Advices for Ivy with poor undergraduate record?

[piyota]

Hi, this is my first time posting in the forum, so please be patient with me if I make any mistakes.
My situation: I recently graduated from a top Ivy school with less than stellar GPA (3.1~3.2 in a science major). I did not take the MCAT yet so I did not apply to MD schools last cycle; I thought it would be wise to improve my stats before applying anyway. I just did not want to take a shot at med school, but wanted to apply when I'm prepared and ready. I understand that there are lots of debate about whether or not Ivy League students deserve to be admitted despite lower stats than others, and also the whole debacle with grade inflation in SDN. I went through a really tough time in college (I had to work to support myself, my parents went through a nasty divorce and custody battle during my senior year, my sister was diagnosed with autism...), but I knew that there's no excuse for my poor performance. I am supposed to work to support my family right now; but one of my relatives was kind enough to support me to prepare to apply instead of working. Therefore, I hope that SDN members would give me honest advice and opinion on how to improve my stats for the upcoming cycle. I knew for sure that GPA repair should be on the top of my list together with studying hard for the MCAT. I would really appreciate any insightful detailed advice, or personal stories from SDN members that had overcome these hurdles. Thank you and have a great day.

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[ppfizenm]

Hi, this is my first time posting in the forum, so please be patient with me if I make any mistakes.
My situation: I recently graduated from a top Ivy school with less than stellar GPA (3.1~3.2 in a science major). I did not take the MCAT yet so I did not apply to MD schools last cycle; I thought it would be wise to improve my stats before applying anyway. I just did not want to take a shot at med school, but wanted to apply when I'm prepared and ready. I understand that there are lots of debate about whether or not Ivy League students deserve to be admitted despite lower stats than others, and also the whole debacle with grade inflation in SDN. I went through a really tough time in college (I had to work to support myself, my parents went through a nasty divorce and custody battle during my senior year, my sister was diagnosed with autism...), but I knew that there's no excuse for my poor performance. I am supposed to work to support my family right now; but one of my relatives was kind enough to support me to prepare to apply instead of working. Therefore, I hope that SDN members would give me honest advice and opinion on how to improve my stats for the upcoming cycle. I knew for sure that GPA repair should be on the top of my list together with studying hard for the MCAT. I would really appreciate any insightful detailed advice, or personal stories from SDN members that had overcome these hurdles. Thank you and have a great day.

You need to pull your GPA up considerably if you want to have a shot. In the year of you should also be doing so volunteer work and shadowing a physician. Also, not working and letting someone else support you isn't the best thing to do. You should try to find any job, the more medically or service related the better. I'm not saying support your family but adcoms won't look favorably on you just sitting around for a year not doing anything.

 

[aSagacious]

Moving to 'what are my chances' forum.

 

[kpcrew]

Go study up, take the mcat and then come back to ask for advice. A stellar score might make you competitive.You might want to look at DO schools. You could also to look at options for taking more classes and to do well in them, but honestly, your GPA will still be pretty low for allopathic schools unless you are a URM. Maybe get some experience like volunteering at a clinic or working as a medical scribe I dunno

 

[piyota]

Thanks for your advices.
-When I meant that a relative agreed to support me, it meant that he will help me with my family's finance; however, I will still work part time to support myself.
-What type of GPA I should aim for? My pre-med advisor at my school said that the vast majority of pre-meds at my school have a 3.4-3.5 GPA on average.
-What MCAT score I should aim at? I know that it needs to be more than 30.

Dear kpcrew2oo2, you don't advice me to repair my GPA to take upper division classes? Just focus entirely on my MCAT. I thought it is too low that's why I did not apply and wait to repair it first instead. Or you mean that even if I raise it up. it will still be too low for MD school? Thank you.

 

[Silverfalcon]

DO schools.