Do medical schools consider extenuating circumstances( health issues, etc)

[polyploidy516]

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Hey all

as I have a serious chronic condition, this has unfortunately resulted in complications throughout most of my undergrad (condition wasn't under control thus led to multiple side effects that resulted in me having to be hospitalized etc) . This resulted in lower grades;additionally, I had a terminally ill parent during the early part of my undergrad career (worked 40 hours a week to support family) which also resulted in low grades...

However, now my condition is under control and family life is alot better. my overall and bcpm are around 3.4. Furthermore, I did really well on the mcat (38 plus)/will be applying as disadvantaged status due to poverty from 0-18/living in low income/underserved areas...

My question is: do adcoms in med schools (especially top tier schools), consider these circumstances during the app cycle? The reason why I'm worried is that my ecs are great, but my gpa falls well short of their averages...also, as I really want to go to a top tier school such as Columbia or Stanford due to research opportunities, I really want to try my best ....

Your opinions/thoughts would be really appreciated...

 

[45408]

They consider them, but they certainly don't overlook the results.

You certainly don't need to go to a prestigious school to do research. Nearly every school in the country does research. It's not until you get below #70 on this list (http://report.nih.gov/award/rank/medttl05.htm) that their budget even drops below $50 million in research annually.

 

[polyploidy516]

I really appreciate your response theprowler; the reason why I want to go to those school is due to specific research done by the professors that heavily relate to my interests (socioeconomics of medicine, etc)..do you think I'll be competitive at those schools with my current stats? (I plan on sending grade updates as well to show continued excellence...have had near 4.0s the last 1.5 yrs)

 

[Onres]

Hey all

as I have a serious chronic condition, this has unfortunately resulted in complications throughout most of my undergrad (condition wasn't under control thus led to multiple side effects that resulted in me having to be hospitalized etc) . This resulted in lower grades;additionally, I had a terminally ill parent during the early part of my undergrad career (worked 40 hours a week to support family) which also resulted in low grades...

However, now my condition is under control and family life is alot better. my overall and bcpm are around 3.4. Furthermore, I did really well on the mcat (38 plus)/will be applying as disadvantaged status due to poverty from 0-18/living in low income/underserved areas...

My question is: do adcoms in med schools (especially top tier schools), consider these circumstances during the app cycle? The reason why I'm worried is that my ecs are great, but my gpa falls well short of their averages...also, as I really want to go to a top tier school such as Columbia or Stanford due to research opportunities, I really want to try my best ....

Your opinions/thoughts would be really appreciated...

I don't know your specific situation and what made you decide on medicine, but if your condition, your parent's illness, and any other hardships shaped your decision and made you as driven as you are, it may be a good idea to mention some of that in your PS. I'm not saying talk about that and nothing else, but if it has had an impact on you choosing medicine then you could mention it, as long as you do it right.

I think your MCAT is strong enough to make up for lowish GPA, it's really not that low. TheProwler is right though, top schools aren't the only ones doing research, though I get where you're coming from. Not every school does the same research. So try, you won't know until you try. Truth is, no one here can tell you if you have a really good chance or not.

 

[Onres]

I really appreciate your response theprowler; the reason why I want to go to those school is due to specific research done by the professors that heavily relate to my interests (socioeconomics of medicine, etc)..do you think I'll be competitive at those schools with my current stats? (I plan on sending grade updates as well to show continued excellence...have had near 4.0s the last 1.5 yrs)

I think you'll definitely be competitive at top schools, but in my humble opinion after having gone through this process, admissions for TOP schools can be somewhat of a crapshoot. Apply early and broadly. Good luck.

 

[Law2Doc]

Hey all

as I have a serious chronic condition, this has unfortunately resulted in complications throughout most of my undergrad (condition wasn't under control thus led to multiple side effects that resulted in me having to be hospitalized etc) . This resulted in lower grades;additionally, I had a terminally ill parent during the early part of my undergrad career (worked 40 hours a week to support family) which also resulted in low grades...

However, now my condition is under control and family life is alot better. my overall and bcpm are around 3.4. Furthermore, I did really well on the mcat (38 plus)/will be applying as disadvantaged status due to poverty from 0-18/living in low income/underserved areas...

My question is: do adcoms in med schools (especially top tier schools), consider these circumstances during the app cycle? The reason why I'm worried is that my ecs are great, but my gpa falls well short of their averages...also, as I really want to go to a top tier school such as Columbia or Stanford due to research opportunities, I really want to try my best ....

Your opinions/thoughts would be really appreciated...

Agree with Prowler -- adcoms will take note of situations, but at the end of the road, the person with the higher GPA and no excuses is going to be better regarded than the one with the lower GPA and lots of excuses.

In my experience, anyone who is so focused on getting into a "top tier school" is almost guaranteed to be disappointed. Why? Because those places get thousands of applications from folks with near perfect GPAs and MCAT and get to pick and choose based on "good fit". They aren't going to be impressed by folks who need to the at a "top tier school" for access to their research resources. They have to need you to be there. Which gives folks with the amazing pasts an edge over those who want amazing futures. So folks generally need to apply broadly within the range of schools at which their numbers suggest they are competitive and not try to hone in on one or two. SDN has had its share of folks who applied to only a dozen of the top schools and ended up a reapplicant.

Honestly, for research on the socioeconomics of medicine you are probably a lot better off at a mid tier med school program with an affiliated business school than one of the bigger name ones you mentioned -- more than a few places further down the food chain are actively trying to find ways to merge their med - law and business grad schools into collaborative symposiums. The right person would do better at a place at this end of the spectrum.

One word of caution, speaking as someone who has done similar research to what you are describing -- to some extent you need to use med school as a vehicle toward residency, and in terms of time outside of your studies to do research (of which there might not be all that much), you may find it more prudent to focus research toward things that will actually help you get a residency. Meaning if you want to do derm, you do derm research, if you want to do ortho, you do ortho research, if you aren't sure, you do clinical medicine research, and so on. The problem with socioeconomics is that it doesn't get the program directors excited at the residency end. They aren't hiring you to be an interesting cocktail party guest. They want someone focused in on their specialty. So you may find you are going to want to consider tabling this kind of research in favor of something more clinically practical until at least 4th year or when you have time during easier rotations during residency anyhow. Sometimes the path to the goal doesn't start very close to the goal.