Academic Suspension!!??? I need honest answers

[Doctor246853]

If I got academic probation then suspension my freshman year due to personal problems with a 1.7 gpa (few f's,w's and c's) at a cc,none were medical preq's, and later got all a's at university can I still get in a MD school? EC's are great, LOR's,volunteered for entire unergrad,reasearched for entire undergrad,urm,4.0sgpa, 3.3cgpa and MCAT 36. I kinda asked this question before but a few medstudents and residents at my job today said NO Wayyyy no matter how good my reasons are because its too competitive nowadays. Man im getting nervous!!

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[rscdon]

If I were you I'd give it a shot. If your overall application is solid (except for a bad first year), you should be able to get in... But you have to be strategic. Think "where can I get in". Forget about med school rankings for now.

Sean

 

[Doctor246853]

If I were you I'd give it a shot. If your overall application is solid (except for a bad first year), you should be able to get in... But you have to be strategic. Think "where can I get in". Forget about med school rankings for now.

Sean

Yeah I live in Texas so I plan on applying to EVERY school in Texas....and some.... i was confident but when medstudents and residents say that it kinda hits home...

 

[TexasMDtobe]

Don't worry so much, its not impossible! I had a very similar freshman year. Did horrible my first semester, dropped out of college during my second semester to work for a year, returned via Community College and then on to the University, and now, on to med school.

Don't get me wrong - it won't be all peaches and ice cream, but if enough time has passed (for me, it was 7 years between the horrible first semester of undergrad and med school acceptance) and you have woven an effective personal narrative that casts your past failures as the foundation of future success you will be just fine.

The key is to own your failure completely and not attempt to excuse it. Own it and show the schools that you know who you are, where you've been, and where you're going. At all three of my interviews this past cycle an interviewer commented (positively) on how unusual it is for a person to come so far from such a rocky start.

The rest of your application sounds spectacular, and that 36 MCAT will definitely help. (You beat me by 1 point! )

Just go into this app cycle early and you'll get several interviews, don't let anyone else tell you otherwise. Good luck. . .

 

[ThaliaNox]

According to the AAMC website, URM applicants with your stats had better than a 70% chance of being accepted, and this only uses cumulative GPA as a factor. That 4.0 science GPA will really help prove that your freshman grades shouldn't be used against you.

Make sure you own your mistakes and be prepared to explain what changes you made in your life to do better. If you do this, I don't see why you wouldn't get in.

 

[Catalystik]

an interviewer commented (positively) on how unusual it is for a person to come so far from such a rocky start.

This is why the med students and residents had the reaction that they did. They don't know anyone who pulled it together from a dismal beginning and went on to achieve what you have.

Your strong upward grade trend, terrfiic MCAT score, and proof that you can deliver great grades in the sciences have redeemed you. Don't let doubters destroy your confidence. You'll do fine.

 

[the humming sea]

I would say make your entire essay about how you changed your study and personal habits to become the applicant that you are today that way you wont have to talk about it in your interviews. Don't get discouraged.