Advice Needed

[msblongboard]

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Hi all,

I apologize about the length....

I just signed up for SDN and I need some advice. I am 37 and looking to apply to medical school(DO or MD) this year. Yeah I know the time is short for apps to go in but I am doing my best. First a brief history.
I worked as a maritime engineer for 9 years in various parts of the world but mostly internationally. I was in a management training program and did very well but became disillusioned and decided helping others was more to my liking and provided way more satisfaction. I came back home went back to school and had a very rocky road getting back into the groove of studying. As I struggled I waffled a lot between going back to work which did not help my grades at all but eventually I decided no way was I giving this dream up. Fast forward to now.
I have taken all my prerequisites and as I said above struggled but am within DO range for my GPA. I retook all my chemistry classes over the past year because chem was my weakest subject and got all A's and one B in addition to taking two psych classes that some DO schools want and got A's in both of those. My GPA is still low due to failing two classes during my waffling time but I repeated them over the summer and got marginally better grades. My first stab at the MCAT was mid twenties. I am taking the test again next Friday and hopefully I can get close to a thirty. I regards to clinical experience I work (not volunteer) 35-40 hours per week at a psychiatric hospital and have excelled at that as well. It has been one of the reasons why I stayed with this so long. I love being able to help in some way every single day. I have two doctors from work who are going to write LOR's in addition to two science profs who said they would as well and I have confidence that all should be strong. In addition I helped start a 1 to 1 tutoring program for kids in the public schools here(the first of its kind in Pittsburgh) that I have been the president and vice-president of and am still an active member of. I have talked to several admissions counselors and they have said do not take any more classes (repeat ones) as it will not do me any good in improving my gpa.

I plan on emphasizing the positives of my record, my clinical experience, my past work history and my community service but what can I do to get my GPA to be a positive? I do not have the money for a post bacc year and I am at a loss as to what to do at this point.

Can anyone pass on some advice for me?

Thanks,
Mike

 

[postbacker]

Hi all,

I apologize about the length....

I just signed up for SDN and I need some advice. I am 37 and looking to apply to medical school(DO or MD) this year. Yeah I know the time is short for apps to go in but I am doing my best. First a brief history.
I worked as a maritime engineer for 9 years in various parts of the world but mostly internationally. I was in a management training program and did very well but became disillusioned and decided helping others was more to my liking and provided way more satisfaction. I came back home went back to school and had a very rocky road getting back into the groove of studying. As I struggled I waffled a lot between going back to work which did not help my grades at all but eventually I decided no way was I giving this dream up. Fast forward to now.
I have taken all my prerequisites and as I said above struggled but am within DO range for my GPA. I retook all my chemistry classes over the past year because chem was my weakest subject and got all A's and one B in addition to taking two psych classes that some DO schools want and got A's in both of those. My GPA is still low due to failing two classes during my waffling time but I repeated them over the summer and got marginally better grades. My first stab at the MCAT was mid twenties. I am taking the test again next Friday and hopefully I can get close to a thirty. I regards to clinical experience I work (not volunteer) 35-40 hours per week at a psychiatric hospital and have excelled at that as well. It has been one of the reasons why I stayed with this so long. I love being able to help in some way every single day. I have two doctors from work who are going to write LOR's in addition to two science profs who said they would as well and I have confidence that all should be strong. In addition I helped start a 1 to 1 tutoring program for kids in the public schools here(the first of its kind in Pittsburgh) that I have been the president and vice-president of and am still an active member of. I have talked to several admissions counselors and they have said do not take any more classes (repeat ones) as it will not do me any good in improving my gpa.

I plan on emphasizing the positives of my record, my clinical experience, my past work history and my community service but what can I do to get my GPA to be a positive? I do not have the money for a post bacc year and I am at a loss as to what to do at this point.

Can anyone pass on some advice for me?

Thanks,
Mike

Isn't the bolded actually true for DO admissions (that repeating a course for a higher grade improves the GPA)? Odd thing for a counselor to suggest otherwise...

Your biggest problem is one of timing...for allo, and I assume osteo, you are quite late in the process and this will definitely limit your success in this app cycle...your volunteer activities sound a little "light" so my suggestion would be to defer your apps until next cycle and be very early, and in the meantime you can add to your volunteer activities, re-take the MCAT again if necessary, and possibly take more upper level science to improve your GPA...

Good luck...

 

[DrMidlife]

I think that applying DO, this year, isn't completely unreasonable. You're late, sure, but there's nothing in particular missing from your package except maybe a nice MCAT score.

DO schools replace repeated grades; MD schools do not. For example, if you got an F in physics and repeated it for a B, DO schools use only the B instance in calculating your GPA. MD schools include both instances in your GPA. Obviously this is in your favor.

On the MCAT retake, it's one thing to want a 30 and another to have some confidence. If you haven't been taking practice tests (available on www.e-mcat.com), I suggest you include these in your final week of prep. Your actual score isn't likely to differ by more than a couple of points from your practice scores, in my experience. You might find that you're in good shape. Or you might find that you're not ready to retake yet. The AAMC site has stats that show that a significant number of retakers actually lose points, and the average gain isn't more than a couple of points, total.

In your shoes, my plan would be to take some practice MCATs, and based on those scores, decide whether (a) I should be retaking the test already or not, and (b) I should be applying DO right now. So if my practice tests are 25ish, I need to cancel the retake and fall back to regroup. If my practice tests are 30ish, I'd apply immediately. You can't wait to apply until you get your score - that will be October.

Lastly, it appears that there's a new low-residency postbac program at Penn State Delaware, which might be an option for you if you're not in good shape. These programs rarely take individuals who have already completed the prereqs, but it's new so you never know.

Best of luck to you.

 

[postbacker]

I think that applying DO, this year, isn't completely unreasonable. You're late, sure, but there's nothing in particular missing from your package except maybe a nice MCAT score.

DO schools replace repeated grades; MD schools do not. For example, if you got an F in physics and repeated it for a B, DO schools use only the B instance in calculating your GPA. MD schools include both instances in your GPA. Obviously this is in your favor.

On the MCAT retake, it's one thing to want a 30 and another to have some confidence. If you haven't been taking practice tests (available on www.e-mcat.com), I suggest you include these in your final week of prep. Your actual score isn't likely to differ by more than a couple of points from your practice scores, in my experience. You might find that you're in good shape. Or you might find that you're not ready to retake yet. The AAMC site has stats that show that a significant number of retakers actually lose points, and the average gain isn't more than a couple of points, total.

In your shoes, my plan would be to take some practice MCATs, and based on those scores, decide whether (a) I should be retaking the test already or not, and (b) I should be applying DO right now. So if my practice tests are 25ish, I need to cancel the retake and fall back to regroup. If my practice tests are 30ish, I'd apply immediately. You can't wait to apply until you get your score - that will be October.

Lastly, it appears that there's a new low-residency postbac program at Penn State Delaware, which might be an option for you if you're not in good shape. These programs rarely take individuals who have already completed the prereqs, but it's new so you never know.

Best of luck to you.

Great advice (this was in the back of my mind when I posted and suggested defer to next cycle, but I could not have said this better myself)...the OP is late, and if applying now would be applying "blind" with regards to MCAT score...ideally, applicants should know their MCAT score BEFORE applying lest there is a nasty surprise necessitating a re-test...

 

[msblongboard]

Thanks for the heads up about the grades being replaced for DO schools. It is strange that these counselors never said anything about low grades being replaced by the higher ones.
The MCAT is the key I think. I have taken two full lengths this past week and will take two or three more before the test on Friday and hopefully that will help. I just have to watch out for the burnout factor which I feel creeping up....

Thanks again.

 

[njbmd]

Move quickly on that application because you NEED to be as early as possible since your undergraduate GPA is a bit lower. If you had everything ready to go right this minute, you would be in the later group of applicants. Get your stuff together and get things in. Verification can take some time and you don't want to face a deadline problem.

Don't take the MCAT unless you are totally sure that you are ready. You already have one mediocre score. Another mediocre score with a marginal GPA can start to get you into a deep hole that may be difficult to climb out of. If you find that you are not ready to walk in there and ace that test, hold off, study some more and apply early next year with a strong MCAT and all of your application things in place and ready to go early.

If you feel strong for the MCAT and can get your application done, then go for this year. Good luck!