First pre-med counseling interview this week...

[southpawcannon]

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This week, I am scheduled to meet with a physician who is on the admissions committee for one of the state medical schools as part of my school's pre-medical process to find out where our strengths and weaknesses are. I'm a bit nervous, because I don't have that 3.5+overall/science GPA(currently a 3.17/2.5). I also had one grade while in grad school(didn't finish) bring me below a 3.0, which I'm pissed and have worked to bring it up. I'm really not looking forward to someone being negative and telling me 'have you considered 'X' path to medicine?' That's not an option. I can't change what I did my first two years of college. I can only learn from it, look back to see where my mistakes were, and realize I can only bring that overall and BCPM so much. During my last 5-6 semesters before getting my UG degree, I had a stellar GPA(3.6+) while being involved in many activities. Except for the one bad graduate grade, I have done very well since. I still have about 32 hrs left of BCPMs, which with A's, will put me above 3.0. Again, I know, not strong, but I can only worry about what I have left. My biggest concern is during the official application process, I'll be tossed aside purely based on my stats. I hope I can make someone say hmm...'GPA is lower than we like, he killed the MCAT...wtf happened here? let's give this guy an interview and learn more about him.' I feel very confident in myself that if I could make it to the second round, I'll get some offers because of all I have gained with my work experiences and volunteering opportunities.

Another thought I have is how difficult is it to get into SMP programs? How soon should I apply? I need to re-take the GRE being my scores are too old now.

 

[QofQuimica]

The purpose of the preapp counseling meeting is to give you advice on how you can improve your app. It is not an adcom's job to tell you that you should try a different career instead of medicine. However, it *is* his job to tell you what he thinks your strengths and weaknesses are as honestly as possible. If he thinks you have very little chance of getting accepted with your current app, he will hopefully tell you the truth.

Regardless of the fact that it may be discouraging to hear that kind of opinion, try to go to your meeting prepared to listen dispassionately to the advice you receive. Obviously you know that your grades are a weak area, but be open to considering other weaknesses (and strengths too!) that he may point out. All is not lost forever just because your app may be too weak to apply successfully right now. This meeting with him will give you the chance to take his suggestions and run with them so that your app can be as strong as possible. Think about it this way: better that you should find out how to improve your app now rather than after a thin envelope shows up at your door.

Best of luck to you. 🙂