3.09 gpa, science gpa lower, 40mcat.

[onoeskimo]

few years out of college. 50 hours icu shadowing and 200+ hours emergency room volunteering, if that even matters. a few research papers. employed by hospital as medical researcher for a few years.
late application. cant really wait another year.

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[dreamweaver1988]

Disclaimer: I'm just a pre-med

I don't know if this is real or just political trolling...Anyway, if you apply to medical schools, they should be of the DO variety. Your GPA is way too low for MD schools and, honestly, probably too low for DO schools. I don't think even your outstanding MCAT score can remedy this. My advice would be to retake science classes to improve both your cGPA and sGPA, continue your ECs (which are good, btw) and apply in June 2012.

 

[sliceofbread136]

You have a low GPA, but I think that your MCAT makes up for it. Whats really going to hurt you is how late it is in the cycle, most schools aren't even accepting applications anymore. What I would do is wait a year, work on extracuricculars+research and take some upper division science class to improve your GPA. If you do this, an MD acceptance will be probably be attainable. Just wait for next year, in the grand scheme of things it doesn't matter.

 

[onoeskimo]

Disclaimer: I'm just a pre-med

I don't know if this is real or just political trolling...Anyway, if you apply to medical schools, they should be of the DO variety. Your GPA is way too low for MD schools and, honestly, probably too low for DO schools. I don't think even your outstanding MCAT score can remedy this. My advice would be to retake science classes to improve both your cGPA and sGPA, continue your ECs (which are good, btw) and apply in June 2012.

not trolling, internet anonymity got the best of me and i had a dr phil moment. apologize. ill edit it out now.

too low for DO too? Damn.

 

[dreamweaver1988]

not trolling, internet anonymity got the best of me and i had a dr phil moment. apologize. ill edit it out now.

too low for DO too? Damn.

Hey, like I said, I'm a pre-med. Based on what I've gathered from stuff I've seen on websites like SDN, your GPA is very low, even for DO schools. On second thought, your MCAT might counterbalance your GPA. Like someone else said, though, applying for the Class of 2016 would not be wise. I'd say apply in June 2012 for the Class of 2017.

 

[Catalystik]

Why are your GPAs low? Was it from a bad freshman year or one bad earlier semester, or more recent problems? Do you have a strong recent upward grade trend (at least a year), including some As in upper-level Bio?

 

[shaggybill]

An MD acceptance is probably unlikely at this point, despite your fantastic MCAT. I would use this spring and summer to retake some of those science classes and apply DO. Retaking will bring up your GPA faster than taking new classes.

That being said, people have got in with GPAs as low as yours, and they didn't have a 40 MCAT. Usually people like this have stellar ECs though.

What's your sGPA, btw?

 

[DrWily]

My stats:

2.96 sGPA, 3.14 cGPA, 33Q MCAT.

I got into AZCOM this year for D.O.

You can probably get in with your current stats, but it's too late in the cycle now. Boost up your application with retakes and apply June 1st next year. I applied June 28th this year and got 5+ interviews.

One year out of a 30+ year career? Take the time to do it right the first time. ONE AND DONE.

 

[flodhi1]

Congratulations on an absolutely stunning MCAT score. You still have a good chance at getting accepted to a medical school. I truly believe that if you can show volunteering and shadowing with a DO you could even get accepted to a DO school this late or at least get an interview. If your ECs are not up to match then step back this cycle and work on them. MD might be out of the question THIS CYCLE ONLY because it's absolutely too late. A lot of MD schools have issued acceptances, interviews and even stopped accepting applications.
I would say enroll into a SMP program or remain in undergrad and take upper level science courses. You're clearly an intelligent person, if you work hard you could easily get > 3.7, work on your ECs.
Get some leadership qualities such as tutoring, leadership in an organization, role modeling. Get more shadowing and volunteering. Get some community service such as working in homeless shelters, rehab facilities (some medical schools are very focused towards community work and if your ECs match their mission they might even overlook your low cGPA seriously). Get at least 2 semesters- Spring 12, Fall 12 with a high GPA and even if you apply next cycle you could land some MD interviews. Do not listen to people that say you don't have a shot at DO schools. As I stated if you work on minor issues in your ECs concerning DO then you could easily land an acceptance next year. Stay committed to this cause my friend, you are so close to becoming a doctor. Good luck, let us know if you need anything

NOTE:- If you retook some courses and did well or if you messed up on math classes then your AACOMAS (DO) GPA will be higher than what you stated.

 

[Goro]

You're on the low end for DO schools, but not locked out altogether. That 40MCAT will get a lot of attention. So, I think you'll get some interviews.

And remember, patience is a virtue!

not trolling, internet anonymity got the best of me and i had a dr phil moment. apologize. ill edit it out now.

too low for DO too? Damn.

 

[gmcguitar4]

I would say you have a shot this cycle if you didn't apply late. The low gpa is pretty bad but the lateness is killer.

 

[TriagePreMed]

40 will get a lot of D.O. attention for you, but you need to get that sGPA to at least a 3.0 to beat the automatic cutoffs that some schools have.

 

[Bouddha]

I had a 2.9x GPA, and a 36 MCAT, yet I am now an MS1 at a public MD school.

Sell yourself, and you definitely have a chance.

Best of luck!

 

[nkpdx]

I had a 2.9x GPA, and a 36 MCAT, yet I am now an MS1 at a public MD school.

Sell yourself, and you definitely have a chance.

Best of luck!

if I may ask... what school did you get into? that's encouraging to hear

 

[Catalystik]

@Bouddha: Congrats on your University of Texas-San Antonio acceptance!

 

[markem]

Out of curiosity, do the Lizzy and LizzyM scores still apply in this case?

For example if the OP was applying to University of Texas - San Antonio Medical School their Lizzy score would be: 3.09(10) + 40 = 70.9 and the LizzyM score of UTHSCSA is: 3.61(10) + 31 (-1) = 66.1 (I think it's still -1 but I'm not sure if that's been changed)

If not for gaining interviews are the Lizzy/LizzyM scores a good indicator of how medical schools screen for applicants to be even considered for an interview?

This question has been sitting in my head for a while now and I'm hoping someone can shed some light on this especially since GPA seems to be such a non-standard way to precisely (or accurately for that matter) gauge an applicant which is why I'm trying to aim for a very high score on the MCAT myself.

 

[BurntFlower]

cant really wait another year.

Why can't you apply early next year to maximize your chances of getting in?

FWIW, I have the same MCAT and a lower GPA and was accepted to a half-dozen MD schools, most in the top 25.

If I may ask, what schools were you accepted to? I'm asking because your situation is very encouraging to me (I think my sci GPA is on the low side) and others who have low GPA and high MCAT (though I still have to take mine).

 

[markem]

The calculator doesn't work very well. I think there's something wrong with the script in the background that calculates the data from the background.

For example if I input a 3.8 GPA and 37 MCAT with all checked YES, TX resident, UT-San Antonio then it says I have a 38% chance but if I try again a couple of times after refreshing the page it says 95% regardless of my state of residence.

 

[markem]

My question is a simple one: Are the Lizzy/Lizzy M scores still active and will they at least guarantee that an applicant can bypass the automatic computer cutoff and probably gain an interview? Assuming that the applicant and school they are applying to are in the same state (to remove residency bias).