506 MCAT, 3.4 cGPA

[Brigstad]

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I am a senior at UW-Madison and I am graduating in May with a degree in biology and a certificate in global health. My first few years of college I did, quite frankly, a terrible job of adjusting to the college workload and my grades suffered terribly with a handful of C's. However, the last two years I have more or less removed my head from another part of my anatomy and have managed to recover slightly. As of now here is where I stand:
- 506 MCAT: 127 in first two sections, 126 in second two
- I will graduate with around 3.4 GPA (may be slightly lower, but above 3.3), sGPA of 3.25
- 2 years of experience working in a neurology lab, with a publication hopefully coming after my graduation
- Published in a peer-reviewed undergraduate physiology journal
- Received a grant from a local power company to do an independent study on ecological uses of one of their byproducts
- 2 years experience as an in-home care provider for developmentally disabled adults
- Several hundred hours volunteering in the ER at a local hospital, as well as some other non-clinical volunteering
- Have shadowed several physicians working in family practice as well as several surgical specialties
- Studied abroad in Uganda and learned about nutrition and healthcare systems
- Played on the club ultimate frisbee team for several years

I am applying this coming cycle so I am planning on taking at least one year off, and I have/am applying to AmeriCorps for the next year. Most of the damage done to my GPA the first two years was unfortunately in science classes, but over the last two years I have managed to have about a 3.8 in my science classes. I'm basically asking for general advice on how to continue to strengthen my application considering the hurdles I've created for myself with my grades, as well as advice on possible school selections, which I will list below.

M.D.:
U of Wisconsin School of Medicine
Medical College of Wisconsin
U of Minnesota (family ties to the state, parent alumnus)
Drexel
Loyola
Rush
Rosalind Franklin
George Washington
St. Louis
Creighton
Tulane
Albany
Western Michigan
Temple

Basically every D.O. program is in the mix for me as well

 

[Faha]

You could add these schools:
Quinnipiac
Jefferson
Penn State
Oakland Beaumont
Western Michigan
any new schools that open in 2017 (Roseman, Henricopolis, etc.)
Apply to at least 12 DO schools. Your chances are low for a MD acceptance.

 

[candbgirl]

I'd focus on DO schools and not so many MD programs unless you have lots of money for app fees. Your sGPA in particular is awfully low for MD schools!


Sent from my iPad using SDN mobile app

 

[The Knife & Gun Club]

Tulane loves Americorps, just FYI

 

[Brigstad]

I'd focus on DO schools and not so many MD programs unless you have lots of money for app fees. Your sGPA in particular is awfully low for MD schools!


Sent from my iPad using SDN mobile app

How important is the upward trend to admissions? Because one of the things I'm trying to get across in my application is that I am a completely different student now, compared to my first several years of college and my performance certainly mirrors that sentiment. And I know that sounds super cheesy, but my my development as a student in college is something that I'm very proud of, even though my GPA isn't as much of a fan...

 

[The Knife & Gun Club]

What is your:

Freshman science & cum GPA
Sophomore science & cum GPA
Junior science & cum GPA
Senior science & cum GPA
Post-Bac science & cum GPA (if applicable)


ie. what kind of upward trend are we talking about?

 

[Brigstad]

What is your:

Freshman science & cum GPA
Sophomore science & cum GPA
Junior science & cum GPA
Senior science & cum GPA
Post-Bac science & cum GPA (if applicable)


ie. what kind of upward trend are we talking about?

Freshman and sophomore year I had a cGPA of ~3.15, and a sGPA of about ~2.8 (a handful of C's just destroyed me). Junior and senior year thus far I have had both cGPA and sGPA ~3.8. So the trend has been exponential, but I fear my shortcomings early on may have imposed an impassable hurdle.

 

[The Knife & Gun Club]

Well good news is thats a great upward trend, and will give you something positive to work with. Bad news is that that MCAT is still just too damn low. 506 (it'd be a 28.5 on the old scale) is not sufficient for most MD schools when combined with that GPA.

However it has been done. Your profile reminds me of @DoctorLacrosse . He may be able to provide some insight that I cannot.

Otherwise, your main focus should be DO schools. I strongly recommend acquiring some DO shadowing and a DO rec letter ASAP, since they will be crucial to success in the DO cycle.

Best of luck

 

[Brigstad]

Well good news is thats a great upward trend, and will give you something positive to work with. Bad news is that that MCAT is still just too damn low. 506 (it'd be a 28.5 on the old scale) is not sufficient for most MD schools when combined with that GPA.

However it has been done. Your profile reminds me of @DoctorLacrosse . He may be able to provide some insight that I cannot.

Otherwise, your main focus should be DO schools. I strongly recommend acquiring some DO shadowing and a DO rec letter ASAP, since they will be crucial to success in the DO cycle.

Best of luck

Thank you for the insight. The physician I have shadowed the most so far has been a DO from my home town and I plan on asking him for a letter of recommendation. It's certainly a stretch, but getting in at Wisconsin would literally be a dream come true.

 

[Brigstad]

Tulane loves Americorps, just FYI

If I am fortunate enough to receive a spot as an Americorps volunteer, are my GPA and MCAT still too low? Or in your opinion, would that make me a moderately competitive applicant? It makes me nervous to not know how much a school values things like that.

 

[AnatomyGrey12]

Unfortunately you are right in that limbo where you could go either way, apply to too few DO schools and you might not get an acceptance at all yet apply to only DO and you might miss out on a MD acceptance. I agree with about 12 DO schools and a solid 8-12 MD schools if you have the money. Goodluck

 

[Brigstad]

Shameless bump

 

[Brigstad]

Annnddd one more for kicks. Any advice at this point is helpful. Thanks everyone!

 

[markovchn123]

Damn your ECs are stellar. Your mcat and gpa are on the low side for MD acceptances but an upward trend is working towards your advantage. I don't see why someone wouldn't interview you for a low tier MD school. Look for a school whose mission statement is to help the disadvantaged and to help make healthcare more accessible. You should be able to speak wonders about that in an interview.

 

[Brigstad]

Damn your ECs are stellar. Your mcat and gpa are on the low side for MD acceptances but an upward trend is working towards your advantage. I don't see why someone wouldn't interview you for a low tier MD school. Look for a school whose mission statement is to help the disadvantaged and to help make healthcare more accessible. You should be able to speak wonders about that in an interview.

Thanks for the input! Do you happen to have insight into which schools value ECs heavily and may be more receptive to someone like me who made some mistakes early on in college in terms of grades? I'm hoping my upward trend diminishes some of the doubt for academic ability, but the reality is my GPA and MCAT are still not great, so I'm trying to rely heavily on my experiences.

 

[Brigstad]

Just an update for any who may be curious. I received 4 II's so far (3 DO, 1 MD) and have been accepted to, ironically, only the MD program (huge relief). I'll post anymore updates as they come. Thanks again to everyone who provided some insight.

 

[Malkin.12]

Just an update for any who may be curious. I received 4 II's so far (3 DO, 1 MD) and have been accepted to, ironically, only the MD program (huge relief). I'll post anymore updates as they come. Thanks again to everyone who provided some insight.

Congratulations on your acceptance! can we PM each other? I am also a Wisconsin resident. I would appreciate if you could answer some of my questions.

Thanks.

 

[Malkin.12]

I understand that this thread is getting old, but can I still PM you?