothing less.

Your volunteer hours look OK...I agree with physician shadowing, and don't quit on the volunteering altogether. Cut down on the athletic training job unless you want to be an athletic trainer or physical therapist...redirect energies to things that will help more for getting into med school.

Also, make sure someone reads your personal statement...ideally multiple people. Make sure it answer the question of WHY you want to be a doctor well, and doesn't just recite your resume accomplishments. You want to help the adcom get inside your head, as they've read a million essays that recite how someone did hospital volunteer work, etc.

The 2nd MCAT score is OK, and looks balanced. I wouldn't retake.

I would apply to a lot of schools, like 20 or 30...apply to all your state schools...if you're in a state like CA where it's uberhard to get into state schools, then apply to all private schools in your state, plus some in Midwest and South, and any that commonly take students from your undergrad school. Consider DO schools particularly if you want to do primary care...you an pick and choose carefully the ones that have the best academic reputation. You could potentially even apply again this year...it's up to you, but I wouldn't say it would be a waste. You could try applying, and in the mean time improve your application. Taking a year off is OK too if you want, if you feel burned out and feel like your application would be better next year.

 

[Goro]

Your stats are competetive. What comes to my mind is perhaps there is a bad LOR in your file? That's a kiss of death for AdComs.