HELP! Do I have a chance with such a nontraditional education?

[WishfulApplicant]

So, I need some advice guys... I feel like I have one of the most nontraditional applications possible and I'm not sure if it is going to hurt me in this application cycle. Here's the brief of my story:

-I was home educated for all of my grade school (k-12)
-Because I could study all the time as a home schooler, I worked faster and worked through the summer and finished Michigan's high school requirements at age 15
-Instead of starting college, I started studying for my introductory college classes on my own
-Once I did start college at 17, I already knew most of the information for the first couple years of college and took CLEP tests and other credit by exams (no APs though) for literally 35 classes
-This allowed me to graduate in a year and a half at age 19 with a 4.0 GPA and zero debt, which was kind of nice
-Keep in mind that GPA is only based on 14 classes though because CLEPs do not have any grades
-I have done a fair bit of post bac work following graduation
-MCAT: 38 (PS: 11, VR: 13, BS: 14)
-I have loads of clinical experience but not a drop of research experience




Finally, here is the list of schools I have applied to thus far:
-University of Michigan
-Michigan State
-UCSD
-Ohio State
-Stanford
-Harvard
-Loma Linda
-Yale
-UC Davis
-UC Irvine
-Mayo
-Washington University in St. Louis


Do I have a chance at any of these schools??

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[NoTownPreMed]

Hmmm.

 

[clausewitz2]

OP, a very important question that you did not answer in your post was - does your formal college transcript contain the basic prereqs, i.e. two semesters pchem, two semesters ochem, two semesters bio, two semesters physics? If they aren't in that formal transcript, you may have some problems.

You have a good GPA and good MCAT. How recently did you take the MCAT? How long have you been out of university?

 

[DrMidlife]

pchem

Hopefully it's clear to folks that "pchem" is either a typo or a bad choice of acronym. A year of general chemistry is what you take before med school. Physical chemistry is what you take in the back half of a chemistry major if you want to be a legit chemist.

 

[clausewitz2]

The institution I ultimately did my pre-reqs at called the non-organic sequence "physical chemistry," which, I agree with you, is kind of baffling. Slipped a bit in using that terminology. You are absolutely correct and everyone should take away that they need to be taking general chemistry.

 

[Goro]

I honestly don't know how all your CLEP coursework will be perceived. What Adcoms will want to know is can you handle a med school curriculum? There's no doubt that you are very smart. But testing out of things is not the same as being able to run after the fire truck while drinking from the fire hose.

Applicants your age run into the problem at times of maturity. Let's face it...you're young. How you're perceived on this score will make or break you.

From your stats alone, you're good for any MD school in the country, but the research powerhouses will want research.

So, I need some advice guys... I feel like I have one of the most nontraditional applications possible and I'm not sure if it is going to hurt me in this application cycle. Here's the brief of my story:

-I was home educated for all of my grade school (k-12)
-Because I could study all the time as a home schooler, I worked faster and worked through the summer and finished Michigan's high school requirements at age 15
-Instead of starting college, I started studying for my introductory college classes on my own
-Once I did start college at 17, I already knew most of the information for the first couple years of college and took CLEP tests and other credit by exams (no APs though) for literally 35 classes
-This allowed me to graduate in a year and a half at age 19 with a 4.0 GPA and zero debt, which was kind of nice
-Keep in mind that GPA is only based on 14 classes though because CLEPs do not have any grades
-I have done a fair bit of post bac work following graduation
-MCAT: 38 (PS: 11, VR: 13, BS: 14)
-I have loads of clinical experience but not a drop of research experience




Finally, here is the list of schools I have applied to thus far:
-University of Michigan
-Michigan State
-UCSD
-Ohio State
-Stanford
-Harvard
-Loma Linda
-Yale
-UC Davis
-UC Irvine
-Mayo
-Washington University in St. Louis


Do I have a chance at any of these schools??

 

[WishfulApplicant]

OP, a very important question that you did not answer in your post was - does your formal college transcript contain the basic prereqs, i.e. two semesters pchem, two semesters ochem, two semesters bio, two semesters physics? If they aren't in that formal transcript, you may have some problems.

You have a good GPA and good MCAT. How recently did you take the MCAT? How long have you been out of university?

Thank you so much for the response! Yes, I have completed all the prereqs for medical school including all the ones that you named, but Bio 1 & 2 and gen chem 1 & 2 were completed with CLEP tests. The rest were at a local university with all A's. I took the MCAT in November of last year (just before they changed it lol) and I finished my bachelor's a little over a year ago. Like I said though, I haven't stopped my education as I have still been taking classes as a postbac student. What are your thoughts with that additional information?

 

[clausewitz2]

You should probably contact the schools you are most interested in to see if they are cool with the prereqs not being part of your formal transcript. Their comfort-level is likely institution dependent.

Otherwise yeah, Goro has the right of it, per usual.

 

[WishfulApplicant]

I honestly don't know how all your CLEP coursework will be perceived. What Adcoms will want to know is can you handle a med school curriculum? There's no doubt that you are very smart. But testing out of things is not the same as being able to run after the fire truck while drinking from the fire hose.

Applicants your age run into the problem at times of maturity. Let's face it...you're young. How you're perceived on this score will make or break you.

From your stats alone, you're good for any MD school in the country, but the research powerhouses will want research.

@Goro I cannot thank you enough for your input! And yes, I am concerned about their perception on my ability to handle the rigors of medical school as well. Do you think that completing my bachelor's in a year and a half will show them my work ethic adequately? Completing those courses in that amount of time was arguably the most challenging thing I have done to date and certainly wasn't easy. I just wonder how they will view it. Also, because of the way my birthday falls, I am actually 21 currently (and would be 22 by the time of matriculation). Is that still on the younger side of things? Do you feel that aspect could harm my application as well?

 

[WishfulApplicant]

You should probably contact the schools you are most interested in to see if they are cool with the prereqs not being part of your formal transcript. Their comfort-level is likely institution dependent.

Otherwise yeah, Goro has the right of it, per usual.

Okay, yeah I think that is an excellent idea. Actually though, CLEP tests are displayed on an official transcript through the university I graduated from.

 

[DrMidlife]

There won't be concerns about your academic qualifications.

The concerns will be about maturity. You carry the burden of proof that you have any idea (a) who you are, (b) what you're getting into, or (c) what the world is like.

 

[Goro]

Agree 100% with clauswitz.

Your age will no longer be a problem since you're 21 now. I thought you were applying for matriculation at < 20!

@Goro I cannot thank you enough for your input! And yes, I am concerned about their perception on my ability to handle the rigors of medical school as well. Do you think that completing my bachelor's in a year and a half will show them my work ethic adequately? Completing those courses in that amount of time was arguably the most challenging thing I have done to date and certainly wasn't easy. I just wonder how they will view it. Also, because of the way my birthday falls, I am actually 21 currently (and would be 22 by the time of matriculation). Is that still on the younger side of things? Do you feel that aspect could harm my application as well?