Medical Could an Expert please give me advice on what to do immediately following college?

[tantacles]

Hello, I want to start off by saying THANK YOU for taking the time to read this and help me with my medical school plans!

I just began my senior year of college (today) at the University of Minnesota. I transferred here from the College of William and Mary after my sophomore year. At William and Mary, I faced some hard times (not really stuff that's worth writing about in an essay), and because it is also a school with a strong culture of grade deflation, I left after 2 years with a cGPA of 2.56. At the University of Minnesota, in one year (end of junior year summer) I was able to take a massive load of credits, partially due to classes being online over the summer, and my cGPA now is 3.21, and my University of Minnesota GPA is 3.811. I only took two science courses at William and Mary, the rest of my courses in science were taken at the University of Minnesota. My sGPA is a little tricky to calculate. If I exclude an ECON statistics course (which I failed at William and Mary), it is a 3.4 right now. If I include that course, it is a 3.19. This course did deal primarily with statistics but it was coded/listed under the ECON department, so I'm not sure if AMCAS will count it as BCPM or not. I definitely don't want it to. I am a Human Physiology major, and I'm taking quite a few science courses this semester that could bring my sGPA up to a 3.55 if I exclude the ECON statistics course. When I transferred to the University of Minnesota, I had originally wanted to be a teacher, so I am also listed as an Elementary Education major (I'm a dual degree student). I'm not sure how this will look to medical schools. Should I keep the Elementary Education major, in addition to the Human Physiology major? Or should I drop it? Finishing the Elementary Education major would require me to take primarily Education courses next spring semester and no science courses. I'm not sure if that will look too good on applications. I do not plan on pursuing a career in teaching. At the end of this fall semester, I am planning on my cGPA being 3.34, and I am planning to graduate with a 3.5 cGPA by next spring (I have calculated this using my University cGPA calculator).

Extracurricular-wise, I'm not the strongest. I have 500 hours of clinical research in cardiovascular medicine, and 450 non-clinical volunteer hours. I had planned to start getting shadowing and clinical hours this past summer, but that wasn't able to happen for obvious reasons (COVID). I have found a hospice in my town that is letting volunteers come in, so I am starting that soon to start accumulating clinical hours. I have not taken the MCAT yet and do not have a set date in mind.

I am writing to you to ask you what should be my next steps for next May when I graduate college, in addition to answering some other questions I listed above. I will be hoping to graduate with a 3.5, but if I were to apply for any programs this year, I would probably be applying with a 3.34 cGPA. I was thinking about doing AmeriCorps, just because I found some programs that really interest me (some are clinical, others are more education-based, non-clinical). Additionally, I've heard that Americorps looks good on applications to medical school. However, I assume the clinical ones will be pretty competitive, and I'm not sure I have the most impressive credentials. I was thinking about definitely doing an SMP sometime after college, but I would only be applying with a 3.34. I have also thought about doing an undergraduate post-bacc academic enhancer program, but I have taken so many undergraduate credits at my institution that I'm not sure it would raise my undergrad GPA that much. Is an undergraduate post-bacc calculated into a separate gpa or in the undergraduate gpa? My dream post-bacc program would be the Temple ACMS program (conditional acceptance to medical school if you earn a 3.6+ gpa in the program). I am willing to take as much time as I need to build my resume and complete additional coursework to make me the most competitive applicant possible. Also, just for information purposes, I am a Minnesota resident, I am not a minority, and I do not have any socioeconomic disadvantage. Finances are not an issue for me; I am fortunate to be very privileged socioeconomically, and I am able to relocate for jobs and school.
Thank you so much for taking the time to help me!!!

Ok, a lot to unpack:

1. Stats will likely be included in bcpm
2 your major doesn’t matter for medical school as long as you do well in your prerequisites and have a good gpa. Sounds like the former was more of a success than the latter.
3. If you are able to get all A’s this year, it would be a strong upward trend and would look great for your application.
4. If americorp interests you, go ahead. But if you’re doing it primarily because it looks good on a medical school application, meh. Choose a job that interests you after undergraduate. The ideal job would be something clinical. Clinical research, scribe, front line health care provider (e.g. EMS or CNA) and in addition do a few hours per week of non-clinical volunteering on the side. Also try to get some experience shadowing a physician.
5. Take the time off you need to take the MCAT and do welL if you do well on your mcat and maintain this strong upward trend you’ll have a good shot at many medical schools.

All that being said, when you apply, you are someone who should apply broadly to a strong mix of MD and DO schools. You are not someone who necessarily needs to do an SMP to have a good shot at getting in. Med schools understand that the beginning of undergraduate is a difficult time, and it sounds like you’ve done a lot of great work to overcome your initial poor performance. Congratulations on that.

keep going. There is still a lot of work to do.

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[Goro]

Read these:

• Goro's advice for pre-meds who need reinvention
• Med School Rx: Getting In, Getting Through, and Getting On with Doctoring Original Edition by Walter Hartwig
  ISBN-13: 978-1607140627
  
  ISBN-10: 1607140624

 

[TheBoneDoctah]

How is the course listed on your transcript? ECON or STATS? If ECON, I am pretty sure it would not count as BCPM. Most you can do is not list it as BCPM and see if they take it. If it is listed as STAT, then it will be included most likely. You do not need a double major nor does it make you look better when applying. Get A degree and do WELL in that degree. Whichever you are able to get a better GPA, do that and then take your prereqs.
Instead of Americorp, I would get a scribe job. The students in medical school who were scribes were ahead of the pack when it came to documentation and patient interviewing. It also doubles as shadowing/clinical experience. The MCAT is going to be a huge factor in your chances of getting accepted since you already have a lower GPA. If you do an SMP/post-bac and blow it out of the water, you have a good shot with a good MCAT. Make sure the practice scores of your MCATs are above your goal score before taking it. Agree with the above that you need to apply to both MD/DO.

 

[tantacles]

How is the course listed on your transcript? ECON or STATS? If ECON, I am pretty sure it would not count as BCPM. Most you can do is not list it as BCPM and see if they take it. If it is listed as STAT, then it will be included most likely. You do not need a double major nor does it make you look better when applying. Get A degree and do WELL in that degree. Whichever you are able to get a better GPA, do that and then take your prereqs.
Instead of Americorp, I would get a scribe job. The students in medical school who were scribes were ahead of the pack when it came to documentation and patient interviewing. It also doubles as shadowing/clinical experience. The MCAT is going to be a huge factor in your chances of getting accepted since you already have a lower GPA. If you do an SMP/post-bac and blow it out of the water, you have a good shot with a good MCAT. Make sure the practice scores of your MCATs are above your goal score before taking it. Agree with the above that you need to apply to both MD/DO.

My psych statistics course was counted as BCPM despite having the psych designation, so the practice of this definitely varies.

 

[TheBoneDoctah]

I

My psych statistics course was counted as BCPM despite having the psych designation, so the practice of this definitely varies.

I agree which is why I would just list it and see what happens. If they don't like where it's placed, they can change it. I had a few econ courses that were very "mathy" in the description that I had put as non-BCPM and they didn't count them. I also listed a nutrition class as BCPM and they did count it...so I do agree that it varies.

 

[tantacles]

If I were to graduate with a cGPA of 3.5, get a 4.0 or near 4.0 in an SMP, and do really well on the MCAT, would I need to apply DO, or could I just do MD?

I'd rather not talk in hypotheticals. It doesn't harm you to apply DO. If you get into an MD schools and money is no object, as you mentioned earlier, then there's no reason for you not to apply DO. An SMP would delay your med school by years, so why do that?

If you end up with a 3.5, you are the last person I would recommend to an SMP. And if you can score excellently on the MCAT and you have a 3.5, then sure, you MIGHT not have to apply DO. In fact, no one has to apply DO. If it bothers you that much, just don't do it. DO schools prefer to matriculate people who actually want to be there and want to be physicians.

Rather than doing this hypothetical, why not come back and post in a year or two when you actually know what your GPA and MCAT are?

 

[TheBoneDoctah]

If you can get a 3.5, I would skip the SMP as another year is going to cost you a lot of time, energy, stress, and a year of attending salary.

Even with a 3.5 and a good MCAT, I would still advise you to apply to a few DO schools if you are set on starting medical school this upcoming year. Getting into medical school nowadays is extremely tough and even stellar applicants don't get in. It is always smart to have a fallback (DO school) if something happens with the MD apps. If you get MD, then fine you don't need the DO. Yes, it is extra cash, but again, in the grand scheme of things, it is nothing. You are going to be 200k+ in debt, what's another couple thousand.

 

[TheBoneDoctah]

Hi, thanks fo your reply. I am definitely not planning on applying to medical school anytime soon , though. I need a lot of work on my resume. I am willing to attend an SMP and pay for it if that gives me a better chance at MD. If I did extremely well in this SMP, do you think I have a good shot at MD?

Yes, if you do well at SMP and MCAT your shot is good.