Advice please

[axonality]

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I'm a 21 yr. old male that just finished my 6th semester of undergrad (did one summer term), planning to do 3 more.

-Major/Minor: Neuroscience/Public Health
-cGPA: 3.21....3.75 over the past year
-sGPA: 3.15...3.71 over the past year
-MCAT: plan to take in the summer, scored anywhere from 29-34 on 5 practice exams
-Volunteered 2+ years with a specialized medicine department, will receive letters from an MD and a DO
-Just got accepted to do research over the rest of my undergrad under the direction of an MD/PhD PI, have worked in another lab over the past year
-President of a student group involving medical relief efforts abroad, vice-president of another that pushes education reform

I finished my freshman year with a 2.67 cGPA (B's in both biology's, C+ in Ochem 1, B+ in biology lab, C- in inorganic II) and sophomore year with a 2.82 cGPA (B's in Ochem2, lab, and physics I, C in biochemistry at the graduate level, D+ in anatomy). I retook Anatomy the next semester and received an A. I also plan on retaking inorganic II and biochemistry at the undergraduate level next semester. My pre-req grades are not great overall, but over the past year I've pulled A's in tougher upper division classes like Genetics, Neuroscience, Physics, and Cell Biology.

I'm wondering if I should apply for DO and/or MD schools this summer if my MCAT is in range of what I've been getting on my practice tests, or whether I should consider also taking the GRE and applying to masters programs in order to prove to schools I can handle the academic load.

One last thing that may be controversial, but at age 10 I was diagnosed with ADHD and did nothing about it until I was 20 and sick of not being able to read a book for longer than 5 minutes, having trouble sitting through multiple classes in a day, and committing to a job/regular routine. I've never made this an excuse for anything, but I do credit learning to manage my disorder with a lot of my academic improvement over the past year. Should I include this on any personal statements?

Thanks!

 

[Playdoh4lyfe]

Keep up the grades - with 3 more semesters you have enough time to prove you can do well. A lot of schools only look at the last 60 credits, both MD and DO, so keep it in the ~3.7 range for the next 3 semesters and you'll be golden. Think about retaking some of those pre-reqs, it would help with both MD and DO (obviously more with DO because of the grade replacement)

Get some more letters of recommendation- you'll probably need a few professors. It couldn't hurt to get a few more as long as they're strong ones.

Study your butt off for the MCAT and you'll do well. With a 30+ and the current trend of GPA you'll be in a great position to apply to a lot of MD and DO schools.

I didn't address ADHD in my personal statements...I wanted to because I thought it would show how I overcame something and at the same time give reason to my poor grades during my first two years at school...but in the end I didn't think they wanted to hear excuses or sob stories (no offense). IMO I think it would probably be better to write about something you achieved, learned or were touched/moved by in the specialized medicine department. Stories of personal growth that relate to a clinical experiences are great from what I hear.

 

[Isha2018]

Grade replacement is awesome! Schools are looking for grade trends. I had to explain some similar grades I earned in my freshman year, and all it required was a statement about how I was immature and dating my wife at the time, but now, I'm all grown up and have shown a majorly upward grade trend. 🙂

With a MCAT above 30, you should be competitive for both MD and DO programs, especially in-state MD schools.

I think an essay about what you have learned from your ADHD would be useful. Schools do want to know the personal side of things in addition to the normal statistics. As long as you refrain from negativity in the essay, it should be beneficial. Ask Goro (an ADCOM member on SDN from a DO school somewhere west of a major US river).

Good luck to you! I'm sure you'll do very well because you DESIRE to do well.