33S, 3.4 (3.2sGPA) - What to Do?

[KindOfMaroon]

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Hey All,

Here are my creds:

33S (12 PS, 10 VR, 11 BS)
3.4 total, 3.2 sGPA
Double major in Biology and Music
College: University of Chicago
Difficulty of Coursework: Harder than average, even for a school widely considered the most rigorous undergrad. institution. I didn't shy away from hardcore courses - often with negative results...hah!

Extracurriculars:
-200 hrs volunteer work at UC Hospital (oncology wing)
-3 years Peer Health Educator (work in Health Clinic)
-1 year Residential Assistant in Dormitory
-2 years President of a Jewish a cappella group
-3 summers of research + 3 academic years of research. Attendance at 4 (maybe more in the future) conferences. poster presentation 4 times, two times present research to audience
-One summer I received a special grant given to only one UChicago undergraduate bio researcher...also, i raised 15,000 dollars in grant money to fund my own research
-Volunteer tutor for Chicago Public Schools for 2 years (math/science)


So....What to do here? My grades are quite problematic....It's the sort of situation where I got one D, lots of B-, and a few A- in science, and lots of good grades in my music coursework. Should I retake the MCAT...I'm pretty sure I can bump up that VR and BS by 1-2 each.

Thoughts?

Thanks in advance, everybody. 😀

 

[anfleisch]

Retaking the MCAT won't help that much since it is your GPA that is below the norm for MD schools. You should be able to get into DO right away with your MCAT pulling you through.

 

[TheBigValbowski]

I had a 3.4 overall but a 3.9 sciences and 33m MCAT and got into a pretty good school. Although part of the reason for that was because all my recommendations were from doctors who work at the school and I did a few years research at the school after graduating. I think that I had a somewhat unique and lucky situation but the same good fortune could happen to you as well. The one thing I do think is important is not to rush into applying. If you apply once and don't get in then it becomes even harder the second time because they want to see significant Improvements. So take your time and apply when you think you have beefed up your application (although it seems like you have done a pretty good job)... Gpa scores don't mean everything... If you really think you can go from a 33 to a 36 or 37 mcat score then I would def retake it because that would put you in the upper 90th percentile. However there is always the risk of doing worse which would not look good at all. 33 is a pretty darn good score but a 36/37 looks even better. Good luck!

 

[Catalystik]

You have some really, really nice ECs. Your MCAT score is fine, but if you think you can get at least three more points then by all means retake it, though I don't think you need to do that to get into med school. Your biggest weakness is the low BCPM GPA. If you have 1.5-2.0 years of recent excellent grades, with the poor grades being only in freshman year, some schools might overlook it due to the strength of other components of your application. Otherwise, I think some more coursework in upper-level science, getting all As, is in order. Right now with your current stats, your best shot would be less-selective MD and selective DO programs. If you aspire to more selective MD schools, then you have more work to do.

 

[KindOfMaroon]

Thanks for the feedback, all. I am going to play this by ear a little bit - I will start prepping to apply in June just in case. If my grades this year don't go well, I can always delay a year, take some more courses, and re-take the MCAT. Like I said, I felt I underperformed and thats kind of a bummer....

Good luck to anyone else who has a low GPA! Rah rah! Look back but don't despair: look back and learn!