Help me out fellow-premed: serious advice needed!!!

[pwmed2005]

Hi everyone- I need some advice.
Here are my stats:
1. 1994-1999 Undergrad UCLA: 2.8 cum; 2.6 science
2. 2000-2002 Graduate UCLA: 3.9 cum; 3.9 science
3. 2003-2004 post-bac: 2.5 cum; 2.5 cum science. My sister passed away in the middle of the school year. I should have dropped the program but decided to persist and didn't do well during the second semester. So I did not receive my degree here.
4. MCAT 2003: V: 10 P: 9 Bio: 12
5. Six years of Research; one paper/three abstracts published
6. Five years of active healthcare volunteer

I know last year academic performance was a bust since I did not even give it 50% effort. I know I would have easily earned a 4.0 gpa. I really regretted that I didn't stop the program and take some time for myself. Now, I feel that
I backtracked years of graduate work that I accomplished to redeem myself.

Please let me know if you have any advices on what I should do for next year. Just to let you know, I have considerable reflections over the years and do not want to choose another profession except medicine.

I am applying to these schools for Fall 2005. Are these good choices, any additions or deletions considering my stats? Thanks for your help.

Albany Medical College (Regular M.D.)
Albert Einstein College of Medicine (Regular M.D.)
Baylor College of Medicine (Regular M.D.)
Boston University School of Medicine (Regular M.D.)
Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science (Regular M.D.)
David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA (Regular M.D.)
Drexel University College of Medicine (Regular M.D.)
Eastern Virginia Medical School (Regular M.D.)
Georgetown University School of Medicine (Regular M.D.)
Indiana University School of Medicine (Regular M.D.)
Keck Sch. Of Med.University of Southern California (Regular M.D.)
Loma Linda University School of Medicine (Regular M.D.)
Meharry Medical College (Regular M.D.)
New York Medical College (Regular M.D.)
New York University (Regular M.D.)
Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicin (Regular M.D.)
Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Scien (Regular M.D.)
Rush Medical College (Regular M.D.)
SUNY Upstate Medical University (Regular M.D.)
SUNY at Buffalo Medical School (Regular M.D.)
Saint Louis University School of Medicine (Regular M.D.)
Stony Brook University - School of Medicine (Regular M.D.)
Temple University School of Medicine (Regular M.D.)
The Ohio State Univ. Coll. Of Med. & Pub. Hlth. (Regular M.D.)
Tufts University School of Medicine (Regular M.D.)
Tulane University School of Medicine (Regular M.D.)
Universidad Central Del Caribe (Regular M.D.)
University of California San Diego (Regular M.D.)
University of California San Francisco (Regular M.D.)
University of California, Davis School of Medicine (Regular M.D.)
University of California, Irvine- College/Medicine (Regular M.D.)
University of Hawaii John A. Burns Sch. Of Med. (Regular M.D.)
University of Illinois at Chicago-College of Medic (Regular M.D.)
University of Virginia School of Medicine (Regular M.D.)
Vanderbilt University School of Medicine (Regular M.D.)
Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicin (Regular M.D.)
Wright State University School of Medicine (Regular M.D.)

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[superdevil]

most of those schools sound reasonable. some state schools are really protective of their residents (i.e., indiana), and your GPA might not cut it at some private schools you listed (northwestern, vanderbilt). who knows, though--maybe they're worth a shot.

 

[aquaboy]

Last year of post bacc classes throws up a red flag. You have a good MCAT score and a great graduate GPA. Usually someone with a GPA below 3.0 has to rock the MCAT. You might consider retaking the MCAT if you are confident you can get a 35+. That would help your chances. I don't want to sound pessimistic but schools have lots of applicants and are looking for red flags for which they can reject applicants. Everything looks good excpet for undergrad and post bacc. Also apply to DO schools because they tend to be friendlier to nontrads with not so stellar GPA's.

 

[bigdan]

Clearly there are red flags.

I can't say it enough, so I keep saying it. If you have the time and effort, you may want to contact the medical schools that you have an interest in to see if you stand a snowball's chance in hell. SUNY Upstate has been VERY direct and cordial to me, and I would hope they'd be with you too.

AMCAS will do your GPA for you, but you can assess it on your own, too. What is your overall GPA?

Good luck.

dc

 

[cher25]

Like the above poster stated...there are clearly red flags. What was your grad degree in? It's been said alot on this forum that there's major grade inflation in grad school. So the fact that your post bac GPA went back down after your 3.9 grad GPA may lead them to believe that you had an easy grad program. However, on AMCAS the grad GPA is seperate from undergrad. Your post bac will be averaged in with your undergrad so maybe they'll see the grad GPA and overlook the date of your post bac. Good luck with that. The list of schools look good.

 

[adorible23]

It is always good to test as many avenues as you can. If you have the money, by all means apply to those schools and hope for the best. I know many people who have gained entrance to UCSF UC Davis etc. with less than stellar stats ( 3.3 or lower, 30 or lower ) so yu just might charm their pants off. If you are serious about medicine, and sure about this year, I deffinitely recommend applying to some DO schools, whatever you may have heard about them, DO training is becoming much more sought out in recent years and in actuality you get much more training than most allopathic schools will offer. Hope this helps. Good Luck

 

[superdevil]

DO training is becoming much more sought out in recent years and in actuality you get much more training than most allopathic schools will offer.

please, humor me and try to substantiate this statement.

 

[medic170]

please, humor me and try to substantiate this statement.

I am hoping to get accepted at a DO school, and I am very pro DO. However, I must tend wonder this too. Even counting the fact that MD's do not learn OMT, I would stop well short of saying DO's get "more" training. That is rediculous. Allopaths do just as much training as DOs. Aside from OMT, there really is no difference.

 

[adorible23]

In addition to the OMT training, DO schools give far more training in clinical skills, as well as allow time for exposure to eastern and alternative medical theory. In many cases, especially if your interests are strictly clinical, DO schools can better prepare you to serve in a clinical setting. In interviewing for a lot of top schools, ie Washington U seattle and st louis, UCSF and UCLA I was interviewed by DO's who were chief residents and who claimed to be sought out by important people because of their OMT and eastern training and generally superior clinical practice. No it is not the answer for everyone and access to knowledge is simply a matter of individual effort, but I am simply trying to dispell a lot of the rumors that are out there about DO schools as being a back door to medicine.

 

[Luck]

In addition to the OMT training, DO schools give far more training in clinical skills, as well as allow time for exposure to eastern and alternative medical theory. In many cases, especially if your interests are strictly clinical, DO schools can better prepare you to serve in a clinical setting. In interviewing for a lot of top schools, ie Washington U seattle and st louis, UCSF and UCLA I was interviewed by DO's who were chief residents and who claimed to be sought out by important people because of their OMT and eastern training and generally superior clinical practice. No it is not the answer for everyone and access to knowledge is simply a matter of individual effort, but I am simply trying to dispell a lot of the rumors that are out there about DO schools as being a back door to medicine.

I agree. Thank you for your post. Often times, DOs are better physicians then MDs.

 

[patzan]

I agree. Thank you for your post. Often times, DOs are better physicians then MDs.

D.O.s are obviously trained much better. That's why all the best residencies go to Kirksville over Harvard and JHU. At least Allos can spell better THAN osteos.

 

[adorible23]

Alright, enough, sorry PWmed2005, this has turned into a debate which has nothing to do with your original intent. That looks like a great list of schools, but applications are coming in in record numbers so just be sure to have a couple back-ups and when you are looking at your list keep in mind things that are important to you in terms of lifestyle and career goals. When all else fails, if financial constraints do not concern you, then throw your name into as many hats as you want and see what somes out, for 30 dollars you mostly can't go wrong and you can winnow down your choices at the secondary or interview level

 

[Persistence101]

I've been told by a UC Director of Admissions that if postbac students get a "C" in any postbac course, then we could kiss med school good-bye (his exact words). Make sure you call med schools up to discuss your situation and make sure you explain your situation in your personal statement. Good luck!

 

[stinkycheese]

I don't want to be the jerk in this thread, but I don't think you'll get any acceptances with an AMCAS GPA of 2.6 (combined post-bac/ugrad, since grad GPA's don't count into AMCAS GPA). I honestly think you would need a huge amount of luck or a small miracle to get an acceptance. I am just trying to be honest here. I also don't know what to recommend with regards to improving your app; with so many ugrad credits, it'll be hard to get that ugrad above the magical 3.0 mark that you need in order to be seriously considered at most allopathic schools (unless you are URM). Maybe a special masters' program would do the trick, but those are hard to get into with anything less than a 3.0. You do have some extraordinary circumstances with regards to last year, but Ad Coms might think that you didn't make good choices -- you should have dropped out of the program and started again this year if your heart wasn't in it. And it's very understandable that it was difficult for you to complete the coursework given the tragedy you endured, but unfortunately, personal matters don't erase academic black marks I have a few I'd like to get wiped out, too!

I hope that you fnd a way to gain entrance to a school where you will be happy. I am not trying to discourage you, just trying to be realistic here. Best of luck.