How bad am I screwed

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OP, you came on here asking how bad you are screwed. You're just saying NO to every response. You need to get your grades up, especially the science GPA. How you do that is up to you, but you're being advised that a 4th year of college might play better than a post-college year.

That said, the joking (I can't tell if the guy was joking or not) about RPI is ridiculous. I'm sure the vast majority of adcoms know about and have some appreciation for RPI. Great school, period.
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Nietzschelover said:
OP, you came on here asking how bad you are screwed. You're just saying NO to every response. You need to get your grades up, especially the science GPA. How you do that is up to you, but you're being advised that a 4th year of college might play better than a post-college year.

That said, the joking (I can't tell if the guy was joking or not) about RPI is ridiculous. I'm sure the vast majority of adcoms know about and have some appreciation for RPI. Great school, period.
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yeah but that's what I don't get tbh

Ok here's the two alternatives if I don't get in this cycle:

1) Apply next cycle with 6 semesters of grades, do research or something while applying
2)Apply next cycle with 6 semesters of grades, continue going to school

How does taking a 4th year raise my gpa? Applications go in before the semester even starts
 
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Glandzburg said:
Best of luck.
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Idk I think my train of thought isn't making to the same station as you guys
My thought process was in the previous post, could you explain where I'm misunderstanding you guys
 
Gandyy said:
lmao. I laughed when you said that. Yea it is, you should be able to get close to that. A 3.6 is good enough with a good MCAT score
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i meant it's not possible for me
I can't get a 3.7 cGPA/3.6 sGPA before applying
 
you're only looking at one or two (best case) scenarios...

1. your current plan (best case scenario)
apply this coming cycle with only 4 semesters of grade, end up with 4.0 last semester, ~3.5 GPA, 520 MCAT, accepted into medical school, graduate, matriculate

2. if 1 fails
apply next cycle, now as a re-applicant, with 6 semesters of grade, end up with 4.0 entire last year, ~3.7 GPA, 520 MCAT, graduate, "gap year", accepted into medical school, matriculate

3. normal plan (realistic scenario)
apply next cycle as a first time applicant, 6 semesters of grade, maybe ~3.7+ the rest of the way, ~3.5 GPA overall with more consistency/upward trend, ~512 MCAT, graduate if your GPA is in range, "gap year", accepted into medical school, matriculate

what are you going to do in between graduation and matriculation? twiddle your thumbs since nothing is going onto the app anyway? why apply as a re-applicant when your first application could be much stronger? the 3rd plan gives you more options, if your GPA still needs raising, use the "gap year" to take more classes, if your GPA is sufficient, graduate and go pad some other areas of your resume and send update letters if needed
 
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Tired said:
Yeah you're screwed.

We're all screwed dude.
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Your avatar says it all, re: "We're all screwed." LOL

And I am not sure why, but for some reason, I thought you were a women surgeon. It wasn't until someone called you "he" in another thread that I found out. 🙂

You have earned time for fun dude. You've come so far, fight the burn-out beast. 😉
 
BluMist said:
you're only looking at one or two (best case) scenarios...

1. your current plan (best case scenario)
apply this coming cycle with only 4 semesters of grade, end up with 4.0 last semester, ~3.5 GPA, 520 MCAT, accepted into medical school, graduate, matriculate

2. if 1 fails
apply next cycle, now as a re-applicant, with 6 semesters of grade, end up with 4.0 entire last year, ~3.7 GPA, 520 MCAT, graduate, "gap year", accepted into medical school, matriculate

3. normal plan (realistic scenario)
apply next cycle as a first time applicant, 6 semesters of grade, maybe ~3.7+ the rest of the way, ~3.5 GPA overall with more consistency/upward trend, ~512 MCAT, graduate if your GPA is in range, "gap year", accepted into medical school, matriculate

what are you going to do in between graduation and matriculation? twiddle your thumbs since nothing is going onto the app anyway? why apply as a re-applicant when your first application could be much stronger? the 3rd plan gives you more options, if your GPA still needs raising, use the "gap year" to take more classes, if your GPA is sufficient, graduate and go pad some other areas of your resume and send update letters if needed
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How heavily are reapplicants discriminated against?
Also, I understand the logic in plan 3, and am considering that as an option. What I don't understand is why some people are recommending a 4th year instead of a gap year for that plan of action.
 
baratheonfire said:
I just got my grades for this semester. My cGPA is a 3.47, sGPA is a 3.28. 4.0 Non science. I go to one of the most heavily grade deflating schools on the east coast, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. My major is really hard and unstructured as well, Bioinformatics.
I carefully selected 21 credits for the next semester that I'm sure I can get an A in (all are legit science classes, but easy electives). With this, my gpa will get up to a 3.61 or 3.63, and my sGPA will be a 3.5 or 3.52.

I'm expecting above 520 on my MCAT. This is what I'm getting on practice tests, and on my SAT I got a 2320.

1st semester:3.28 (took Data Structures, hardest CS class at RPI, along with Orgo 1)
2nd semester: 3.73
3rd semester: 3.4 (Took a class in my major that really screwed me over)
4th semester: Expecting a 4.0, will really try to get it


Red Flags:
Used AP credits for all freshman year classes
Will be graduating in 3 years, so I'll only have 4 semesters of grades when I apply.
2 C+'s on my transcript, one in Orgo 1 during my 1st semester, one in Molec Bio II
However, I improved in Orgo II to a B+ and got an A in Biochemistry

Extra Curriculars: Decent in my opinion
400 Hours of volunteering at a hospital
100 Hours of shadowing
Non-clinical volunteering -2000 Hours. I volunteered twice a month at my local soup kitchen since I was 6 years old. It's a huge part of my life.
Clubs: Founded a club focused on improving Social and Health conditions in Rural India. I'll be coordinating an international trip as well, and will stay in a village in India for 2 weeks before returning to the US to implement solutions. This isn't standard voluntourism, the majority of the work is done in the US and the trip is for observation. We work in the same village over years, for long term sustainability.
TA for a Cell Biology class

Research: 4 semesters of working in a lab focused on observing self-healing capabilities of human bone
Presented a poster at my own university, no paper

I'm also Indian, so I'm an ORM. I'll try to apply to 30 or 40 schools. I just want to get into a US MD school, hopefully SUNY Stonybrook, since I'm a New York resident.
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You need to talk with a member of the pre-health advisory committee at RPI. They can give you some great info, like what % of RPI students are accepted to med school with various GPAs and MCAT scores. They can tell you which med schools like RPI students. You'll need a committee letter from them anyway, so why not use them to the fullest?
 
re-applicant: each school has different philosophy, but the bar is generally much higher the second time around because they want to see some significant progress from one year to the next.

4th year is optional, GPA dependent. You have that option available to you, but you make it seem as you don't want to consider that at all.
baratheonfire said:
How heavily are reapplicants discriminated against?
Also, I understand the logic in plan 3, and am considering that as an option. What I don't understand is why some people are recommending a 4th year instead of a gap year for that plan of action.
Click to expand...
 
baratheonfire said:
How heavily are reapplicants discriminated against?
Also, I understand the logic in plan 3, and am considering that as an option. What I don't understand is why some people are recommending a 4th year instead of a gap year for that plan of action.
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Well, I think the suggestion has been that you try to boost your GPA, if at all possible, before applying. It just seems to make more sense to do that while you're still in school as opposed to graduating and then doing a postbacc somewhere when you've already completed all of the prereqs. You're in a somewhat unusual position in that you'll have completed your degree with time to spare--you could take extra classes simply to boost your GPA without spending more than 4 years in school. But you'd have to take a gap year in order for these grades to show on your application.

With that said, if you complete your last semester with a GPA in 3.6/3.5 range and you kill the MCAT, you may be fine. I think what people are getting at here is that reapplying is both painful, costly, and risky. So it's best not to plan to have to do it and just make your app as strong as possible the first time around.

Long story short, I think Goro is right. Without knowing your final GPA and MCAT score, it's hard to say what your chances are. A lot is riding on the MCAT.
 
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It would be a real shame to end up a replicant after graduating early. Trading a year for a year, but coming out in a very precarious position.
 
baratheonfire said:
2 credits are TA'ing which is listed as a science class, and 3 credits are research which are a guaranteed A.
I'm pretty confident since the rest of the classes are all structured extremely similarly to other classes in which I've gotten A's, and that's what I've heard from my friends. But you're right, it's possible I won't get a 4.0, but I'll seriously try.
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I'm taking that course load as well. I'm TAing and doing research for credit with biochemistry and an intensive research class for psychology. It may be an "easy A" but the weekly commitment to research and TAing starts to take a tole with other intensive classes. Not saying it isn't doable (I'm sitting at an A in biochemistry) but your semester will not be easy at all.
 
BluMist said:
you're only looking at one or two (best case) scenarios...

1. your current plan (best case scenario)
apply this coming cycle with only 4 semesters of grade, end up with 4.0 last semester, ~3.5 GPA, 520 MCAT, accepted into medical school, graduate, matriculate

2. if 1 fails
apply next cycle, now as a re-applicant, with 6 semesters of grade, end up with 4.0 entire last year, ~3.7 GPA, 520 MCAT, graduate, "gap year", accepted into medical school, matriculate

3. normal plan (realistic scenario)
apply next cycle as a first time applicant, 6 semesters of grade, maybe ~3.7+ the rest of the way, ~3.5 GPA overall with more consistency/upward trend, ~512 MCAT, graduate if your GPA is in range, "gap year", accepted into medical school, matriculate

what are you going to do in between graduation and matriculation? twiddle your thumbs since nothing is going onto the app anyway? why apply as a re-applicant when your first application could be much stronger? the 3rd plan gives you more options, if your GPA still needs raising, use the "gap year" to take more classes, if your GPA is sufficient, graduate and go pad some other areas of your resume and send update letters if needed
Click to expand...
So I ended up going with plan 1... I got a 4.0 my last semester which put me at a 3.47 cgpa, 3.46 sgpa. Also I did get a 520 (130,130,130,130) on the MCAT. Ended up applying to 37 schools (secondaries complete between 8/22 and 9/8) since I wanted to cast a wide net. I've also gained 600 hrs of scribing since then.

Where am I at right now?

EDIT:
No clue why I asked this question and necrobumped this thread... What's done is done and I've already applied.
 
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baratheonfire said:
So I ended up going with plan 1... I got a 4.0 my last semester which put me at a 3.47 cgpa, 3.46 sgpa. Also I did get a 520 (130,130,130,130) on the MCAT. Ended up applying to 37 schools (secondaries complete between 8/22 and 9/8) since I wanted to cast a wide net. I've also gained 600 hrs of scribing since then.

Where am I at right now?

EDIT:
No clue why I asked this question and necrobumped this thread... What's done is done and I've already applied.
Click to expand...

OP, I feel your pain. You made every possible tactical error. Going to a tough college, pursuing a tough major and avoiding freshman classes through the use of AP credits are all self defeating. Please go over to the high school forum and post a warning to high school kids, who want to go to medical school, that these stratagems are foolish.

I wish you well. I'll bet some school will accept you. Hang in there.
 
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