Much appreciation to anyone who invests the time to read and/or respond!
Primary Questions:
1. Should I assume I'll need to do a SMP or post bacc, considering:
- 3.24-ish UG GPA
- Significant upward trend
- 3.7+ for the last 80 credits
- 3.7+ Science GPA
- Attending an evening division of a prestigious university vs a standard day school (degree conferred is same as day school's)
- About 6yrs working in clinical research at a prestigious university (5years with direct patient contact)
- Shadowing hours in various specialties with a great recommendation (50+)
- Recommendation from division chief (my boss), a well-regarded established research MD who has supervised me and knows me very well
- 5 leadership positions lasting multiple years- 4 at work and 1 outside of it (some of it non-clinical/non-med)
- Volunteering over 100 hours (some of it non-clinical/non-med)
- Unknown MCAT
2. How much of a difference is there between a 3.7+ GPA in post-bacc vs the last 80 credits? I know post-bacc and grad GPA are broken out from the undergrad GPA for apps and I'm wondering how much impact that has... is more significance given to a post-bacc 3.7 vs a 3.7 during the last 80 credits?
Additional information:
I am a 32 year old hoping to get into medical school. I have given my significant other a range of time it will take me to prepare for and apply to medical school (3-5 years).
I'm hoping to clarify the length of time I have before applying to medical school (if I do a post-bacc or SMP it will add 1-2 years and change the way I arrange my coursework). If I am not planning on a post-bacc I would arrange my classes such that I don't have a gap year (I'd take the science classes first and save major/gen ed requirements for the last year of school- after MCAT).
My initial undergraduate attempt was marred by depression- I often got F's because I never even attended the class and didn't drop. I retook the classes and had an adjusted GPA of 3.0, but for medical school purposes my
starting GPA was 2.0. I abandoned school efforts, started working (some nonprofit work, but income was from programming), and got help for the depression.
Work/Patient Contact: I've excelled in my professional life despite lacking a bachelors. Two years ago I got a
job at a prestigious university's medical school in a clinical research department. Hired initially to build a grants database, I was asked to stay on to build and manage a database for clinical data. I was able to automate a great deal of the data management, freeing time to do other things. For the last 6 months my role has been about
half building databases for clinical research studies/managing clinical research data and half patient contact for the clinical studies (patient intake, running study visits, etc).
Shadowing/Recommendations: My co-workers and boss' are extremely supportive- the
head of my department is actually who initially suggested I consider medical school and has taken an active role in
mentoring me. One of the
MD's offered shadowing experience (I have about 10 hours with him so far with many more hours on the calendar) and
he has arranged shadowing opportunities with colleagues in other specialties. There are
several MD's at work
who will provide very good recommendations.
Research: Working in clinical research, I will have years of research experience. I have been told by PIs to at least
expect a mention in papers and/or conf presentations, but there is also potential to be an author (not first or even second, though). There is opportunity to do my own research and I could get help from my co-workers in publishing, but it feels low priority compared to the other aspects of my preparation. I could be wrong about the importance of this aspect of an application.
Leadership/Volunteering: I have
several division and department leadership roles, am on the
young friends board at one nonprofit (not science/med related), hold a
leadership position in the Wellness Organization at work, and
volunteer for an outdoors related nonprofit for disadvantaged youth.
Schoolwork/GPA: The university where I work offers free tuition (up to 7 credits a semester) and I've
returned part-time in the evening school to finish my BS in Psychological and Brain Science. Since returning I have maintained a
3.7 GPA. I plan to supplement the 7 credits of free tuition with 3 gen ed credits at the community college some semesters. I
t will be at least 3 years before I finish.
I have about 74 credits remaining, 33 of which are general & major requirements. I need a minimum of 39 pre-med requirements. I can finish my BS and the pre-med requirements without having to take many hours beyond graduation. But, even if I get great grades
my cumulative undergrad GPA will likely be around 3.24 because of those early classes.
MCAT: I know the MCAT plays a big part in this process. Not having taken it, I have little information to provide here, except- I will take a prep-course through the university, do some private tutoring, and have been approved to take a 3 month leave from work to study for the MCAT full time.
Hobbies/Misc: This may or not be helpful in med apps, but I am a very active hiker/backpacker with an interest in wilderness survival. I have climbed many mountains, have wilderness first responder certification through NOLS and plan to get W-EMT this summer. I'd like to find volunteer opportunities as a W-EMT. I also plan to work toward the
Fellowship in the Academy of Wilderness Medicine credential.
