feeling incredibly discouraged about med school :(

[kimt2234]

Hello
How does one decide which med school is right for them? What constitues a med school being "the best" or "the most competitive"?

In addition, What if you have a low undergrad GPA like 3.29 and got a BS in Psychology? Where the hell are you supposed to apply? Plus, even if you arent' applying till 2007 or 2008 admission, how do you make it so the low GPA is not much to pay attention to?

I must add that I also acquired a Master's degree in Marriage and Family Therapy this past MAy (yeah did some soul searching and was honest with myself about the fact that I knew being a therapist was not where my passions were) and my graduate GPA was 3.8. How do admissions committees factor that in with a less that ideal undergrad GPA, compared to mostly 3.7 and above med school applicants.

UGH! I am getting frustrated and very disheartened. I have finally gotten up the balls to really pursue med school by starting the 8 prereq classes this fall and not listen to crap I listened to for years about it being too hard or good luck passing the mcat or you don't have a degree in a hard science, what makes you think you even get into med school crap. But, damn, I feel like everyday I amtetering on whether or not I am or will ever be qualified enough to get to med school

Any advice would be fabulous. Thanks for listening to the rants and raves

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[MoosePilot]

Hello
How does one decide which med school is right for them? What constitues a med school being "the best" or "the most competitive"?

In addition, What if you have a low undergrad GPA like 3.29 and got a BS in Psychology? Where the hell are you supposed to apply? Plus, even if you arent' applying till 2007 or 2008 admission, how do you make it so the low GPA is not much to pay attention to?

I must add that I also acquired a Master's degree in Marriage and Family Therapy this past MAy (yeah did some soul searching and was honest with myself about the fact that I knew being a therapist was not where my passions were) and my graduate GPA was 3.8. How do admissions committees factor that in with a less that ideal undergrad GPA, compared to mostly 3.7 and above med school applicants.

UGH! I am getting frustrated and very disheartened. I have finally gotten up the balls to really pursue med school by starting the 8 prereq classes this fall and not listen to crap I listened to for years about it being too hard or good luck passing the mcat or you don't have a degree in a hard science, what makes you think you even get into med school crap. But, damn, I feel like everyday I amtetering on whether or not I am or will ever be qualified enough to get to med school

Any advice would be fabulous. Thanks for listening to the rants and raves

If you get good grades in the pre-reqs, that will bring your GPA up. 3.29 isn't out of the ballpark, anyway.

Study hard in the pre-reqs, do some volunteer work, maybe shadow a physician, and study hard, maybe in a prep course, to do as well as you can on the MCAT. That's it.

As for picking schools, pick up the MSAR. It has some info. Look at schools websites. You can get there from US News and World Reports grad school rankings if you want to. Consider whether DO is right, too. I think that's a path not enough people know about.

 

[kimt2234]

If you get good grades in the pre-reqs, that will bring your GPA up. 3.29 isn't out of the ballpark, anyway.

Study hard in the pre-reqs, do some volunteer work, maybe shadow a physician, and study hard, maybe in a prep course, to do as well as you can on the MCAT. That's it.

As for picking schools, pick up the MSAR. It has some info. Look at schools websites. You can get there from US News and World Reports grad school rankings if you want to. Consider whether DO is right, too. I think that's a path not enough people know about.

Thanks for the feedback. I have been looking at US News and still don't wuite see why certain schools are better than others. I mean just because a bunch of smart kids got accepted there, what makes it so great. I get mixed reviews about prestigious med schools. SOme say it doesn't matter, some say it does when it comes to residency and then jobs.

 

[Daddydoc]

The right school for you is the one you get into and attend. Just work hard and study hard and apply to a variety of schools. You'll be alright.

 

[kimt2234]

The right school for you is the one you get into and attend. Just work hard and study hard and apply to a variety of schools. You'll be alright.

LOL Thanks for the feedback. I am wondering if it is pointless to apply to schools that have average GPA's in the 3.6 and above range? Again, just because the average GPA is so high does that mean someone like me who doesn't have a terrible but not as stellar GPA shouldn't even bother? I think that is such crap. Especially since, I have read countless times that the premed prereq's are pointless once actually in med school and that probably 98% of all the prereq info you are forced to emeorize and study you never use again. It just pisses me off that some people who would be fabulous doctor's if given the chance are shunned because oh God they don't have the best grades possible. Didn't these admission comm. ever here of the saying that just because you got good grades doesn't necessarily mean you are smart or will do well as a doctor where bedside manner is a hell of a lot more important than where you got your med degree from.

 

[Truth_seeker]

Not all adcoms judge potential candidates on GPA. There's emphasis in the secondary app., the interview, MCAT score, and personal statement. As for which school to apply to, I mean, there are schools who have a good name and strong product for psychology. Going to a Harvard or Stanford will definitely be challenging and will most likely get you top residency picks. However, medical education is medical education. Just as undergrad is undergrad. If you put alot into your schooling, you'll take alot away. I recommend you continue gathering more information and definitely spend lots of time volunteering at a hospital or clinic or nursing home. Talk to doctors. Find out what a career as a physician looks like. I can tell you more than likely an adcom is gonna ask you why did you switch from counseling and what makes you so sure you're passion is for medicine. They don't want to hear that you just know. They want to see it in action. Remember actions speak louder than words.

 

[Law2Doc]

LOL Thanks for the feedback. I am wondering if it is pointless to apply to schools that have average GPA's in the 3.6 and above range? Again, just because the average GPA is so high does that mean someone like me who doesn't have a terrible but not as stellar GPA shouldn't even bother? I think that is such crap. Especially since, I have read countless times that the premed prereq's are pointless once actually in med school and that probably 98% of all the prereq info you are forced to emeorize and study you never use again. It just pisses me off that some people who would be fabulous doctor's if given the chance are shunned because oh God they don't have the best grades possible. Didn't these admission comm. ever here of the saying that just because you got good grades doesn't necessarily mean you are smart or will do well as a doctor where bedside manner is a hell of a lot more important than where you got your med degree from.

Adcoms consider everything in your application, not only your numerical stats. However, it is extremely difficult to evaluate candidates without some objective factors, and there are certainly enough people out there with both good numerical stats and who also seem to have the less objective "bedside manner" skills, that most of the prestigious schools don't have to pick candidates with only one or the other. (The latter is possibly easier to teach anyhow -- I suspect it's easier to teach a solid numerically smart student how to "act" compassionately than it is to make a struggling student "smarter" or a scientist). Anyone can say they have a good bedside manner, but it is very hard for adcoms to evaluate such statement -- however it is quite easy for them to evaluate how someone did on the MCAT or whether they were able to do well at undergrad, and so those things tend to be emphasized (but not exclusively). Similarly, the premed prerequisites are there to give adcoms another basis to compare unlike candidates -- how else could you attempt to determine how a humanities major will do in med school as compared to eg. a math major unless you make them take the same set of courses as a basis of comparison. Thus the prereqs aren't meant to be a basis for med school as much as a basis for evaluation (and they are just hurdles you need to get through - not material you actually need).
Higher ranked schools on the USNews list aren't necessarilly "better" -- the research ranking used to determine "prestige" tends to rank schools based on which ones get better research grants. Academically as a med school, at any of those med schools the curriculum is pretty uniform, so I doubt you would be able to tell one from another. The prestigious schools sometimes have better match lists and thus lead to better residencies, which open their own sets of doors in terms of practice. There are currently enough residency spots out there that US medical school graduates will all end up someplace, but board scores, grades, LORs and less heavilly weighted but still considered things such as your med school alma mater get factored in to determine which of these residency spots will be possible for you.
As for applying to schools which have average stats numerically much higher than yours, (bearing in mind that your postbac scores will be averaged in with your undergrad cum), you probably want to do a few such longshots, but the majority of your applications should be schools with closer numbers to your own. Good luck.

 

[efex101]

Could not have said it better...everyone gets ticked off bc God forbid there are classes to take that "may" not seem relevant to you now but they will tie in things that you later learn and btw you do need some science classes to attempt an ALL science curriculum that is a no brainer. Also, the MCAT *is* important bc it demonstrates the ability to take exams and until we can just verbally tell professors and the boards that yup I know my material so grant me the licence, well exams are there. If medicine was "easy" everyone would do it! so just do your best an apply if it is meant to be it will happen.

 

[kimt2234]

Wow! You guys are great. i appreciate very much the very honest feedback I am getting. I just started seriously considering this and beginning the steps recently and the opinions given are things that you can't find in books. I understand the importance of the med school prereq's. Especially when it comes to taking the MCAT's. I can't imagine trying to do well on those without having taken gen chem, physics, organic chem, etc.

Thanks for the feedback on which schools to apply to also. It can be very intimidating to see schools compared to one another based on their applicant pool and think, "I want to do this. I know I can and will be good at it. But, maybe I am wrong after seeing this.

 

[mamadoc]

LOL Thanks for the feedback. I am wondering if it is pointless to apply to schools that have average GPA's in the 3.6 and above range? Again, just because the average GPA is so high does that mean someone like me who doesn't have a terrible but not as stellar GPA shouldn't even bother? I think that is such crap. Especially since, I have read countless times that the premed prereq's are pointless once actually in med school and that probably 98% of all the prereq info you are forced to emeorize and study you never use again. It just pisses me off that some people who would be fabulous doctor's if given the chance are shunned because oh God they don't have the best grades possible. Didn't these admission comm. ever here of the saying that just because you got good grades doesn't necessarily mean you are smart or will do well as a doctor where bedside manner is a hell of a lot more important than where you got your med degree from.

My goodness, you're just starting out and you've got a chip on your shoulder already! I'd like to suggest that you reframe this next stage in your pursuit of a medical degree as part of your overall educational pursuit rather than a hoop to jump through. Furthermore, you're projecting when you conclude (quite erroneously) that your 3.3 in psyc is going to lead to rampant rejection. Why don't you get going on your prereqs, ENJOY them (because you will learn some neat stuff and because being enthusiastic about the next step toward your career goal is a mentally healthy way to approach this), and put together what will be a perfectly solid and respectable application? Being pissed off ahead of time seems like a way to eat away at your soul, and certainly unproductive if this is what you want to be doing.

 

[shorrin]

I was accepted with 3.15 to state school.
mcat 30
white female
age 29 at app

 

[efex101]

BTW, I am going to give you some pointers on how I approached picking medical school. I ended up applying to 32 on AMCAs so this is a LOT and not necessary but I was casting a broad net looking for scholarships/opportunities/not having to reapply. First of all I purchased the AAMC book on all medical schools and devoured it by reading it ad nauseum waaaay before I applied like a year or more out. I narrowed it down first by which states would my family be willing to move to? (two kids and an active duty husband puts some limits) then also narrowed it further down to what cities in those states would we want to live in? for example NC was a state we would move to but not Winston-Salem so that took one medical school out you get the picture. Then, after having all those schools I went and looked at how many out of state folks did those schools in those cities actually accept from the percent applied. I had a strict cutoff of at least 20% had to be accepted before I considered the school. I then purchased another book by the AAMC called minority opportunities in us medical schools to see which school were diverse not by just saying it but which ones actually had diverse classes. Meaning, many schools will say they love diversity but then do not actually accept any AA/MA/NA so those schools were immediately off my list (myself being of MA descent/nontrad/female/mother/vet) for I wanted an environment that was diverse for myself. By this time my list was quite more manageable and then I actually went an did some reading on all the medical schools on my list to see what did they stand for? what were their goals? was it rural medicine? underserved? global health? etc..to see which one would be a good fit. If you do this early enough you will get a feel for which school may seem right for you although you will NEVER truly know until you actually start medical school but it does help.

 

[kimt2234]

BTW, I am going to give you some pointers on how I approached picking medical school. I ended up applying to 32 on AMCAs so this is a LOT and not necessary but I was casting a broad net looking for scholarships/opportunities/not having to reapply. First of all I purchased the AAMC book on all medical schools and devoured it by reading it ad nauseum waaaay before I applied like a year or more out. I narrowed it down first by which states would my family be willing to move to? (two kids and an active duty husband puts some limits) then also narrowed it further down to what cities in those states would we want to live in? for example NC was a state we would move to but not Winston-Salem so that took one medical school out you get the picture. Then, after having all those schools I went and looked at how many out of state folks did those schools in those cities actually accept from the percent applied. I had a strict cutoff of at least 20% had to be accepted before I considered the school. I then purchased another book by the AAMC called minority opportunities in us medical schools to see which school were diverse not by just saying it but which ones actually had diverse classes. Meaning, many schools will say they love diversity but then do not actually accept any AA/MA/NA so those schools were immediately off my list (myself being of MA descent/nontrad/female/mother/vet) for I wanted an environment that was diverse for myself. By this time my list was quite more manageable and then I actually went an did some reading on all the medical schools on my list to see what did they stand for? what were their goals? was it rural medicine? underserved? global health? etc..to see which one would be a good fit. If you do this early enough you will get a feel for which school may seem right for you although you will NEVER truly know until you actually start medical school but it does help.

Thanks for the incredibly detailed suggestions of how to pick a med school. I am either going to apply for the fall of 2007 or 2008, so I can definitely take your pointers and use them cuz I've got the time.

Also, it helps me to get rid of the illusions I have about what a "real" med student looks like when you guys tell me not to pay so much attention to GPA and even post GPA's that are close to mine and that you got in.

 

[kimt2234]

I was accepted with 3.15 to state school.
mcat 30
white female
age 29 at app

thanks for your post. I am slowly starting to feel so so selrf-conscious about my GPA. You ar e giving me some confidence boosts that are ridiculously needed.

 

[QofQuimica]

My suggestion is that you call your state schools, or any other medical schools that you can reasonably visit, and ask to meet with the admissions director at each school. Bring copies of your trancripts, a CV with your list of activities, awards, and other relevant info like employment history, and your MCAT score if you have it (which I'm guessing you don't, since you still need to take the pre-reqs. ) Then, ask the director to give you suggestions about how to make your application more competitive. You will probably be told that you need to do well on the MCAT to compensate for a GPA that is below the school's average. (My state schools told me that they expected me to score at least a 30.) Some schools do have a minimum GPA requirement, but this can be waived if you have a good reason to ask them to do this. I have received secondaries from my screening schools even without having any undergrad GPA at all (i.e., my pre-reqs are all P/F) because my other numbers (graduate GPA and MCAT) are strong.

One final piece of advice: stay in contact with the admissions directors that you speak with, because this will let them know that you are interested in their schools. You don't have to pester them, but you can just send a quick email to thank them for their time, or let them know when you submit your AMCAS and secondary applications.

 

[LT2]

thanks for your post. I am slowly starting to feel so so selrf-conscious about my GPA. You ar e giving me some confidence boosts that are ridiculously needed.

don't let your GPA get you down so easily. why? there are a number of reasons:

1. you mentioned you still need to take pre-reqs. as someone stated above, if you do well in them, it will only raise your gpa.
2. your 3.3 is not THAT bad!! really, take it from someone who is applying now with similar numbers.
3. if you do well on the mcat, it'll "lessen the blow" of your "sub-par" gpa. also remember, everyone takes the mcat, so, in a way, adcoms can rate you against others by your mcat score too.
4. you have a graduate degree. while there is heated debate about whether or not it helps you, from my experience, i know it hasn't hindered me!! (especially if you have a good graduate gpa)
5. if you have been browsing on SDN or, heaven forbid, MD applicants, realize you are witnessing a skewed proportion of pre-medical students. many of the people here are people that have numbers to make others, like us, cringe.
6. with point number 5, remember all of the numbers schools publish are averages!! they will accept people with higher and, more importantly, lower scores, numbers, etc.
7. you have time to strengthen your application with extra-curricular activities. find a couple you are truly interested and pursue them! also, find people who will be able to write you STRONG letters of rec. if you don't have good relationships with people yet, start developing them NOW!! i think this has also been key for my application.

sorry for the lengthy post, but i know where you're coming from. i've been through it and while at times this process is demoralizing, if you are truly determined to become a physician, you will.

also, you might think about researching the DO option. your gpa would be fine for the DO schools! i've had success so far attaining interviews from both sides so it IS possible! don't give up if it's really what you want.

good luck.