In Need of Advice

[dtwalrus]

Feel free to be brutally honest.

Applied to 17 schools this cycle: no interviews so far and this late in the cycle a shutout looks probable. Considering my options.

Stats:
- 3.0 Overall GPA. One bad year in which I failed out of college. Other than that aberration my overall GPA is closer to a 3.5.
- 3.1 Science GPA. Took all the pre-reqs in my senior year, after I found my passion for medicine. 3.1 while taking bio, chem, phys and orgo (and labs) in the same year I hoped would show a capacity for handling a med school course load. Apparently it didn't.
- 34S MCAT: Again, learned a lot on that senior year. Breakdown 12PS,12VR,10BS.
- Had decent ECs (shadowing and volunteer) and decent Recs and a pretty well-written PS which explained how failing out of college was a defining moment and a blessing.

So I'm looking to perhaps reapply for '09. Grades and MCATs will be the same, but I'll have an extra year of ECs -- including ED volunteer hours, substantial lab work (new job), and more shadowing -- and I'll have more and better Rec's.

How do I look?

And does anyone know whether enrolling in a SMP this fall will help, even if I won't have grades to submit until December. I know it'd help a lot if I had a full year of SMP work with a good GPA going into the cycle, but I really don't want to wait until '10 to apply again. Getting old (25 is the new 50)...besides, my MCAT will expire by then.

Really do appreciate any honest insight.

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[ouzoo]

Going into the application process I was in a similar situation. I had done quite poorly for a couple semesters and because of that my gpa suffered. However, I was lucky to be accepted at a good school. You said that in your personal statement you focussed on the experience of failing out of college. I would recommend that you avoid shedding light on your 'bad' experiences even if you do turn them into positives. In my opinion it is difficult for a person to get passed the negative aspects of the situation, especially someone as critical as an admissions officer. While I too felt my 'bad' experiences helped me to mature I never mentioned them in my personal statement. Instead I had a response ready for the pre medical committee as well as any interviewer who asked. My recommendation would be that you revamp your personal statement while continuing to take upper division science classes and involving yourself in extra curriculars. You have a stellar MCAT and I would not risk letting that expire. If you continue to be persistant you'll get what you want. Good luck.

 

[RxnMan]

...Applied to 17 schools this cycle: no interviews so far and this late in the cycle a shutout looks probable. Considering my options...

With that GPA 17 schools is not going to cut it. You'll need to go further than that - try 30 or 40.

So I'd go look around in the SMP forum before you put down your tuition check (a little further down the main page). Some of them are good, some no so much.

Something to consider - apply in 2010 with a year of new 3.5 GPA on the app. I don't know when your MCAT expires, but make a better go of it with better preparation and real improvement on your app.

With respect to the 25 = 50, not really. More like the opposite 50 = 25. A lot of people in my class had other careers, other jobs before coming to school. It may seem like you're taking forever because your friends may already be in school, or working jobs making bank, but that's something you'll have to deal with regardless of being in med school or not.

 

[gman33]

Unless you are going to apply to some DO schools, don't reapply this year. You haven't done anything to improve your gpa which is you weak point. I'd recommend taking 2 years of upper level science courses or 1 year + SMP before reapplying. You're app is just not going to be competitive now.

 

[Flushot]

I have to go with the consensus on the SMP route. Do your research and pick the right school, especially since most of these programs are designed for your situation. At any rate, I wouldn't burn your app fee money on this cycle until you try this.

 

[dtwalrus]

Thanks for the responses, folks. I've pretty much been thinking the same thing, I need to really go back to school to establish a new GPA to get into an Allo school, and since time will pass I'll need to retake my MCATs (blast!).

Caribbean here I come

 

[Blade28]

If you're shooting for an MD school only (and not DO), you're definitely going to have to beef up that GPA. A 3.1 BCMP is well below the mean for matriculants, unfortunately. And most places won't just "exclude" your freshman year, though of course upward trends always help.

I agree that you're going to need to apply very widely and broadly. I had pretty average stats as an applicant and applied to 20+ schools.

Best of luck.

 

[dEterm1ned]

I am going to recommend applying again anyway. I was going to go MPH then reapply, but last minute reapplied with nothing new to my numbers, just better LORs and work experience (lots of OR experience) and got in.
What do you have to lose? Time and money? Prob going to give more of those no matter what route you go. Really make a great PS and see what happens?
Just my opinion and experience.

 

[Perrotfish]

I had similar though slightly lower stats. An SMP got me in the second time around. Really high MCATs and really low GPAs are what SMPs are designed for. Start applying, BTW, applications are due in a few weeks and require LORs.