I graduated from undergraduate school with a 3.4 GPA, double majoring in art history and biology. I was poor at the time I took my MCATs, juggling 3 jobs to get by, and I pulled a pathetic 23. So I hopped into the first school that took me, which was a Caribbean school. I know this will cause a lot of skepticism, but my 1st semester there was horrible. It was my first time away from home, and I was naive. I ended up failing myself out - not because the material was tough but because I was lazy and did not work as academically hard as I should have. I went back home, completely distraught, knowing full well it was my own fault. One year has passed. I retook the MCATs and got a 34. I have gone to Mexico a couple of times to volunteer at clinics, and I am now trilingual. I know I am not the same person I was a year ago, and it is still my dream to become a physician. What should I do? DO or MD, it doesn't matter. But do I even have a chance?
advice PLEASE
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I think so... although you'll certainly have to explain the Caribbean school thing a lot. At least it wasnt a US MD/DO school, though.
A SMP might help you show that you can do the work, if you can put in that much time. With your MCAT you just might be able to land yourself in one with a linkage program.
A SMP might help you show that you can do the work, if you can put in that much time. With your MCAT you just might be able to land yourself in one with a linkage program.
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34 definitely helps! I still think you will have to explain a hell of alot for US MD unless you have a lesser than average stat in-state school to apply to.
DO is your best shot! They look more at the applicant and are more forgiving.
DO is your best shot! They look more at the applicant and are more forgiving.
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You got a 34? After getting a 23 last year? Nice! Yes, of course you have a chance. Re: DO or MD, which would you like to do? If you think you would like either, maximize your chances and apply to both.
I'm just an applicant myself, so take my advice with a grain of salt, but I hear of people with numbers far lower than yours getting into schools.
Go for it.
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I hate to be the one to break the news, but failing out of Med School is the end of the line. You won't even be granted interviews if you re-apply. As far as the "I was young, I'm different now", failing out of med school is inexcusable for any reason. It's time to look at other careers.
That's exactly what I was wondering. I keep hearing different things, and I'm not sure what to believe anymore.
QofQuimica
Seriously, dude, I think you're overreacting....
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OP, please don't post the same thread in more than one forum. I have merged the two of them together here.
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And you know this based on....? Evidence please.
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Yeah, and you are an idiot.
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I really don't get this. If you disagree with me, or have evidence to the contrary, please share with the community. Otherwise please don't insult me because you think I'm wrong.
Good point to the poster above who asked that I provide evidence to back up my statement. I guess objective facts would have been better posted by me in the first place.
#1: When discussing med school with my university's pre-health adviser, who is an MD and concurrently serves on the med school adcom, she said something along the lines of, "...SMPs are really expensive, and they're high risk. If you do poorly in them, your chance at a med school acceptance is practically zero. The only thing worse than doing poorly in a SMP is doing poorly and dropping out of med school. Then your chances at [re-]acceptance are exactly zero..."
#2: My sibling was having personal issues her first year in med school, and wanted to withdraw for the year. The med school wouldn't allow her, and so she was considering dropping out and re-applying. She was told directly by the school administration that if she were to drop out, that would be the end of her journey to becoming a doctor.
I'll be the first to say that I'm sure someone over the course of medical education in the US has dropped out of med school, and re-gained an acceptance. I just think that this situation is the rarest of rare. But why take my word for it? Just call different schools, tell them you want to apply to their programs, and disclose the fact that you've already failed out of med school.
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Although I am no expert from what I have heard by the 2 different premedical commitee's at the 2 universities that I have attended, this assesement seems to be correct.
I was actually considering Georgetowns SMP, not to overcome deficiencies, but merely because I had to delay med school applications for a year due to personal issues and this was the only program in my area in which I could complete a masters degree in 1 year in the biological / chemical sciences. Upon talking to the advisors at both universities I was told the same thing - its not worth the risk for me. If you do not do well than your chances at med school are slim-to-none, regardless of a higher than average undergraduate GPA. By their reasoning one can assume that a not-to-good performance in medical school classes is detrimental to your app.
However, to the OP, what have you got to lose - you might as well give it a shot although I personally do not feel that 1 year is long enough of a timeline to really convince the adcoms that you have substantially changed in terms of emotional and personal growth to now succeed. It might serve you better to work in a clincal or research setting for a couple of years with your degree and then re-apply. Not sure though my best advice would be to talk to some actual medical schools or your universities premed committee regarding what the best course of action would be.
