atypical story

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EPLabJunkie

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Apologies ahead of time for the long post, but please read. Thank you so much!

Any feedback will be much appreciated...

White male, 27 y.o.
Father: MD,PhD Pathologist
Mother: RN,BSN

-ADHD, struggled through school as a child
-special education in middle school
-played guitar since age 10
-first job, sophomore year of high school (cooking)
-Graduated high school 2004, poor grades, little direction, no motivation
-Had no idea what to do with my life, experimented with art courses at a community college for 1 year. Decided, since I was working as a cook, to go to culinary school (in lieu of any better idea).
-Moved out, went to culinary school
-Gained a lot of weight
-Graduated Culinary school in 2007, poor grades
-Got an apartment, lived as a cook
-Living independently as adult, now having been on my own for several years, I had gained some much-needed maturity.
-Felt largely unfulfilled by my career, and resented the choices I had made with my life. Very unhappy and unsatisfied. Wanted to do something meaningful. Wanted to have an impact.
-Late 2008, obtained CNA license and returned to school in 2009
-Lost 100 pounds! Right back to my old slim self from before the cooking days!

2009-2011 - Montgomery College while working full-time as patient-care tech (IMCU/telemetry at a hospital) - bio major, excellent grades (turns out I just needed to gain some maturity and direction), Supplemental Instructor (precalc)(1 sem.), Math Tutor (Alg. - Calc. II)(2 sem.)

Also trained and certified at hospital in dysrhythmia interpretation, allowing me to work as a monitor tech in central telemetry station in addition to my PCT position.

2011-2013 - UMBC (Biochem) still at hospital IMCU as PCT/Monitor Tech, excellent grades
-two years of research in a biochem lab (doing synthetic organic synthesis)
-summer research internship at another, physical chem. lab specialized in fluorescence, (worked on development of an IgE immunoassay)
-TA, 1 sem. Molecular and General Genetics (held 30 student weekly discussion section with no prof.), wrote my own quizzes, prepared my own lectures, helped to grade exams, etc...
Graduated, B.S. Biochem & Molec. Bio., Magna Cum Laude, May 2013

-12 hrs observing procedures of Clinical Cardiac Electrophysiologists (a field that intrigues me, most likely a result of my clinical experience being almost exclusively in a cardiac care setting)
-12 hrs observing cardiothoracic surgery

June '13 - finally left hospital job (with about 5800 hrs +/-, total clinical experience) to begin NIH Fellowship

-Now in 1-year Post-Bac IRTA Fellowship through NIH doing immunological research for U.S. Food and Drug Administration

As you can see, long and atypical, albeit interesting story. Many years of poor performance in early life, but followed by adult life with many years of introspection. Ultimately excelled in school and improved in all aspects of my life having finally set my mind on becoming a physician.
Here's my concern...

GPA at UMBC is 3.86 (not too shabby)
MCAT 36 (V10, B12, P14) (also good)

BUT...

-My "true" cumulative GPA (counting everything from 2004 onward) is something like 3.26 (clearly not competitive), cum science GPA something like 3.75

-However, if calculating strictly based on 2009 and onward (after returning to school to pursue M.D) cumulative GPA 3.85, science GPA about the same.

Question...

Considering my history and obvious transformation, will AdComs acknowledge my steeply upward trend in performance and disregard my "true" cum GPA since it is, in my opinion, irrelevant at this point?

Also, below are the schools I applied to. I tried to blanket across "1st - 3rd tier" schools, so to speak. I know there are quite a few "reach" schools, but like the lottery, if you don't play, you don't win.
What are my chances? Also, do I have a shot at Columbia (first choice)?

Albany Medical College
Albert Einstein College of Medicine
Boston University School of Medicine
Columbia University College of P&S
David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA
Drexel University College of Medicine
Eastern Virginia Medical School
Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth
George Washington University Sch of Med & Hlth Sci
Georgetown University School of Medicine
Jefferson Medical Coll. of Thomas Jefferson Univ.
Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
Mount Sinai School of Medicine
New York Medical College
New York University
Pennsylvania State University College of Medicine
Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania
Rutgers New Jersey Medical School
Stanford University School of Medicine
State University of New York Downstate
Tufts University School of Medicine
Uniformed Services University of the Health Science
University of California San Francisco
University of California, Davis School of Medicine
University of California, Irvine- College/Medicine
University of Maryland School of Medicine
University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine
University of Rochester School of Medicine
Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine
Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine
Wake Forest School of Medicine of Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center
Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University
Weill Medical College of Cornell University

33 total!

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With your story and MCAT, nothing prior to the last few years is likely to matter. Your personal statement will be important for selling your narrative.

Good luck.

FWIW, I had a friend at a top-20 med school whose original undergrad GPA was less than a 2.1. I also have a co-resident who was in remedial classes through high school and worked his way from community college through to a very good medical school and residency.
 
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There are med schools out there that reward reinvention. DO programs are far more willing to do that than MD ones, but SUNY-Upstate, Tulane, BU, NYMC, Albany, Drexel come to mind for ther latter.

Your story is interesting but not necessarily unique..you definitely a successful non-trad.

Considering my history and obvious transformation, will AdComs acknowledge my steeply upward trend in performance and disregard my "true" cum GPA since it is, in my opinion, irrelevant at this point?

Naive attitude. with literally thousands of exceptional applicants, schools have a seller's market. With many of them, you are not likely to make it past their auto-screen, given your well-below avg cGPA. In addition, state schools tend to favor the home team and so one has to be exceptional to make into those that admit at least 10% of their class form OOS. The UC system is esceptionally competitive, so strike those off your list, for staters. I'm also doubtful that you'll make it into the Ivies, but they'll appreciate your donation int he form of your application fees.



Also, below are the schools I applied to. I tried to blanket across "1st - 3rd tier" schools, so to speak. I know there are quite a few "reach" schools, but like the lottery, if you don't play, you don't win.


My suggested list:

Albany Medical College
Boston University School of Medicine
Drexel University College of Medicine
Eastern Virginia Medical School
George Washington University Sch of Med & Hlth Sci
Georgetown University School of Medicine
Jefferson Medical Coll. of Thomas Jefferson Univ.
New York Medical College
Rutgers New Jersey Medical School (only if you're from NJ)
State University of New York Downstate (Only if you're from NY)
Tufts University School of Medicine (maybe)
Uniformed Services University of the Health Science (only if you're serious about a career in military medicine)
Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine (only if you're from VA)
Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine
Wake Forest School of Medicine of Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center (maybe)
Temple
Rosy Franklin
SLU
MCW
ALL new MD programs in NY, CT, PA, MUI, FL, VA and maybe AZ
ALL DO programs.
Your state schools, if any
 
Not to be a dick, and I think it's great that you have come along so far and are now doing very well. But I find it odd that you try and play the I am learning disabled with the special ed and ADHD card, and then attribute your recent success to finally maturing. I think it's great that you matured, but in my opinion (which is worth as much as you paid for it) you can't play the I am learning disabled card and then just say well you know... I grew out of it and now I am amazing.

Also, just a suggestion, try and be a little bit more humble in stating your progress. The last thing that people that are interviewing you want to hear is that once you finally matured and underwent all of those years of "introspection" what you learned was that you think you were reborn as gods gift to the world. That is an exaggeration of course, but I say it trying to be helpful. I think you would be much better served if you allow people to come to their own conclusions after you tell them you complete life story. Sure you can emphasize on you success (which is fine) but concluding with statements like "my obvious transformation, my steeply upward trend" leaves a little to be desired. I find it to be much more effective to let these things go unsaid and if your transformation is as "obvious" as you claim then your interviewer will notice it themselves and subsequently may be turned off if you try and point it out directly to them.


Again, it really seems like you have made great strides, but for some reason overall it just doesn't jive with me (which I suppose it doesn't have to, but again if there is one of me, I wouldn't rule out others viewing your story in a similar fashion). It feels more than anything that you lacked motivation and pissed away your life until you finally realized that it's not what you really wanted and you got your act together. If that's the case mad respect for making a come back like this, but at the same time part of "growing up" is realizing that there are consequences to the mistakes we make. You might think of phrasing your initial phases of life differently.


I wish you all the best, and congratulations on turning your life around.
 
Not to be a dick, and I think it's great that you have come along so far and are now doing very well. But I find it odd that you try and play the I am learning disabled with the special ed and ADHD card, and then attribute your recent success to finally maturing. I think it's great that you matured, but in my opinion (which is worth as much as you paid for it) you can't play the I am learning disabled card and then just say well you know... I grew out of it and now I am amazing.

Also, just a suggestion, try and be a little bit more humble in stating your progress. The last thing that people that are interviewing you want to hear is that once you finally matured and underwent all of those years of "introspection" what you learned was that you think you were reborn as gods gift to the world. That is an exaggeration of course, but I say it trying to be helpful. I think you would be much better served if you allow people to come to their own conclusions after you tell them you complete life story. Sure you can emphasize on you success (which is fine) but concluding with statements like "my obvious transformation, my steeply upward trend" leaves a little to be desired. I find it to be much more effective to let these things go unsaid and if your transformation is as "obvious" as you claim then your interviewer will notice it themselves and subsequently may be turned off if you try and point it out directly to them.


Again, it really seems like you have made great strides, but for some reason overall it just doesn't jive with me (which I suppose it doesn't have to, but again if there is one of me, I wouldn't rule out others viewing your story in a similar fashion). It feels more than anything that you lacked motivation and pissed away your life until you finally realized that it's not what you really wanted and you got your act together. If that's the case mad respect for making a come back like this, but at the same time part of "growing up" is realizing that there are consequences to the mistakes we make. You might think of phrasing your initial phases of life differently.


I wish you all the best, and congratulations on turning your life around.

Thank you, I really appreciate the advice! I understand exactly what you mean on all counts. My actual personal statement and other essay are nothing like this post. My purpose here was to give as much detail as I could, so as to get more tailored advice.

Also, no ADHD card played, it's just part of the story, and I still am medicated for it, didn't "grow out". Nevertheless in my actual personal statement I did not place it in the spotlight by any means.

As for the mention of my "obvious transformation", my intention was to ask if it will be seen that way by AdComs. Thus is was written as a question, not so much a statement.

Thank you again for the help!
-Ben
 
In addition, state schools tend to favor the home team and so one has to be exceptional to make into those that admit at least 10% of their class form OOS.

While I am not a NY or NJ resident, my entire family (both sides) is made up of New Yorkers and New Jerseyites. Also I was born in NJ (not that I think that will make a difference). Do you think that I could reasonably make the case on my secondary apps, that I have a significant connection with the Tri-state Area and wish to return (to my place of origin) to live permanently and make a career?

How could I best frame such a statement?
 
Just like you've said it here.


While I am not a NY or NJ resident, my entire family (both sides) is made up of New Yorkers and New Jerseyites. Also I was born in NJ ...I have a significant connection with the Tri-state Area and wish to return (to my place of origin) to live permanently and make a career
 
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