Advice - Spring 2010

[doctor712]

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Hey All,

Hope we've all gotten grades in and are enjoying SDN guilt free over this holiday break! I have a question and am looking for advice re: my Spring 2010 schedule. Been posting and reading here for a while now. VERY nice to see that Non-trads Acceptance thread is quite full this year!

Ok, so, I take the MCAT in April 2010, at the same time that I have my last
normal semester of my own Post-Bac (self) program.

I've finished Bio I/II, Gen Chem I/II, Orgo I, Phys I. GPA is substantially higher than anything I did as an undergrad, which is a good thing. 😀 And yet reminds me that I'll have a hard time getting in regardless. I feel safe, and humble, in saying that I think I have stellar LORs, research (1st Author, good pub/s, more to come), shadowing and clinical exposure (a strong amount of solid stuff here), and a great and interesting background coming from being a television writer of shows that all the adcoms will know!!! Whether or not their fans, who knows. 🙂 But, it should set me apart from the avg applicant. That and my age!!!! 😉

Having said that 🙁 , look, I'm not an easy admit. Wish I was. My admittance will come down to my MCAT and my post-bac GPA, which will be a solid 3.7 on June 1, 2010, when I apply, as long as I keep doing what I'm doing and continue to ramp it UP.

So, Spring, I have Orgo 2 to take, with Orgo 2 lab, a 2 credit course here, a course I heard is like a course in and of itself. Fun. Phys 2 and Phys 2 lab, if I do what I did in Phys 1, I'll get As again in this stuff. That's a lot there already. 10 credits. Now, I would love to have some UPPER LEVEL sciences in the bag when I apply. How can I expect an adcom to admit me to med school if I don't have this on the application? Even if I get a 30+ on the MCAT? On the other hand, I have a degree already, with lots of OTHER upper level courses in my major from an Ivy (polic sci) though I don't want to make old grades part of the experience, I lose that discussion if we are going to go by old grades...so why go there. Bottom line, can I get in with just the pre-reqs and solid MCAT, or do I NEED the additional upper levels? I could only take one at most in Spring, not sure that would matter. I guess the feeling, with me is, the more As now, the better.

So, I can take Microbiology, with or without lab in Spring. Should I? Or should I keep it sane and take Health Law? I don't even know the difference between Microbio and Molec and Cell Bio, for example, something I'd also like to take. I cannot take Biochem until after Orgo 2 in Spring. I'd love to take that before MCAT, but to delay MCAT would delay that nice and early app June 1.

Another option is to keep it light with Biomedical Ethics on top of the above pre-reqs and add to that Summer 1 session, two nice upper level sciences, say Immunology or Virology or Microbio at that time? The upside to that is my Summer Session 1 ends around 6/15 here. So, I could update an early app with those grades still early in the game. But, updating a recently completed and verified app could also push things to July for me. I could also do the same with Summer II here, which is still a semester that would finish around August and get me more good upper grades to update with come interview season. But I'm not necessarily worried about saying, "Yeah, I did well in Biochem I in summer, thanks for noticing that Dr. XYZ..." Haha. I'm WORRIED about GETTING to the interview in the first place. And without upper levels, hmmmm...

As an aside, I still have work (writing from home, sporadic), cut back on research (grades first) and need to really finish up strong, i.e. straight As in Phys 2 and Orgo 2. Labs and lectures. And study for the MCAT. But that's what we all do in the MCAT term, ay? 😱

Advice on the scheduling and timing of my upcoming app schedule for Spring 2010 would be GREATLY appreci-a-doed. Same with those who had success without too many upper levels when that app was sent in 6/1, only to be updated later.

Thanks!!!
D712

 

[doctor712]

Bump?

 

[ArkansasRanger]

Bump?

Well, if you've taken the prerequisite courses that they list then you're ok by just following them so they can't deny you based on that.

You seem like a good, solid non-traditional student. Good luck.

 

[Catalystik]

You can list future coursework on the Primary application so schools will know you plan to take more upper-level Bio and Biochem.

With ten hours of prerequisites, plus studying for the MCAT, plus work, plus maintaining some current ECs, that is probably enough to chew for spring semester. If you feel compelled to take some upper-level Bio, I'd choose Microbiology as likely to be easiest (at least at my school). Medical Ethics and Med Law are very reading-intensive and might be better for summer fare, along with Biochem.

Yes, one can get in with just the prerequisites and a solid MCAT. If you feel you need to prove yourself beyond that, it wouldn't be unreasonable to wait until summer session I grades are in mid-June to submit, provided your school has a habit of getting transcript requests out promptly. Then more courses in summer session II to be updated in a letter (which may or may not be regarded, depending on the school).

 

[doctor712]

You can list future coursework on the Primary application so schools will know you plan to take more upper-level Bio and Biochem.

With ten hours of prerequisites, plus studying for the MCAT, plus work, plus maintaining some current ECs, that is probably enough to chew for spring semester. If you feel compelled to take some upper-level Bio, I'd choose Microbiology as likely to be easiest (at least at my school). Medical Ethics and Med Law are very reading-intensive and might be better for summer fare, along with Biochem.

Yes, one can get in with just the prerequisites and a solid MCAT. If you feel you need to prove yourself beyond that, it wouldn't be unreasonable to wait until summer session I grades are in mid-June to submit, provided your school has a habit of getting transcript requests out promptly. Then more courses in summer session II to be updated in a letter (which may or may not be regarded, depending on the school).

didn't know that, thanks very to you and ark ranger! this relieves some worries. yes, im compelled to get some upper levels in there and biochem I will be summer I for certain, summer II TBD, but upper level sci for sure.

ill decide on health law and medical ethics too, i'm edging toward medical ethics. reading intensive isn't of concern for me... per se.

thanks!
D712

 

[just one]

Well, if you've taken the prerequisite courses that they list then you're ok by just following them so they can't deny you based on that.

You seem like a good, solid non-traditional student. Good luck.

Not necessarily true, I know a couple people that got denied from my state school due to almost no upper division sciences. Remember, the prereq list is a minimum, everyone has those. Other applicants will have upper division sciences.

 

[ArkansasRanger]

Not necessarily true, I know a couple people that got denied from my state school due to almost no upper division sciences. Remember, the prereq list is a minimum, everyone has those. Other applicants will have upper division sciences.

Yes, but eliminating someone based on their meeting your written expectations is a bit of a no no.

 

[just one]

Yes, but eliminating someone based on their meeting your written expectations is a bit of a no no.

You would be eliminating yourself by not being competitive. I attended three open houses for my state school and they specifically mentioned this every year. There are minimums and recommended classes. Good advice is to treat the recommended as the minimum.

 

[ArkansasRanger]

You would be eliminating yourself by not being competitive. I attended three open houses for my state school and they specifically mentioned this every year. There are minimums and recommended classes. Good advice is to treat the recommended as the minimum.

I don't think we were talking about a list of recommended courses but rather a list of required courses.

 

[just one]

I don't think we were talking about a list of recommended courses but rather a list of required courses.

My point is that your first post implied they would be fine by just taking prereqs, when simply that is not always the case. All schools have prereqs and I would bet that all schools have a recommended list. Don't be the applicant that tries to skate by with the minimum. It may work sometimes but that is not good advice to follow. I am only presenting my view with first hand knowledge about this situation.

 

[Micahfeld]

As someone that took the MCAT, applied, and was accepted without having completed all of the prerequisites , much less any advanced sciences, I will share my opinions based on the feedback that I received during the application process.

I read your MDApps profile, and you should be a very interesting applicant for most adcoms, and I'll bet you'll interview exceptionally well. Barring a decrease in your post-bacc performance, that and your clinical exposure should answer most questions regarding your desire and academic ability. The key is going to be getting past any "statistical" cut-offs that would prevent your application from getting reviewed.

The MCAT is probably the most crucial piece of your application in my opinion. It can make them take a second look at your academic credentials as you will likely still be suffering from a low cumulative GPA. A competitive score on the MCAT will open doors, so push yourself and conquer that test.

What you take over the summer months will be on your academic record by the time you are interviewing in the fall, so don't take on too much this spring. Dedicate that time to the MCAT. You need to be above average in that area of your application.

The next piece of the puzzle is going to be proving that you can not only survive, but excel in handling a large volume of new information in a short period of time. Your MCAT preparation along with your physics and organic coursework this spring can probably answer this questions for the admissions committee.

At my interview, I received positive comments related to working full-time and making A's in 18 hours over the summer term (Organic I and II w/ labs and Physics I and II w/ labs). Even without advanced science coursework, succeeding with large volumes of information in a short period of time is going to show the adcom that you can be a successful medical student. For you, taking biochem in the summer should definitely be a plus in this area.

FYI, once your AMCAS app is complete and verified, you send any transcript updates directly to the shools where you are applying. The coursework section of the AMCAS is locked (no changes). Your summer school coursework will be looked at by the adcoms, but it will likely not factor into whether you get an interview (that will be based on cGPA, sGPA, and MCAT plus your ECs and personal statement).


Overall,