5th year undergrad, URM, non-resident. Med schools available for me?

[coquito2]

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Hey, guys.
I'm currently an undergrad (5th year, bio major) graduating in May. I am from a U.S. territory (PR) and therefore have no established residence in any of the states (I believe you must have a reason besides school to ask for residency). I transferred to a U.S. college entering my 3rd yr due to poor academic performance and other problems. My first two years of college were embarrassing- coupled with a different academic system, I did not take my major seriously and did not make school my full time job. My cGPA was a steady 2.5.
Now in a U.S. college, my cGPA is a 3.63 and sGPA of 3.62. With one semester left, I aim to to finish with a sGPA very close to 3.7.
Other stats:
Female hispanic/latina
Bilingual (ENG/SPA) + conversational Korean
EC's: class T.A. and tutor for freshman Biology I and II (past, two semesters worth), two semesters of working in English department daily (finished this semester), offered two T.A. positions for molecular bio lab and cell/genetics lab for this last semester. One and 1/2 years of research experience (bench work) with one completed poster presentation and one upcoming poster presentation in a conference plus granted publication. Won 1st place in a literary contest (not science related) and got it published. Won another literary/writing contest here in my college in the U.S. Member of pre-med group.
Clinical: about 30 hours in a student-run clinic where I actively participate in interviewing Pts and doing review of the systems. 2-week long internship/shadowing with a cardiologist in PR (~70 hours).

Realistically, what med schools should I pay attention to that tend to interview more URMs? I have yet to take the MCAT but I started studying for it. I will start a masters program in August and take Gross anatomy there as I wait for all this process to happen. My academic performance is all over the place and I'm really trying my best to fix all my mistakes. What approach should I be taking on this application process as a kind of non-traditional student? Thanks!

 

[Dr. Meliodas]

Your GPA is great especially being a URM. Depending on what state you are in currently you could become a resident their but you would have to check their residency status requirements. Without an MCAT it is very difficult to say anything about chances. If you have taken practice test at least then you might get some very rough estimates on chances of acceptance. If you do well on the MCAT you have a good chance of MD acceptance. You need more clinical experience so if you can continue working in the student-run clinic that would be great. You also didn't mention any other non clinical volunteering which is also very important. Shadowing a different type of physician might be good. Keep doing research publications will give you a great boost.

Do decent to well on the MCAT (508 or higher) and you will have no trouble getting an acceptance.

 

[candbgirl]

Is your GPA including the first two years of classes? When will you take the MCAT?

 

[CyrusHabs7695]

If you get above a 500 on the MCAT and write half decent essays you will get into at least 1 MD.


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[coquito2]

Your GPA is great especially being a URM. Depending on what state you are in currently you could become a resident their but you would have to check their residency status requirements. Without an MCAT it is very difficult to say anything about chances. If you have taken practice test at least then you might get some very rough estimates on chances of acceptance. If you do well on the MCAT you have a good chance of MD acceptance. You need more clinical experience so if you can continue working in the student-run clinic that would be great. You also didn't mention any other non clinical volunteering which is also very important. Shadowing a different type of physician might be good. Keep doing research publications will give you a great boost.

Do decent to well on the MCAT (508 or higher) and you will have no trouble getting an acceptance.

I just did 4 hours with a radiologist this week but that was all I could get because of the problems here in the island. Thank you for the encouragement! I'm trying to get into more volunteering but it's hard without a car and in a place where public transportation is not a thing. (I'm in MS).

Is your GPA including the first two years of classes? When will you take the MCAT?

That GPA is the one in my second college, but the science GPA includes the science courses I had taken during the first two years. I got C's in both gen chems and two maths and all I've been doing is taking a heck of a lot of upper div biology courses to sustain my GPA (my school offers med level courses plus shelf exams). I can only take the MCAT late July/early August b/c I have yet to take organic 1 and 2. I'll take them over the summer while still studying for MCAT. I'm also taking the GRE on January 11 for this masters program. I've done a lot of coursework backwards and have to had overrides so that I wouldn't be a 6th year. I've already taken my physics tho (did both over the summer). I'm worried about submitting my application without an MCAT score...but I'm getting a bit depressed. I want to attempt this next cycle. Thank you for your reply!

I just started studying for MCAT (doing the biochem book first) but I'm prioritizing GRE.

 

[candbgirl]

So what is your GPA with ALL of the courses you have ever taken at a CC, college or university. Every course counts.

When are you going to apply? It is a very bad idea to apply without a MCAT score. What if you are sick that day or don’t sleep well the night before. I’ve read of situations where something traumatic happens close to test date and the person either does horribly or doesn’t take the test at all. Besides, you won’t know what schools to apply to. You asked about what schools you should pay attention to. A well qualified URM with a great application will have lots of choices. Just make sure you do your part and have great stats and a wonderful application. Take your time, do it right and apply one time.
Good luck!

 

[coquito2]

So what is your GPA with ALL of the courses you have ever taken at a CC, college or university. Every course counts.

When are you going to apply? It is a very bad idea to apply without a MCAT score. What if you are sick that day or don’t sleep well the night before. I’ve read of situations where something traumatic happens close to test date and the person either does horribly or doesn’t take the test at all. Besides, you won’t know what schools to apply to. You asked about what schools you should pay attention to. A well qualified URM with a great application will have lots of choices. Just make sure you do your part and have great stats and a wonderful application. Take your time, do it right and apply one time.
Good luck!

I thought it didn't because my second college didn't count them? I only made the dean's list once in my first two years, and I have a few withdrawls, B's and some A's. I only approved 4 credits one semester so there are not a lot of classes to add to it, but my science gpa wouldn't change, except maybe for a B in env Science I forgot to add.
I have a list of a few schools I want to go to but not sure where else to look-I've also read on here that I should be wise when applying as an URM? As in pick and choose? I'm still decided on applying for this next cycle just because all these loans that aren't going towards med school are killing me (mom and dad didn't pay any of my undergrad). As far as traumatic events, I've been in the hospital a lot this year (cardiac patient, another device implant), and I've learned how to juggle that with school work, finals, and the job I was at. I've read on the forums of people submitting primaries without MCAT and then just updating it when they get their score.(?)

 

[candbgirl]

Of course you can apply without your MCAT. It automatically updates when the score comes in. It’s just not a great idea.

But every single college class you have ever taken does count. Even classes taken in high school taken as dual enrollment programs. You have to submit transcripts from every school you have attended. If you don’t send one there is a good chance AMCAS will find it on the National
Clearing House and your application might be in jeopardy.

One thing to remember. You mentioned some serious health issues. Always take care of yourself . You are important and you’ll need good health as you progress in your career.

 

[coquito2]

Of course you can apply without your MCAT. It automatically updates when the score comes in. It’s just not a great idea.

But every single college class you have ever taken does count. Even classes taken in high school taken as dual enrollment programs. You have to submit transcripts from every school you have attended. If you don’t send one there is a good chance AMCAS will find it on the National
Clearing House and your application might be in jeopardy.

One thing to remember. You mentioned some serious health issues. Always take care of yourself . You are important and you’ll need good health as you progress in your career.

Okay, I'll look up my grades for my first uni and recalculate. My cGPA might drop but I'm sure sGPA will be okay. How is a noticeable discrepancy in both GPA's seen? My high school grades will be good at least.
I could, in theory, finish this master's program and then go to med school (apply for 2020), if anything goes wrong, but then I'd be a 2nd time applier.

And thank you- my friends tell me the same thing.

update: m cGPA turns out to be 3.37 without this last semester :/ That's really bad? My science gpa stayed the same and will hopefully go up after this last semester. Is this huge gap really bad? This past three semesters have been 4.0 except for one class last spring.

 

[candbgirl]

Okay, I'll look up my grades for my first uni and recalculate. My cGPA might drop but I'm sure sGPA will be okay. How is a noticeable discrepancy in both GPA's seen? My high school grades will be good at least.
I could, in theory, finish this master's program and then go to med school (apply for 2020), if anything goes wrong, but then I'd be a 2nd time applier.

And thank you- my friends tell me the same thing.

update: m cGPA turns out to be 3.37 without this last semester :/ That's really bad? My science gpa stayed the same and will hopefully go up after this last semester. Is this huge gap really bad? This past three semesters have been 4.0 except for one class last spring.

You’ll be just fine. SGPA is very important so you’ll be just fine. I want to clarify- the only high school grades that are used in your AMCAS GPAs are those taken at a community college or some other college. Regular hs grades are not.
Why would you be a second time applier? Don’t apply until you are ready to go to med school.

Good luck. Let us know how you do on the MCAT. People will be glad to help you develop your school list when you have that score. Take care of yourself first.

 

[coquito2]

You’ll be just fine. SGPA is very important so you’ll be just fine. I want to clarify- the only high school grades that are used in your AMCAS GPAs are those taken at a community college or some other college. Regular hs grades are not.
Why would you be a second time applier? Don’t apply until you are ready to go to med school.

Good luck. Let us know how you do on the MCAT. People will be glad to help you develop your school list when you have that score. Take care of yourself first.

Okay, good. I'll keep working hard this next semester and during the summer and I'll let you know what my MCAT is. I promise to drink less coffee haha. Take care too and happy holidays!

 

[gyngyn]

If you get a 500 on the MCAT, your IS (Puerto Rico) chances will be excellent.
The MCAT median for Ponce is 499, UCC is 495, SJB is 499 and UPR is 502.

 

[coquito2]

If you get a 500 on the MCAT, your IS (Puerto Rico) chances will be excellent.
The MCAT median for Ponce is 499, UCC is 495, SJB is 499 and UPR is 502.

I will definitely apply to UPRRCM. I studied in their system (UPRRP) for two years. However, I found that being taught in Spanish and having the books in English and then taking the tests in Spanish was somewhat challenging and so I'm afraid the same thing will happen at the med school here.