Am I a reasonable MD applicant?

yes, but....

You definitely have a shot at acceptance! You've improved greatly since your first year, and if you ace your science courses and MCAT, you can address your beginning problems in your personal statement. Undoubtedly you will be able to use your scholastic improvement to your advantage, showing admissions committees that you are persevering and optimistic.

If you do well on the MCAT and get really good grades in the rest of the pre reqs and get some clinical experience you should be fine.

As far as I know, only a few schools even require the second semester of Calc, so it shouldn't be a problem as long as the BCPM is evened out by other science courses. That's my take on it anyway. Good luck.

Schools love an upward trend. Just do well on the MCAT and be prepared to explain your grades in your earlier years. It will not hurt you much/at all if you have an adequate explanation, dont sound whiny, and explain what you learned from the experience.

honestly mate... common... i can't believe you needed to ask this question... I don't understand people like you that ask "what are my chance"... "do i stand a chance"?... If you are smart enough for med school you should theoretically have enough intuitive commonw sense that of course school will see an improvement, and that that carries a lot of weight... that you went back to school and were dedicated... blabbity blah blah blah... at worst, there are a thousand posts lik ethese and the answer/situations are always exactly the same... just go to some generic what are my chance thread and get your answer there... there is really no need to try and reassure yourself this way... it personally annoys me to see posts lik ethis and to think that people don't have enough common sense to answer these types of questions themseves and waste my time and kilabyte with it...

(that is a general vent for all these type of threads and not just you theoretically...)

Highclimber said:

honestly mate... common... i can't believe you needed to ask this question... I don't understand people like you that ask "what are my chance"... "do i stand a chance"?... If you are smart enough for med school you should theoretically have enough intuitive commonw sense that of course school will see an improvement, and that that carries a lot of weight... that you went back to school and were dedicated... blabbity blah blah blah... at worst, there are a thousand posts lik ethese and the answer/situations are always exactly the same... just go to some generic what are my chance thread and get your answer there... there is really no need to try and reassure yourself this way... it personally annoys me to see posts lik ethis and to think that people don't have enough common sense to answer these types of questions themseves and waste my time and kilabyte with it...

(that is a general vent for all these type of threads and not just you theoretically...)

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I too used to vent about these same types of threads being posted over and over again. Being premed does something to the brain.....something bad. People think they have to be perfect all the time or their future dreams are over. Now I just save my rants for the 3.8 gpa, 34 mcat with a 9, 12, 13 what are my chances threads.

PsyDStar said:

Thanks for the thoughts... would addressing the early academic issues in my personal statement be most appropriate? (along with being prepared to discuss and/or explain it during an interview)?

-Psy*

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Personal statement, no. If they have another general essay prompt on the secondary, yes. I would not waste space on the personal statement to bring up the topic because most schools allow you to add whatever you want in additional essays on the secondaries. If your interviewer does not bring it up, then you should bring it up yourself during an interview. Although it will most likely be addressed without you having to bring up the topic.

PsyDStar said:

What is your reasoning for bringing the issue up myself in an interview? I just want to understand better in order to justify doing so.

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Because an interview is the time to sell yourself. This means both emphasizing your strengths, and explaining your weaknesses in a manor that leaves no doubt in the interviewers mind that you are qualified. Your interview can go as well as you would hope for, but when they have their committee meeting, you want your interviewer to be able to go in front of the board and go to bat for you in all areas of your application.

You can address this indirectly by talking (in your personal statement or in the interview) about how much you have grown. I don't know your personal situation, but I assume you weren't always premed, or some soul-searching/maturing happened along the way that makes you much more prepared and dedicated now to the path of medicine. The "maturing" aspect can be reflected in your transcript, personal statement, and interview, so you don't have to specifically address poor early grades (though you certainly can do so if you are asked to address it).

One piece of advice -- shape your story. Think about what story you want to present about yourself to medical schools, what kind of person you want to be, and BE that person. This may involve volunteering/working/working hard in classes/focusing on certain types of extracurriculars. Hopefully this won't be only for getting into medical school, but will really reflect your unique interests and abilities.

Good luck.

PsyDStar said:

I appreciate your annoyance... this is public board however. If you don't like "what are my chances" postings, don't read them... and certainly don't respond to them! If I want to seek my own reassurances (hollow as they may be) through this board, I will, despite your disdain.

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believe me i realize this is a public board... i would encourage you to be more psecific with question other than... "any ideas, thoughts, criticisms"... you are extremely early in this game (i.e. years away from an application) and i think discussing the material of your personal statement exudes exudes extreme naivete.... (at least in as far that you have no idea what "life shattering" experiences you might have to push you farther into medicine)... Discussing why you were psychologically unstable and therefore had a 2.98 gpa may in fact be the story you want to tell... but don't you think you should actually take the classes see how well you do... feel things out and then start worrying about how to address you gpa etc... frankly my 0.02 dollars is that IF you do well you improvement will speak well enough for yourself... And unless your exterpience with beign at the wrong college was the reason/motivation for choosing a career in medicine... i wouldn't bring it up in your PS... but as i said... you are years aways from being ready to apply... go talk to your schools premed advisor and ask what you need to do/address when and where... (and incidentally, I got into allopathic schools with a 3.00 gpa... you're first year is not too far off this... and the key to my success was confidence in myself, something you clearly have yet to achieve and will not get from these forums, that this was what i was meant to pursue and knowing therefore that i woulf get in...)... anyway best of luck mate....

Highclimber said:

....and the key to my success was confidence in myself, something you clearly have yet to achieve and will not get from these forums, that this was what i was meant to pursue and knowing therefore that i woulf get in...)... anyway best of luck mate....

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Quoting for truth. Yes, you need to convince interviewers you belong there. But trust me, if you are not confident in yourself it will show. Confidence will take you a long way. If you apply with the same attitude as your first post, I predict you will have a hard time. You should be able to go into the interviewing knowing that you have worked hard/made a lot of impovements and are able to handle the rigors of medical school. If you can achieve this and portray it to medical schools, it should balance out any early academic grades. But keep in mind that nobody is a shoe-in at any school. Just prepare as best as you can, and good luck to you.

You sound nervous. What's the worst possible outcome of applying to medical school? A rejection letter. A piece of paper with bad news on it. Accept this as a realistic possibility before going into the process, and it will be a lot easier.

Statistically, any applicant has about a 45% chance of being successful. That's worse than a coin flip. Obviously, one can improve their odds of gaining admission by demonstrating qualities that distinguish themself from the rest of the applicant pool, such as a remarkable GPA, MCAT, extra curriculars, etc.

That's all that's really within your control, and from then on in, the whole process becomes somewhat arbitrary. Many schools have between 6K to 10K applications to go through. In the initial screening, if the screener gets a bad vibe, you're done. End of application. That's all, $100 down the drain, thanks for playing. It's not a rejection of you per se, just bad luck. Alternatively, maybe they didn't get to your application until late in the process, and their class and waitlist was already full. Maybe your application was mistakenly put in the wrong pile. Who knows.

If you are asked to interview, and the interviewer absolutely adores you and tells you that s/he is going to sing your praises to the adcom at their next meeting, this is good right? What if they neglect to tell you that they were dropped from JV debate club in junior high, and can't present a cogent argument to save their skin? If they can't convince enough of the people sitting at the table that you are truly wonderful, expect a thin envelope in the mail. This can happen. The ability to debate an issue is a skill that a surprising great many highly intelligent people lack.

So, if you are fortunate enough to escape all of the potential pitfalls in the process, you get an acceptance letter. Congratulations. You did it. You're on cloud nine. You look over your acceptance letter and notice something amiss. The person who just spent half a page generically extolling your hard work, dedication, etc. couldn't be bothered to actually sign your letter, and let the laser printer do it for them. Tacky. I've actually seen this. I think that speaks volumes about the process. If you are put off by this and decline your admission, they just move on to the next name on the list. No skin off their backs. There are plenty of people chomping at the bit for your spot.

The upshot of this verbose diatribe is this: Expect the unexpected. People with great stats get rejected while some other guy who was discouraged from even applying gets in. The seemingly impossible becomes possible every day. While I may think you've got a great shot, it's just one person's opinion, and not one that matters in the grand scheme of things.

If pursuing a career in medicine is what you truly want, you'll make it happen if you keep plugging away at it. Perhaps you don't get in this time, or even the next. Take this as an opportunity to evaluate yourself, improve on what is lacking, and try again. You haven't failed until you give up.

Best wishes, and good luck.

dont think about things too much, do a well known post bacc program and apply and you will get in some where. dont worry about it.

MarzMD said:

Schools love an upward trend. Just do well on the MCAT and be prepared to explain your grades in your earlier years.

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'nuff said. Worked for me. Good luck.