Horrible GPA, don't know what to do

[om1man]

Hi!

I am currently going into my senior year in the Biomedical Engineering (BME) program at Johns Hopkins. I have two medical device startups and a patent. I have a lot of research experience as well. Med school is my absolute dream. If you told me it would take 50 years to get there, I would try for 50 years because thats how passionate I am about medicine.

However, my GPA is a 2.4. Abysmal. I didn't try at the beginning of my college career because in high school I never needed to, and in college I suffered from depression, went out too much, and was extremely sick for a semester and a half. Overall, it's just been a rocky road. I'm not an engineer - it has killed my GPA. However, I'm the kind person who feels as though I were born to be a doctor.

I think I could score near perfect on my MCAT. (not me being arrogant - practice tests have been 511+ without taking a prep course). I'm gonna work on getting letters of rec or at least establishing relationships with my professors this year.

My question, though, is what path to take to medical school. Should I do a post-bacc or an SMP? Do I work for a couple years? How would I even get into a program like the aforementioned ones. Any advice for a frantic girl with a dream and not much time left would be greatly appreciated!

Edit:
After summer courses and rounding, GPA is now 2.6.
Also, I came in to Hopkins with credits and our first semester is covered grades, so by the time i finished my freshman year I had EVERY pre-med course completed. Mostly B's and the ones that were A's are not factored into my GPA because of covered grades (orgo, physics, calc, mol/cell)

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[Goro]

Hi!

I am currently going into my senior year in the Biomedical Engineering (BME) program at Johns Hopkins. I have two medical device startups and a patent. I have a lot of research experience as well. Med school is my absolute dream. If you told me it would take 50 years to get there, I would try for 50 years because thats how passionate I am about medicine.

However, my GPA is a 2.4. Abysmal. Even my freshman classes which weren't that hard were mostly Cs and Bs. I didn't try my best because in high school I never needed to, and in college I suffered from depression, went out too much, and was extremely sick for a semester and a half. Overall, it's just been a rocky road. I'm not an engineer - it has killed my GPA. However, I'm the kind person who feels as though I were born to be a doctor.

I think I could score near perfect on my MCAT. I'm gonna work on getting letters of rec or at least establishing relationships with my professors this year.

My question, though, is what path to take to medical school. Should I do a post-bacc or an SMP? Do I work for a couple years? How would I even get into a program like the aforementioned ones. Any advice for a frantic girl with a dream and not much time left would be greatly appreciated!

First off, lose the hubris. You're in no position to convince me or anyone else on SDN that you can ace anything, much less MCAT.

You can do either an SMP or Post-bac. You need to ace them too. While many SMPs have a GPA minimum, they are a dime a dozen, and so you'll need to hunt around. OR, do the DIY post-bac.

And read everything written by the wise DrMidlife in the non-trad forum.

And read this:

• Goro's Advice for DO Applicants in Absence of Grade Replacement

 

[AttemptingScholar]

Hi!

I think I could score near perfect on my MCAT. I'm gonna work on getting letters of rec or at least establishing relationships with my professors this year.

Unlikely. You're not special in being smart and believing they can do well on the MCAT. Many smart people take it and the average person gets an average score. A 2.4 GPA suggests your foundation in the sciences is subpar. I'm not saying your reasons aren't valid, I'm saying those reasons will affect your MCAT.

Do a post-bacc, then take the MCAT. Never mind a near-perfect score, an actual perfect score will not make up for this GPA. You are not getting in this upcoming cycle.

 

[Lawpy]

Hi!

I am currently going into my senior year in the Biomedical Engineering (BME) program at Johns Hopkins. I have two medical device startups and a patent. I have a lot of research experience as well. Med school is my absolute dream. If you told me it would take 50 years to get there, I would try for 50 years because thats how passionate I am about medicine.

However, my GPA is a 2.4. Abysmal. Even my freshman classes which weren't that hard were mostly Cs and Bs. I didn't try my best because in high school I never needed to, and in college I suffered from depression, went out too much, and was extremely sick for a semester and a half. Overall, it's just been a rocky road. I'm not an engineer - it has killed my GPA. However, I'm the kind person who feels as though I were born to be a doctor.

I think I could score near perfect on my MCAT. I'm gonna work on getting letters of rec or at least establishing relationships with my professors this year.

My question, though, is what path to take to medical school. Should I do a post-bacc or an SMP? Do I work for a couple years? How would I even get into a program like the aforementioned ones. Any advice for a frantic girl with a dream and not much time left would be greatly appreciated!

SDN in a nutshell.

To be honest, you have a 2.4 GPA with likely 100+ credits. Even if you take 100+ credits worth of 4.0, your overall GPA will be a 3.2. So essentially you would need to do a second bachelor's and ace it to beat the sub-3.0 autoscreen.

 

[Terror Billy]

Chances are if your freshman pre-med courses were Bs and Cs you don't have as strong as a foundation as you believe to "score near perfect" on the MCAT. Retake those classes, learn the material and then go take your MCAT. You'll probably be fine on Chem/Phys if you're an engineer though...

 

[Goro]

Unlikely. You're not special in being smart and believing they can do well on the MCAT. Many smart people take it and the average person gets an average score. A 2.4 GPA suggests your foundation in the sciences is subpar. I'm not saying your reasons aren't valid, I'm saying those reasons will affect your MCAT.

Do a post-bacc, then take the MCAT. Never mind a near-perfect score, an actual perfect score will not make up for this GPA. You are not getting in this upcoming cycle.

QFT. Big time.

 

[Lawpy]

Unlikely. You're not special in being smart and believing they can do well on the MCAT. Many smart people take it and the average person gets an average score. A 2.4 GPA suggests your foundation in the sciences is subpar. I'm not saying your reasons aren't valid, I'm saying those reasons will affect your MCAT.

Do a post-bacc, then take the MCAT. Never mind a near-perfect score, an actual perfect score will not make up for this GPA. You are not getting in this upcoming cycle.

QFT. Big time.

First off, lose the hubris. You're in no position to convince me or anyone else on SDN that you can ace anything, much less MCAT.

You can do either an SMP or Post-bac. You need to ace them too. While many SMPs have a GPA minimum, they are a dime a dozen, and so you'll need to hunt around. OR, do the DIY post-bac.

And read everything written by the wise DrMidlife in the non-trad forum.

And read this:

• Goro's Advice for DO Applicants in Absence of Grade Replacement

A postbacc isn't enough likely. OP is a rising senior with a 2.4. Her priority needs to be boosting the GPA to above a 3.0 to avoid being autoscreened. That's not easy especially given that the 2.4 seems to be supported by a lot of credits already. Once her GPA is around 3.2, she can consider bumping it up further to 3.4 or so, go for an SMP, or take a shot at the MCAT and apply broadly based on her score.

 

[AttemptingScholar]

A postbacc isn't enough likely. OP is a rising senior with a 2.4. Her priority needs to be boosting the GPA to above a 3.0 to avoid being autoscreened. That's not easy especially given that the 2.4 seems to be supported by a lot of credits already. Once her GPA is around 3.2, she can consider bumping it up further to 3.4 or so, go for an SMP, or take a shot at the MCAT and apply broadly based on her score.

Very good point. OP, you need to get total GPA above a 3.0 to avoid the computers from auto-rejecting you. Once you've passed that threshold, things like an upward trend, the rigor of your program, and an excellent MCAT may save you. You aren't doing anything with a GPA in the 2s, again, even if you get a perfect score on the MCAT (which is already only taken by serious pre-med, a population self-selecting for intelligence and academic achievement).

 

[efle]

You got admitted JHU BME so you're clearly bright, but that GPA is pretty much insurmountable by the usual repair route. If you're serious about MD being your calling, you're the kind of person that SMPs (with linkage if possible) are able to rescue.

But the first step no matter what for you is to take the MCAT. And take it seriously. Scoring near perfect would help your odds a ton - do your best to live up to that ego

 

[pseud0]

I think I could score near perfect on my MCAT. QUOTE]

trolling?

 

[UBLI-EINSTEIN]

To be honest, I think OP is done. He's likely a person who will finally end up studying medicine in Caribbean.
He is a rising senior with GPA 2.4. Let's assume he finished 80 s.h. This is unlikely being dramatically changed by a post-bacc.
This definitely will take time and money, and he has to ensure he can get 4.0 in every class from now on.
However, after OP spending so much time to improve, those Bs and Cs won't go away but stay on his record forever.

Also, OP literally said he could score near perfect on MCAT. From my point of view, it's so brainless. He probably didn't know what MCAT was all about.

 

[efle]

Guys, chill about the perfect MCAT thing. Yes, he's probably underestimating how hard it is, but in his previous experience with standardized testing (SAT/ACT) he probably WAS near perfect. He's facing an uphill battle but this is a perfect example of what SMPs are a good last resort, high risk high reward option for.

 

[DocSomeDay22]

First off, lose the hubris. You're in no position to convince me or anyone else on SDN that you can ace anything, much less MCAT.

You can do either an SMP or Post-bac. You need to ace them too. While many SMPs have a GPA minimum, they are a dime a dozen, and so you'll need to hunt around. OR, do the DIY post-bac.

And read everything written by the wise DrMidlife in the non-trad forum.

And read this:

• Goro's Advice for DO Applicants in Absence of Grade Replacement

Unlikely. You're not special in being smart and believing they can do well on the MCAT. Many smart people take it and the average person gets an average score. A 2.4 GPA suggests your foundation in the sciences is subpar. I'm not saying your reasons aren't valid, I'm saying those reasons will affect your MCAT.

Do a post-bacc, then take the MCAT. Never mind a near-perfect score, an actual perfect score will not make up for this GPA. You are not getting in this upcoming cycle.

To be honest, I think OP is done. He's likely a person who will finally end up studying medicine in Caribbean.
He is a rising senior with GPA 2.4. Let's assume he finished 80 s.h. This is unlikely being dramatically changed by a post-bacc.
This definitely will take time and money, and he has to ensure he can get 4.0 in every class from now on.
However, after OP spending so much time to improve, those Bs and Cs won't go away but stay on his record forever.

Also, OP literally said he could score near perfect on MCAT. From my point of view, it's so brainless. He probably didn't know what MCAT was all about.

Everyone seems to be overestimating the MCAT and underestimating the OP'a potential. OP did BME at Johns Hopkins so I would not be surprised if she scored a 520 on the MCAT (with heavy studying), regardless of her GPA. GPA is not a great measure of what you know and intelligence; that's why they invented the MCAT. Yes, a 2.4 is horrible but don't underestimate a JHU student who has had to compete for every B she's earned. I know multiple people who have gone to elite schools and gotten sub 3.5's but have scored in the top 10% on the MCAT. Schools like JHU train you to take tough tests and make the science sections a breeze comparatively. That being said, I'd say cut your losses, take the MCAT, and try for one of the big 4 Caribbean schools. Study really hard and make that dream come true.

 

[xochitl]

Hi!

I am currently going into my senior year in the Biomedical Engineering (BME) program at Johns Hopkins. I have two medical device startups and a patent. I have a lot of research experience as well. Med school is my absolute dream. If you told me it would take 50 years to get there, I would try for 50 years because thats how passionate I am about medicine.

However, my GPA is a 2.4. Abysmal. Even my freshman classes which weren't that hard were mostly Cs and Bs. I didn't try my best because in high school I never needed to, and in college I suffered from depression, went out too much, and was extremely sick for a semester and a half. Overall, it's just been a rocky road. I'm not an engineer - it has killed my GPA. However, I'm the kind person who feels as though I were born to be a doctor.

I think I could score near perfect on my MCAT. I'm gonna work on getting letters of rec or at least establishing relationships with my professors this year.

My question, though, is what path to take to medical school. Should I do a post-bacc or an SMP? Do I work for a couple years? How would I even get into a program like the aforementioned ones. Any advice for a frantic girl with a dream and not much time left would be greatly appreciated!

Dont Worry about it, just roll with the punches. I remember I once said something similar to what you said about being good at exams so i thought i could do well and i received similar responses. If you believe in yourself then do it but don't tell people on here because they don't know you. All they see are your current numbers which you must admit are not amazing. SDN is realistic with people and don't be offended, if anything use it as fuel to prove people wrong. I was able to pull off a crazy score but it took months of 8 hour study days. Just put your head down and work, its the only way from your current state.

 

[Lawpy]

Everyone seems to be overestimating the MCAT and underestimating the OP'a potential. OP did BME at Johns Hopkins so I would not be surprised if she scored a 520 on the MCAT (with heavy studying), regardless of her GPA. GPA is not a great measure of what you know and intelligence; that's why they invented the MCAT. Yes, a 2.4 is horrible but don't underestimate a JHU student who has had to compete for every B she's earned. I know multiple people who have gone to elite schools and gotten sub 3.5's but have scored in the top 10% on the MCAT. Schools like JHU train you to take tough tests and make the science sections a breeze comparatively. That being said, I'd say cut your losses, take the MCAT, and try for one of the big 4 Caribbean schools. Study really hard and make that dream come true.

Caribbean is a bad idea and I would recommend a career change over Caribbean easily.

 

[UBLI-EINSTEIN]

Caribbean is a bad idea and I would recommend a career change over Caribbean easily.

Not a bad idea if OP thinks he could score near perfect on USMLE as well. (God, I really don't want to be mean)

 

[Lawpy]

Guys, chill about the perfect MCAT thing. Yes, he's probably underestimating how hard it is, but in his previous experience with standardized testing (SAT/ACT) he probably WAS near perfect. He's facing an uphill battle but this is a perfect example of what SMPs are a good last resort, high risk high reward option for.

You got admitted JHU BME so you're clearly bright, but that GPA is pretty much insurmountable by the usual repair route. If you're serious about MD being your calling, you're the kind of person that SMPs (with linkage if possible) are able to rescue.

But the first step no matter what for you is to take the MCAT. And take it seriously. Scoring near perfect would help your odds a ton - do your best to live up to that ego

You think there are SMPs that would accept OP with a sub-3.0 GPA?

 

[DocSomeDay22]

Caribbean is a bad idea and I would recommend a career change over Caribbean easily.

"Med School is my absolute dream."
Gotta do what ya gotta do. Carib is not advisable but the better Carib schools give you a high chance of getting into residencies. To get into these better Carib schools, she'll need to crush the MCAT.
Or perhaps work and study to retake courses and build up GPA to SMP or DO striking range. That will take more time though.

 

[efle]

You think there are SMPs that would accept OP with a sub-3.0 GPA?

People with insurmountable GPAs because they were late to the pre-med party are exactly what SMPs (and some post-baccs) are appropriate for! I think if OP can rock a phenomenal MCAT and has better performance in their final semesters, SMPs would indeed consider them.

I also don't recommend Caribbean though. 40%+ that enroll even at the best/big4 end up with no degree or no residency and a lot of debt. It needs to be a last, final, desperate resort, always.

 

[xochitl]

You think there are SMPs that would accept OP with a sub-3.0 GPA?

IF OP has that GPA but then takes the MCAT and does really well say 514+ then would SMPs look at them? i think this is the least risky plan because OP would at most be risking a few months of her life to take the MCAT at a shot of becoming a doctor. If OP does well there may be some light at the end of the tunnel and if they do poorly well.......Anyways the other routes like SMP or post-bacc require monetary investment into something that is far from guaranteed. At least by taking the MCAT first OP would know if they have any shot in the first place.

 

[DocSomeDay22]

You think there are SMPs that would accept OP with a sub-3.0 GPA?

They usually require C's or better in your pre-reqs. You'll probably need a post-back first then maybe you can work while taking some advanced science classes at a nearby college and apply to an SMP.

 

[Lawpy]

People with insurmountable GPAs because they were late to the pre-med party are exactly what SMPs (and some post-baccs) are appropriate for! I think if OP can rock a phenomenal MCAT and has better performance in their final semesters, SMPs would indeed consider them.

I also don't recommend Caribbean though. 40%+ that enroll even at the best/big4 end up with no degree or no residency and a lot of debt. It needs to be a last, final, desperate resort, always.

IF OP has that GPA but then takes the MCAT and does really well say 514+ then would SMPs look at them? i think this is the least risky plan because OP would at most be risking a few months of her life to take the MCAT at a shot of becoming a doctor. If OP does well there may be some light at the end of the tunnel and if they do poorly well.......Anyways the other routes like SMP or post-bacc require monetary investment into something that is far from guaranteed. At least by taking the MCAT first OP would know if they have any shot in the first place.

They usually require C's or better in your pre-reqs. You'll probably need a post-back first then maybe you can work while taking some advanced science classes at a nearby college and apply to an SMP.

Does the quality of an SMP matter for getting into medical school?

 

[efle]

Does the quality of an SMP matter for getting into medical school?

I don't think there is a prestige hierarchy among SMP programs if that's what you mean. Having linkage is key though, if OP can get into a program that guarantees an admit, or at least historically admits, or at the very least guarantees an interview, for people above a certain level of performance - that SMP is vastly preferable.

 

[Lawpy]

I don't think there is a prestige hierarchy among SMP programs if that's what you mean. Having linkage is key though, if OP can get into a program that guarantees an admit, or at least historically admits, or at the very least guarantees an interview, for people above a certain level of performance - that SMP is vastly preferable.

So there are SMPs with a linkage that will interview someone with a sub-3.0 GPA provided their MCAT is good?

 

[DocSomeDay22]

IF OP has that GPA but then takes the MCAT and does really well say 514+ then would SMPs look at them? i think this is the least risky plan because OP would at most be risking a few months of her life to take the MCAT at a shot of becoming a doctor. If OP does well there may be some light at the end of the tunnel and if they do poorly well.......Anyways the other routes like SMP or post-bacc require monetary investment into something that is far from guaranteed. At least by taking the MCAT first OP would know if they have any shot in the first place.

Does the quality of an SMP matter for getting into medical school?

Ideally theres admission linkage between the SMP and the med school bc SMP students literally take med school classes. So getting into a program with this type of linkage is the most ideal. Most need a require a 3.0 though.

 

[DocSomeDay22]

Ideally theres admission linkage between the SMP and the med school bc SMP students literally take med school classes. So getting into a program with this type of linkage is the most ideal. Most need a require a 3.0 though.

Sorry I'm waiting for a train on my phone majorly behind with typos.

 

[efle]

So there are SMPs with a linkage that will interview someone with a sub-3.0 GPA provided their MCAT is good?

I believe there are SMPs which consider both GPA and MCAT at admissions, and which either give you an auto-admit or at least historically admit a large chunk (like 15% of the SMP class) of their own top performers. This is the kind of rescue route that might work for someone very bright that just didn't discover an interest in medicine until after their GPA had already been trashed.

 

[Lawpy]

I believe there are SMPs which consider both GPA and MCAT at admissions, and which either give you an auto-admit or at least historically admit a large chunk (like 15% of the SMP class) of their own top performers. This is the kind of rescue route that might work for someone very bright that just didn't discover an interest in medicine until after their GPA had already been trashed.

Ideally theres admission linkage between the SMP and the med school bc SMP students literally take med school classes. So getting into a program with this type of linkage is the most ideal. Most need a require a 3.0 though.

Yeah SMPs with linkages are usually of high demand that a minimum 3.0 GPA is a reasonable and common requirement to have. I also asked about quality of SMPs because some like Georgetown, Boston and Cincinnati are highly esteemed, while apparently several others are just ordinary master's.

 

[Lamegane]

Focus on your senior year at boosting your gpa. If need it be, then delay your graduation to 1 more year by taking other classes that will raise your gpa so that you won't need a post bacc. From there, work on your mcat at getting a perfect score and also do tones of extracurricular activities. Do not apply for this cycle at all.
Good luck!

 

[Stagg737]

So there are SMPs with a linkage that will interview someone with a sub-3.0 GPA provided their MCAT is good?

There are linkage SMPs in which the medical school will completely disregard your UG GPA assuming you hit a certain GPA in their SMP when interview/admission time rolls around. The SMP at the med school I attend used to be like this (hit a 3.something and get a guaranteed interview) and something like 80%+ of their students would matriculate here. Some of my classmates who are top 10 in the class came through that program and they had terrible MCAT scores, so it's not out of the question.

 

[MCATISEZ]

Loved reading this advice. Best luck to OP. Not to kill the trend, but I feel its necessary to mention OP did specifically mention she was a "girl."

 

[sliceofbread136]

Itt we equate a 2.4 from Hopkins engineering with a 2.4 from some state school. I can easily picture the op scoring near perfectly in the mcat

 

[MCATISEZ]

Itt we equate a 2.4 from Hopkins engineering with a 2.4 from some state school. I can easily picture the op scoring near perfectly in the mcat

Where does that logic come from?

 

[sliceofbread136]

Where does that logic come from?

That hopkins is a huge grad deflator and engineering is also a grade deflator. Honestly that 2.4 is probably similar if not harder to acheive than a 3.5 at a state school.

Also taking into account ops other achievements I would not be surprised with a score equivalent to 37+ or even 40+

 

[MCATISEZ]

That hopkins is a huge grad deflator and engineering is also a grade deflator. Honestly that 2.4 is probably similar if not harder to acheive than a 3.5 at a state school.

Also taking into account ops other achievements I would not be surprised with a score equivalent to 37+ or even 40+

I am sure they are. But not sure where the conclusion can be made that performing at a substandard level at a top school in a difficult major means one will score "perfectly on the MCAT." Those with a 3.8+ from a "state school" (and likely Hopkins too) often do not score "near perfectly."

Likewise to the other achievements, while commendable, do not offer much to prove in terms of achievement

 

[efle]

I am sure they are. But not sure where the conclusion can be made that performing at a substandard level at a top school in a difficult major means one will score "perfectly on the MCAT." Those with a 3.8+ from a "state school" (and likely Hopkins too) often do not score "near perfectly."

Likewise to the other achievements, while commendable, do not offer much to prove in terms of achievement

Well, he didn't say it would be likely, just that it wouldn't be surprising. Considering that WashU peeps with a ~3.1 outperform the national ~3.7 bin on the MCAT, I can't say I disagree. It's not likely but also not crazy to take seriously.

 

[GnomeBeGone]

I agree with several of the points from other posters, for now your game plan should be:

- Wait to apply / Finish this year strong.
- Do 1 year *full-time* course load of DIY post-bacc (consider a nearby 4-year state school) & study for MCAT. That will demonstrate consistency and ability to handle a steep workload plus get a good MCAT.
- Find some service/volunteer activity you enjoy and do
it consistently during this year and the SMP year. (Shows you can prioritize and coordinate)
- Now you can Apply for SMP.

(Don't try the shortcut of taking the MCAT first and skipping ahead --- those SMPs are looking for volume and consistency, not your isolated ability to crap out a high test score when you have all the time in the world to prepare for it.)

 

[sliceofbread136]

I am sure they are. But not sure where the conclusion can be made that performing at a substandard level at a top school in a difficult major means one will score "perfectly on the MCAT." Those with a 3.8+ from a "state school" (and likely Hopkins too) often do not score "near perfectly."

Likewise to the other achievements, while commendable, do not offer much to prove in terms of achievement

Where did I say prove? I can picture it where as for some one with a 2.4 from a state school I would be extremely surprised.

I would also be extremely surprised if some with a 3.8 at Hopkins engineering didn't do very well on the mcat since you mention that

 

[PreMedMissteps]

Guys, chill about the perfect MCAT thing. Yes, he's probably underestimating how hard it is, but in his previous experience with standardized testing (SAT/ACT) he probably WAS near perfect. He's facing an uphill battle but this is a perfect example of what SMPs are a good last resort, high risk high reward option for.

Very likely. This is probably a NMF with perfect or near-perfect SAT/ACT and is assuming that they'll similarly spank the MCAT as they have every previous standardized exam. Stroll over to MDapps and look at the MCAT scores of other students who went to top 20 colleges. They, too, likely had 99 percentile SAT/ACT exams, but you're going to see MCAT scores ranging from probably 508+.

I would like to know if this student has her depression under control. We see many of these posts - students reporting crappy GPAs and attributing depression. How are they going to handle med school if their depression isn't under control?

 

[plshelpvanxious]

Hi!

I am currently going into my senior year in the Biomedical Engineering (BME) program at Johns Hopkins. I have two medical device startups and a patent. I have a lot of research experience as well. Med school is my absolute dream. If you told me it would take 50 years to get there, I would try for 50 years because thats how passionate I am about medicine.

However, my GPA is a 2.4. Abysmal. Even my freshman classes which weren't that hard were mostly Cs and Bs. I didn't try my best because in high school I never needed to, and in college I suffered from depression, went out too much, and was extremely sick for a semester and a half. Overall, it's just been a rocky road. I'm not an engineer - it has killed my GPA. However, I'm the kind person who feels as though I were born to be a doctor.

I think I could score near perfect on my MCAT. I'm gonna work on getting letters of rec or at least establishing relationships with my professors this year.

My question, though, is what path to take to medical school. Should I do a post-bacc or an SMP? Do I work for a couple years? How would I even get into a program like the aforementioned ones. Any advice for a frantic girl with a dream and not much time left would be greatly appreciated!

OP if you consider a career change (I'm not saying you need to, just if you think you might consider it), you should look into assistive technology. The VA in my state employs eningeers to work one on one with disabled veterans to develop assistive technology to help them live independent, normal lives. When I met some of the engineers and veterans in the program, it felt like an engineering equivalent to being a physician. So this way you could put your engineering skills into helping people

 

[DocSomeDay22]

Very likely. This is probably a NMF with perfect or near-perfect SAT/ACT and is assuming that they'll similarly spank the MCAT as they have every previous standardized exam. Stroll over to MDapps and look at the MCAT scores of other students who went to top 20 colleges. They, too, likely had 99 percentile SAT/ACT exams, but you're going to see MCAT scores ranging from probably 508+.

I would like to know if this student has her depression under control. We see many of these posts - students reporting crappy GPAs and attributing depression. How are they going to handle med school if their depression isn't under control?

That's for her and her psychiatrist to discuss and decide.

 

[PreMedMissteps]

That's for her and her psychiatrist to discuss and decide.

True, and to be more clear....I didn't mean that posters here would decide. She asked for any advice, and I expressed a concern that she make sure that she's being properly medicated for depression. There doesn't seem to be an upward trend with her GPA, which IMHO could suggest that things are not yet under control. And, not everyone with depression regularly sees a psychiatrist...some never see one. Some are getting meds from a family doc.

 

[Goro]

You think there are SMPs that would accept OP with a sub-3.0 GPA?

My school's SMP takes people with < 3.0. These program s are a dime-a-dozen and OP simply has to find some.

"Med School is my absolute dream."
Gotta do what ya gotta do. Carib is not advisable but the better Carib schools give you a high chance of getting into residencies. To get into these better Carib schools, she'll need to crush the MCAT.
Or perhaps work and study to retake courses and build up GPA to SMP or DO striking range. That will take more time though.

OP is the type of weak student that the Carib schools prey upon. Their business model is dependent upon them!

IF OP has that GPA but then takes the MCAT and does really well say 514+ then would SMPs look at them? i think this is the least risky plan because OP would at most be risking a few months of her life to take the MCAT at a shot of becoming a doctor. If OP does well there may be some light at the end of the tunnel and if they do poorly well.......Anyways the other routes like SMP or post-bacc require monetary investment into something that is far from guaranteed. At least by taking the MCAT first OP would know if they have any shot in the first place.

Depends upon the SMP. Some require the MCAT, some do. I still am amazed that some of you think that doing well on the MCAT is as easy as making pancakes, and a weak student like the OP, at that.

Does the quality of an SMP matter for getting into medical school?

We have yet to see any differences in the quality of SMPs. Keep in mind that those given at med schools are taught by med school Faculty. I use the same lectures for the MS students as I do for my med students. This is why we know that someone who does well in our program or others can handle med school.

So there are SMPs with a linkage that will interview someone with a sub-3.0 GPA provided their MCAT is good?

See my post above.

There are linkage SMPs in which the medical school will completely disregard your UG GPA assuming you hit a certain GPA in their SMP when interview/admission time rolls around. The SMP at the med school I attend used to be like this (hit a 3.something and get a guaranteed interview) and something like 80%+ of their students would matriculate here. Some of my classmates who are top 10 in the class came through that program and they had terrible MCAT scores, so it's not out of the question.

100% true. And I have had SMP students with terrible MCATs (< 25) who aced the SMP AND med school!

That hopkins is a huge grad deflator and engineering is also a grade deflator. Honestly that 2.4 is probably similar if not harder to acheive than a 3.5 at a state school.

Evidence?????

BTW, in our experience, engineers have a difficult time in med school.

I would like to know if this student has her depression under control. We see many of these posts - students reporting crappy GPAs and attributing depression. How are they going to handle med school if their depression isn't under control?

This is a major concern! Has the OP shown ANY evidence that her depression is under control? Med school is a furnace!

 

[DBC03]

I was in a similar situation to the OP my freshman year. I started as an engineering major at a school known for grade deflation. I also started taking a medication that led to clinical depression. I was a little too involved in extracurricular activities (no partying, though), and it was a recipe for disaster. The clinical depression was the worst part as it makes your thinking slow and cloudy. When they figured it out over the summer, I stopped taking the medication we thought was involved and started anti-depressants. Three months later I went off anti-depressants, never had a problem since (and I'm over 15 years past this experience). GPA jumped from 2.2 to 3.58 in just one year. SO I would say that if depression is an issue, it can have a debilitating effect and definitely needs to be under control. Engineering classes are difficult enough - add grade deflation and possible depression in and GPA is in the tank.

For the OP - I would look into something in engineering and take a few years off before applying. Start considering yourself a non-traditional applicant NOW. Realize that there is no way you'll be competitive to apply in the next few years. Perhaps consider the program with the VA as mentioned above - that will give you some interesting insight into the medical field and give you something to do in the next few years as you work toward med school.

As an engineer, you will have a little bit of a leg up on the MCAT. The 2015 MCAT caters to how we are taught to think in our classes. But you WILL need to put a lot of work into it. I'm not a particularly brilliant test-taker and I thought I would bomb it since I had a friend who got a 1600 on the SAT (back when that was the max) who just got an average score on the MCAT. I was a poor SAT student, but I did really well on AP exams (5s on all of the sciences and calc BC, computer programming, etc.). I found my AP exams had a much stronger correlation with how I did on the MCAT and I approached MCAT studying in a similar manner. However, I started with the assumption that I would completely bomb it and went from there. So consider your score a sub-500 until you can prove otherwise. I recommend using the Berkeley Review books (ignore the fact that their website looks like it as designed by a high schooler in the mid-90s - they're actually really great books). You'll need to put a solid 3 months or 15 weeks of studying in before you take it. There are some great resources on this site. However, keep in mind that your score will expire, so you probably want to study and take it right before you start the application season. And you do NOT want to start the application cycle any time soon.

I think many people have suggested some interesting ideas here. Your job is to go into your senior year and rock it. Embrace not being the engineering personality (nothing wrong with that - I tried to adapt for 11 years, it never got better). Get depression under control if you already haven't. Find an awesome biomedical engineering position somewhere - maybe something creative or different from what you're doing now - get some awesome volunteering and clinical work in. Take a few years off from school. Use this time to be sure you want to be a doctor. You might consider doing some post-bac classes in the mean time to beef up your GPA so you can get into an SMP. I am pretty sure you can do this if you want to and if you can prove that you can handle the work. The problem is that you want to be a come-back story and come-back stories require TIME. You'll need time off from school, a track record at a good job, time with volunteering and clinical work, and time pulling yourself back up from the GPA. I just turned 36 and I am SO happy that I didn't apply to medical school right out of college. I feel like I know what i want now and I know why. And i have a track record of accomplishment. If I had applied right out of school, I would have been rejected.

PM me if you have any specific questions.

 

[gyngyn]

OP says she is not an engineer...

 

[PreMedMissteps]

OP says she is not an engineer...

I know she said that, but it appears that she's getting an eng'g degree. I thought she just meant that she doesn't feel that being an engineer is the right career path or that she doesn't feel like an engineer. Interesting though she has a patent and 2 medical device startups. I can only guess that she just doesn't want that career path.

 

[PreMedMissteps]

BTW, in our experience, engineers have a difficult time in med school.

Interesting. Do you have any theories as to why? I would think that an engineering foundation could serve a med student and future doctor well. Engineering training seems to encourage creative thinking, problem solving, thinking outside the box, critical thinking skills, logic, etc.

 

[DBC03]

Interesting. Do you have any theories as to why? I would think that an engineering foundation could serve a med student and future doctor well. Engineering training seems to encourage creative thinking, problem solving, thinking outside the box, critical thinking skills, logic, etc.

We can't memorize worth crap.

 

[PreMedMissteps]

That hopkins is a huge grad deflator and engineering is also a grade deflator. Honestly that 2.4 is probably similar if not harder to acheive than a 3.5 at a state school.

Also taking into account ops other achievements I would not be surprised with a score equivalent to 37+ or even 40+

I don't think you understand that even at state schools, engineering is a very demanding major. There may be some weaker programs at some directional state schools, but the flagships and similar state schools usually have excellent engineering programs.

 

[PreMedMissteps]

We can't memorize worth crap.

Maybe you can't, but I know a boat-load of engineers who can.