Advice on how to proceed

[tonesofheresy]

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I've seen a few other threads asking for similar advice but I wanted to put all my information in one place, so I apologize if it seems like I didn't scour the board properly before posting. I also apologize for the length of this post 🙂

So, starting around junior year of high school, I started a band and we became very serious about our music. We developed a great local fan base and had the opportunity to play/tour with some iconic bands. I was always a dedicated student but I started college after graduation because it was the "thing to do," not because I really wanted to be there. The band was my primary and secondary (if that's possible) focus and it kind of reflected in my grades. I ended up with a 3.3 for the semester and ended up taking the following year off to pursue music. After our second tour, we hit a rough patch and broke up. I re-enrolled in school and completed one more year. I don't recall my exact GPA for the semester, but I think it was pretty decent. At the end of the year, I decided I needed to give music another chance and took one more year off from school. After this year passed I realized just how difficult music was as a career and re-enrolled in school for the last time. I was indescribably depressed, though, having lost what I'd dedicated 6 or 7 years of my life to. I lost focus quickly and just stopped going to class. I failed every course. I retook all of the classes and got A's but I still have a semester of F's scarring my transcript. After getting passed this major roadblock, I started my upper-division courses and finished my last couple of years pretty strongly, developing great relationships with professors and students. I went from being the student no one noticed and possibly even thought of as the "one who shouldn't be in college" to the one teachers recommended as a tutor for nearly every class and held in high regard. I majored in biochemistry and minored in math and physics with a grade-replaced GPA of 3.49 but an AMCAS GPA of 3.28. I took the MCAT in April 2011 and got a 39, which I believe is a truer reflection of my abilities, but I can't get away from this GPA issue. I also took the GRE for the hell of it and got 90th percentile on Verbal and 98th on Math, but I don't know that that will do much. I have great LOR's as far as I know. I obviously haven't read them but I trust that everyone who wrote a letter for me would only give positive feedback. I have a good variety of extracurricular activities and upward of 100 hours of physician shadowing. I applied to a bunch of schools this year and am awaiting a response from 8 of them, but given the time of year and the rejections from other schools, I'm anticipating not getting in this year. I think one of the places I'm lacking is clinical experience, which I'm working to improve this year, but I'm wondering what some of your opinions are regarding how to proceed. Some things I'm considering are applying for a post-bac program, applying for a clinical research position, or even applying to graduate school and obtaining a masters or doctorate and then applying to med school, though I'll be 30 and have to retake the MCAT if I go that route, so I'm steering away from it for now. Some people have also suggested the DO route, which I'm not opposed to, per se, but I'd truly like to get an MD. If you were in my position, what would you do? I feel like my situation is rather unique (there's more to my story but this is getting long enough) but any input would be greatly appreciated.

Oh, also, I didn't really mention my parents being doctors in most of my applications because I wanted to show that I had enough personal drive to become a doctor without invoking familial connections, but I think this was a mistake, as a lot of my early exposure to medicine was through my parents. If I was to add some experiences to my AMCAS application that were not in my initial application, would that seem fishy? I could imagine being questioned as to why I left it out the first time but, then again, I don't know if they'll take the time to look at both applications.

 

[eDITN]

Which schools did you apply to this year?

I think MD is going to be tough given that you have all of those F's on your transcript. You could try doing an SMP and trying to get a 4.0 which would fair well with your high MCAT but your MCAT score is approaching two years old now so that might not be the best idea.

You should really think about DO. Their grade replacement system is really good for someone in your situation. I think you would have no problem getting into a DO school.

My recommendation would be to apply really broadly and early this semester for MD and DO. One of the lower tier MD schools may give you a shot so apply to a bunch of them. Keep working on your EC's and you certainly have an interesting story that you can tell. But what is really holding you back is your GPA, unfortunately.

 

[cabinbuilder]

My biggest question is why the hell are you still comtemplating and not applying? A 39 on the MCAT and you have doubts?? I just don't understand. We all have F's on our transcript. No one is perfect. Just apply already and see what happens.

 

[tonesofheresy]

Cabinbuilder,
I appreciate your vote of confidence! Trouble is, I did apply and, though I'm still waiting to hear back from about 7 schools, I've only received rejections from the others. Without even an interview yet, it's not looking good for this year.

Sent from my SGH-T999 using SDN Mobile

 

[cabinbuilder]

Cabinbuilder,
I appreciate your vote of confidence! Trouble is, I did apply and, though I'm still waiting to hear back from about 7 schools, I've only received rejections from the others. Without even an interview yet, it's not looking good for this year.

Sent from my SGH-T999 using SDN Mobile

So you didn't apply to the right schools. You didn't apply to enough. You didn't apply DO. Apply smarter, not harder. If you don't get in the first time, you apply again. It's a lottery and the odds change every year. So what did you do wrong? Is your PS lame? Did you apply too late? Are your LOR's good? Are you confident in them? Did you apply where your application is similar to who they generally take?

 

[tonesofheresy]

So you didn't apply to the right schools. You didn't apply to enough. You didn't apply DO. Apply smarter, not harder. If you don't get in the first time, you apply again. It's a lottery and the odds change every year. So what did you do wrong? Is your PS lame? Did you apply too late? Are your LOR's good? Are you confident in them? Did you apply where your application is similar to who they generally take?

I think it's a combination of factors. I will admit I applied late to some schools, which I'll definitely change this year. I also did not apply DO, as I thought I would be successful with an MD program. As for the "right" schools, I looked for ones for which I was competitive. I didn't apply to top tier schools but also didn't want to sell myself short so I applied broadly. In terms of my PS, I have to recuse myself from judging its "lameness" but I think it was pretty decent. I will definitely have more people read it this year and modify it but I think my story is relatively moving and I illustrate my reasoning for wanting to be a doctor rather well (I think). I'm confident in my LORs as the professors that wrote them still keep in contact with me and think very highly of me. They all have also written LORs for medical school applicants and know what to include and what not to include, so I don't doubt the quality. I wanted to leave out the fact that I applied kind of late in my original post to prevent answers like, "well, that's the reason." and not get any real feedback.

 

[cabinbuilder]

Just putting out there all the factors you need to consider. It may not be just "one" thing. Pre-meds tends to focus on one aspect they think may have been their downfall when many times it can be a combination of qualities that may not have been previously seen as an issue.

I think the PS can really make or break an app. It doesn't even have to be about medicine at all. Everyone I have written has been an adventure story about a life that I thought was really cool and came across as an exerpt from a novel. MAKE THEM WANT TO MEET YOU.

 

[tonesofheresy]

Just putting out there all the factors you need to consider. It may not be just "one" thing. Pre-meds tends to focus on one aspect they think may have been their downfall when many times it can be a combination of qualities that may not have been previously seen as an issue.

I think the PS can really make or break an app. It doesn't even have to be about medicine at all. Everyone I have written has been an adventure story about a life that I thought was really cool and came across as an exerpt from a novel. MAKE THEM WANT TO MEET YOU.

I completely agree and feel my PS was very much a story and a pretty good one at that. Due to length considerations I think my ending may have suffered, but the way my life took a detour from school and returned me to a path toward medicine was cohesive and persuasive, in my opinion. Would I be able to send you a copy of it and get your opinion? I have a style of writing that may or may not be preferred by readers with different tastes than mine so any outside opinion would be much appreciated.

 

[cabinbuilder]

I completely agree and feel my PS was very much a story and a pretty good one at that. Due to length considerations I think my ending may have suffered, but the way my life took a detour from school and returned me to a path toward medicine was cohesive and persuasive, in my opinion. Would I be able to send you a copy of it and get your opinion? I have a style of writing that may or may not be preferred by readers with different tastes than mine so any outside opinion would be much appreciated.

Sure. I will PM you my email.