i know these posts are annoying

[72531]

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but at this point I am wondering if I should even apply to medical school this summer. I don't really have the money to and for some stupid reason I wasn't poor enough to receive fee assistance.

i'm a microbiology major and have a minor in public and community health. low gpa. science= barely below 3.0. cumlative= close to 3.2.

activities include
past: research for a summer, volunteer at a nursing home for a summer, volunteer at a homeless shelter for a summer, tutor for diadvantaged students for about a year
current/ongoing: worked in an office for 4 years, dj at campus radio station for 3 semesters so far, member of american society for microbiology at my school, president of animal rights group, in a group that volunteers at nursing homes over a span of 2 years so far
this summer: i am volunteering a bit at georgetown u hospital and participating in a program called project health where we help patients find resources (jobs, food, childcare, etc) they might not be able to do themselves.

the premise of my personal statement is working with the underserved, some experiences i have had working with them...i think it is pretty decent so far but i am still working on it. i found it is too long :\

i was wondering if any of you were ever in my situation or if you thought i had a chance in the world. i haven't taken the mcat yet and i plan to this summer.

 

[manO'war]

hey kristy117,
i wudnt say dont apply especially coz you dont even know your mcat score. your gpa is low BUT your mcat can help ya. SO STUDY YOUR ASS OFF FOR THE MCATS!!!!
Apply to both MD and DO schools. the reason i say DO is not coz its easy to get into(dont know), but to me it seems DO schools look at the whole application much more and are not as numbers based as MD schools. And either way you are gonna be a doctor.
I dont think anyone here can tell you, you have no chance. nobody here sits on an ADCOM board, but one of my good buddies did get into med school when he got a 4 on his verbal mcat. his gpa was around 3.4. But he had some nice ECs and he was a people guy. He def can speak in english and he is not indicative of ppl who get into med school but am sure if he posted here sayin "what is my chance?," most of us wud have said no way!

 

[LucidSplash]

Kristy, see my mdapplicants profile, my stats are similar. I agree, study your tush off for the MCAT. But don't be afraid to take a year or two off either if you'd feel better about the money situation. Also, consider that there are many people that don't have the money to apply. I had to use credit cards myself but it all works out in the end (not that anyone likes carrying that much debt, just that it is doable).

 

[Taurus]

Post in the Pre-Allo forum.

 

[72531]

Post in the Pre-Allo forum.

except the people here have actually gotten into medical school

 

[trudub]

but at this point I am wondering if I should even apply to medical school this summer. I don't really have the money to and for some stupid reason I wasn't poor enough to receive fee assistance.

i'm a microbiology major and have a minor in public and community health. low gpa. science= barely below 3.0. cumlative= close to 3.2.

activities include
past: research for a summer, volunteer at a nursing home for a summer, volunteer at a homeless shelter for a summer, tutor for diadvantaged students for about a year
current/ongoing: worked in an office for 4 years, dj at campus radio station for 3 semesters so far, member of american society for microbiology at my school, president of animal rights group, in a group that volunteers at nursing homes over a span of 2 years so far
this summer: i am volunteering a bit at georgetown u hospital and participating in a program called project health where we help patients find resources (jobs, food, childcare, etc) they might not be able to do themselves.

the premise of my personal statement is working with the underserved, some experiences i have had working with them...i think it is pretty decent so far but i am still working on it. i found it is too long :\

i was wondering if any of you were ever in my situation or if you thought i had a chance in the world. i haven't taken the mcat yet and i plan to this summer.

You have a chance and if it is your dream then go for it. Try everything to make it a reality. That may mean doing some post-bac work, it may mean working for a while, it may mean doing some research, it may mean a lot of different things. Or, you just might get in off the bat. The only thing I want to say is be realistic. Have a back up plan. For every story of glory of people getting in with maybe less than average stats, there are 20 stories of above average people not getting in. So, bottom line, for sure go for it. You will regret it forever if you don't. But, have something that you can fall back on if for some reason it doesn't work out.

 

[Wednesday]

Hey Kristy,

Sounds like you have some doubts about the competitiveness of your application at this point and you probably should. Your GPA is pretty low. NOT too low to get in necessarily, but it will put you at a disadvantage. If you had a high MCAT score in hand applying early might give you the advantage you need. However, waiting for the August MCAT will likely be the end of your application for this cycle (and thus a waste of money). And if you don't get the score you want, you really will have wasted money. Even if money wasn't an issue, the key to applying to med school is to maximize your chances before you apply the first time. You don't want to keep applying over and over for two reasons: 1. money and 2. schools look down on this and some of them will not look at your application if you apply multiple times.

I would say that you should think about applying next cycle. Take the August MCAT so that if you need to, you can take it again next April and you'll be on time to apply that summer. Take an upper level science class or two and ace them. As much as people like to rely on those stories of someone's second cousin getting in with a 24 MCAT and a 2.4 BCPM, chances are it won't happen to you (and likely didnt happen to someone's second cousin either). You have to prove yourself and maximize your chances. This is process is a marathon of playing the game. You need to apply to lots of schools (so take this year to save up) and you need to apply early with a complete application--PS, ROLs and MCAT scores in the bag by June. Don't try to rush through it or do it half way because it will probably backfire.

I'm not trying to discourage you, it just sounds to me like you aren't quite where you need to be yet. And hey, you asked. 🙂 Good luck.

 

[LO281OK]

At this point it ALL hinges on your MCAT score. I wouldn't say your cycle is over, but you need to consider what you expect to get on the MCAT. Have you taken any recent practice tests? Is there any reason to believe that you WILL get a 30+? I submitted my application (AMCAS) in October of last year and got my August MCAT score back later that month (33Q). It would have been better to have had the same results and applied in June, but I did fine. It may also matter what your home state is for instate apps.

Lots of potential, couple of questions...

 

[72531]

You have a chance and if it is your dream then go for it. Try everything to make it a reality. That may mean doing some post-bac work, it may mean working for a while, it may mean doing some research, it may mean a lot of different things. Or, you just might get in off the bat. The only thing I want to say is be realistic. Have a back up plan. For every story of glory of people getting in with maybe less than average stats, there are 20 stories of above average people not getting in. So, bottom line, for sure go for it. You will regret it forever if you don't. But, have something that you can fall back on if for some reason it doesn't work out.

yeah i definitely have some backup plans. i am realistic. i plan to do a masters in virology or immunology if i don't get into school probably. i'll get where i want to be eventually.