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Will I get in this cycle?

  • Yes

    Votes: 3 23.1%
  • No

    Votes: 10 76.9%

  • Total voters
    13

pgsuri

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I am a non-traditional applicant applying for the cycle opening up in May. I graduated UConn in 2014, was an Allied Health Major and believed there was a 0% chance I would ever apply to med school throughout my undergrad career (I planned on going the PA route). Because of this and lots of partying my GPA was a 3.38 science being about a 3.5. I decided to go the med school route last year after working in the medical field, and joining the military (which will provide me with free instate tuition). I am taking my MCAT in June and am pretty confident I will get at least a 30. I am a first-gen hispanic female, who was raised by my father in a low income home after my mother passed away. I have experience working as patient care associate in a hospital for 6 months (drawing blood, EKGS). 75 hours of clinical research experience, and currently work as a medical scribe for a telemedicine startup company which does solely virtual consults.
DO YOU THINK I HAVE A SHOT AT GETTING IN with my GPA, AND WHAT MCAT SCORE WOULD I NEED?

ALSO: I had nooooo contact with my professors while in college and many of the schools I am applying to require academic LOQ. Is it too late for me to ask? How do I ask a professor who probably has no idea who I am?

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Two problems, right off the bat: 30 isn't an MCAT score, and EVERY medical school requires faculty letters of recommendation.

Don't blow your URM card on a poorly planned app. Reach out to the diversity office at your target med schools and get some help.

Best of luck to you.
 
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I said no. You won't have your MCAT score until your application will be really late, and based on not knowing the score system, I fear you won't be prepared for it. I would apply next year, including applying early (first week) and if your MCAT is good, you'll probably do well.
 
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well,including applying early (first week) and if your MCAT is good, you'll probably do well.
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Thank you for your honest opinions. I definitely agree that this application will be very poorly planned. I just feel like I really want to take my chances and try out a few schools just so that I don't feel like I've wasted my time. Any suggestions on how to ask professors who may not remember who I am for a letter of recommendation?
 
Applying before you're an acceptable applicant: wasted time, wasted money, wasted effort, wasted emotion, wasted opportunity, disrespect for the profession, disrespect for your competition, bridges get burned
Waiting to apply until you're ready: not wasting things, not a reapplicant

It's not like playing the lottery.
 
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https://www.aamc.org/download/321512/data/factstablea24-1.pdf

That's cGPA, so sGPA can be a little lower. To have 50/50 odds, you'd need about a 3.5 cGPA and a 27, lower if you apply to lower tiered schools.

How do I ask a professor who probably has no idea who I am?

Same as everyone in these things. "Hi I took your bio class and I'm one of 600 people can you help with a letter"
 
Don't apply until you are ready. The best way to blow your future in medicine is to rush in without a careful plan. Take the good advice of @DrMidlife and contact your closest med school to talk with their diversity office. They can help answer questions about the LOR, MCAT and more. Also, don't take the mcat until you FULLY understand what it looks like, how it is scored, and you have taken plenty of practice tests to know what range you will be in (objectively not subjectively). To be honest you sound young and unprepared for this process so stop and get some knowledge before you leap. Read more on SDN and more importantly talk to your undergrad and med programs nearby to learn more before you do something stupid that ruins your shot.
 
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Do you really want an honest opinion? I'm not hearing that you do and people almost always say they want honesty but in reality they are just hoping someone will confirm what they want. Your struggles and challenges in life feel unique for you and they are, but in 10000 applications there will be 100's who have overcome much more and with better grades/stats. That's 10000 applicants for 150 slots, to put your chances into perspective.

As a URM you have a good chance but that chance comes with planning and having a strong application, something that should have occurred a year ago, but you can't change the past. Your app right now is poor for an MD, it could be ok for a DO, but we don't know until the MCAT. A 30 (old score) is good for DO but low for MD. Have you taken biochem, as the MCAT is filled with it? LOR's are extremely valuable so read on how to get those.

I totally agree that applying to med school is not one of those things where you take a wild lottery shot and see if you get lucky. 60% of applicants don't get lucky! If you don't get lucky then you've hurt your application for next time!

Dr Midlife and others have given good advice (especially calling nearby med schools and asking what you can do to improve your application), listen to it and you could well get a really good shot at an MD and DO.

Best of Luck
 
I didn't suggest "calling nearby med schools". I suggested contacting the diversity offices at med schools.

An example: http://depts.washington.edu/cedi/wp_cedi/pre-medical-students/

An example of a program schools offer to help URM/disadvantaged: http://postbacpremed.ucsd.edu

Diversity offices will tell you anything, though. Harvard's and WashU's sent me letters encouraging me to apply (I'm not even remotely in their 10th percentile). Just for kicks I emailed Harvard and told them my stats, and asked if I would still be competitive. They told me that since they technically had no stat floors, I should feel free to apply :rolleyes: While amazing things happen in the world, I'm more than sure that would've been a wasted $100.

They have nothing to lose by telling you to just go ahead and spend your money on them.

While I'm sure some people have had luck getting actual Real Talk (tm) from them, my best moves were still just to consult the MSAR, apply smartly for my stats and experience range, and pay close attention to school missions.
 
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What community do you represent? And please don't say "Fairfield"

Spanish language skills?

Many thanks for your service to our country. That alone is a significant bonus an admissions.

So yes, I think that you can be competitive for getting IIs (getting accepted is 100% on you); shoot for an MCAT of 507+


I am a non-traditional applicant applying for the cycle opening up in May. I graduated UConn in 2014, was an Allied Health Major and believed there was a 0% chance I would ever apply to med school throughout my undergrad career (I planned on going the PA route). Because of this and lots of partying my GPA was a 3.38 science being about a 3.5. I decided to go the med school route last year after working in the medical field, and joining the military (which will provide me with free instate tuition). I am taking my MCAT in June and am pretty confident I will get at least a 30. I am a first-gen hispanic female, who was raised by my father in a low income home after my mother passed away. I have experience working as patient care associate in a hospital for 6 months (drawing blood, EKGS). 75 hours of clinical research experience, and currently work as a medical scribe for a telemedicine startup company which does solely virtual consults.
DO YOU THINK I HAVE A SHOT AT GETTING IN with my GPA, AND WHAT MCAT SCORE WOULD I NEED?

ALSO: I had nooooo contact with my professors while in college and many of the schools I am applying to require academic LOQ. Is it too late for me to ask? How do I ask a professor who probably has no idea who I am?
 
Use the search function to see how you'll be viewed as a re-applicant next cycle. Because with what you have now, you aren't getting in and you WILL be a re-applicant.

If it's May and you still don't even realize the MCAT has changed to a new scoring system/new test, that means you aren't prepared for a June MCAT, which means you aren't prepared to have a strong application. It will be like lighting your money on fire to waste it on the MCAT next month and all the application fees. Don't rush it and wait a year while you actually prepare.
 
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