Difficult situation- advice?

[wegotthis14]

My friend started out doing well in college. However, he had a serious accident in the middle of college that required hospitalization and months of physical rehabilitation. Because of this, he earned low grades for about a year of college. He then transferred to a more challenging university and performed very well in those classes for 2 years. He now has a 3.4 GPA and a 35 MCAT, and he wants to go to an MD school. However, he is ORM and thinks he doesn't have a good chance of getting in right now, since his GPA is low. He's planning on doing a phD for a few years before applying to med school, but I don't think that's a good idea, since he's ultimately interested in being a doctor. I also don't think enrolling in a phD program is going to help him get into med school. I think he should just apply, since the rest of his app looks great, he has an upward trend and he has a good reason for his GPA dip. However, I could be wrong.

Does anyone have any insight into what he should do? He doesn't have money to take additional postbacc classes, since he already took a 5th year because of his accident.

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[GrapesofRath]

Ill let those who know better than me chime in with specific advice but something's rather off here. Why would someone pursue a PhD for several years before then wanting to go to med school? The process of getting a PhD itself and it having any worth takes well more than just a few years. That amongst 100 other things clearly wrong with such a plan that there's something missing in the story here.

 

[LizzyM]

I would recommend applying now. There is a documented reason for the poor performance with good performance since then which should wipe out any doubt about his ability to perform well in the classroom. The MCAT score confirms that he knows the material covered by the pre-requisites and can do well in the pre-clinical portion of med school. His essays and interviews will (or won't) convince us that he wants a career in medicine.

 

[gyngyn]

A PhD will not convince us that he wants to medicine!
He should apply. There are many fine schools that will consider him.

 

[Goro]

100% agree with my sage colleagues. The rising trend will be evidence of his resilience. If he can work in mention of his accident in his secondaries, not as an excuse for the poor grades, but what he took from it as a patient, then an astute interviewer or screener will be able to put 2 and 2 together.


The PhD is a waste of time and will not make him more attractive as a candidate. Acing an SMP would, but I don't think that's necessary; he should start applying, NOW!

If your friend is concerned that his GPA is too low for MD schools, then any DO school will take him in a heartbeat.

His low grades and increasing grade trends are perfectly understandable and is why virtually every medical school will read every application over a fairly low minimum GPA and MCAT. He should discuss this, in brief, in both his primary and secondaries. If he has a 3.7 or better his last two years apply now.

@Goro @gyngyn your take on this situation would be greatly appreciated