Am I insane for applying?

[BAbebe]

I am really hoping to apply to med school this summer. It's far from stellar, but does anyone think I'd be insane for applying? Below is what I've done so far:

- MCAT: to be taken in May 22nd

- Volunteer Experience: Hospital Aide @ local hospital (prepared patient stretchers for GI department) - Summer '09


- Shadowing: 40+ Hours shadowing doctors, nurses, & radiology techs @ large city hospital (Brigham & Women's Hospital) - Summer '09


- Research:
clinical cancer research @ Dana-Farber Cancer Institute (Feb-May 2010)
clinical cancer research @ Mass General Hospital (June 2010-Present)
college thesis on bioterrorism


- Letters of Recommendation: I will be able to request LOR's from accomplished doctors from MGH

- Demographics: Age: 23, Race: African-American, Gender: Male

-Community Service: was in a college fraternity that helped raise $1000's for Children's Miracle Network, American Cancer Society, among other events

-GPA: Graduated fall '09, biology major, 3.1 cum

I realize I have a very weak GPA, but I wont be able to afford post-bacc courses until this fall. Pending the MCAT score, which I'm dedicating 3 months to, would I be insane to think of applying this year?

Any criticism/feedback would be greatly appreciated, thanks in advance!

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[Catalystik]

Low GPA and unknown MCAT issues aside, applying with only three months of hospital experience (where you mention no patient interaction) has a low chance of ending well. Further, other than fund-raising, you don't mention any regular hands-on nonmedical community service, teaching, or leadership. The shadowing is a bit below the average of 50 hours. Your research is about average.

Besides addressing the low GPA, I think you have a lot of work to do beefing up your Experiences before you apply. Consider waiting a year.

 

[BAbebe]

Catalystik, first off thanks for replying. My initial post is condensed, so I'd like to go into further detail w/ regards to your concerns...

Patient Interaction:
My hospital volunteer work had me prepping stretchers for patients about to go in the OR. Once they recovered from operation, I would transport all patients via wheelchair to be picked up at the hospital entrance by their rides (usually friends, family). I was stationed near the recovery rooms so I also had a lot of general interaction with these patients, though not direct care.

The clinical work I did at Dana-Farber had much patient interaction as well. A patient would sign up for a cancer trial, & I would coordinate all of their treatment procedures (blood draws, doctor's visits, order EKG's, order scans (CT, MRI, PET)). I was essentially their point man, all questions regarding their cancer trial went through me. I would be present during their physical exam as well.

The clinical work at MGH was nearly the same, but here I am trained to do patient vital signs, blood draws, & EKG's as well.

Nonmedical community service:
On a weekly basis I was involved in a food drive where I picked up donated foods from local businesses to donate to a homeless shelter. Larger events included a fundraiser for the homeless shelter, chaperoning for the local middle school, & assisting a Halloween carnival. I would average 3-4 large events per semester.

Teaching:
I was never a TA or tutor, so there's minimal experience here. My years in a fraternity had me educating new recruits how our fraternity was run (history, legislation, programming, etc). Perhaps I can apply that..

Leadership:
I was the President of a 40+ man fraternity for a year. I had 2 years in additional leadership positions within that fraternity. The national fraternity awarded us numerous times as one of their best chapters, of over 120 chapters across the nation. I believe my role was critical to that success. I also attended bi-annual leadership conferences sponsored by the fraternity. If there's any value, I was captain of an intramural soccer team for 3 semesters.

Shadowing:
My 40+ hours of shadowing are just from Brigham, but I feel the total number should be a lot higher. At Dana-Farber & MGH I work directly w/ numerous medical professionals. At MGH alone I interact with 4 physicians, 2 NP's, 1 RN on a daily basis. But depending on the cancer trial that could include an additional physician & 2 surgeons. The docs are decorated & highly respected within the Boston area, if not the northeast region.

Does this change yours or anyone else' opinion?

 

[Catalystik]

I hope you don't undersell yourself on your med school application. With your fuller description, you have set many concerns to rest.

Your clinical experience now looks fine. You'd probably want to tease out the shadowing hours from the other experience and add it to the formal shadowing. The leadership is terrific. You have a sport which shows well for teamwork potential. Sure, use the frat orientation as teaching if you can spin it well. The added comments on nonmedical community service are also reassuring. If you can stay involved in something, that will help.


So lets move to speed bump #2: The cGPA. And what is your BCPM GPA? Would you mind listing your year-by-year GPAs (this is how they show up on the application, rather than semester-by-smester)?

 

[BAbebe]

Here are my BCPM gpa's year by year:

Freshman= 3.2
Soph= 2.5
Junior= 3.0
Senior= 2.73
5th year (1 semester)= 3.23

The most recent is upward, but my overall trend has been erratic. To be honest, I feel the low soph/senior gpa's weren't related to the courses, but rather my poor balance between academics & fraternity responsibilities. I joined my soph year & couldn't balance the influx of responsibilities. By senior year I was in the highest leadership positions, but sacrificed (foolishly) my grade again. In my final semester, I was more of an adviser.

The fraternity had given me so much (making a difference, confidence, leadership, etc) that I wanted to give back as much as I could, which often lead to neglect of my academics. I doubt that will pass for adcoms, but thats the truth. I hope to show I've corrected that post-bac, by putting hopefully getting a strong MCAT, showing success at my job, & taking post-bac courses this fall even if I apply to schools.

 

[Catalystik]

By 5th year do you mean postbac? If not, then the 5th year is included in with senior year grades. If it's postbac, it goes on its own line with all other postback work (no matter how many semester's worth). But all of it is included in the uBCPM. What is the total?

Does the cGPA follow similiar trends? Presumably, you don't have the frat responsibilities on your shoulders anymore. Any thought on if the grade upswing could be steeper when you take classes in the fall?

 

[BAbebe]

by 5th year I meant I meant the semester after my senior year, so still undergrad. I'll have to reply later with the uBCPM.

The cGPA follows a similar trend, but just one dip during my senior year. I feel I could put out a much higher trend post-bac. I am able to balance work & academics a lot better, based on my studying progress with the MCAT. But that is just a prediction.

 

[Catalystik]

Here is the AAMC data that gives the odds of success for AAs with various stats combos: https://www.aamc.org/download/157594/data/table25-b-mcatgpa-grid-black-0810.pdf.pdf

In looking at this data, you will have to extrapolate each bin downward in the 3.0-3.19 range to adjust for your lower GPA of 3.1. My eyeball sees that with an MCAT score of 26, your chance is 47%, with an MCAT score of 29, it's 62%, and with a 32, it's 72%. It may be that without a recent steep upward grade trend that will reassure adcomms that you have the potential to do well in their science-heavy coursework, your chances will be lower. If your GPA were to rise to 3.19, the odds would rise respectively to 54.6%, 70.9%, and 81.5% (ie, exactly what the chart says).

 

[BAbebe]

My BCPM gpa totaled to 2.9

That is some very useful data, thanks for passing it along. It would have been nice for aamc to post this data for specific schools, since thats where the data is from. I have the MRSA and there aren't similar percentage rates posted for specific.

Pending a strong MCAT, it looks like I have a small shot to apply successfully this year. Though I will still be prepared in the strong likelihood I am not accepted. Catalystik, unless you had more comments, I am very appreciative of your feedback.

 

[Catalystik]

If you decide to proceed with an application this year, be sure to include Howard, Meharry, and Morehouse, all traditionally black medical schools which are more academically forgiving, and all of which heavily favor applicants with a pattern of service to the poor and underserved populations. Engage in the postbac classes you'd planned, getting near straight As to prove your potential, and informing all schools of your success after each term with an update letter. Live your application year as if you know you'll need to reapply, continuing to build ECs, which can also be included in the update letters.

 

[shbrown2]

It is never crazy or nonbeneficial to apply. Your application isn't very strong so I would say your chances of getting in are on the lower end, but who knows. Try some less prestigious schools and keep your fingers crossed. They worst they can tell you is no and there is never any dishonor in trying. Good luck!