33 MCAT and 3.3 from Northwestern

[postbaccstudent]

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Hello,

I'm doing a postbacc at Northwestern. I have one C- that basically killed my post-bacc GPA that I got while studying for the MCAT the rest is just about all B+, A-, and As

I have lots of shadowing experience as well as 1year+ volunteering regularly at 2 organizations.

I have at least a few excellent letters of recommendation and hopefully nothing below a very good one.

I have research experience via a medical school and if I spent my gap year doing research could likely get my name on a publication.

My undergrad GPA is not very good, a 3.1 from a mediocre school, that was 5+ years ago though. I did not take any science in undergrad.

I pretty much spent my life savings to go back to school and take these courses. I think if interviewed people would see a lot of sincerity and would think I am capable of doing very well with patient interactions.

I'm not a URM and am an Illinois resident.

I'm applying this summer. Any advice? "What are my chances?"

 

[rubisco88]

I think your chances at an MD school are very slim due to the fact that you failed to redeem yourself after doing the post-bacc. On top of that your undergrad GPA is too low for MD schools. Your MCAT is fine, but not enough to redeem your poor GPAs. Your ECs seem fine, but not stellar enough to overcome your low GPA. I think you have a good shot at DO schools if you apply broadly. If you can I would try to retake as many of your lower grades as possible to take advantage of the DO grade replacement policy.

 

[DennisdaMenace]

I think your chances at an MD school are very slim due to the fact that you failed to redeem yourself after doing the post-bacc. On top of that your undergrad GPA is too low for MD schools. Your MCAT is fine, but not enough to redeem your poor GPAs. Your ECs seem fine, but not stellar enough to overcome your low GPA. I think you have a good shot at DO schools if you apply broadly. If you can I would try to retake as many of your lower grades as possible to take advantage of the DO grade replacement policy.

Going to have to agree with this ^^

If you really, really want the MD degree and have the time and $ to burn, I would try to get straight-As for the next year and retake the MCAT. A 35 would go a long way in offsetting a low GPA.

If you don't really care about the last two letters behind your name and just want to become a physician, go DO. I would say you have a very good chance at most DO schools, considering their MCAT ranges between 26-28 on average.

 

[Catalystik]

Hello,

I'm doing a postbacc at Northwestern. I have one C- that basically killed my post-bacc GPA that I got while studying for the MCAT the rest is just about all B+, A-, and As

I have lots of shadowing experience as well as 1year+ volunteering regularly at 2 organizations.

I have at least a few excellent letters of recommendation and hopefully nothing below a very good one.

I have research experience via a medical school and if I spent my gap year doing research could likely get my name on a publication.

My undergrad GPA is not very good, a 3.1 from a mediocre school, that was 5+ years ago though. I did not take any science in undergrad.

I pretty much spent my life savings to go back to school and take these courses. I think if interviewed people would see a lot of sincerity and would think I am capable of doing very well with patient interactions.

I'm not a URM and am an Illinois resident.

I'm applying this summer. Any advice? "What are my chances?"

When did you get the C-? Did you retake the class? How many total postbac credit hours did you take? Do your folks reside south of I-80 so thast SIU might consider you? Why NU instead of a cheaper state school?

 

[postbaccstudent]

When did you get the C-? Did you retake the class? How many total postbac credit hours did you take? Do your folks reside south of I-80 so thast SIU might consider you? Why NU instead of a cheaper state school?

I just got th C-. I am willing to retake it. Really see no reason I shouldn't get an A with more time. I took all the 4 basic prereqs+ intro to bio. I wanted a challenge. I took intro to biology at community college and got the highest grade in the class (>100%) and wanted more theoretical knowledge. Until this class I had a 3.6 post bacc.

That seems pretty rough that admission to an MD program can hinge on one class. It says about 45% of (white and asian) people with my MCAT + GPA get accepted to MD programs on the graph in the sticky. Is there somewhere I am lacking that those 45% tend to have? Is there something further that I can do to help my chances?

 

[Catalystik]

I just got th C-. I am willing to retake it. Really see no reason I shouldn't get an A with more time. I took all the 4 basic prereqs+ intro to bio. I wanted a challenge. I took intro to biology at community college and got the highest grade in the class (>100%) and wanted more theoretical knowledge. Until this class I had a 3.6 post bacc.

That seems pretty rough that admission to an MD program can hinge on one class. It says about 45% of (white and asian) people with my MCAT + GPA get accepted to MD programs on the graph in the sticky. Is there somewhere I am lacking that those 45% tend to have? Is there something further that I can do to help my chances?

An upward grade trend would help a lot.

 

[rubisco88]

The people that seem to get in with lower undergrad GPAs, usually did an SMP or post-bacc. Most of the ones with acceptances tend to pull off 3.8+s GPAs in their program. The 45% also includes applicants with state schools that are more forgiving and applicants who may have applied as disadvantaged. I don't know how forgiving Illinois public med schools are or if many of them take residency into consideration. The ones I know off the top of my head seem to be private. If there are a few lower tier public schools in Illinois, I think I would at least give those a shot.

 

[Goro]

Concur strongly here.

Going to have to agree with this ^^

If you really, really want the MD degree and have the time and $ to burn, I would try to get straight-As for the next year and retake the MCAT. A 35 would go a long way in offsetting a low GPA.

If you don't really care about the last two letters behind your name and just want to become a physician, go DO. I would say you have a very good chance at most DO schools, considering their MCAT ranges between 26-28 on average.

 

[postbaccstudent]

Ok thanks for the advice. I want a career as a physician more than MD/DO. Will apply to maybe 10 MD schools, 10 DO, and a few Caribbean and hope one sticks. I am surprised GPA doesn't get adjusted
Much based on school but I will hope for the best.

PS would I have been better off just getting a 4.0 at community college? For example UIC says they dont look down on community college grades. I feel like I for sure learned more science at NU.

 

[DennisdaMenace]

Ok thanks for the advice. I want a career as a physician more than MD/DO. Will apply to maybe 10 MD schools, 10 DO, and a few Caribbean and hope one sticks. I am surprised GPA doesn't get adjusted
Much based on school but I will hope for the best.

PS would I have been better off just getting a 4.0 at community college? For example UIC says they dont look down on community college grades. I feel like I for sure learned more science at NU.

That sounds like a reasonable plan; just make sure that you choose your allopathic schools wisely. Best way to go would be with your home / state institutions, followed by private schools w/ MCAT averages significantly lower than your score.

Personally, I think you can drop the Caribbean schools. Your MCAT is high enough to get you into DO schools, assuming you have halfway decent ECs. Besides, with increasing numbers of US medical graduates, you may be hard-pressed to land a good residency as a foreign medical graduate.

It's hard to say whether you would have been better off at community college. I suppose that depends on your GPA. 4.0 CC > 2.0 NU, but 3.3 NU > 4.0 CC, IMO.

Good luck.

 

[MalibuPreMD]

Personally, I think you can drop the Caribbean schools. Your MCAT is high enough to get you into DO schools, assuming you have halfway decent ECs.

Agreed, I do not think that it is a good idea to apply to the Caribbean with the trend of increasing US grads and likely future decreases in ACGME residency positions if the medicare budget is changed. You will be very competitive at DO schools with your >3.0 GPA + 33 MCAT as long as you shadow a few DO physicians and can answer the question "Why DO". With AACOMAS grade replacement, you will be even more competitive if you retake your class and get a B or better.