Getting into medical school with my stats...

[Premed in need]

Hi everyone!
I just graduated with a degree in biochemistry. My overall GPA is a 3.34 with my last semester being a 4.0. I am taking the MCAT this year but my practice exams were around 510. My gpa is low because I go to an extremely competitive school and we have trimesters. Had a really rough couple of years with a friend trying to commit suicide then a surgery and much more. So it was hard to catch up.
I have good ECs! I was a VP and president of my sorority, co-president of women in science club, co-president of molecular biology and biochemistry club and a class rep one year.
When I apply I will have more than 1000 hours as a scribe and many doctor recommendation letters.
I also have three publications. One in which I am a primary author.
I have two summers of volunteer work abroad and shadowing as well. Also two internships in non profits during the year.
I have two research internships, one in neurology and one in cancer research.
In my university I worked as a tutor in all into bio and chemistry classes.
I am very worried about my GPA and I am scared it will bring me down. Please give me any advice you have! Success stories, schools I should apply to, anything.
Also I am an international student but I graduated from an accredited USA university.

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[Faha]

As long as your MCAT is 500 or higher you should receive interviews at some DO schools. post your actual score here in the future and I can recommend schools.

 

[Premed in need]

As long as your MCAT is 500 or higher you should receive interviews at some DO schools. post your actual score here in the future and I can recommend schools.

You don’t think I can get interviews in MDs? With a high MCAT?

 

[Dr panda]

You don’t think I can get interviews in MDs? With a high MCAT?

Which state are you from? 3.34 is very low for MD and on at the bottom side for DO. Being an international applicant is going to seriously hurt your chances.

I have good ECs! Not as good as you think.

• I was a VP and president of my sorority, co-president of women in science club, co-president of molecular biology and biochemistry club and a class rep one year. – Nothing useful. 99/100 applicants were officers in clubs, unless you had serious leadership roles this is pretty much useless.
• When I apply I will have more than 1000 hours as a scribe and many doctor recommendation letters. Scribing is good, doctors letter are useless (unless you apply to DO).
• I also have three publications. One in which I am a primary author. Would be great if you applied to Stanford but with your GPA it is also not going to give you much boost.
• I have two summers of volunteer work abroad and shadowing as well. Also two internships in non profits during the year. Work abroad doesn't matter, you need to show service to Americans if you want to work in the US.
• I have two research internships, one in neurology and one in cancer research. Nothing useful here.
• In my university I worked as a tutor in all into bio and chemistry classes. This is a nice one.

Do you have any community service volunteering? Do you have any other experience besides scribing that wasn't done for cash?
It seems that you want to be a scientist not a doctor. And it seems that you valued ECs over school which led to low GPA.

 

[StarSpangled]

Being an international student is your major barrier. When I was one, my undergrad institution told me “don’t bother applying”. You will need MSAR or to search on here which schools even accept international applications. The reason, from my understanding, that most do not is that you are not eligible for federal loans. What country are you from? I know Midwestern accepts some Canadians. Your better bet is either become a permanent resident (easier said than done, I know) or study in your home country then apply for a residency slot here when you graduate (also difficult but not impossible!). Hopefully someone has more encouraging advice, but this was my experience.

 

[Faha]

Where is your country of origin ? Are you Canadian ?

 

[Premed in need]

Where is your country of origin ? Are you Canadian ?

No I’m not! I’m from Europe.

 

[Seihai]

You're already climbing a hill when it comes to being an international applicant, and your GPA won't help. Med schools won't care about your reasons for a lower GPA, and frankly, they're essentially excuses and make it look like you're trying to shirk responsibility.

You need to do WELL on the MCAT. A 510 is not enough for MD. Don't take the exam until you are scoring in the 515+ range if you want more realistic chances of going USMD. A 510 is good for DO, but there are sparingly few that accept international students, from my unsrdtanding.

 

[Premed in need]

Which state are you from? 3.34 is very low for MD and on at the bottom side for DO. Being an international applicant is going to seriously hurt your chances.

I have good ECs! Not as good as you think.

• I was a VP and president of my sorority, co-president of women in science club, co-president of molecular biology and biochemistry club and a class rep one year. – Nothing useful. 99/100 applicants were officers in clubs, unless you had serious leadership roles this is pretty much useless.
• When I apply I will have more than 1000 hours as a scribe and many doctor recommendation letters. Scribing is good, doctors letter are useless (unless you apply to DO).
• I also have three publications. One in which I am a primary author. Would be great if you applied to Stanford but with your GPA it is also not going to give you much boost.
• I have two summers of volunteer work abroad and shadowing as well. Also two internships in non profits during the year. Work abroad doesn't matter, you need to show service to Americans if you want to work in the US.
• I have two research internships, one in neurology and one in cancer research. Nothing useful here.
• In my university I worked as a tutor in all into bio and chemistry classes. This is a nice one.

Do you have any community service volunteering? Do you have any other experience besides scribing that wasn't done for cash?
It seems that you want to be a scientist not a doctor. And it seems that you valued ECs over school which led to low GPA.

I do have community volunteering! I volunteer every month with vision screening and an elderly nursing home. I volunteered with NAMI as well. I have shadowing in Cleveland clinic coming up and I also I shadowed a doctor during my internship. All of my papers were in medicine not pure science like chemistry so no I don’t want to be a scientist. My ECs were not valued more but my school is known for being really harsh. A few terms that were hard for me were for a reason and if they don’t think surgery is a good enough reason to get a B instead of an A so be it. But that’s very disappointing and sad because they are doctors that should understand that we are not robots but people that get sick too.

 

[Dr panda]

I do have community volunteering! I volunteer every month with vision screening and an elderly nursing home. I volunteered with NAMI as well.

This is very nice.

my school is known for being really harsh.

Even if it is UChicago, Cornell or MIT, you are still expected to do well, 3.6 from UChicago might be valued as a great GPA but I doubt it would work for 3.3.

A few terms that were hard for me were for a reason and if they don’t think surgery is a good enough reason to get a B instead of an A so be it. But that’s very disappointing and sad because they are doctors that should understand that we are not robots but people that get sick too.

It is sad that you were sick for few years, but that is not an excuse. What if you get sick in med school and will fail out? You apparently don't really understand how the game is played.
Each school gets ~5000 applications for ~250 spots. So, there are 19 other people behind the door who want to get your seat, who are
1) US citizens
2) Have stellar grades
3) Include URMs
4) Include US military veterans
5) Include people people with compelling life story
6) Include legacies
And there are you with dismal GPA, non US citizen, arguing that schools should excuse your poor undergrad performance for reasons X,Y, and Z, and to pick you over people listed above. It doesn't work like that.

 

[Faha]

You should be able to receive interviews at DO schools that accept international applicants as long as your MCAT is at least 508. Post your actual score here in the future and we can suggest schools.

 

[Goro]

Hi everyone!
I just graduated with a degree in biochemistry. My overall GPA is a 3.34 with my last semester being a 4.0. I am taking the MCAT this year but my practice exams were around 510. My gpa is low because I go to an extremely competitive school and we have trimesters. Had a really rough couple of years with a friend trying to commit suicide then a surgery and much more. So it was hard to catch up.
I have good ECs! I was a VP and president of my sorority, co-president of women in science club, co-president of molecular biology and biochemistry club and a class rep one year.
When I apply I will have more than 1000 hours as a scribe and many doctor recommendation letters.
I also have three publications. One in which I am a primary author.
I have two summers of volunteer work abroad and shadowing as well. Also two internships in non profits during the year.
I have two research internships, one in neurology and one in cancer research.
In my university I worked as a tutor in all into bio and chemistry classes.
I am very worried about my GPA and I am scared it will bring me down. Please give me any advice you have! Success stories, schools I should apply to, anything.
Also I am an international student but I graduated from an accredited USA university.

GPA is very weak for MD, but fine for DO.