advice needed - newbie

[PaternalAdvisor]

Advertisement - Members don't see this ad

Student graduates with a 3.2 overall undergrad ...very poor start, very strong finish ... lots of extracurr and volunteering ... plenty of shadowing and exposure .... MCAT 39 ... chances of admission? bring up GPA first? go ahead and apply, other factors outweigh GPA?

Not necessary that admission be to a Stanford or Harvard ...

Thanks very much.

 

[Stratego]

Assuming a steep upward grade trend, ECs that include research, community service, and leadership besides those you've mentioned, strong letters of recommendation, and a forgiving state school, I'd say you have a 54.1% chance of an acceptance at a less-selective med school. If there are other unmentioned moderating factors to your application, that could rise to >70%.

If you have another year before you graduate, I'd wait to apply until you can get a year of straight As in to further raise your GPA. You might consider applying for an SMP (Special Masters Program) at the same time you apply to med school, so you have a backup plan if you don't get in. You can strengthen your chances of an acceptance in one cycle by applying to some DO schools as well.

 

[Food]

It'd be helpful if you could give your freshman year GPA and your senior year GPA. Your GPA trend is going to be very important here. I don't think it's absolutely necessary that you do an SMP but it would certainly make you a much better applicant if you succeeded in it. As for D.O., I don't think you should apply unless you would consider going. There's no point in applying DO if you don't want to attend a DO school. It also depends a lot on what type of extracurrics / medical experiences you have. I think a 3.2 / 39 could get you in somewhere if you had a solid track record of medically related work. It's a tough call based on the limited information you're giving us. My instinct says you should wait a year. That's probably because I applied last year with a 3.4/38 and didn't get in anywhere, and I realize now that if I had waited a year to package my application better I'd probably have been accepted. Don't rush into it without understanding how competitive apps are. Our MCAT scores may show that we are smart, but being smart doesn't get you into med school.

 

[Van Chowder]

It'd be helpful if you could give your freshman year GPA and your senior year GPA. Your GPA trend is going to be very important here. I don't think it's absolutely necessary that you do an SMP but it would certainly make you a much better applicant if you succeeded in it. As for D.O., I don't think you should apply unless you would consider going. There's no point in applying DO if you don't want to attend a DO school. It also depends a lot on what type of extracurrics / medical experiences you have. I think a 3.2 / 39 could get you in somewhere if you had a solid track record of medically related work. It's a tough call based on the limited information you're giving us. My instinct says you should wait a year. That's probably because I applied last year with a 3.4/38 and didn't get in anywhere, and I realize now that if I had waited a year to package my application better I'd probably have been accepted. Don't rush into it without understanding how competitive apps are. Our MCAT scores may show that we are smart, but being smart doesn't get you into med school.

Couldnt have put it better Mr. Jim Raynor
I think you should apply this cycle for sure, worst can happen is you get rejected everywhere, in which case you would be right where you would be if you didn't apply at all. Plus, to get that 3.2 up by any significant amount would require enormous amounts of work ( of straight A's obviously )
Apply and see what happens, but do not worry too much your MCAT score shows you are very capable, worst worst worst case scenario, you apply DO.

 

[JonBonesJones]

Yeah, I agree with Food that it is probably better to wait a year just to tighten everything up/apply in early June. But I can't imagine that you won't get in somewhere with that 39.

Food, your stats are somewhat similar to my projected numbers when I apply next June. Do you think part of the problem was that your school selection was tiny and top heavy? Or that getting secondaries completed sept-oct was the nail in the coffin? I'm not trying to insult you, just want to know your feelings so I won't make aviodable mistakes.

 

[PaternalAdvisor]

Thoughtful responses. Thank you.

Does the "strength" of the undergrad school matter much as far as GPA is concerned? I tend to think not, but you folks are much further into this than I am. In other words, how does a 3.2 from an Ivy League or Stanford compare to a higher GPA from another school?

 

[Food]

Thoughtful responses. Thank you.

Does the "strength" of the undergrad school matter much as far as GPA is concerned? I tend to think not, but you folks are much further into this than I am. In other words, how does a 3.2 from an Ivy League or Stanford compare to a higher GPA from another school?

A higher GPA from a state school is almost always better than a low GPA from HYMPS or the like.