Hey All

[xempt]

Well, I'll be graduating in a year in a half or so. At the rate I'm going ill be graduating summa cum laude (3.7 GPA) majoring in Chemistry.

This however will only bring my cGPA to 3.1..... The 3.7 is pretty much my science GPA.

The low grades accounted for a rough past, family issues, sick siblings.... I ended up making a decision to leave university and work/ go to school to be close to the family. I have interesting experiences I work as an EMT and serve for the civil air patrol flying reconnaissance search and rescue missions. I still have a year, and am looking into getting some research experience before taking the MCAT.

My experiences in the past show a great upward trend, from university to CC back to university it has gone from (2.5 - 3.0 - 3.7).

My question is what MCAT score would be good enough to apply directly to schools, or either way is an SMP recommended? Any advice is greatly appreciated.

I'm leaning towards D.O. because of my low cGPA, but am not sure if M.D. schools will take my upward trend or learning disability into account (ADD, and auditory processing when I was younger).

I know a lot of these types of questions get answered all the time, but figured I would submit this since it has some unique twists.

I really need some honest opinions.

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[as1212559]

Well, I'll be graduating in a year in a half or so. At the rate I'm going ill be graduating summa cum laude (3.7 GPA) majoring in Chemistry.

This however will only bring my cGPA to 3.1..... The 3.7 is pretty much my science GPA.

The low grades accounted for a rough past, family issues, sick siblings.... I ended up making a decision to leave university and work/ go to school to be close to the family. I have interesting experiences I work as an EMT and serve for the civil air patrol flying reconnaissance search and rescue missions. I still have a year, and am looking into getting some research experience before taking the MCAT.

My experiences in the past show a great upward trend, from university to CC back to university it has gone from (2.5 - 3.0 - 3.7).

My question is what MCAT score would be good enough to apply directly to schools, or either way is an SMP recommended? Any advice is greatly appreciated.

I'm leaning towards D.O. because of my low cGPA, but am not sure if M.D. schools will take my upward trend or learning disability into account (ADD, and auditory processing when I was younger).

I know a lot of these types of questions get answered all the time, but figured I would submit this since it has some unique twists.

I really need some honest opinions.

Low cGPA is probably a bigger stumbling block for MD than DO. Your sGPA is very good for DO schools and strong for MD programs. Hit 28+ on that MCAT and you'll be certain to get some love from DO schools, especially if you have a DO letter of rec and your other extracurricular ducks in a row. You could apply to any DO program with those numbers and have at least a reasonable chance. If you hit a 32ish+ it might be worth throwing an app to some lower-tier MD schools, can't hurt to try really and the upward trend may soften that 3.1 cGPA, but who knows how each school will look at it.

 

[xempt]

Thanks, yea I figured it was a bit low. Its that darn cGPA that is impossible to change because of the amount of credits I have accumulated. I calculated that I would need 5 years of a 4.0 to get to a 3.5 cGPA. Yea, not really worth it. I'm probably going to try to do the SMP but I am focused now on DO program. Thanks for the advice.

 

[Goro]

A 3.1 cGPA will probably shut you out of all MD schools. I know that there are some that respect rising grade trends.

Without a stellar MCAT like 35 (which is about ~93-95% percentile, I think, and only about 1-2% of takers score that high), your best bet will be to go DO, which will snap you up in a second.


If you're dead set on an MD, then yes, an SMP will be the way to go.

Suggest trying the low-tier MD schools for the first cycle to see how it shakes out.

Well, I'll be graduating in a year in a half or so. At the rate I'm going ill be graduating summa cum laude (3.7 GPA) majoring in Chemistry.

This however will only bring my cGPA to 3.1..... The 3.7 is pretty much my science GPA.

The low grades accounted for a rough past, family issues, sick siblings.... I ended up making a decision to leave university and work/ go to school to be close to the family. I have interesting experiences I work as an EMT and serve for the civil air patrol flying reconnaissance search and rescue missions. I still have a year, and am looking into getting some research experience before taking the MCAT.

My experiences in the past show a great upward trend, from university to CC back to university it has gone from (2.5 - 3.0 - 3.7).

My question is what MCAT score would be good enough to apply directly to schools, or either way is an SMP recommended? Any advice is greatly appreciated.

I'm leaning towards D.O. because of my low cGPA, but am not sure if M.D. schools will take my upward trend or learning disability into account (ADD, and auditory processing when I was younger).

I know a lot of these types of questions get answered all the time, but figured I would submit this since it has some unique twists.

I really need some honest opinions.

 

[xempt]

What about carribean MD, what are my chances there, what schools would be good for me to look into? Thanks.

 

[CrimsonKing]

What about carribean MD, what are my chances there, what schools would be good for me to look into? Thanks.

Chances of getting in? 100% if you have a pulse and can pay.

Don't do that to yourself. Go DO and actually practice in the US with whatever specialty you end up choosing.

 

[xempt]

yea, reason why I said that is I talked to an advisor today and they made it seem like I had zero chance. I guess my plan is to pretty much rock the MCAT and see where that takes me, and hopefully impress my advisor. As far as when I should plan to take it, I am finishing all my pre-reqs this semester so I plan on taking it hopefully in the fall after some hard summer studying.

 

[BestDoctorEver]

yea, reason why I said that is I talked to an advisor today and they made it seem like I had zero chance. I guess my plan is to pretty much rock the MCAT and see where that takes me, and hopefully impress my advisor. As far as when I should plan to take it, I am finishing all my pre-reqs this semester so I plan on taking it hopefully in the fall after some hard summer studying.

You dont have to rock the mcat for DO...28+ will make you competitive at the newer DO schools. If you can retake a couple of classes to get your cGPA to 3.3+, you will only need a 26 mcat.

 

[Goro]

Concur strongly. You can definitely do better than the Carribean diploma mills.

You dont have to rock the mcat for DO...28+ will make you competitive at the newer DO schools. If you can retake a couple of classes to get your cGPA to 3.3+, you will only need a 26 mcat.