Help! Advice Needed!

[ChemEngMD]

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.Edited because one of my fraternity brothers was able to track me down via a Google search and it freaked me out. Anonymity isn't on the internet haha.

 

[ucsfstudents]

Hey, sounds like you've accomplished a lot in college. For what it's worth, don't freak out. Sure, you're not the most competitive applicant (GPA-wise), but you have a lot of other things going for you. Drop all non-essential activities and focus your time, energy, etc on studying for, the doing well on the MCAT. Do not take the MCAT unless you feel ready and are getting good scores. If it's just not working out, you might want to consider taking more time and applying next year. I'm sure others will have more specific advice.


Good luck and don't give up!!!!

 

[dmndangel]

now I'm no expert but I have heard that schools do take into consideration the difficulty of the engineering classes. take that with a grain of salt though. regardless, try and focus and relax so that you can do as well as you can on the mcat. once you get the score you can then look at what you have and decide if it might be helpful for you to take a year off.

 

[1 Ku MuDaPhuDka]

To be honest homie, it appears as though you are doing alright. I would not stress your situation to much. What has been done, has been done. So don't hang ur head on some of the pitfalls you encountered. Continue striving and doing as well as you can in the courses you are taking and plan to take in the future. Also, do keep this in mind. All your concerns can be thrown out the window with a good MCAT score. It could accentuate your amazing ECs or be the crutch of a crippling application. That being said, enjoy your undergrad and keep your goals in mind.

 

[Oncoloman]

.For those of you who don't know me (I haven't posted on here in a while), I am a 4th year Chemical Engineering student (on a 5 year plan) and I am planning on applying to medical school this summer. I am a tad bit worried about my grades though. Although I am a dual degree candidate (both Chemical and Biological Engineering) I feel that medical schools won't take the level of difficulty for my degrees into consideration (I also have minors in Pre-Medical studies, Chemistry, and Spanish). If my projected grades by the end of this term are correct I will have a 3.354 accumulative GPA and a 3.403 science GPA. I took the MCATs back in September but voided and since then I've been putting them off and now my date is a month away. This summer I was scoring low 30s/high 20s on my practice MCATs. I guess I'm just getting to the point now where I'm scared that I don't have enough going for me and that I'm applying in vain. .

.I have pretty impressive extra curriculars but not many are medical related. I am beginning to shadow an emergency room physician now who is a family friend. My ECs include President of the Latino group on campus, President of a council that governs all of the multicultural groups on campus, I am President of and started the first multicultural fraternity chapter in New England, I was the logistics chair for 2 major regional conferences, Senior Student Senator serving on the Executive Budgetary Committee, Public Relations Officer for the Health Professions Club at my university, and I have tutored Calculus/Physics/Microbiolgy. I have also been a Radio DJ on our campus radio station for 2.5 years, I have volunteered (briefly) in the ER at the local hospital, I have done lots of community service with my fraternity, and I participated in Alternative Spring Break where I worked with at risk youth in urban Atlanta. I am a URM of mixed origin. I have worked two engineering internships and this summer I have a job working in a microbiology laboratory under a NSF grant. I am on multiple scholarships for my undergraduate education..

.My grades are more or less on an increase (up until this semester perhaps). My first 2 years of school I didn't do too hot, but the last 3 semesters I have been above a 3.55 (and should be this semester too). I don't know if I am getting all worked up over nothing or if I am legitimately screwed. My plan was originally to apply to 20 schools but now I am getting so down on myself that I feel like I'm not as strong of a candidate as I originally thought and now I feel like I should wait another year or something. Any advice would be truly appreciated..

.Also keep in mind that I originally received a C+ in Physics 1 and retook for an A and I originally got a C in Organic 2 and retook for a B (ouch). My other BCPM grades include:.

.Chem 1 & Lab: C+ (A in lab).
.Chem 2 & Lab: A (A in lab).
.Bio 1: B.
.Bio 2: B.
.Organic 1 & Lab: B (B in lab).
.Organic 2 & Lab: C (retook for B) (B in lab).
.Physics 1: C+ (retook for A).
.Physics 2: A.
.Microbio & Lab: A (A in lab).
.Biochemistry & Lab: A (A in lab).
.Anatomy & Physiology: A.
.Astronomy (haha): A.
.Calc 1: B.
.Calc 2: A.
.Calc 3: B.
.Differential Equations: B.

.All together this comes out to a 3.403.

.When I wrote & Lab, the lab grades were actually seperate grades where as teh Bio, Physics, and A&P the lab grades were built into the overall grade..

.Like I said, any advice is truly appreciated..

Hey you've been doing a great job. Have you taken any higher level bio courses?? Just curious. Look into the thread that's titled "retake the MCAT? by Jolt21" within this forum. The guy was just like YOU and got into HARVARD!!! Get around a 31 and you are fine. You are lucky you are not like me. I changed majors twice and wound up having to take 75 credits in two years. Got a 3.4 science out of it but still you are in perfect condition as a URM. Seriously check out that thread. 👍

 

[Jolt21]

Look into the thread that's titled "retake the MCAT? by Jolt21" within this forum.

haha. since I was PM'd to chime in here, i'll take a crack at it. let's try and break it down...

grades: not an issue. you did great in a lot of hard classes. the retake is good. The C's suck, but as long as you can put a good story behind it, you're ok.

regular EC's: they look great. it looks like you show commitment to the things you join. that's the most important part. you're going to have to take your top 15 EC's/Awards/Jobs for the AMCAS, so you wont be able to put all of those. Start narrowing down the things you feel are most important/paint the best picture of you

health-related EC's: you could use some help here. get maaaad hours under your belt with the physician you just started with, and/or maybe add another one to the mix. open your eyes to the world of hospitals and see if you can land some sort of volunteer/job in one. since you are engineering, you will probably get asked "why switch to the medical world?" In which case you will have to explain how your experiences shaped your desire to become a physician. If you think you can do that right now, then ok...but the more things you have, the better.

MCAT: This could be the deal breaker. I had a 12/11/8(verbal)/R. What saved me was the fact I was front-loaded in the sciences, got an R on writing (showing some mastery of the english language), and I had a ridiculous PS. also, I had my LOR writers say I was a great communicator and such...basically things along the line of deterring folks away from my low verbal score. In some ways, it's better than being a 10/11/10 or something. try and get that MCAT up for a shot at some great schools.

poise/determination: this counts for something and you seem to have it. walk into every interview confident, but not cocky (it will show). take time to answer questions. don't say "um" and "like". and most importantly, be very personable. adcoms dont want someone who won't be able to work well with others...cause physicians are always on a team of people. so be polite and smile.


words of advice:

-apply as early as possible
-be personable on the interview trail...dont react to the others on the trail, it's every man for himself. just worry about you.
-stay positive
-write a killer PS
-get some crazy LORs
-apply broadly (around 20 schools) (and do hard research about the schools...dont waste money like i did)

you will definitely get in somewhere, it's now a matter of where.

 

[ChemEngMD]

haha. since I was PM'd to chime in here, i'll take a crack at it. let's try and break it down...

grades: not an issue. you did great in a lot of hard classes. the retake is good. The C's suck, but as long as you can put a good story behind it, you're ok.

regular EC's: they look great. it looks like you show commitment to the things you join. that's the most important part. you're going to have to take your top 15 EC's/Awards/Jobs for the AMCAS, so you wont be able to put all of those. Start narrowing down the things you feel are most important/paint the best picture of you

health-related EC's: you could use some help here. get maaaad hours under your belt with the physician you just started with, and/or maybe add another one to the mix. open your eyes to the world of hospitals and see if you can land some sort of volunteer/job in one. since you are engineering, you will probably get asked "why switch to the medical world?" In which case you will have to explain how your experiences shaped your desire to become a physician. If you think you can do that right now, then ok...but the more things you have, the better.

MCAT: This could be the deal breaker. I had a 12/11/8(verbal)/R. What saved me was the fact I was front-loaded in the sciences, got an R on writing (showing some mastery of the english language), and I had a ridiculous PS. also, I had my LOR writers say I was a great communicator and such...basically things along the line of deterring folks away from my low verbal score. In some ways, it's better than being a 10/11/10 or something. try and get that MCAT up for a shot at some great schools.

poise/determination: this counts for something and you seem to have it. walk into every interview confident, but not cocky (it will show). take time to answer questions. don't say "um" and "like". and most importantly, be very personable. adcoms dont want someone who won't be able to work well with others...cause physicians are always on a team of people. so be polite and smile.


words of advice:

-apply as early as possible
-be personable on the interview trail...dont react to the others on the trail, it's every man for himself. just worry about you.
-stay positive
-write a killer PS
-get some crazy LORs
-apply broadly (around 20 schools) (and do hard research about the schools...dont waste money like i did)

you will definitely get in somewhere, it's now a matter of where.

Thanks a lot for the advice brother. It was much appreciated. I have decided to push back my MCAT one last time to July 16th because I feel that I am at a distinct disadvantage unless I slam my MCAT. I decided I need to get at least a 30 if not higher and I won't be able to do that unless I take more time. This also will give me more time to shadow physicians and get better LORs. I will shoot to have my applications in by the date of my MCAT scores being released. I already have 3 or 4 LORs figured out at this point and now it's just a matter of getting my head straight for the MCATs. Thanks for the advice everybody.

 

[ChemEngMD]

So it's looking as though my breakdown for grades are gonna be worse than I thought:


Overall GPA: 3.332
Science GPA: 3.403

On top of this, I pushed my MCAT date to July because I'm terrified. Now this would prevent me from being complete for primaries for schools until mid-August. Would this completely screw me?? Would it be better for me to take the MCAT in mid-June and score a 28 then take it in mid-July and get a 32? I'm kinda freaking out today haha


Edit: I lied, there are no dates in June in my area, AKA I'm screwed haha

I could drive 3 hours though to take it on June 17, but that still only gives me a month to get ready...I don't know how I let procrastination take over my life like this lol

 

[Kimaris]

You'll do fine.

 

[Dr Lyss]

So it's looking as though my breakdown for grades are gonna be worse than I thought:


Overall GPA: 3.332
Science GPA: 3.403

On top of this, I pushed my MCAT date to July because I'm terrified. Now this would prevent me from being complete for primaries for schools until mid-August. Would this completely screw me?? Would it be better for me to take the MCAT in mid-June and score a 28 then take it in mid-July and get a 32? I'm kinda freaking out today haha


Edit: I lied, there are no dates in June in my area, AKA I'm screwed haha

I could drive 3 hours though to take it on June 17, but that still only gives me a month to get ready...I don't know how I let procrastination take over my life like this lol

Breathe. You are going to be okay. Schedule it for as late as you possibly can (no later than July) and take a month and lock yourself up in the library. Time to go to work. Make sure you have an efficient study plan, focus only on the areas bringing you down. Do as many practice tests as possibly (I'd suggest 2 a week if possible, with more towards the end).

You. Are. Going. To. Be. Okay.

 

[redlight]

there's no difference between a 3.33 and 3.35 lol relax!

i wouldn't worry about it man, you'll be fine. you are an engineer - im sure you'll get a lil slack but keep working hard.

at least 10s in each section and you'll get in somewhere with a polished application. i wouldn't be surprised if you end up with multiple acceptances. grades are not everything and it seems the rest of your application is well above average.

so jolt didn't mention his clinical research pubs (or am i mistaking you with someone else?)... i'm sure that helped a ton... lol

for you, it's your ridiculous list of leadership positions. it's impressive for sure. make sure you have great lors from those positions.

on a related note... do you have a focus? a goal to achieve in medicine? just curious. it always helps to have a "story" that ties your activities together.

work hard on those essays, don't slack on preparing for interviews and you'll surely go far.

note... i have not applied... i'm speaking strictly from other people's experiences.. but that shouldn't matter really.

GL!

 

[ChemEngMD]

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