Just another "what are my chances" thread

[TeaKae]

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Situation for 2007 cycle: 27S MCAT (10V,10BS,7PS), Graduate GPA (phD psych program which I completed 2 yrs of and dropped out to pursue medicine) = 4.0, Ugrad GPA (psych major): 3.6 total/3.1BCPM. Had some really bad grades freshman and sophmore year because I was a boozer and frankly did not give a **** about school. Good ECs--research, volunteering (but not clinical), standout collegiate track athlete. Was in the process (read: no grades at time of application) of taking postbac science courses

Situation now: 34R MCAT (11V,12BS,11PS), 20 new credits of BCPM (Ochem 1 and 2, biochem, cell bio, microbio) with all A's. Currently volunteering at local hospital.

So, have I strengthened my application enough to get in this time? I didn't even receive an interview last cycle (applied DO and MD)! I am worried. Any comments on my chances this time around or on why I was so utterly rejected last time would be greatly appreciated.

LOR situation...one really great one from grad school professor, also a strong one from my college track coach (not sure how/if adocoms will take this one seriously), then 2 from my postbac science professors which are nothing spectacular as they didn't know me that well

 

[CatsandCradles]

Situation for 2007 cycle: 27S MCAT (10V,10BS,7PS), Graduate GPA (phD psych program which I completed 2 yrs of and dropped out to pursue medicine) = 4.0, Ugrad GPA (psych major): 3.6 total/3.1BCPM. Had some really bad grades freshman and sophmore year because I was a boozer and frankly did not give a **** about school. Good ECs--research, volunteering (but not clinical), standout collegiate track athlete. Was in the process (read: no grades at time of application) of taking postbac science courses

Situation now: 34R MCAT (11V,12BS,11PS), 20 new credits of BCPM (Ochem 1 and 2, biochem, cell bio, microbio) with all A's. Currently volunteering at local hospital.

So, have I strengthened my application enough to get in this time? I didn't even receive an interview last cycle (applied DO and MD)! I am worried. Any comments on my chances this time around or on why I was so utterly rejected last time would be greatly appreciated.

LOR situation...one really great one from grad school professor, also a strong one from my college track coach (not sure how/if adocoms will take this one seriously), then 2 from my postbac science professors which are nothing spectacular as they didn't know me that well

27 and no interview?

How were your LORs from a physician?

And how many schools did you apply to?

Do you live in a state with many pre-meds applying?

Your science GPA is a bit low, but you really went all out at the end so that's good to see. I bet you'll have better luck this cycle.

 

[proclivity]

i think you will almost certainly get in with your stats now. Congrats on the improvements on MCAT and BMCP GPA. I say apply to 20-25 schools and you'll likely get 5-8 invites.

 

[RollWave11]

dropping out of PHD programs is bad...you may get grilled about that in interviews.

 

[CatsandCradles]

dropping out of PHD programs is bad...you may get grilled about that in interviews.

Ah I see.

 

[silas2642]

The previous poster is correct in stating that you have a hurdle to overcome-- adcoms are going to frown upon the fact that you committed and dropped out of one professional program already. How do they know that you will not do it again with medical school? The other red flag that you have on your application is your science gpa. Other than that, everything looks pretty good. The only thing that you can do is apply very early and broadly and hope for the best. Good luck.

 

[TeaKae]

Thanks for the input, folks. I applied to 18 schools this year (max. that my budget could afford). I think that if my secondaries offer an "additional comments" type section, I will talk about my decision to leave graduate school (for whatever it's worth).

 

[silas2642]

Thanks for the input, folks. I applied to 18 schools this year (max. that my budget could afford). I think that if my secondaries offer an "additional comments" type section, I will talk about my decision to leave graduate school (for whatever it's worth).

why did you leave grad school?

 

[medguy83]

With your stats I'm surprised you didn't at least get a few M.D. nods, let alone D.O. Wow, I guess the phD drop really hurt you. I know of a few schools here in FL that detail on their admissions page that if you're in another graduate program you should finish that first. Which is kind of stupid, what if you're in a doctorate program for history or literature or something, you'd have to finish a degree that virtually has nothing to do with what you want in life. If I were you, I'd explain mayself very carefully and clearly on the secondary or even primary app (might be a little too late). But to be honest, there are a few med students I know of who have dropped out of previous graduate programs, so there's hope. With your stats alone I think you'd get in somewhere, sheesh. Good luck

 

[TeaKae]

why did you leave grad school?

Without getting too detailed...(yeah, right, I'm a talker)...

Program was a PhD for social/cognitive/developmental psychology, not sure if I mentioned that in the OP. Loved psych as an undergrad. I supposed that's why I majored in it. Anywho, everybody knows that a Bachelor's in psych is worth not much more than the paper it's printed on--you have to go on if you want to make money (or even get a decent job) in your field. When it came time to graduate college, I figured I wasn't good enough on paper to go to med school (what I had wanted to do originally), so I decided to just "stick it out" with psych. I threw myself into the grad school experience, was #1 in my class, even, but could never shake off my old dream of medicine. I faced the fact that it is my own life, and I only get one chance at it. Yes, the program invested a lot of money and resources in my training. Yes, it was selfish to leave. But was it worth investing another 2-4 years into a career I would never be happy in? To me, no way. Especially since my aunt was stuck in a job she hated for over 20 years (like me, she had a strong sense of obligation, guilt, etc.). She finally had the balls/initiative to leave that job and start a new one that she loved. She was happier than I'd ever seen her, but then, just 3 months into her new life, she died unexpectedly of an aneurysm. Totally knocked me sideways and made me see my life differently. I will not discuss the story of my aunt in med school apps, because it seems like I'm fishing for sympathy...but that is the true reason why I didn't stick out the program and then apply to med school later. There may not be a later! 🙁

 

[artaxerxes]

Without getting too detailed...(yeah, right, I'm a talker)...

Program was a PhD for social/cognitive/developmental psychology, not sure if I mentioned that in the OP. Loved psych as an undergrad. I supposed that's why I majored in it. Anywho, everybody knows that a Bachelor's in psych is worth not much more than the paper it's printed on--you have to go on if you want to make money (or even get a decent job) in your field. When it came time to graduate college, I figured I wasn't good enough on paper to go to med school (what I had wanted to do originally), so I decided to just "stick it out" with psych. I threw myself into the grad school experience, was #1 in my class, even, but could never shake off my old dream of medicine. I faced the fact that it is my own life, and I only get one chance at it. Yes, the program invested a lot of money and resources in my training. Yes, it was selfish to leave. But was it worth investing another 2-4 years into a career I would never be happy in? To me, no way. Especially since my aunt was stuck in a job she hated for over 20 years (like me, she had a strong sense of obligation, guilt, etc.). She finally had the balls/initiative to leave that job and start a new one that she loved. She was happier than I'd ever seen her, but then, just 3 months into her new life, she died unexpectedly of an aneurysm. Totally knocked me sideways and made me see my life differently. I will not discuss the story of my aunt in med school apps, because it seems like I'm fishing for sympathy...but that is the true reason why I didn't stick out the program and then apply to med school later. There may not be a later! 🙁

if your aunt's death had a huge impact on your decision, you should mention it, I don't think it would it would be fiishing for emotions if you don't overstate it.

 

[Jessie12]

thanks in advance for your advice (esp. Drixxt who has been doling out great advice!).

-BCPM Gpa ~ 3.3
-overall GPA ~3.42
-grad GPA ~3.8
MCAT 30T
-strong extracurriculars/volunteering
-2 publications
-good PS essay...
-Canadian (so i have applied to a lot of private schools which take more cdns)
-also want to MD/PhD progs

any advice would be great!

 

[DrBubbles]

TeaKae: No worries. Apply to a few DO schools if you agree with the philosophy, but I'm pretty sure you'll be just fine when you choose to apply. For the record, I withdrew from a Master's program. When I applied the second time around, I was in a totally different Master's program. I hadn't completed the degree at the time of application, but I have since, so that may have helped. All I'm saying is don't sweat it, I think you'll get in.

Jessie12: You sound like a good applicant with your graduate GPA and decent MCAT. I feel like MD/PhD will be difficult for you, but that partially depends on your previous lab research experience. If you are really serious about the MD/PhD, talk to an adviser, but my first inclination would be to say rock the MCAT. With that said, I think you can get in MD.

Good luck all!

 

[catnip7]

First off, congratulations on doing well in your grad program until you decided it wasn't for you.

That being said, however, and maybe this is just me, but no matter how crappy something gets, if I start something then I need to finish it...do you know what I mean?

You were doing well in your PhD program but decided it wasn't for you. So good, you knew that what you were doing wasn't in your heart. And coming from an MA background in psychology and having the exact same reasons for wanting to pursue medicine in lieu of psychology...I understand. However, if I were you, I would try to go back and finish that degree, see if there's an accelerated path you can take.

Because...if you look at the situation from a different light, what's going to happen if you get into medical school and decide that's not right for you either? And can you see a little bit of how med school admissions committees may not want to take a risk with someone who didn't finish what they were doing before?

Tell me if this makes sense.

 

[TeaKae]

Thanks for you POV, catnip, and yes, what you're saying does make sense.

I appreciate the advice. I will not, however, go back and finish my PhD. There's hardly a way to accelerate the process of doing a thesis and dissertation! I just don't want to waste the time and resources necessary to do this hoping it will show "committment" or whatever. Now, I felt really awful about leaving grad school, it was not something that happened on a whim. I knew right when I started that it wasn't for me.

Also, I am not one who has a pattern of dropped committments. I was a competitive gymnast for the better part of a decade; I then became a judge, and now I coach. I was a collegiate track and field athlete for 4 years. I went back to school for a year to take science courses for med school...I took the mcat twice. I applied once, and decided to go back and try again. I would hope that these things show committment, anyhow.

Plus, I did not switch onto the medicine path on a whim. Since high school I wanted to go into medicine. It was only after 3 horrible semesters at the beginning of college that i thought I had f-ed up so bad that I should kiss medicine goodbye. After a long time, I realized I wasn't ready to do that, because this is really what I want to do. Now, if I can convey that to an adcom, I would hope that would grant a little forgiveness on my part.

But yes, I totally see what you are saying. If it keeps me out of medical school, then so be it. Regardless, life is too short to go back and get a professional degree in something I will be unhappy doing.