Chances for this cycle?

[C@rol]

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Hello,

Long story short: my gpa is not the best, so I am unsure if it is worth applying MD. I retook a class (Biochem) I originally failed but when it gets counted in my gpa drops.

cumulative gpa: 3.498 (3.567 not counting 1st time taking Biochem)
science gpa: 3.338 (3.43 not counting 1st time taking Biochem)

I am currently studying for the MCAT (taking it April) and think I can get ~512 based on my practice exam scores. I am obviously trying to get a higher score, but at the moment that is where I am at.

I have 2.5 years of very strong clinical research experience where I also helped with several patient care projects (interacting with both patients and doctors extensively). I am getting my reference letters from this experience, and know they will be strong. During my undergrad I volunteered for ~320 hours giving free English classes, was president of a service club, and volunteered at a local hospital. I will be starting to volunteer at a hospital ~6 hours per week this coming week. Not sure if this is relevant, but I am a Latina female, and would fall as under-represented minority due to my ethnicity.

Is it worth it applying MD for me? If so, I would appreciate any school recommendations.

Thanks in advanced 🙂

 

[907914]

Hello,

Long story short: my gpa is not the best, so I am unsure if it is worth applying MD. I retook a class (Biochem) I originally failed but when it gets counted in my gpa drops.

cumulative gpa: 3.498 (3.567 not counting 1st time taking Biochem)
science gpa: 3.338 (3.43 not counting 1st time taking Biochem)

I am currently studying for the MCAT (taking it April) and think I can get ~512 based on my practice exam scores. I am obviously trying to get a higher score, but at the moment that is where I am at.

I have 2.5 years of very strong clinical research experience where I also helped with several patient care projects (interacting with both patients and doctors extensively). I am getting my reference letters from this experience, and know they will be strong. During my undergrad I volunteered for ~320 hours giving free English classes, was president of a service club, and volunteered at a local hospital. I will be starting to volunteer at a hospital ~6 hours per week this coming week. Not sure if this is relevant, but I am a Latina female, and would fall as under-represented minority due to my ethnicity.

Is it worth it applying MD for me? If so, I would appreciate any school recommendations.

Thanks in advanced 🙂

Unfortunately, your GPA will be he one where all classes are counted and it is fairly low. If you get >515 I would say apply all MD but very broadly 20-25 schools. If you get 510-515 I would say apply 50% mid-low tier MD and 50% non-mega DO schools. If you get <510, apply strictly DO with maybe 1-5 MD schools that you just really want to go to. Anything less than a 505, you should wait a year, take additional classes to raise the GPA and sit for the MCAT again.

 

[faerie62]

Imo you should give MD a shot but definitely include DO schools as well. Try and get some shadowing in as well (particularly so you can get a DO letter of rec). Also, it could be helpful to include your GPA trends over the years as opposed to just the cumulative as that could paint a better picture of your academics.

 

[LizzyM]

While a letter from a research supervisor will be helpful, you should seek letters from faculty who can speak to your work ethic in the classroom to counterbalance your GPA which indicates that the classroom has been where you have been weak.

 

[C@rol]

While a letter from a research supervisor will be helpful, you should seek letters from faculty who can speak to your work ethic in the classroom to counterbalance your GPA which indicates that the classroom has been where you have been weak.

I am planning on getting an LOR from my biochemistry professor, whose class I failed the first time around and then re-took. She is aware I had some personal matters that made it difficult to succeed in my studies, and then saw me working hard the following semester during my re-take. My clinical letter will be from a department head who knows I was working full-time while finishing my undergraduate studies in the evenings.

Do you think this would suffice in order for me to apply MD?

 

[LizzyM]

I am planning on getting an LOR from my biochemistry professor, whose class I failed the first time around and then re-took. She is aware I had some personal matters that made it difficult to succeed in my studies, and then saw me working hard the following semester during my re-take. My clinical letter will be from a department head who knows I was working full-time while finishing my undergraduate studies in the evenings.

Do you think this would suffice in order for me to apply MD?

Many MD schools will want two letters from science faculty. The biochem prof will be one but you'll need a second. You may be able to substitute the dept head letter for the "non-science" professor letter that some schools will look for. Check the MSAR for the schools you are targeting with respect to the letter requirements or check directly with the schools' websites.

 

[leonardoson]

Hello,

Long story short: my gpa is not the best, so I am unsure if it is worth applying MD. I retook a class (Biochem) I originally failed but when it gets counted in my gpa drops.

cumulative gpa: 3.498 (3.567 not counting 1st time taking Biochem)
science gpa: 3.338 (3.43 not counting 1st time taking Biochem)

I am currently studying for the MCAT (taking it April) and think I can get ~512 based on my practice exam scores. I am obviously trying to get a higher score, but at the moment that is where I am at.

I have 2.5 years of very strong clinical research experience where I also helped with several patient care projects (interacting with both patients and doctors extensively). I am getting my reference letters from this experience, and know they will be strong. During my undergrad I volunteered for ~320 hours giving free English classes, was president of a service club, and volunteered at a local hospital. I will be starting to volunteer at a hospital ~6 hours per week this coming week. Not sure if this is relevant, but I am a Latina female, and would fall as under-represented minority due to my ethnicity.

Is it worth it applying MD for me? If so, I would appreciate any school recommendations.

Thanks in advanced 🙂

which practice exams are you basing that on? I received exactly my AAMC #2 practice exam score and 4 points higher than my average NS score. Just thought I'd throw that out there.

To answer your question, I would wait till you get your mcat score. That's where I got actually saw which schools I was competitive for. Your service is really good!

P.S: My neurotic sleuthing of others and reading mcat score correlation data (reddit spreadsheet) showed me that AAMC scores are the best predictor