Medical Do I have a shot if I apply this cycle?

[GoSpursGo]

Hello SDN experts,

First and foremost, thank you for offering this service and taking the time to answer my inquiry. I'm wondering whether I should apply to medical school in the upcoming cycle, and there are a number of factors that I'm weighing.

I'm primarily concerned about my low GPA.

I'm graduating from college in spring 2021 with a BS in biology. My cGPA currently sits at 3.27 and my sGPA sits at 3.17, with solid upward trends evident in all quantitative metrics. The primary reasons for this include the fact that I was unmotivated in my early undergrad years and did not take pre-med studies as seriously as I should have. Additionally, I held a number of part time jobs to help sustain myself which often cut into my study time. I quit my tutoring job and got serious about pre-med at the start of 2020 and received all A's in spring 2020, retook and received an A in gen chem 2 (up from a D in spring 2018), and received all A's in fall 2020. However, due to my high number of credit hours (118), my GPA is pretty set in stone.

In terms of other components of my application,

- MCAT: I plan on taking the MCAT in March, and I have every intent to do well on the exam. I have been studying full time for a few weeks and will be taking a reduced class load this semester to continue studying til the day of the test.

- Research: I started working in a cancer research lab in January 2020, but once COVID hit the lab disbanded and undergraduates were barred from entering labs. I am resuming research in January.
- Clinical experience: I have ~250 hours of clinical experience and intend to take up a clinical job after taking the MCAT.
- Shadowing: I will have ~30 hours of shadowing by the time of application.
- Volunteering: I will have ~100 hours of volunteering by the time of application.
- Work experience: I have worked as a tutor in 2 jobs, have worked 2 other jobs, and have served on 3 club exec boards
- Undergraduate institution: I attend a highly selective, top 30 undergraduate institution

I'm a first generation college student from a low income household, but I am not a member of a group that is underrepresented in medicine (URM).

I'm working through my university's composite letter process, and the following question prompted me to post on this forum: If your undergraduate cumulative GPA is below a 3.4, please share why you think you are prepared to apply to a professional program at this time.

I've spent many sleepless nights debating whether, in fact, I am prepared to apply to medical school. I'm concerned that, even with a high MCAT, my low GPA is prohibitive for receiving an acceptance. My family and peers are telling me to apply because they feel I have a chance with a high MCAT score. I'm wondering if some experts on SDN could shed some light.

My current plan is to apply to both MD and DO schools and concurrently complete a post-baccalaureate program in the 2021-2022 academic year. This is not part of my question, but I'm also currently considering what type of post-bacc program is best for me (mainly down to SMP vs. DIY post-bacc).

Your feedback is much appreciated. Thank you in advance!

Frankly there's nothing to discuss until you get an MCAT score. Most likely, you're going to need some GPA remediation unless you do VERY well, but no point in discussing hypotheticals.

Everything else in your application "matters," but only once you clear the minimum stat bar that you currently do not.

The side question of what to do next year is also dependent on your MCAT score.

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[TheBoneDoctah]

Probably gonna need post-bac work to add to your one year of good grades. Two years of solid coursework and a great MCAT would help your chances. I suggest doing all this BEFORE applying UNLESS you are 100% good with going DO. If you do decent on your MCAT, you most likely will be ok applying to DO if you apply broadly. It kinda just depends on what your goals are.

 

[Goro]

What are your year by year GPAs?

 

[Mr.Smile12]

Taking a different tactic, answer the question. Why do you think you are PREPARED to apply for and begin a health professional program NOW?

 

[Mr.Smile12]

Both great points. My current plan is to apply in this cycle to entirely/majority DO schools. I'll definitely reassess after I take the MCAT though and once my score comes out in April.

Freshman year cGPA: 3.03 | Freshman year sGPA: 2.11
Sophomore year cGPA: 2.86 | Sophomore year sGPA: 2.71
Junior year cGPA: 3.48 | Junior year sGPA: 3.30
Senior year cGPA: 4.00 | Senior year sGPA: 4.00

I feel that I'm prepared to apply to medical school because of the growth that I have experienced and the realizations I have made since my life hit a low point. As with many premeds, I've wanted to be a doctor since I was a kid. Coming from a fractured household plagued by mental and physical illness, the goal of entering medicine always instilled a sense of purpose within me and provided me with the will to push on. However, when I went to college, I lost sight of those dreams and started to turn to drugs and alcohol to cope with the broken environments I was so used to seeing. School became an afterthought, and my grades suffered. In my junior year, however, I was getting a routine checkup at student health services when I explained to the university physician that I was worried I wouldn't get into medical school. With the biggest smile on her face, she told me that I was going to be a great doctor. The whole interaction was rather brief, but I've had those words and that smile etched into my mind ever since. Hearing a physician speak to you with compassion and be your biggest advocate through tough times is so empowering, and that experience made me realize that I have to be that person for my future patients. I turned my grades around and doubled down on studying, intent on getting straight A's from that moment forward. I feel that a strong MCAT score, which I am working day and night to achieve, combined with another semester of A's in science courses can help prove to an admissions committee that I am not just all talk. I'm truly committed to medicine, and I'm prepared to handle the challenges that lie ahead.

I want to thank you all for your replies and advice.

So here's where I don't understand your answer to my question. You fail to answer the obvious point that you don't have an MCAT and you don't think your GPA is high enough. I literally asked why you think you're ready to apply NOW where you can't even see the obvious deficiencies and weaknesses in your situation now. I don't see any knowledge of the challenges of medical education or the culture change. If you can't be honest with yourself, how can you really handle being honest with patients or feedback from physicians? By that I mean truly honest harsh criticism? Or even rejection much less the agony of silent passive rejection or avoidance? I ask to be sure to provoke that honesty because effusive emotion is common when applicants try to appeal their rejections and want feedback THEY WANT TO HEAR.

 

[GoSpursGo]

I don't fully understand what you're saying. I'm here posting this in the first place because my GPA is low. I attempted to give an answer to the question posed, why I feel I'm ready to apply to medical school, by placing my grades within the context of personal experience. In doing so, I certainly did include a long personal anecdote, and I could modify that to include more information about the skills and knowledge I have gained which would allow me to succeed in medical school.

I think the point was, why do you think you would be ACCEPTED with your current application? The answer to that question cannot simply be “Because I want it really bad, and anyone who reads my application will see how driven I am.” That is great, and will help, but only if there is something else tangible in your application that would convince them that you can handle Med school with your GPA. That “something” can be anything—either a super high MCAT, another year of post bacc courses to make it clear your focus is here to stay, a really strong array of ECs like multiple publications, real world experience from a first career—but as it stands you have nothing tangible to hang your hat on. Until you do, you will lose to applicants who have a better GPA every time.

Bottom line, take the MCAT if you think you’re ready, and then decide for yourself if you’re ready to apply DO vs waiting to buff your GPA trend up further.

 

[Goro]

You only have a single good year as data points to demonstrate that you can handle medical school.

Your ECs are also too low in hours for shadowing and nonclinical volunteering. You will simply get outcompeted by stronger applicants.

Read this:

• Goro's advice for pre-meds who need reinvention