Best way to get into medical school?

[edrn867]

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I am in my senior year and have a 3.3 GPA with 3.2 science GPA. I got a 33Q (10 10 13) on my MCAT and I am an underrepresented minority. I didn't apply after my Junior year because I had problems to figure out and I wanted to work on my grades. I was planning on doing well in my classes senior year to help out my application and then applying to medical school after I graduated. I have strong ECs and besides my grades I am a good applicant.

But this semester the problems have continued and I medically withdrew from the semester completely. The problems have been with depression (I guess I don't mind telling people here since it is basically anonymous). Even though I am starting to feel better I am still confused about what I can do to help my chances to get into medical school. I think feeling hopeful about the future is very important but as you can see I am still in a big hole.

So the plan is to finish up undergrad after the summer semester. I will be taking all science classes so I expect to do well because if not I'm basically screwed. After that I would apply to medical school during this summer (entering fall 09 if I were to get in). My parents suggested that I get a job for a fall semester and see how the application process goes. If it seems like I am not going to get into a med school, then I would start graduate school in Spring. They don't want me to start grad school in fall because if I get into a school then they say I would have wasted a year. If I were to get into a school during the spring semester then I would just drop out of graduate school and enroll in medical school. If not I would get a masters and apply for the entering medical school class of 2010.

So my question is, how this plan seem to you guys? My parents don't know that much about getting into medical school so I need other advice. Should I consider just going straight into a master's program starting in the fall? Should I consider an SMP and what other options do I have? Sorry for the long post and any advice would be GREATLY appreciated.

 

[killdevil]

I am in my senior year and have a 3.3 GPA with 3.2 science GPA. I got a 33Q (10 10 13) on my MCAT and I am an underrepresented minority. I didn't apply after my Junior year because I had problems to figure out and I wanted to work on my grades. I was planning on doing well in my classes senior year to help out my application and then applying to medical school after I graduated. I have strong ECs and besides my grades I am a good applicant.

But this semester the problems have continued and I medically withdrew from the semester completely. The problems have been with depression (I guess I don't mind telling people here since it is basically anonymous). Even though I am starting to feel better I am still confused about what I can do to help my chances to get into medical school. I think feeling hopeful about the future is very important but as you can see I am still in a big hole.

So the plan is to finish up undergrad after the summer semester. I will be taking all science classes so I expect to do well because if not I'm basically screwed. After that I would apply to medical school during this summer (entering fall 09 if I were to get in). My parents suggested that I get a job for a fall semester and see how the application process goes. If it seems like I am not going to get into a med school, then I would start graduate school in Spring. They don't want me to start grad school in fall because if I get into a school then they say I would have wasted a year. If I were to get into a school during the spring semester then I would just drop out of graduate school and enroll in medical school. If not I would get a masters and apply for the entering medical school class of 2010.

So my question is, how this plan seem to you guys? My parents don't know that much about getting into medical school so I need other advice. Should I consider just going straight into a master's program starting in the fall? Should I consider an SMP and what other options do I have? Sorry for the long post and any advice would be GREATLY appreciated.

My two cents: getting a medically-related job in the fall, then seeing how you do in the admissions process, sounds like a fine plan to me. For what it's worth, if you pull your overall science GPA up a little during your last undergrad semester this summer, then your stats will be competitive. If you apply as a URM then your stats make you extremely competitive. I wouldn't be the least bit concerned about my ability to get into med school if I were you.

Good luck!

 

[Perrotfish]

The average stats for URM medical matriculants from last year are a 3.4 and a 27 on the MCAT. You're applying with a 3.3 and a 33 on the MCAT. That makes you significantly above average. You don't need to have graduated to apply to medical school, just as long as you will have graduated by the time the fall semester stars. Submit your application in June, apply broadly, and enjoy being a medical student next fall.

 

[Ride Big Sky]

even if you weren't a URM you could get into a DO program no problem with that mcat