Guidance for Med success

[deleted446889]

---

Members do not see this ad.

.

 

[aSagacious]

Moving to hSDN.

 

[I'm No Superman]

I don't think that your GPA will "reset" as far as med schools are concerned. I believe that AMACS calculates your GPA using all college classes.

 

[Lil Mick]

AMCAS will ask you for all college coursework, but you're able to designate courses you took during high school (or middle school) as such. Some FL medical schools will also ask about that in secondaries (at least they did a few years ago); however, the schools at which I interviewed generally didn't seem to care one way or the other with the courses I took before matriculating full-time. I wouldn't worry about those classes, provided you do well in college when you start.

 

[I'm No Superman]

If your planning on going the DO route, they do some sort of grade replacement, but I don't know too much about it.

 

[Cephal0pod]

I'm in the same boat. Last year I got a C in pre-calc that I took through a local CC as well. However, I was reassured wholeheartedly in the pre-vet forums that one C would not automatically mean my imminent veterinary demise. To be honest, I learned more from getting that C than I ever have and ever will from getting an A; it was a needed kick in the pants and made me realize just how much I really needed to study to be successful in challenging college coursework. My college transcript from my CC stuff is mostly A's as well, with a couple B's and the one C that I mentioned. I'm at a 3.5ish I think too. Lower than I would like of course, but the way I see it, I have an entire 3-4 years of college work ahead of me to work my tail off and bring it up so I'm not too worried. We were able to learn our hard lessons now before we start undergrad full time; not many of our peers will be so fortunate.

 

[235009]

1. no such thing as grade replacement/forgiveness at MD schools
2. don't worry about those two grades, they'll be diluted pretty heavily by the time you apply and no adcom will hold against you a C you got in high school
3. even a 3.5 gpa is good ....and i'm assuming it'll get higher pretty soon
4. while DO does have grade replacement it's not compatible with your current ambition to be an ortho surgeon. going DO would be a severe (possibly insurmountable) disadvantage if you want to go into ortho

 

[aSagacious]

Ideally, you should try to achieve a cumulative GPA at or above the national average for matriculants (3.68, and a 3.61 for science). While this does not guarantee you an acceptance (no GPA can do that) it puts you in a very good position heading into application season.

 

[235009]

I kinda feel a bit better now, thanks. But if I want to become an Orthopedic Surgeon, what GPA should I be aiming for to be "safe" or guaranteed acceptance? I barely studied in high school while doing dual enrollment, so I hope I can do well in actual undegrad.

the GPA you should be aiming for is the highest GPA you are able to achieve. no GPA can guarantee admission. there are plenty of people with 4.0 GPA who don't get in every cycle.

Also, does it help to go to the same undergrad as the med school? I'm going to UCF honors and my aspiration is to go to UCF med.

this is very school-specific. at my undergrad it didn't matter but at my med school they do give an advantage to their own undergrads. you'll have to ask someone more familiar with this particular school. point is though you shouldn't have your heart set on a particular med school. the med school admission process is not as straight forward as the college admission process.

Also, what about those 7 year programs, what exactly is that all about?

i'm a staunch opponent of these programs. i dont think becoming a doctor should be a sprint. in fact i advocate taking time off after undergrad to get some real world experience and enjoy your early 20s. many on SDN are so one-track-minded though that they think those programs are the best thing ever but this fails to see the bigger picture. Med school severely limits your ability to socialize and be a normal 20-something. Also I would've found it really scary if my first job ever was a doctor and the first time i'm out in the real world is during 3rd year of med school.

 

[235009]

All right, so this is what I have understood so far to make it in the medical profession.

Get mostly A's and keep that GPA up in the 3.5-3.9
Get at least a 34 MCAT
Lots of Volunteer service with medical background
Summer internships at clinics
Shadow doctors
Be involved in research
Don't become a zombie

Are those good guidelines to follow? Anything to add or any advice? Also, can someone explain how to get residency in what you like, for example I really like Orthopedic and I have heard it is very challenging to get into, so what is needed to get there? Thanks in advance

34+ MCAT is very difficult to achieve, puts you in the top 10% of all test takers and is not necessary for getting into med school. to get into a US MD school a 31+ will make you competitive. to get into a "top" school a 35+ puts you in the competitive range.

after MCAT and GPA, research and being able to tell a compelling story in your app are the two most important things.

for residency (which you really shouldn't be concerned about right now, you're still in high school!):
1. good step 1 score
2. good step 1 score
3. good step 1 score
4. solid 3rd year grades
5. meaningful published research

 

[I'm No Superman]

From what I've read, a 30+ MCAT is competitive for med school.