Honest Advice

[TX_EX_13]

Good evening,

I've been a roamer on the site for the past couple of months now and registered onto the forum because I need some advice. To start off, I graduated in 2013 with an undergrad in International Finance, but I had a rough go around during my 4 years, and poorly under performed throughout my time as seen with the following stats. The reason for the sGPA is because I originally started off as an Aerospace Engineer and did not do well in the Math and Chemistry sections, so ultimately I took a hit there.

Undergraduate Stats
cGPA: 2.30
sGPA: 1.30

Fast forward to 2019, my attitude, maturity, and mindset ultimately changed and after working on the business sector of the HealthCare field, I wanted to make a change and take a stab at medical school after having volunteered at the local hospital, as well the research and shadowing experiences that I've had. I knew that with my low stats during undergrad that if I wanted to show a true turnaround, that it needed to start in the classroom. Since 2017, I have gradually been taking the pre-reqs for medical school having received all A's during this post-grad phase.

Classes Completed
Biology I and II
Chemistry I and II
Organic I and II
Statistics
Physics I
Genetics

I plan on taking Physics II and Biochemistry in 2020, as well as taking A&P 1 and 2 during the summer. The other thing is I plan on taking the MCAT during the April/May time frame.

My plan it to finish strong with these last 4 classes (with A's) and my stats would look like the following ending Summer 2020:

cGPA: 2.80 (Plus 0.5 improvement)
AMCAS sGPA: 3.46
AACOM sGPA: 3.82
Post-Grad GPA: 4.0 (Through 52 credit hours)

With that being said, I do have a couple of questions.

- I've been considering doing an SMP or DIY starting Fall 2020, should I still continue that route?
- Should I consider delaying taking the MCAT next April/May? (I've begun studying for the exam)
- Would I even have the slightest possibility of getting into Medical School with these stats, is it worth applying next cycle?

Any thoughts and inputs are really appreciated at this point, just really trying to get advice on how to tackle the next year.

Regards,

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[Bonne Nuit]

Good evening,

I've been a roamer on the site for the past couple of months now and registered onto the forum because I need some advice. To start off, I graduated in 2013 with an undergrad in International Finance, but I had a rough go around during my 4 years, and poorly under performed throughout my time as seen with the following stats. The reason for the sGPA is because I originally started off as an Aerospace Engineer and did not do well in the Math and Chemistry sections, so ultimately I took a hit there.

Undergraduate Stats
cGPA: 2.30
sGPA: 1.30

Fast forward to 2019, my attitude, maturity, and mindset ultimately changed and after working on the business sector of the HealthCare field, I wanted to make a change and take a stab at medical school after having volunteered at the local hospital, as well the research and shadowing experiences that I've had. I knew that with my low stats during undergrad that if I wanted to show a true turnaround, that it needed to start in the classroom. Since 2017, I have gradually been taking the pre-reqs for medical school having received all A's during this post-grad phase.

Classes Completed
Biology I and II
Chemistry I and II
Organic I and II
Statistics
Physics I
Genetics

I plan on taking Physics II and Biochemistry in 2020, as well as taking A&P 1 and 2 during the summer. The other thing is I plan on taking the MCAT during the April/May time frame.

My plan it to finish strong with these last 4 classes (with A's) and my stats would look like the following ending Summer 2020:

cGPA: 2.80 (Plus 0.5 improvement)
AMCAS sGPA: 3.46
AACOM sGPA: 3.82
Post-Grad GPA: 4.0 (Through 52 credit hours)

With that being said, I do have a couple of questions.

- I've been considering doing an SMP or DIY starting Fall 2020, should I still continue that route?
- Should I consider delaying taking the MCAT next April/May? (I've begun studying for the exam)
- Would I even have the slightest possibility of getting into Medical School with these stats, is it worth applying next cycle?

Any thoughts and inputs are really appreciated at this point, just really trying to get advice on how to tackle the next year.

Regards,

Aren't you already doing a DIY postbac? I don't understand your first question.

Can you elaborate more on your ECs? How many hours of clinical/nonclinical/shadowing do you have so far?

 

[Goro]

Good evening,

Biology I and II
Chemistry I and II
Organic I and II
Statistics
Physics I
Genetics


1) - I've been considering doing an SMP or DIY starting Fall 2020, should I still continue that route?

2)- Should I consider delaying taking the MCAT next April/May? (I've begun studying for the exam)

3)- Would I even have the slightest possibility of getting into Medical School with these stats, is it worth applying next cycle?

1) Your reinvention has been remarkable. You might be very well in a good position to apply once you have your MCAT score. There are MD schools (and all DO) that reward reinvention.

2) you take the MCAT when you are 100% ready for it, and only then.

3) I think so.

 

[MightBeACylon439]

1. No you're good.
2. Take practice exams, they will be able to gauge whether you should postpone the test better than some rando's on the internet.
3. Yes, and if not MD then the better DO schools for sure (for the most part "better" means "older"...but just do some searching for what better DO schools means...its a subject that has been beaten to death many many times).

 

[Sleepingdoc]

Good evening,

I've been a roamer on the site for the past couple of months now and registered onto the forum because I need some advice. To start off, I graduated in 2013 with an undergrad in International Finance, but I had a rough go around during my 4 years, and poorly under performed throughout my time as seen with the following stats. The reason for the sGPA is because I originally started off as an Aerospace Engineer and did not do well in the Math and Chemistry sections, so ultimately I took a hit there.

Undergraduate Stats
cGPA: 2.30
sGPA: 1.30

Fast forward to 2019, my attitude, maturity, and mindset ultimately changed and after working on the business sector of the HealthCare field, I wanted to make a change and take a stab at medical school after having volunteered at the local hospital, as well the research and shadowing experiences that I've had. I knew that with my low stats during undergrad that if I wanted to show a true turnaround, that it needed to start in the classroom. Since 2017, I have gradually been taking the pre-reqs for medical school having received all A's during this post-grad phase.

Classes Completed
Biology I and II
Chemistry I and II
Organic I and II
Statistics
Physics I
Genetics

I plan on taking Physics II and Biochemistry in 2020, as well as taking A&P 1 and 2 during the summer. The other thing is I plan on taking the MCAT during the April/May time frame.

My plan it to finish strong with these last 4 classes (with A's) and my stats would look like the following ending Summer 2020:

cGPA: 2.80 (Plus 0.5 improvement)
AMCAS sGPA: 3.46
AACOM sGPA: 3.82
Post-Grad GPA: 4.0 (Through 52 credit hours)

With that being said, I do have a couple of questions.

- I've been considering doing an SMP or DIY starting Fall 2020, should I still continue that route?
- Should I consider delaying taking the MCAT next April/May? (I've begun studying for the exam)
- Would I even have the slightest possibility of getting into Medical School with these stats, is it worth applying next cycle?

Any thoughts and inputs are really appreciated at this point, just really trying to get advice on how to tackle the next year.

Regards,

You can try applying but honestly, your undergrad gpa looks really bad... you will be spending a lot of money trying to do a grad school/ retaking classes etc... I do not mean to sound rude but it seems like you have taken a bad hit to recover from, unless you have some special circumstances, some DO schools might however take a chance on you

 

[TX_EX_13]

@JanetSnakehole

- To give a clearer picture on who I am; 28, Male, URM (Latino), Texas.
- I apologize if I wasn't clear the first time, but I guess you can say that this is my 'DIY' Post Bac for my Pre-Reqs, I was under the assumption that the 'DIY' was for other higher level classes not including Pre-Reqs.
- Stats include the following;
Research - 250 Hours (2 Publications)
Non-Clinical - 100 Hours
Clinical - 100 Hours
Shadowing - 60 Hours

Keep in mind that I'm doing all of this while working full time, so I'm trying to incorporate some more hours next semester, while taking two classes.

@Goro

Thanks for the insight. My only concern is that I have seen in other posts where Medical Schools will immediately flag anybody below a 3.0 cGPA and immediately drop their application, that is why I am considering continuing doing an SMP in the Fall 2020 or continue doing a 'DIY' but, it would take me an additional 32 credit hours to finally get my cGPA above a 3.0. I know that my MCAT score will have to be on the higher side, which is why I'm targeting a 512 and higher. I know that this is very premature, but do you have a list of schools in Texas that are more on the high side rewarding 'reinvention?'

@MightBeACylon439

Yes, I have a study plan already in set in preparation for the MCAT which includes Kaplan Review, Khan Academy, JW, and UWorld.

 

[Bonne Nuit]

Thanks for the clarification. You might consider getting your clinical and community service hours up before applying to make yourself a little more competitive - 100 hours is on the low side for both. I believe ~150-200 hours is considered adequate depending on the program.

I think you should apply next cycle and see what happens before you spend money on an SMP. I believe you have a strong shot at DO and, depending on your MCAT, many MD programs. Also, a nontraditional career changer, many medical schools will weigh your most recent grades more heavily than your UG grades. You might consider contacting schools with GPA autoscreens to see how they'd handle your postbac grades. I know some schools with autoscreens sometimes send secondaries upon "appeal" if the applicant has a really strong upward trend or great postbac grades - which you do.

Congratulations on your incredible reinvention - it's not easy to do what you did. I hope you get a lot of interest from medical schools next cycle!