Advice on the next step?

[jbsixers3]

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Hey guys I'm a new SDN user, but I've been on here for a few months now reading for hours on end and learning about your experiences with medical school, so I'm trying to form a solid plan on what I should do next.

Some background about me: I am a New Jersey resident. I graduated 2 years ago with a degree in Exercise Science and I was originally planning on attending physical therapy school. My father passed away during my sophomore year. My GPA suffered in the months preceding my father's passing because I was commuting to and from school so much and lost much of my concentration on my studies. I took a leave of absence the next semester to be home, in which I took a few classes at a more local university. I know that's no excuse, but I figured I explain it anyway. I did some serious reflection and had a change of heart after I graduated to pursue medical school. I retook a few science courses that I received a C in at community college. I think it would be best if I applied to strictly DO schools because AACOMAS' policy on grade replacement would work in my favor.

My GPA including grade replacement are as follows:
cGPA: 3.18
sGPA:3.46

I am taking Organic Chemistry 1 & 2 in the summer, if I do well in them, my GPA would be:
cGPA: 3.24
sGPA: 3.55

Some of my EC's: I have worked in the standardized patient lab at a medical school the past 4 years. I traveled to South Africa to work for a pro soccer club this past summer (sports medicine internship). I have tons of patient interaction experience since I was originally planning on attending physical therapy school (outpatient clinic, cardiac rehab at a hospital, a clinic centered on MS patients, etc.). I was a volunteer for Children's Miracle Network and Philanthropy chair for my Fraternity in college. I also volunteered for a program that taught intellectually disabled children to play soccer. I have shadowed doctors, both DO and MD.

Obviously I'm leaving the most important part for last, the MCAT. I have not taken the exam yet, as I am unsure when I should take it. I feel as though I have forgotten most of the material that would be tested since I graduated 2 years ago and I don't want to rush into taking the exam if I'm not 100% ready. When should I apply? Should I consider a Post-Bac or SMP? What about Biomedical Science Masters programs? I met with someone in admissions at Rowan SOM and recommended the Biomedical Science Masters program because it would put me through upper level science courses and I would take some courses with medical students. I also have emailed a few other schools, but would like your opinions as well. I apologize for the long post, I just want you guys to see where I'm at. I would appreciate any input and I'm open to suggestions on what my next step should be. Thanks.

 

[AlteredScale]

Hey guys I'm a new SDN user, but I've been on here for a few months now reading for hours on end and learning about your experiences with medical school, so I'm trying to form a solid plan on what I should do next.

Some background about me: I am a New Jersey resident. I graduated 2 years ago with a degree in Exercise Science and I was originally planning on attending physical therapy school. My father passed away during my sophomore year. My GPA suffered in the months preceding my father's passing because I was commuting to and from school so much and lost much of my concentration on my studies. I took a leave of absence the next semester to be home, in which I took a few classes at a more local university. I know that's no excuse, but I figured I explain it anyway. I did some serious reflection and had a change of heart after I graduated to pursue medical school. I retook a few science courses that I received a C in at community college. I think it would be best if I applied to strictly DO schools because AACOMAS' policy on grade replacement would work in my favor.

My GPA including grade replacement are as follows:
cGPA: 3.18
sGPA:3.46

I am taking Organic Chemistry 1 & 2 in the summer, if I do well in them, my GPA would be:
cGPA: 3.24
sGPA: 3.55

Some of my EC's: I have worked in the standardized patient lab at a medical school the past 4 years. I traveled to South Africa to work for a pro soccer club this past summer (sports medicine internship). I have tons of patient interaction experience since I was originally planning on attending physical therapy school (outpatient clinic, cardiac rehab at a hospital, a clinic centered on MS patients, etc.). I was a volunteer for Children's Miracle Network and Philanthropy chair for my Fraternity in college. I also volunteered for a program that taught intellectually disabled children to play soccer. I have shadowed doctors, both DO and MD.

Obviously I'm leaving the most important part for last, the MCAT. I have not taken the exam yet, as I am unsure when I should take it. I feel as though I have forgotten most of the material that would be tested since I graduated 2 years ago and I don't want to rush into taking the exam if I'm not 100% ready. When should I apply? Should I consider a Post-Bac or SMP? What about Biomedical Science Masters programs? I met with someone in admissions at Rowan SOM and recommended the Biomedical Science Masters program because it would put me through upper level science courses and I would take some courses with medical students. I also have emailed a few other schools, but would like your opinions as well. I apologize for the long post, I just want you guys to see where I'm at. I would appreciate any input and I'm open to suggestions on what my next step should be. Thanks.

I think taking a masters would be good but it already seems that you've demonstrated an upward trend to your science GPA based on grade replacement. Just my personal opinion but I think you should stick with just performing well on that MCAT which if you do, would give a solid application in the academic sense (you overcome hardship and fixed your GPA and that academic progress is fortified with a good MCAT score which would reassure reviewers of your app. You also have solid outside experiences to make you a well rounded applicant).

You also need to consider if you can handle doing a rigorous masters program while preparing for the MCAT. You can do great on the masters and bomb the MCAT which would not do you favors.

 

[AnatomyGrey12]

Focus on the MCAT, even though your cGPA is low your sGPA is more than adequate. With a solid MCAT showing (505+) I think you would have success.

 

[change4med]

In my opinion, I think you should save the money you'd spend on a SMP/Masters (+ the potential for disaster is there in the masters, especially if you're taking it alongside the med students... some of those programs are pretty cutthroat) and take a MCAT prep course, and to focus solely on scoring well on the test. I agree that if you score anywhere around a 505 or higher that you should find luck at some schools (I think personally you'd be competitive at a lot of schools even with that GPA if you score even higher)

Your father's passing would have affected anybody in that same situation the same way, so don't feel like it's something you need to be ashamed of. Sorry you had to go through that, your ECs seem strong to me and hopefully you have your letters of rec ready as well.

 

[jbsixers3]

I think taking a masters would be good but it already seems that you've demonstrated an upward trend to your science GPA based on grade replacement. Just my personal opinion but I think you should stick with just performing well on that MCAT which if you do, would give a solid application in the academic sense (you overcome hardship and fixed your GPA and that academic progress is fortified with a good MCAT score which would reassure reviewers of your app. You also have solid outside experiences to make you a well rounded applicant).

You also need to consider if you can handle doing a rigorous masters program while preparing for the MCAT. You can do great on the masters and bomb the MCAT which would not do you favors.

Thank you for responding. If I planned on taking the MCAT in August, do you think I would be able to apply and have a competitive application for the upcoming 2016-2017 cycle? Or would it be too much of a risk/late since my GPA is lower than most applicants and I still have to take Organic Chemistry?