Don't lose hope!!

[baylorbear333]

Ok. I know i've posted on here before about "what are my chances" and all that, and I know that I will have a harder time getting in than alot of other people on this forum due to my lower gpa. But, I just wanted to share this piece of information with everyone on here, to give them a sigh of relief or a glimmer of hope if anyone is losing faith like I had been.

I have been shadowing a doctor this week, and this afternoon I was in his office talking to him. I asked him what he thought about my chances of getting into med school, etc. His response really helped me out:

He had a high gpa and a good mcat score: 3.85gpa and a 29 mcat, and he got interviews to all the texas med schools, went to galveston but ultimately ended up graduating from Arkansas (where he didn't get an interview at first but transferred!)

His wife on the other hand, had a 3.4 and a 26 mcat. Pretty average. Still got into Arkansas.

He had a friend who had a 3.1 and a 31 on the mcat. Got into med school.

Another friend had a 3.9 and a 26 on the mcat. only got one interview.

another had a 3.5 and a 36 on the mcat- ultimately got into med school but got wait-listed places.

So pretty much what I'm saying is YES- your gpa and your mcat matter. it's going to be easier for people with a higher gpa and mcat. But those of us who are average, we shouldn't lose hope. It's not ALL about your gpa and mcat. There are other things that med schools take into consideration and I think (if anyone is like me) it's easy to lose sight of that sometimes.
So.
Have some hope.

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[NotAndrew]

Ok. I know i've posted on here before about "what are my chances" and all that, and I know that I will have a harder time getting in than alot of other people on this forum due to my lower gpa. But, I just wanted to share this piece of information with everyone on here, to give them a sigh of relief or a glimmer of hope if anyone is losing faith like I had been.

I have been shadowing a doctor this week, and this afternoon I was in his office talking to him. I asked him what he thought about my chances of getting into med school, etc. His response really helped me out:

He had a high gpa and a good mcat score: 3.85gpa and a 29 mcat, and he got interviews to all the texas med schools, went to galveston but ultimately ended up graduating from Arkansas (where he didn't get an interview at first but transferred!)

His wife on the other hand, had a 3.4 and a 26 mcat. Pretty average. Still got into Arkansas.

He had a friend who had a 3.1 and a 31 on the mcat. Got into med school.

Another friend had a 3.9 and a 26 on the mcat. only got one interview.

another had a 3.5 and a 36 on the mcat- ultimately got into med school but got wait-listed places.

So pretty much what I'm saying is YES- your gpa and your mcat matter. it's going to be easier for people with a higher gpa and mcat. But those of us who are average, we shouldn't lose hope. It's not ALL about your gpa and mcat. There are other things that med schools take into consideration and I think (if anyone is like me) it's easy to lose sight of that sometimes.
So.
Have some hope.

great thread

 

[CanHasNaps]

Only thing I would be concerned about is how long ago this doctor went to medical school. It's a fact that the process is getting more and more competitive every year, so even if these stats are only 6 or 7 years old, a lot of things have changed.

 

[baylorbear333]

Only thing I would be concerned about is how long ago this doctor went to medical school. It's a fact that the process is getting more and more competitive every year, so even if these stats are only 6 or 7 years old, a lot of things have changed.

Ok debbie downer...

no but seriously, I agree that the system has changed- but just so you know, at least one of these guys that he was talking about (the 3.9 with a 26) was a family friend of his who just applied last year.
But also good to take into consideration the changes.

 

[229141]

Only thing I would be concerned about is how long ago this doctor went to medical school. It's a fact that the process is getting more and more competitive every year, so even if these stats are only 6 or 7 years old, a lot of things have changed.

I have to agree..its getting to the point where no one is a 100% guarantee. To see people with 3.9 + 31+ get denied from like 18/20 schools and only get into 2 schools give ones perspective. Yeah they got into med school..but 90% of the schools they applied to felt they were not good enough to be a doctor.

 

[Aggieanthony]

All really, really anecdotal information that can't even be verified unless he hands you his transcripts.

You MD/DO types really need some statistic analysis classes amongst physics, ochem and the like

Nice story, but is it really helping anyone?

 

[JeetKuneDo]

Yeah, wasn't it a lot easier to get into med school 20 years ago. I heard it was something like 3.4-5 will get you a lot further than now. But I definitely am a supporter of ef the numbers and take a look at our intangibles once in a while.

 

[GoSpursGo]

Only thing I would be concerned about is how long ago this doctor went to medical school. It's a fact that the process is getting more and more competitive every year, so even if these stats are only 6 or 7 years old, a lot of things have changed.

Ok debbie downer...

no but seriously, I agree that the system has changed- but just so you know, at least one of these guys that he was talking about (the 3.9 with a 26) was a family friend of his who just applied last year.
But also good to take into consideration the changes.

Yeah, while I like that we have SOMEONE on SDN who's trying to be optimistic about this beast of a process, the practical side of me can't ignore that if this information is fairly dated, it won't be of a whole lot of help to us today. Honestly, I'm not shocked that someone didn't get in with a 3.9 and 26 last year simply because that 26 is really low and today nearly borders on un-acceptable to allo schools even with that great GPA.

Obviously, no one is ever a 100% guarantee to get in, and no one is ever a 100% guarantee to not get in... so nobody should ever feel hopeless, nor should anyone ever feel too comfortable. That is what I would take away from this thread more than the anecdotal evidence that some people can get in w/ really low stats (since that was a while ago).

 

[baylorbear333]

Obviously, no one is ever a 100% guarantee to get in, and no one is ever a 100% guarantee to not get in... so nobody should ever feel hopeless, nor should anyone ever feel too comfortable.

Sorry if anyone misunderstood what point I was trying to make-
This ^ is exactly what I meant. I'm not trying to say anyone should work any less hard than they are now and being very critical of themselves, study habits, etc. I'm just saying- There is no set "what's good enough" So don't get too bogged down by that.

 

[Deleted member 237747]

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[mezmerized7]

If somebody has a 3.9 + 31 and gets denied from 18/20 schools, something else is definitely at work...IMO

I have to agree..its getting to the point where no one is a 100% guarantee. To see people with 3.9 + 31+ get denied from like 18/20 schools and only get into 2 schools give ones perspective. Yeah they got into med school..but 90% of the schools they applied to felt they were not good enough to be a doctor.

 

[CanHasNaps]

Ok debbie downer...

no but seriously, I agree that the system has changed- but just so you know, at least one of these guys that he was talking about (the 3.9 with a 26) was a family friend of his who just applied last year.
But also good to take into consideration the changes.

Better to be realistic and hopeful than uninformed. There are always special cases of people with less than the average getting in - that's the whole point of an average.

 

[987]

Just to boost everyones hopes I have a friend with a 24 MCAT and a 3.8 that got into multiple schools this year....one that is ranked top 25 for research and top 10 in primary care! Best of luck!!!!

 

[dragonfly99]

It actually used to be harder to get into med school than it is now.
The overall acceptance rates back in the 1990's were lower. It got a little easier around the time I got in (year 2000). I think the overall acceptance rates for someone to get into some/a med school lately have been 40% or so. This is because the med schools are expanding and there are more DO schools. In the early to mid 1990's it was quite hard (probably 30 something percent accepted I think) due to med school class sizes being frozen some time in the 1980's because the gov't predicted we were going to have an oversupply of docs.

It's hard to compare GPA's now to GPA's years ago. I know the grading was MUCH stiffer in college when my parents were in college in the 1960's...profs just did not give out a lot of A's, and they did give out a lot of C's. A C was actually the average grade, whereas nowadays the average grade is probably a B in a lot of classes. I'm not sure how to compare 1980's or 1990's to 2008 as far as GPA's, etc. and I'm not sure if grading has become any easier since then...maybe not. There were definitely not the number of high GPA's given out in the 1950's-60's-70's as there are now. I totally believe that.

U of Arkansas is one of the easier med schools to get in to, in terms of required GPA and MCAT. It's a smaller state and they don't have a ton of super-competitive applicants.

It's definitely true that adcoms look at various aspects of an application though...having a certain MCAT and GPA may get you in the door, but other factors come heavily into play after that.

 

[baylorbear333]

It actually used to be harder to get into med school than it is now.
The overall acceptance rates back in the 1990's were lower. It got a little easier around the time I got in (year 2000). I think the overall acceptance rates for someone to get into some/a med school lately have been 40% or so. This is because the med schools are expanding and there are more DO schools. In the early to mid 1990's it was quite hard (probably 30 something percent accepted I think) due to med school class sizes being frozen some time in the 1980's because the gov't predicted we were going to have an oversupply of docs.

It's hard to compare GPA's now to GPA's years ago. I know the grading was MUCH stiffer in college when my parents were in college in the 1960's...profs just did not give out a lot of A's, and they did give out a lot of C's. A C was actually the average grade, whereas nowadays the average grade is probably a B in a lot of classes. I'm not sure how to compare 1980's or 1990's to 2008 as far as GPA's, etc. and I'm not sure if grading has become any easier since then...maybe not. There were definitely not the number of high GPA's given out in the 1950's-60's-70's as there are now. I totally believe that.

U of Arkansas is one of the easier med schools to get in to, in terms of required GPA and MCAT. It's a smaller state and they don't have a ton of super-competitive applicants.

It's definitely true that adcoms look at various aspects of an application though...having a certain MCAT and GPA may get you in the door, but other factors come heavily into play after that.

Interesting... Thanks for the info!

 

[deleted212936]

I have to agree..its getting to the point where no one is a 100% guarantee. To see people with 3.9 + 31+ get denied from like 18/20 schools and only get into 2 schools give ones perspective. Yeah they got into med school..but 90% of the schools they applied to felt they were not good enough to be a doctor.

If the story is true,
3.9/31 is pretty competitive. I think the reason that person got many rejections was because he wrote something outrageous in his PS.

 

[RecyclingBinh]

don't lose hope!!! i know at least 2 doctors who were told many times that they should switch to something else but never did. now that they're doctors, they always tell me to never give up hope even if i feel like my chances are slim. someone out there is bound to accept you sooner or later.

reapply until you get in. i know i will. good luck!