Hello all,
I am a pre-med student who has been accepted to and currently enrolled in the BU MAMs program starting this fall 2020. However, I am unsure whether I want to actually go through with a full-on masters and the reason is money (that I nor my parent have). I would have to take out a loan of about $65-75k to cover the total estimated cost of attendance. I am a low-income URM (underrepresented minority) with currently a 3.33 cumulative GPA, 3.1 BCPM GPA (upward trend from 2.5 freshman year), and 3.6 non-science GPA from Boston College. I plan on taking the MCAT this summer and applying to medical school during the 2021 application cycle for fall 2022 matriculation. My extracurriculars include:
- Summer undergraduate mentorship program/internship at a medical school
- 100 hours of shadowing
- Research (literature review) and presentation on a racial/socioeconomic health disparity
- 50 hours of clinical volunteering
- Additional (around 90 or so) hours of non-clinical volunteering (tutoring, etc.)
- Semester-long microbiology research lab (as course)
- Vice President leadership position in a club on campus
Other than grades, areas on my application I plan on working before applying are doing more lab-based and/or clinical research and more clinical volunteering.
My pre-medical advisor at my school and biology professor have advised me not to do a SMP, saying I have a very real shot at getting into a medical school without it (assuming I do well on the MCAT) for these 2 reasons:
(1) I am low income and an URM and it is known that medical schools really want doctors of my background
(2) BC is a really competitive and highly ranked institution, which can account for a lower GPA
This brings me to my question: Given my current stats (and assuming I add on more research/volunteering experience), do I have a probable shot at getting into an MD school? Around what MCAT score should I score to make up for my GPA?
If I don't attend BU MAMs, an alternative is find a job to work full or part-time as a clinical research assistant while taking classes to boost my undergraduate GPA. I appreciate any insights, ideas, alternative possibilities, etc. Thanks!
I am a pre-med student who has been accepted to and currently enrolled in the BU MAMs program starting this fall 2020. However, I am unsure whether I want to actually go through with a full-on masters and the reason is money (that I nor my parent have). I would have to take out a loan of about $65-75k to cover the total estimated cost of attendance. I am a low-income URM (underrepresented minority) with currently a 3.33 cumulative GPA, 3.1 BCPM GPA (upward trend from 2.5 freshman year), and 3.6 non-science GPA from Boston College. I plan on taking the MCAT this summer and applying to medical school during the 2021 application cycle for fall 2022 matriculation. My extracurriculars include:
- Summer undergraduate mentorship program/internship at a medical school
- 100 hours of shadowing
- Research (literature review) and presentation on a racial/socioeconomic health disparity
- 50 hours of clinical volunteering
- Additional (around 90 or so) hours of non-clinical volunteering (tutoring, etc.)
- Semester-long microbiology research lab (as course)
- Vice President leadership position in a club on campus
Other than grades, areas on my application I plan on working before applying are doing more lab-based and/or clinical research and more clinical volunteering.
My pre-medical advisor at my school and biology professor have advised me not to do a SMP, saying I have a very real shot at getting into a medical school without it (assuming I do well on the MCAT) for these 2 reasons:
(1) I am low income and an URM and it is known that medical schools really want doctors of my background
(2) BC is a really competitive and highly ranked institution, which can account for a lower GPA
This brings me to my question: Given my current stats (and assuming I add on more research/volunteering experience), do I have a probable shot at getting into an MD school? Around what MCAT score should I score to make up for my GPA?
If I don't attend BU MAMs, an alternative is find a job to work full or part-time as a clinical research assistant while taking classes to boost my undergraduate GPA. I appreciate any insights, ideas, alternative possibilities, etc. Thanks!
