Looking for some advice/strategy.

[dec0y]

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Hi all,

Long time lurker but I haven't posted (ever?). Anyway--I visited this site quite often when I was an undergrad while I was considering med school. After dismissing that idea, mostly because my GPA was subpar, and I lacked confidence in my abilities. I did not finish the pre-reqs, so I will be starting those over from scratch.

After graduating I worked as a life insurance actuary for some time, and that just wasnt for me. I am now exploring my original passion for medicine.

Some backround:

3.28 cGPA, 3.17 BCPM. Applied math major with a minor in econ. The BCPM is a bit low due to the sheer number of difficult math classes that I had to take.

First question, what qualifies as a BCPM? I'm pretty sure I could eke out a few more points if I can take some of the B's that I received in some Math, and possibly some other science courses. I'm going to assume that I have the lowest possible BCPM for this exercise.

I have some shadowing and volunteer experience as an undergrad, although nothing substantial. Maybe 40 hours of each.

This brings me to my strategy:

GPA: I'd like to do all the pre-reqs over again. I think this will benefit my gpa as well as provide a good basis for the MCAT. Assuming 4.0 in the pre-reqs only, this brings my cGPA up to 3.46 and BCPM up to 3.52.

Volunteering: 4 hours a week for 18 months = 364 hours. My hope is to split this between at least 2-3 departments over that time.

Shadowing: I'd like to do at least 8-12 hours a month, although I predict that this will be highly variable. What is a good amount to shoot for? Again, I plan to shadow several doctors.

MCAT: I am fairly good at standardized tests (had to take them as an actuary...). I am shooting for mid 30's on this, however I have not taken a practice test. I will adjust study time accordingly. I think ideally I would want a 35+ given my lower gpa.

Research/Tutoring: Would math/stats tutoring be valuable? What about public health/biostatistics research? looking for some feedback here.

This brings me to the most difficult part for me, and that is schedules. I was recently laid off (after I put most of this strategy together), so I have a rare opportunity to transition smoothly back into school, however this leaves me taking 1 course (organic) next year. This means that I will most likely be picking up a part time job. Any thoughts on jobs?

I am looking for some advice on the above strategy, as well as any comments, or criticisms anyone has.

 

[nontrdgsbuiucmd]

Sounds like a solid plan! There are some kinks to work out, as you'd identified, GPA will be an area to work on. BCPM is Biology/Chemistry/Physics/Math. It's determined by Amcas when you complete the primary application, when you include "math 390 - finite variable calculus linear modules" or whatever, this'll be included in that area.

The + side is, as best I can tell, schools more highly value cumulative GPA than BCPM gpa, and if you add in retaking 10 classes & doing well on the MCAT, that should overcome the BCPM weakness. Anything that you can do to increase the overall GPA would be positive.

GPA and MCAT scores (section score mins must be consistent; a single low one will blow you out of consideration) will get the interview; these are required & in that sense, more important than getting an extra 100 hours volunteer clinical work or shadowing that 3rd Md.

Volunteer & shadowing plan sounds good, I did 1 md shadowing, a couple dozen hours + couple hundred clinical volunteer & research hours, which from what I've been told by adcomms is at or above what they typically see.

Beware the MCAT - I, too, tend to rock tests. And have taken quite a few on the finance/business/financial services/licensing/grad school side. And after pretty substantial studying (maybe 5 weeks fulltime after completing most of the prereq classes) scored in the upper 20's. Took a retake for me after another few advanced courses to hit low 30s. The test is knowledge based, often in the verbal section I disagree with their logic as to why one answer is better than another. It's made to be straightforward if one had 1 hr 30 minutes to finish it, but you're given 1 hr 10 which doesn't leave any time to review work or to think about a problem; it's more taking a test by instinct, which takes lots of practice. Thank goodness for AAMC practice tests!

 

[thoffen]

Hi all,

Long time lurker but I haven't posted (ever?). Anyway--I visited this site quite often when I was an undergrad while I was considering med school. After dismissing that idea, mostly because my GPA was subpar, and I lacked confidence in my abilities. I did not finish the pre-reqs, so I will be starting those over from scratch.

After graduating I worked as a life insurance actuary for some time, and that just wasnt for me. I am now exploring my original passion for medicine.

Some backround:

3.28 cGPA, 3.17 BCPM. Applied math major with a minor in econ. The BCPM is a bit low due to the sheer number of difficult math classes that I had to take.

First question, what qualifies as a BCPM? I'm pretty sure I could eke out a few more points if I can take some of the B's that I received in some Math, and possibly some other science courses. I'm going to assume that I have the lowest possible BCPM for this exercise.

BCPM = Biology, Physics, Chemistry, Math. When you fill out your AMCAS, you select which category each class goes under. Sometimes these are adjusted (with no absolute consistency) by AMCAS after submission. You absolutely couldn't get away with reclassifying anything taught by the BIO, CHM, PHYS, or MATH departments. 🙂

I have some shadowing and volunteer experience as an undergrad, although nothing substantial. Maybe 40 hours of each.

This brings me to my strategy:

GPA: I'd like to do all the pre-reqs over again. I think this will benefit my gpa as well as provide a good basis for the MCAT. Assuming 4.0 in the pre-reqs only, this brings my cGPA up to 3.46 and BCPM up to 3.52.

That's a great GPA for a non-trad with a 4.0 post-bacc. Actually, it's almost identical to what mine ended up as.

Volunteering: 4 hours a week for 18 months = 364 hours. My hope is to split this between at least 2-3 departments over that time.

You may find it very difficult to arrange medical volunteering, so get on this now. Many schools look for long term volunteering experience, so you're probably best sticking with the first one you get. There's no need to rotate around.

Shadowing: I'd like to do at least 8-12 hours a month, although I predict that this will be highly variable. What is a good amount to shoot for? Again, I plan to shadow several doctors.

Shadowing more than one physician is a good idea, and you can even do it just for a day or two. Its purpose is generally to get acquainted with what it is like to practice medicine.

MCAT: I am fairly good at standardized tests (had to take them as an actuary...). I am shooting for mid 30's on this, however I have not taken a practice test. I will adjust study time accordingly. I think ideally I would want a 35+ given my lower gpa.

Any score above 30 would give you a good chance. 35+ really isn't necessary so long as your scores are balanced and your recent grades are good. Don't ever assume you will reach any score or set your goals any higher than doing your best.

Research/Tutoring: Would math/stats tutoring be valuable? What about public health/biostatistics research? looking for some feedback here.

Tutoring/research is really dependent on what's available to you at your school. I will say that research is by no means a requirement, and it doesn't make sense for you unless you are interested in a future in research or striving for a school that puts a heavy emphasis on research. Actually, having significant research experience in favor of clinical experience can be a disadvantage at schools which place a higher priority on clinical education.

This brings me to the most difficult part for me, and that is schedules. I was recently laid off (after I put most of this strategy together), so I have a rare opportunity to transition smoothly back into school, however this leaves me taking 1 course (organic) next year. This means that I will most likely be picking up a part time job. Any thoughts on jobs?

All I can say is go at your own pace and live within your means.

 

[dec0y]

Thanks for the advice.

After reading around it seems that more than 50-60 hours shadowing has diminishing returns. I started the application process to volunteer at a local hospital about two weeks ago, and should be hearing back from them today.

As for MCATs, I am going to use the study guides as a supplement to my pre-req classes--I think this will help me learn the MCAT "style" from the get go, and additionally reinforce the concepts from class.

 

[sylvanthus]

I would advise getting some direct hands-on experience with patients. You could probably get a CNA job part-time that is flexible enough for school or possibly an EMT position.


Justin

 

[dec0y]

I looked into CNA and EMT stuff--it looks as though it would take me more than a few months to get any sort of certification, which means that I don't believe I will be able to practice for a meaningful amount of time.

Is there anything else that I can do to strengthen my application?

 

[p30doc]

Is there anything else that I can do to strengthen my application?

your current gpa is very close to my gpa after I got a near 4.0 post-bacc, so you are in good shape and can raise yours further than I could ever raise mine. (I currently have 7 interviews). Shoot for 30+ on MCAT, make sure to study properly for it. During my interviews they almost always ask, what clinical experience do you have, what volunteering experience do you have, have you done research, and what leadership experience have you had. If you have touched all those bases you will be in great shape. Clinical can be anything where you deal with patients in some regard, a lot of times you can bundle up your volunteering with clinical, such as voluteering in a hospice/hospital/at community health fairs. You don't really need hundreds of hours of shadowing, a few days with one doctor or a day or two with various docs will do just fine. A semester or two of research won't hurt if your interested/if you can get into a lab, you don't need to publish or anything. If you haven't had a leadership position in a club/job/sport/anything, it wouldn't hurt to try to get one for a little bit. Focus on nailing any post-bacc course work you do along with the MCAT, make that your priority, don't let those suffer because you decided to spread yourself too thin with ECs.

 

[DrJosephKim]

If you get involved in research, try to get something published. This will be a huge help.

 

[dec0y]

Thought I'd give a quick update.

Chemistry 1: A!
Bio 1: A!

Current sGPA: 3.31
Current cGPA: 3.25
Volunteer hours: ~50

Labs are included in the bio grade and the Chem lab is pass/no pass only (??).

Doing a 4 hour shift in the ED a week, and also doing an autopsy/pathology shadowing once a week. Bit of a dry spell on the autopsies lately, but I've done 4 of them now.. very cool experience.

Next term(we are on the quarter system here)
Physics 2
Physics 2 Lab
Chem 2
Bio 2

Still to complete:

Physics 3
Bio 3
Chem 3
O.Chem 1/2/3
Genetics (required for my home school)
Biochem (required for my home school)

 

[NTF]

Keep up the excellent work!!

Your plan in your original post sound very sensible. Just make sure that somewhere, sometime you're getting face time with patients.

You're going great!