Advice for next step

[ratata]

---

Members do not see this ad.

Hello SDNers,

I applied this year to medical school knowing that I was not well qualified but I did it anyway I'm not sure why. Anyways, my stats were not the greatest. I had a 24 MCAT (6,9,9), with a cGPA of 3.50 and sGPA of 3.20.
My ECs are very good. 4 years EMT on a rig and currently ER tech in a major medical center, clinical research 1+ year, molecular biology research 1+ year, healthcare volunteering 500+ hours at three different medical centers in different departments, 200+ hours of non healthcare volunteering, many hours of sports and other extracurricular activities.
My letters were from a pathologist MD/PhD, an internist, a chemistry professor and my PI. All were very solid.

I didn't get any interviews. Anyways, I was seeking advice to what my next step should be. Should I focus on retaking my MCAT and get a high score and reapply this coming cycle? or should I do a postbacc to raise my science GPA as well as my MCAT?

I need honest opinions, no sugar coating allowed. Thank you all and good luck for everyone pursuing medicine.

Best.

 

[DrMidlife]

Next step should be deciding if medicine is really what you want to do, not what your parents want, not what your siblings want, etc.

If it's what you want, then go be the grownup in charge of your life and get it done. Search SDN on "low GPA" for perspectives on your GPA, and get serious about the MCAT.

Best of luck to you.

 

[ratata]

Next step should be deciding if medicine is really what you want to do, not what your parents want, not what your siblings want, etc.

If it's what you want, then go be the grownup in charge of your life and get it done. Search SDN on "low GPA" for perspectives on your GPA, and get serious about the MCAT.

Best of luck to you.

Thank you for the response. I think I didn't make myself very clear. I wasn't pressured into wanting medicine. I've been pursuing this for as long as I can remember and medicine is the only thing I can see myself doing. However, it is when I applied I felt pressured by certain factors that I will not be sharing to apply that year and not the year after.

I was just looking for advice with regards of my stats but thanks for the personal advice anyways 🙂

 

[Goro]

For MD schools, you need to increase it's mandatory for yout o increase the mCAT AND the sGPA. You need to prove to Adcoms that tyou can handle med school.

For DO schools, your GPA is better, but not perfect. There are a number of schools for which you're competitive. But I think it will be best for you to retake an F/D/C science coursework and use AACOMAS' grade replacement.

The MCAT score is auto-reject at mine, the NY and CA Touros, CCOM, AZCOM, KCU and PCOM.

However, you might still stand a chance with the newest schools. I can't recommend LUCOM. But a retake of MCAT and doing well, (like around 505+) will also help much more.

Hello SDNers,

I applied this year to medical school knowing that I was not well qualified but I did it anyway I'm not sure why. Anyways, my stats were not the greatest. I had a 24 MCAT (6,9,9), with a cGPA of 3.50 and sGPA of 3.20.
My ECs are very good. 4 years EMT on a rig and currently ER tech in a major medical center, clinical research 1+ year, molecular biology research 1+ year, healthcare volunteering 500+ hours at three different medical centers in different departments, 200+ hours of non healthcare volunteering, many hours of sports and other extracurricular activities.
My letters were from a pathologist MD/PhD, an internist, a chemistry professor and my PI. All were very solid.

I didn't get any interviews. Anyways, I was seeking advice to what my next step should be. Should I focus on retaking my MCAT and get a high score and reapply this coming cycle? or should I do a postbacc to raise my science GPA as well as my MCAT?

I need honest opinions, no sugar coating allowed. Thank you all and good luck for everyone pursuing medicine.

Best.

 

[ratata]

For MD schools, you need to increase it's mandatory for yout o increase the mCAT AND the sGPA. You need to prove to Adcoms that tyou can handle med school.

For DO schools, your GPA is better, but not perfect. There are a number of schools for which you're competitive. But I think it will be best for you to retake an F/D/C science coursework and use AACOMAS' grade replacement.

The MCAT score is auto-reject at mine, the NY and CA Touros, CCOM, AZCOM, KCU and PCOM.

However, you might still stand a chance with the newest schools. I can't recommend LUCOM. But a retake of MCAT and doing well, (like around 505+) will also help much more.

Thank you so much! My BCPM on my AMCAS app was 3.30 for some reason it was lower on AACOMAS since they count all science. I'm still in between just retaking my MCAT or enrolling in a post bacc to increase my sGPA as well as my MCAT. Any extra opinions would be greatly appreciated whether from personal experience or others experience.

Thank you.

 

[amberkre]

I was in a similar position as you upon finishing undergrad, so ill let you know what worked for me as I am now finishing up my second year of medical school. First of all, I graduated college and realized my sGPA was on the low side to get into any medical school regardless of MD or DO (similar GPA as you). But instead of dwelling on that I decided all I wanted was to go to medical school. So I spent a year retaking basic science classes that I had done poorly in (C's in Phys I and II, etc.) and took some extra science classes to further boost my GPA. I basically made my own post bac at a state school since it was less expensive, and I made sure to get a 4.0 in ever course I took. (if you're going to retake classes or do a post bac/SMP make sure its worth it i have friends that went to a post bac and got straight B's or worse Cs and were in the same position as they started with) I spent a year working as a scribe to gain more experience in the field. I retook the MCAT after 2 months of studying, but with a completely different (and much better) strategy. I did an on site Kaplan course for the first month as a refresher. The second month, I targeted my studying to practice question and full lengths ONLY rather than review books. I basically did a full length test every other day, with the day in between spent as an intense review with detailed notes of what i got wrong and what i got right. I brought my MCAT up to a 32 (11,10,11). My highest jump was in verbal and that was because I did a full verbal section every single day under timed conditions. It was definitely not a fun month but it was absolutely worth it. I re-applied broadly to about 30+ schools both MD and DO. I ended up getting 2 interviews at MD schools and waitlisted at both (later rejected). I was accepted to 3 DO schools and received interviews at 6 (only attended 3 since I had been accepted to my top choice DO school at that point). I am now a happy second year cramming for boards 🙂

But overall my point is, if you want it bad enough you will focus and figure out what you need to do to get into medical school. My plan worked for me, but it was by no means quick or easy. If you think you can study hard enough to kill the next MCAT and get accepted without fixing your GPA then do that. But I would suggest whatever you do, the next time you apply make sure you're confident with your application and have made significant improvements because its only going to get harder. However, be positive because you can definitely do it if you decide you want to! goodluck

 

[ratata]

I was in a similar position as you upon finishing undergrad, so ill let you know what worked for me as I am now finishing up my second year of medical school. First of all, I graduated college and realized my sGPA was on the low side to get into any medical school regardless of MD or DO (similar GPA as you). But instead of dwelling on that I decided all I wanted was to go to medical school. So I spent a year retaking basic science classes that I had done poorly in (C's in Phys I and II, etc.) and took some extra science classes to further boost my GPA. I basically made my own post bac at a state school since it was less expensive, and I made sure to get a 4.0 in ever course I took. (if you're going to retake classes or do a post bac/SMP make sure its worth it i have friends that went to a post bac and got straight B's or worse Cs and were in the same position as they started with) I spent a year working as a scribe to gain more experience in the field. I retook the MCAT after 2 months of studying, but with a completely different (and much better) strategy. I did an on site Kaplan course for the first month as a refresher. The second month, I targeted my studying to practice question and full lengths ONLY rather than review books. I basically did a full length test every other day, with the day in between spent as an intense review with detailed notes of what i got wrong and what i got right. I brought my MCAT up to a 32 (11,10,11). My highest jump was in verbal and that was because I did a full verbal section every single day under timed conditions. It was definitely not a fun month but it was absolutely worth it. I re-applied broadly to about 30+ schools both MD and DO. I ended up getting 2 interviews at MD schools and waitlisted at both (later rejected). I was accepted to 3 DO schools and received interviews at 6 (only attended 3 since I had been accepted to my top choice DO school at that point). I am now a happy second year cramming for boards 🙂

But overall my point is, if you want it bad enough you will focus and figure out what you need to do to get into medical school. My plan worked for me, but it was by no means quick or easy. If you think you can study hard enough to kill the next MCAT and get accepted without fixing your GPA then do that. But I would suggest whatever you do, the next time you apply make sure you're confident with your application and have made significant improvements because its only going to get harder. However, be positive because you can definitely do it if you decide you want to! goodluck

if only everybody gave me such responses! thank you so much that helped a lot. I definitely want to get into medical school more than anything. I will keep your advice in mind as to what my next step should be. Thanks again and good luck on your boards!!