Average GPA in Engineering, Any hope?

[justchecking]

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Hi there,
I am going to be a Computer Science graduate soon and I am also doing Pre-Med track. In my B.S. in Computer Science, I currently have GPA > 3.6. I did some research recently that involved doing some Medical related stuff and I really enjoyed it. While researching, I got so much taken aback by how intriguing Medicine is that I decided to do some pre-med courses. To conclude, I really love Computer Science and I plan to do MD.
My first priority is to get into MD-PhD program and if I can’t then may be pure MD/DO. But I plan to apply to only a couple of universities.
So my question is:
Do you guys think that with 3.65 GPA in Computer Science, would universities like Northwestern, Emory or University of Pittsburgh even consider my application?! (lol)
Thank you in advance.
P.S. I have not taken MCAT yet.

I have started volunteering at a local hospital and I am also going to be shadowing one of my personal doctors for one day(?). From the posts, I have read so far on studentdoctor.net and I found that it's good to have them on resume.
I am planning to take MCAT in May. So, I won't have a lot of hours but do you guys think that this would make a difference then or shall I just work on MCAT?!
Thanks again.

 

[MilkmanAl]

Uh...why wouldn't they?

Moved to WAMC?

 

[serendipity007]

Your GPA is almost on par with NW Feinberg, but little bit lower than Emory and UPitt. However, I think you are fine in terms of GPA (you should focus more on your MCAT now). Btw, are you computer engineering or compsci b/c your title is 'average gpa in engineering'? If it is computer engineering, then the 'lower' gpa is definitely expected and fine in terms of med school.

 

[justchecking]

My Bad! I was actually doing dual degree, before I decided to do Pre-Med instead. So, I am still enrolled in Computer Engineering and Computer Science.

 

[justchecking]

@MilkmanAl - I said that because I was going over all the GPA requirements on Princeton and most of them were like 3.7 and above.

 

[justchecking]

n

 

[serendipity007]

Well they are not really 'requirements' per se. They are probably GPA averages. I think NW Feinberg is 3.67ish and Emory and UPitt are 3.75+ Don't put too much stock on these though b/c as long as your GPA is in these ranges you should be fine (obviously higher gpa is more desirable, but you can't really change it besides improving your grades in your future classes). And if you have a difficult major like comp engineering, I think they take that into account too. Like I said before, focus more on the MCAT or other parts of your app now.

 

[justchecking]

@serendipity007
Thanks a lot for your advice. I feel much better knowing that I am going in the right direction and still have a chance at it.

 

[serendipity007]

Don't mention it! I am also an engineering major so I kind of know how it goes... Good luck with your application process!

 

[indya]

@MilkmanAl - I said that because I was going over all the GPA requirements on Princeton and most of them were like 3.7 and above.

oh ya. princeton med is a toughie for admissions.😉

 

[justchecking]

Well, I don't think I am going to apply to Princeton. I just want to apply to a limited number of universities. The one's I want to apply to should have, somewhat, a good research background. The one's I am thinking of right now are Northwestern, Emory or University of Pittsburgh

 

[n3xa]

@MilkmanAl - I said that because I was going over all the GPA requirements on Princeton and most of them were like 3.7 and above.

oh ya. princeton med is a toughie for admissions.😉

Well, I don't think I am going to apply to Princeton. I just want to apply to a limited number of universities. The one's I want to apply to should have, somewhat, a good research background. The one's I am thinking of right now are Northwestern, Emory or University of Pittsburgh

*WHOOOOOOOSH!* 😛

Princeton does not have a medical school.

 

[justchecking]

@MilkmanAl - I said that because I was going over all the GPA requirements on Princeton and most of them were like 3.7 and above.

@above - I meant Princeton review's website.. Lol! Sorry for the misunderstanding.

 

[justchecking]

Extra information added to the question posted. Please take a look. Thanks again.

 

[Catalystik]

I have started volunteering at a local hospital and I am also going to be shadowing one of my personal doctors for one day(?). From the posts, I have read so far on studentdoctor.net and I found that it's good to have them on resume.
I am planning to take MCAT in May. So, I won't have a lot of hours but do you guys think that this would make a difference then or shall I just work on MCAT

From my observation, the average MD- or DO-only applicant has 1.5 years of clinical experience and about 50 hours of physician shadowing. They also often have leadership, teaching, and nonmedical community service. Research experience averages about 1 year for a typical applicant, but 2+ years for those interested in MD/Phd or any of the top-twenty research giants. MD/PhD applicants are less likely to need a lot of ECs, but highly likely to need stellar stats.

Your exact planned timeline isnn't obvious, but if you are thinking of applying in summer 2011, and just began volunteering, you are unlikely to have developed the kind of application that will attract most med school adcomms, who will be highly suspicious of last-minute ECs. You will definitely not have the type of application that the highly-selective schools mentioned in your first post would feel is appealing.

 

[justchecking]

Thank you so much for your reply Catalystik. I have research experience of more than one year in Computer Science and not in Medical Sciences. I wonder if that counts. I also want to add that definitely, I am a senior and I was supposed to graduate this Spring. Because I was researching on some stuff that involved Medicine(indirectly) I felt like that was actually the right fit for me. Can you recommend me how can I make my application BETTER, if not awesome? 🙂