25Q MCAT Military

[deezy175]

I have a unique situation. I am 27 years old, served 4 1/2 years in the US Army and am now back in school and trying to go to med school. At my current university I have a 3.67 Science GPA and 3.49 Overall GPA. I scored a 25Q on the MCAT and am now waiting to hear back. Only problem is... I went to school before the Army and messed around. I had about a 2.2 GPA there. So, my AMCAS GPA comes out to a 2.9. I have started hearing back from schools saying that they look at the AMCAS verified GPA.

My question is, do I even have a chance with my GPA. Will schools even look at my entire application? My grades from 7+ years prior seem to be causing more problems than I was hoping for. I feel that if my entire application is looked at, after my GPA, then I have strong credentials. Just looking for an honest opinion. Thanks.

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[Catalystik]

For how many full-time semesters have you earned good grades since returning to college?
Have you retaken any of the classes you did poorly in?
How many more classes would you need to take before having a cGPA over 3.0?
What is your AMCAS BCPM GPA?
What are your MCAT subscores? How likely is it that you could get a 30+ MCAT score?

 

[deezy175]

I have been back in college since Fall 2009. This is my 5th semester back at school.

AMCAS cGPA for current University: 3.55
AMCAS bcpm GPA for current University: 3.49

I have retaken 2 courses.

After this semester my cGPA will be over a 3.0.

My AMCAS bcmp GPA is a 2.6. (I dont know if Engineer classes would count)

Received a 25Q on the MCAT. If I took it again next year Im confident I could score a 28, which is what I was getting on practice exams.

Im curious if I should start looking at a backup plan since my immature college years seem to be plaguing me.
And to any freshman reading this, learn from my mistakes.

Thanks for your help.

 

[Catalystik]

Engineering classes are not considered "science" for AMCAS, but I believe they are for AACOMAS.

If you don't meet automatic computer cutoffs for a school, your application won't be further reviewed. It is common for that cutoff to be a 3.0 for cGPA for AMCAS schools, but a number of DO schools have cutoffs at 2.5 or 2.75, or not specified.

You've had 4 semesters of consistent performance, but the GPAs earned could have been stronger.

Your MCAT score is on the low side for DO, but not impossible if your GPA was only higher.

AACOMAS, the DO application service, only counts the most recent grade if you retook for the same credit hours or greater. AMCAS counts both grades. The fastest way to raise your application GPA would be to retake more classes where you got particularly low grades.

Have you considered applying to DO schools?

 

[deezy175]

I have applied to DO schools, but applied to some MD schools as well. I was hoping that my military experience would give me a better chance. I think if my application can be looked at without those previous grades it would actually be a lot stronger. My current academics definitely show an improvement along with a lot of experience. Im hoping for the best. Only time will tell. Thanks for your input.

 

[FrkyBgStok]

you likely won't get anything from MD schools. The military looks good, but not to make up for a 25. You are prohibitively low for MD but a little low for DO. With the military experience, DO schools will probably interview you and you are within an acceptance. If you retake the MCAT, you will probably need 33+ because you still have a 2.9 GPA which is going VERY unlikely for MD schools. Honestly, save your money and forget the MD route. Focus on DO so you can be happy when that is where you go.

 

[shaggybill]

Yeah, I agree that you should forget MD and put all your efforts into DO. There are two really good things about DO: grade replacement and the fact that a lot of DO schools pay attention only to what you've done in the past two to three years, academically speaking. Take advantage of this. Go through your old transcript and look to see if there are any classes you can retake. Like Catalystic mentioned above, the fastest way to raise your AACOMAS gpa is to retake classes you've made bad grades in, not by taking additional classes and making good grades in them.

The important thing here is to apply smartly. Don't waste your time and money applying to schools that are our of your reach because with your numbers you aren't going to get in without some AMAZING ECs. Being in the army is a great thing to have on your resume, but it's not going to be enough. Work on gaining real and meaningful clinical experiences. Without them, you're going to have a hard time getting in.

Lastly, don't give up. This is definitely doable. You just have to do it smart and you do that by having a game plan. Research which schools have a cutoff of 2.75 and an avg MCAT of 25 or so. You need to make it past the cutoff, and then dazzle them with an awesome application that includes a great list of ECs.