Advic for re-application?

[sedaniel]

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I applied last year (2008 cycle) and wasn't accepted anywhere. MCAT 31Q, 3.05GPA (didn't decide till junior year that I wanted to be a doctor and it was difficult to try and raise my GPA after that decision). Experience: medical mission trip to Honduras, patient care research, shadowing, Verbal Instructor for TPR, Verbal Development Consultant for TPR, founding president of my sorority (shows leadership abilities hopefully 🙂 ).

To try to improve my application: I am currently doing a Master's program in Basic Medical Sciences to try and compensate for my low uGPA. I'm still teaching Verbal, and am about to start a research position with a doc I know. Also will be going on another medical mission trip in the next year most likely.

I talked to the Dean of Admissions of one of my top choice schools and was told the main problem was my GPA, which I totally understand. I also plan to rewrite my personal statement and get new rec letters. My question is, should I be trying to do anything else? I'm worried that I will try to do TOO much and not have enough time to be thorough with my BMS program studies. Advice/opinions on what else I can/should do?

 

[anxiousteen]

the master's program does nothing to address your gpa problem. only undergraduate classes are included in the gpa calculations. you need to do a postbac.

 

[sedaniel]

the master's program does nothing to address your gpa problem. only undergraduate classes are included in the gpa calculations. you need to do a postbac.

The dean of admissions I talked to said that many medical schools (their's included) will look at master's programs that you have completed at least 20 credits or more in. It doesn't negate my uGPA, but everyone I talked to in their office said most med schools would prefer that kind of program as opposed to post-bac because that is just an extension of undergrad, while in the master's program I'm taking actual graduate level courses. I.e. if I can do well in graduate level classes it shows them I can handle med school classes. In the particular program I'm in, all of my classes are taught by actual med school professors or physicians at the hospital associated with the university.

 

[calimed214]

Is it a special master's program where you take actual medical school courses with other med students? If so, then that is the only exception to the rule that master's degrees do not help with a poor undergraduate GPA. I usually recommend that people do a post-bacc if at all possible, because those types of master's programs are extremely risky not to mention costly. You need to do very, very well (ie: GPA of 3.8) in order to prove yourself to adcoms. Also the 'degree' that you obtain at the end is useful only for gaining admission to med school and not for much else.

 

[gman33]

As said, a SMP is really the best route (or just more ug classes).
If the program you are in is multi-year, most med schools would expect you to finish it before you start, or maybe even before you apply in your case.

Give some more info about the degree if you want more specific advice.

 

[sedaniel]

This is the program:

http://gradprograms.med.wayne.edu/program-spotlight.php?id=34

They had one of their SOM reps come talk to us during orientation about how the program can help us improve our application and she said we didn't need to finish it as long as we had a certain # of credits. I'm sure that some med schools might care if I finished it or not but I'm going to try to apply to only places who don't need me to finish the 2 years of the program because frankly I need to save the money if I can.

 

[gman33]

So as far as I can tell, the classes are not the some ones med students are taking. Correct me if I'm wrong.

If that is the case, I'm going to say something you don't want to hear.
The program may help at that school, but it probably won't do much for other schools. Also, for it to do much of anything for you, you will need to complete the degree.

Your gpa is very low any med school, MD or DO. With a grad DEGREE, some places may cut you a little slack, but they will still be looking at your UG GPA as the #1 factor.

I don't really know what to tell you at this point. I'd say finish the degree and hope for the best.

My advice going in would have been to only do a SMP or just take more UG classes. The problem with this program is that it is not med school classes, and ad coms just don't know what to think about grad credits.

Maybe somebody out here has some more experience with this program and can add a more positive spin.

 

[faith2]

I had a 2.49 gpa and did a masters graduated with a 3.92 mcat 27 after taking it 3 times I have 2 MD interviews and 1 DO. I disagree the masters is looked at by schools. most people in my school got into med school after doing there masters and mcat and ec. I think what you may be missing is some underserved volunteer work🙄

 

[sedaniel]

So I wanted to post this for anyone who is a reapplicant and is nervous/worried/stressed out about the process and potentially not getting in again. You can read about where I started from two years ago below. Since my first application I have been working on a 2 years masters program in Basic Medical Sciences and have a 3.9 in the program. I have taken on two volunteer positions, taken part in a medical mission trip, shadowed more, worked more, started a research project that has resulted in my abstract being accepted for poster presentation at a major conference this fall.

The point is, from a 3.05 uGPA I worked my butt off and am proud to say I just received my first medical school acceptance and I am on cloud nine! So, to anyone who is reapplying and/or can't see the light at the end of the title, keep your chin up and keep pushing (and don't listen to everything you read on SDN 😀 ) if this is really what you want!

 

[Cyclhex38]

Hey all. I'm a 41 female new to SDN and a clothes designer who was in medical school more then 12 years ago but had to drop out due to personal issues and there is only one semester's record of me at the school. I don't really remember much of the mcat now so obvioulsy that is something I would need to take again; thinking of taking a 1 year refresher course and then taking the mcat sicne I already have all the pre requisites from mid 90's. What I really would like is some sort of program that might be suitable for people in my shoes. Does anyone know of a program for those who have been in medical school previously and are trying again? How does it look to the addmission committees as well? I am quite open at this point for any reasonable suggestion.

 

[COHEN001]

Hey all. I'm a 41 female new to SDN and a clothes designer who was in medical school more then 12 years ago but had to drop out due to personal issues and there is only one semester's record of me at the school. I don't really remember much of the mcat now so obvioulsy that is something I would need to take again; thinking of taking a 1 year refresher course and then taking the mcat sicne I already have all the pre requisites from mid 90's. What I really would like is some sort of program that might be suitable for people in my shoes. Does anyone know of a program for those who have been in medical school previously and are trying again? How does it look to the addmission committees as well? I am quite open at this point for any reasonable suggestion.

I was 43 when I started med school, now I am 48 and barely made it to the 4th year..The issue is not how to get into med school, but how to make it thru..Here is what I experienced:

Aging is a big obstacle..First: it will be hard to find a partner to study with, what is worst is during my 3rd year rotation where I had to work with 3 other students ( in their 20’s..same age )where they did not communicate with me at all..Worst of all, there is obvious prejudice where the younger students got evaluated better..

Second: Med school is hard as hell, and in my age this makes it even harder..I am much slower than the kids around me (in terms of taking the shelf exams/standardized tests) and I am in the bottom 5 of my class ( despite I had a Masters Degree with a GPA 3.65 in Medical Sciences from the same school a year prior to Med school)

e-mail me if you have any Q’s :

[email protected]

 

[ShyRem]

Age is either good or bad. When I applied I was flat out told I was too old for some schools, but did find others to be receptive. (personally I think the too old comments were just a convenient excuse because they couldn't find anything really wrong with my application and had I been of traditional age would have likely garnered an interview at least.)

However, I did get acceptance to a school and graduated just this year. Did I honor every class? Heck no. But I never failed one. I found students to study with during my first two years, some young, some older. You should know it is very common for older non-trads to take more than 4 years to finish med school - I think all other nontrads in my class took at least 5 years. I did finish in 4. I also got my #1 choice in residency. And I have two children and a husband.

Was it easy? I wouldn't say easy. But it was doable. And retrospectively fun. I found I excelled in 3rd year because I was more viewed as more "relatable" and had real world experience to bring, as well as being more unflappable. Could I answer all the pimp questions like my younger classmates? Not always. But I thought of angles of care and postcare my younger classmates didn't consider. My questions were broader. My work ethic was more mature, more team oriented, and less "in the spotlight" oriented. I did not see any of the prejudice in 3rd year that the previous poster described. Quite the opposite in fact. Except perhaps in surgery.

I find myself not "slower", but more "big picture". I'm not as good at the minute details as my younger classmates. As for where in my class I was, I wasn't top 4. But considering I can count on two hands how many in my class NEVER FAILED A CLASS, I sure as heck wasn't in the bottom either. I was quite consistent. That seems to be key. Study smarter, not harder. Use your time wisely. And don't try to compete with or be like the younger students. Be yourself. And you'll be fine.

 

[Cyclhex38]

Age is either good or bad. When I applied I was flat out told I was too old for some schools, but did find others to be receptive. (personally I think the too old comments were just a convenient excuse because they couldn't find anything really wrong with my application and had I been of traditional age would have likely garnered an interview at least.)

However, I did get acceptance to a school and graduated just this year. Did I honor every class? Heck no. But I never failed one. I found students to study with during my first two years, some young, some older. You should know it is very common for older non-trads to take more than 4 years to finish med school - I think all other nontrads in my class took at least 5 years. I did finish in 4. I also got my #1 choice in residency. And I have two children and a husband.

Was it easy? I wouldn't say easy. But it was doable. And retrospectively fun. I found I excelled in 3rd year because I was more viewed as more "relatable" and had real world experience to bring, as well as being more unflappable. Could I answer all the pimp questions like my younger classmates? Not always. But I thought of angles of care and postcare my younger classmates didn't consider. My questions were broader. My work ethic was more mature, more team oriented, and less "in the spotlight" oriented. I did not see any of the prejudice in 3rd year that the previous poster described. Quite the opposite in fact. Except perhaps in surgery.

I find myself not "slower", but more "big picture". I'm not as good at the minute details as my younger classmates. As for where in my class I was, I wasn't top 4. But considering I can count on two hands how many in my class NEVER FAILED A CLASS, I sure as heck wasn't in the bottom either. I was quite consistent. That seems to be key. Study smarter, not harder. Use your time wisely. And don't try to compete with or be like the younger students. Be yourself. And you'll be fine.

Thank yo for the information. But I'm not wondering so much about age as my chances of getting admitted with my previous record of having been accepted before albeit thirteen years ago. I'm especialy curious about premed programs that are linked to medical school and accelerated premedical programs.

 

[COHEN001]

Age is either good or bad. When I applied I was flat out told I was too old for some schools, but did find others to be receptive. (personally I think the too old comments were just a convenient excuse because they couldn't find anything really wrong with my application and had I been of traditional age would have likely garnered an interview at least.)

However, I did get acceptance to a school and graduated just this year. Did I honor every class? Heck no. But I never failed one. I found students to study with during my first two years, some young, some older. You should know it is very common for older non-trads to take more than 4 years to finish med school - I think all other nontrads in my class took at least 5 years. I did finish in 4. I also got my #1 choice in residency. And I have two children and a husband.

Was it easy? I wouldn't say easy. But it was doable. And retrospectively fun. I found I excelled in 3rd year because I was more viewed as more "relatable" and had real world experience to bring, as well as being more unflappable. Could I answer all the pimp questions like my younger classmates? Not always. But I thought of angles of care and postcare my younger classmates didn't consider. My questions were broader. My work ethic was more mature, more team oriented, and less "in the spotlight" oriented. I did not see any of the prejudice in 3rd year that the previous poster described. Quite the opposite in fact. Except perhaps in surgery.

I find myself not "slower", but more "big picture". I'm not as good at the minute details as my younger classmates. As for where in my class I was, I wasn't top 4. But considering I can count on two hands how many in my class NEVER FAILED A CLASS, I sure as heck wasn't in the bottom either. I was quite consistent. That seems to be key. Study smarter, not harder. Use your time wisely. And don't try to compete with or be like the younger students. Be yourself. And you'll be fine.

It doesn't sound you were "too old" when you started med school since you mentioned that you found partners that are older than you to study with. Also you did not mention how old were you when you started med school. I wish if people can be more honest when they post their thread here to help others and not to give a false ideas! When you are "Old" there is always prejudice! prejudice made med school like Hell for me!

Again, please mention your age you post a thread here since it has to do with age..there is a big difference between med student who is 30 years old vs a student who is 45! Thanks!

 

[ShyRem]

I didn't mean "older than I", I mean older than traditional age. Two in my class were older than I, and one of those is taking a minimum of 6 years to finish now (hopefully he can be done in just 6 and doesn't need 7).

As for how old I am, I'm 44 and an intern.

 

[yamaraja808]

So I wanted to post this for anyone who is a reapplicant and is nervous/worried/stressed out about the process and potentially not getting in again. You can read about where I started from two years ago below. Since my first application I have been working on a 2 years masters program in Basic Medical Sciences and have a 3.9 in the program. I have taken on two volunteer positions, taken part in a medical mission trip, shadowed more, worked more, started a research project that has resulted in my abstract being accepted for poster presentation at a major conference this fall.

The point is, from a 3.05 uGPA I worked my butt off and am proud to say I just received my first medical school acceptance and I am on cloud nine! So, to anyone who is reapplying and/or can't see the light at the end of the title, keep your chin up and keep pushing (and don't listen to everything you read on SDN 😀 ) if this is really what you want!

QFT. Finally someone on SDN who understands plus has the proof to back it up.
Congrats to you on your acceptance! 👍