Don't Give Up!!!

[DragonDoc2018]

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Hello,

4 years ago I got a C in Organic Chemistry.... and Bio 2. 3 years ago I got a C- in Physics 2.... and Physiology.. 1 year ago I graduated undergrad with a 2.9 GPA and I got a 22M on the MCAT. This passed year I've worked hard to satisfy the requirements of a postbac program and today I got my acceptance letter to a US MD school and will be starting in the fall. If I had listened to all the advisers who told me to make a career change, or most of the SDN community who always said I'd never stand a chance with my stats, I wouldn't be here today. There are multiple routes into medical school people! If you truly want to be a doctor you can find a way in. Do research! Find out about programs that will give you a chance to prove yourself if you have subpar numbers, they are out there! I am proof that the MCAT is NO representation of how you'll do in medical school, don't let it scare you away if you know this is what you want to do! Good luck this cycle.

 

[seizethedaisies]

This really gives me hope! I'm coming from a not so perfect first year (2 Cs in general bios) and am still super worried. This did ease my stress slightly. Congratulations!

 

[TessDancer]

Thanks for posting! You are inspirational, and that's exactly what I need right now. Also, congratulations!

 

[Letrie]

Congratulations!

 

[AlbinoHawk DO]

Hello,

4 years ago I got a C in Organic Chemistry.... and Bio 2. 3 years ago I got a C- in Physics 2.... and Physiology.. 1 year ago I graduated undergrad with a 2.9 GPA and I got a 22M on the MCAT. This passed year I've worked hard to satisfy the requirements of a postbac program and today I got my acceptance letter to a US MD school and will be starting in the fall. If I had listened to all the advisers who told me to make a career change, or most of the SDN community who always said I'd never stand a chance with my stats, I wouldn't be here today. There are multiple routes into medical school people! If you truly want to be a doctor you can find a way in. Do research! Find out about programs that will give you a chance to prove yourself if you have subpar numbers, they are out there! I am proof that the MCAT is NO representation of how you'll do in medical school, don't let it scare you away if you know this is what you want to do! Good luck this cycle.

So you already made it through medical school to be able to make that assessment? Did you ever take statistics to understand what an anomaly is? If you had a 22, I find it hard to believe you got into a US MD school, unless you live in one of the poorest states in the country and there is a lot more to your story.

 

[zzxxzz]

I congratulate OP on entering medical school. Unfortunately, I think this must be taken with a grain of salt. Checking previous posts indicates that OP entered via a special entrance program for URM, SES-O1 applicants which has very lax admission requirements. The vast majority of SDN members are ineligible for programs like this.

Good luck to everyone.

 

[lmn]

I congratulate OP on entering medical school. Unfortunately, I think this must be taken with a grain of salt. Checking previous posts indicates that OP entered via a special entrance program for URM, SES-O1 applicants which has very lax admission requirements. The vast majority of SDN members are ineligible for programs like this.

Good luck to everyone.

If that's true then it's pretty messed up for the OP to wave that in front of people applying when they don't have the same opportunity open to them. https://www.aamc.org/download/321508/data/2013factstable24.pdf At best people with OP's stats have a around a ~7% chance of acceptance which is actually an overestimation due to URM, legacies, etc. If you look at whites or asians, it is 1-2% still including things such as legacy, etc. Further, I don't think any SMP program will consider someone with a 2.9 and 22 mcat for their programs unless they are some special program for URM/SES.

For everyone reading this, you don't 100% necessarily need to give up your dreams for sure if your stats are as low as the OP's, but any standard applicant doesn't stand the slightest chance at MD or DO with stats like theirs so don't be fooled... It would take a ton of work to redo grades and retake the MCAT and get a better score to have a chance at DO schools, MD would be even further away and probably isn't your best bet...

 

[DragonDoc2018]

Hey Guys,

To answer a few questions: The Program was medical school classes, so that's why I made the claim that the MCAT didn't reflect my performance. There is of course a lot more to my story, but nothing super extraordinary. Also the program has several non URMs per year as well as several non economically disadvantaged people. Further there are several programs like this one throughout the country. Now unfortunately if you've been blessed with opportunity all your life and didn't have any sort of struggle and your scores are still really low, then yes you may have a hard time getting into these programs. But the VAST majority of students with low numbers like mine, had a less than ideal path and that's who this post is for. You don't have to be a URM, or poor.
I was excited to get the letter, and the point of the post was to tell people that there are many ways to get into medical school and that with persistence anything is possible. Not saying it was easy by any means, but it is possible if you investigate and explore all options. It's possible and even realistic to get into medical school with low stats, it's all about how you tell your story and finding a program that fits you, they are out there! I apologize if anyone took this post as a boast or anything like that, that was not the point.

 

[OneTwoThreeFour]

Hey Guys,

To answer a few questions: The Program was medical school classes, so that's why I made the claim that the MCAT didn't reflect my performance. There is of course a lot more to my story, but nothing super extraordinary. Also the program has several non URMs per year as well as several non economically disadvantaged people. Further there are several programs like this one throughout the country. Now unfortunately if you've been blessed with opportunity all your life and didn't have any sort of struggle and your scores are still really low, then yes you may have a hard time getting into these programs. But the VAST majority of students with low numbers like mine, had a less than ideal path and that's who this post is for. You don't have to be a URM, or poor.
I was excited to get the letter, and the point of the post was to tell people that there are many ways to get into medical school and that with persistence anything is possible. Not saying it was easy by any means, but it is possible if you investigate and explore all options. It's possible and even realistic to get into medical school with low stats, it's all about how you tell your story and finding a program that fits you, they are out there! I apologize if anyone took this post as a boast or anything like that, that was not the point.

I think the problem was that you didn't post how you got into medical school, just that you had been accepted. Others who just read the original post may think to themselves "forget what everyone else says. This guy applied and got in, so can I!"
Congratulations, though! You made it!

 

[wegotthis14]

Wow, congratulations! I'm very excited for you 😀

 

[summer14]

Congratulations!! Much needed post.

 

[mc3894]

Congrats! This is inspiring to a lot of us hopefuls!

 

[Goro]

The take home is that there are MD schools that reward reinvention. Key thing is that OP did well in a linked SMP at a med school.

 

[Pdoc387]

I love threads like this! I agree, a lot of time sdn seems to be less empathetic and more cut throat with metrics and statistics than I believe adcoms may.