Air Force medic chances

[Buding]

So a little background:

3.84 cGPA (more on that in a minute) after this semester: more like c3.68 both of which is about the same as my sGPA

Biochemistry major
Research: Currently accepted and scheduled for summer/spring/fall dealing with nicotine metabolism
EC: Air Force Medic for 8 years: 3 years inpatient pediatrics, 2 years general surgery. Currently noncomissioned officer in charge of Self Aid and Buddy Care for the entire base (teaching how to treat wounds basically), Fitness monitor for the medical group, CPR Instructor, deployed as a medic in Iraq 2x, deployed to Hurricane Katrina for humanitarian, deployed to Germany to expand a hospital and worked in Orthopedics for 6mo, and volounteer medic for inline skating marathons for 3 years.

Essentially, those are the basics. I placed my GPA of c3.68 due to this hellacious (is that a word?) semester I am having, to which I am more or less hanging onto a 3.0 semester. I guess I am a little paranoid that this semester is going to ruin everything I have worked so hard for, so I am wondering what my chances are of getting into med school and what I should be aiming for in my MCATs in order for me to be competitive. I ended up signing up for one of the Kaplan MCAT courses over the summer and plan to take the actual test in late August (unfortunately, the eariest I can do it, since our base is having inspections and I am swamped getting prepared for that.)

Any help would be greatly appreciated, thanks!

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[LateBl00meR]

Drop a class or ask an instructor if you can change it to an audit or pass/fail.

 

[Mobius1985]

I'm not completely clear on your timeline. So you're saying you expect your cGPA to drop from 3.84 to a 3.68 after this semester? Will your BCPM GPA drop also? You plan to take the MCAT in August. When did you intend to apply, perhaps late this summer? If so, little of your research will be on your application. But your GPA would be in the competitive range. Generally, an MCAT above 30 should give you a good chance of an acceptance, unless you apply late this summer, which diminishes your chances. Applying in June 2010 would give you the best shot, more time to get your GPA back up, time to get the research done, and time to fit in some physician shadowing if that experience wasn't covered during your other clinical experience.

 

[Buding]

Dropping and pass/fail is not an option, especially if I want to graduate in time. Plus I get paid monthly based on how many credits I take, so if I drop any classes, I am going to owe quite a bit of money.

Yes, unfortunately my BCPM GPA will also drop (I have no electives left, just upper level within my major). As far as the timeline, yes, I was planning to apply late summer, which I now understand is a very bad idea. Would it be a better idea to just study on my own and take the MCAT early June, so I can apply earlier in the summer?

 

[Mobius1985]

Many folks study on their own and do fine. The formal prep course forces you to cover all the necessary review in a timely, highly-structured manner. You could possibly do the same with a review book. You could also take a free MCAT on-line and see how close to acceptably you perform, to help you decide. Here is a link to one (it's last under "Available Practice Tests): http://www.aamc.org/students/mcat/practicetests.htm

Here is a good link to how to perform well on the MCAT: http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=578461

 

[Buding]

Those are some great links Mobius! Thanks!

 

[atomi]

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