epic comeback ...in progress. what should I do?

[deleted551990]

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I'll try to make this as short and to-the-point as possible-

Straight out of high school- in 2004- I went off to college, crashed, and burned. Completely lost interest, stopped going to class entirely, but kept enrolling. I was stupid, enough said.

Grades looked like this:

B B B A B B B F F F F F F F F F F F F F F (this is literally the amount of F's I received)

Joined the Marine Corps for some excitement (and perhaps direction) in my life- went active duty for 5 years.

To make a long story short, while I was on active duty I took an EMT class and started volunteering in the Naval hospital during my time off. I loved it, and basically knew that I wanted to pursue medical school. So I started taking classes again, still on active duty, and loved it.

Fast forward 2 years- Got discharged (honorably) from active duty, began going to school full-time, and I've been treating it like I have something to prove... because I do. My last 94 credit hours have been at a 4.0 GPA, this includes 18+ hour semesters, and mostly upper level chemistry and mathematics courses.

To illustrate my situation, my grades now look like this:

(2004-2005) B B B A B B B F F F F F F F F F F F F F F (2008-present) A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A

Unfortunately my AMCAS cGPA this cycle will only be about 2.93. sGPA should be about 3.01. AACOMAS GPA will be about 3.9, though. MCAT is pending, but I was scoring ~32 on practice exams. I've also done a lot of shadowing and volunteering, too.

So here I am, trying to decide what my next move should be. Just apply DO and get at this thing? Do I even have a shot at MD anyways? SMP -> MD maybe? What do y'all think?

I should mention that I really want to go to the Uniformed Services University above all else.

I look forward to hearing what you guys think!

 

[Shjanzey]

I don't know if you have a chance, but your turnaround is awesome. I really admire you.

I think if you can get past some of the filters to have someone actually look at your application you have a very good chance. In-state institutions are where I would start.

Good luck

 

[battousai]

SMPs are really expensive, but if you want to go to an MD school, it's probably your best bet. Look for a program with linkage.

Good luck with your comeback!

 

[beBrave]

Only someone like Goro could potentially provide a legitimate answer to something like this. This situation is outside the scope of normal. Logic would tell me DO is a possibility (based on the cGPA) although they may have a lot of questions. I can only foresee a back door program like an SMP as your only real option into an MD program. Good job on improving so much, while the number of F's you received is surprising, your attitude and track towards improvement is astonishing. GL.

 

[rodmichael82]

There's a couple military guys in my class that made a comeback similar to yours and got into MD, it's very possible. Your GPA is lower though so you could go into a SMP program with very good linkage to medical school such as:-
1) EVMS Medical Masters program
2) VCU cert program
3) Temple (If you score > 30 on MCAT)
4) University of Cincinnati

Otherwise if you go the DO route you're pretty much set.

 

[Chip N Sawbones]

That's the most dramatic turnaround I've seen in a long time. I think a lot will depend on your MCAT. If you can get a score of 34 or so it might be enough to keep your application from getting thrown out immediately. Try to find schools that have a reputation for being nontrad friendly like Tulane, Rosalind Franklin, and Vermont. Only apply to ones that don't have a 3.0 GPA cutoff point. You need to accept that DO is a much more realistic option for you, but that doesn't mean you can't apply to a few MD schools as well.

 

[BenzylAcetate]

MD is probably only an option if you go through some type of SMP. DO should be a lock if you do well on the MCAT; you have a very unique background that I believe a number of DO schools would be interested in.

If you are dead set on serving as a physician in the military, you can always go DO and apply for the HPSP scholarship.

 

[survivordo]

Take your MCAT to see where you ultimately stand and then apply to DO and selectively to MD. If you can get past the screeners for MD you stand a chance and I think it is worth applying just to see if you can. Like others have said, DO should be no problem.

Survivor DO

 

[Goro]

Concur 100% and thanks to OP for your service to your country. Semper Fi!

MD is probably only an option if you go through some type of SMP. DO should be a lock if you do well on the MCAT; you have a very unique background that I believe a number of DO schools would be interested in.

If you are dead set on serving as a physician in the military, you can always go DO and apply for the HPSP scholarship.

 

[TriagePreMed]

Well, a few years ago we had a similar situation for a student that had very similar grades and then did an entirely new bachelors with a 4.0. He did get into an MD school as an early assurance student.

 

[deleted551990]

Thank you all for the feedback-- I sincerely appreciate it. Sounds like I need to weigh out the pros/cons of adding a year (or two?) for a SMP when I am already competitive for DO schools. But like some of you said, I may just apply to a few MD programs and see what happens. Either way I think I'll be pretty happy, because two years ago I honestly thought that med school might just be a pipe dream.

 

[Five0tomed68]

You may find Birdnals post dated sometime in April motivational in the below link. He seems to be in a similar situation as you.

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=716880&page=4

I definitely forgot to compliment you on the legit post title and your amazing comeback.

 

[ToldYouSo]

Nothing to add but that's an incredible turnaround OP, awesome job

 

[Chip N Sawbones]

Thank you all for the feedback-- I sincerely appreciate it. Sounds like I need to weigh out the pros/cons of adding a year (or two?) for a SMP when I am already competitive for DO schools. But like some of you said, I may just apply to a few MD programs and see what happens. Either way I think I'll be pretty happy, because two years ago I honestly thought that med school might just be a pipe dream.

Remember that waiting a year or two more to apply means that much time less to do a doctor's job and earn a doctor's salary. If you'd be happy as a DO, definitely apply this cycle. Taking another year to try to increase your chances for an MD spot will cost too much in tuition and lost wages and won't really pay off unless you're dead set on going into some of the highly competitive specialties.

 

[wholeheartedly]

I kind of agree with Chip, take the MCAT and see what you get. I think DO schools are reachable and maybe a few MD schools as well if you have great MCAT performance. Depends on how much more time and money you want to invest vs chances of success.


How many credits do you have total so far? that will give us an indication of how hard it would be to get your GPA above 3.0.

 

[deleted551990]

I'm inclined to agree that the payoff might not be there-- not to mention, as I'm sure a lot of you all can relate, being "non-traditional" means that adding a year is a little more costly to me than if I were a 21 year-old traditional student.

The main advantage (in my mind) to going the SMP route would be having a strong chance at the military medical school, which gives the ability to support my wife comfortably while in school. That being said, there are a couple of good military scholarships that are pretty nice either way.

I have about 150 hours total so far. According to the AMCAS GPA calculator spreadsheet, my cGPA would be about 3.1 after this fall semester, assuming I keep a 4.0 gpa. Which does make me think, if I apply next cycle and do a SMP, I will have a strong upward trend and a 3.1/3.2 in addition to starting the SMP. I have read, though, that a lot of the time you have to complete your SMP and then apply the NEXT cycle... which would suck.

 

[wholeheartedly]

Tough call. A former classmate of mines is going to the uniformed services university and seems to be enjoying it. He's doing rotations now.

Maybe you can talk to someone in admissions there and see what they think of your awesome comeback and you app. and what suggestions they might have. Never hurts to ask. Then you can make a more informed decision.

Also check out the last couple years on the school specific threads for that program. People will be discussing applying and often talk about stats and what the school is looking for will come up. You can also look for a "view profile" link under some ppl's avatars that will take you to their MDapplicants page where stats and ECs can be listed. You can compare those pages of ppl getting acceptances and interviews to those not getting them for a rough (very rough) idea of what the school might emphasize.

You can ask questions there, but remember those threads are for ppl currently applying and issues they deal with, so don't make a big "what are my chances" post in there.

 

[wholeheartedly]

Here's the link to this past years USUHS app cycle discussion thread if you haven't seen it.

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=895328&highlight=Usuhs

 

[phant0m0o0o]

Hey,

This is purely anecdotal but I went through the same thing as you. I probably had a few more F's and way more W's though. What state of residence are you? I would strongly suggest you move to Texas if there is no issue, not only are there a large number of schools that favor in state residence but as a STRONG back up you could apply for Texas Fresh start in 2014-2015 to remove grades that are 10+ years ago(dramatically increasing your chances). I had a 3.03/30's mcat and somehow made it into an MD school here with the huge turn around(~100 credits of 4.0 with 25+ credits a semester). I did not have to use Texas Fresh start but I was ready to in the next cycle which would have increased my GPA to a ~3.6 and if I waited until the next next cycle a 4.0. Otherwise SMP/DO are the other options. I also repeated many classes to improve my AACOMAS gpa to ~3.7-3.8 ish like you did which gives you a solid back up! Sorry this post is so long, message me/respond here if you have any questions. I am rooting for you!

 

[deleted551990]

Thanks for the inspiration! I would definitely love to move to Texas and potentially use the fresh start thing, but wouldn't it take a year to establish residency? I guess that's definitely worth considering, since my situation would be drastically different if I could remove grades from 10 years ago.

 

[phant0m0o0o]

Yep it takes a year so it depends on when you plan to apply. I definitely used it for worse case scenarios, luckily it didn't get that far and I got in without worrying about that. I am sure with that big a turn around you will get in!

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

 

[lunalight]

I'll try to make this as short and to-the-point as possible-

Straight out of high school- in 2004- I went off to college, crashed, and burned. Completely lost interest, stopped going to class entirely, but kept enrolling. I was stupid, enough said.

Grades looked like this:

B B B A B B B F F F F F F F F F F F F F F (this is literally the amount of F's I received)

Joined the Marine Corps for some excitement (and perhaps direction) in my life- went active duty for 5 years.

To make a long story short, while I was on active duty I took an EMT class and started volunteering in the Naval hospital during my time off. I loved it, and basically knew that I wanted to pursue medical school. So I started taking classes again, still on active duty, and loved it.

Fast forward 2 years- Got discharged (honorably) from active duty, began going to school full-time, and I've been treating it like I have something to prove... because I do. My last 94 credit hours have been at a 4.0 GPA, this includes 18+ hour semesters, and mostly upper level chemistry and mathematics courses.

To illustrate my situation, my grades now look like this:

(2004-2005) B B B A B B B F F F F F F F F F F F F F F (2008-present) A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A

Unfortunately my AMCAS cGPA this cycle will only be about 2.93. sGPA should be about 3.01. AACOMAS GPA will be about 3.9, though. MCAT is pending, but I was scoring ~32 on practice exams. I've also done a lot of shadowing and volunteering, too.

So here I am, trying to decide what my next move should be. Just apply DO and get at this thing? Do I even have a shot at MD anyways? SMP -> MD maybe? What do y'all think?

I should mention that I really want to go to the Uniformed Services University above all else.

I look forward to hearing what you guys think!

Great job on the comeback!!

I did this almost exactly (the grades part, not the military service part), all while working FT. My AMCAS gpa was 2.8 when it was all said and done, I believe. I applied EDP last year and will start my 1st year at my state MD school next month. 🙂

It can be done!!

 

[deleted551990]

Great job on the comeback!!

I did this almost exactly (the grades part, not the military service part), all while working FT. My AMCAS gpa was 2.8 when it was all said and done, I believe. I applied EDP last year and will start my 1st year at my state MD school next month. 🙂

It can be done!!

Yes! I remember reading your story a while back. Maybe I'll fare as well as you did. I'm tempted to apply ED, but I also don't want to limit to one school.