Low GPA Success Story (hope even with AACOMAS changes)

[DreamingDoc]

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Quite a few people have posted concerns about the new AACOMAS policy changes, so I just wanted to share my story to give a different perspective. Even with the original retake policy, my GPA never hit above a 3.0, but that didn't stop me from gaining an acceptance, and I am now in my third year of medical school.

I obviously can't speak for the schools, but I believe a lot of them will still continue to look for upward trends and/or take into account just your postbacc, graduate coursework, or last large set of hours. This new policy might change how your numbers show up, but osteopathic schools tend to be more holistic in their approach to applicants, so I really don't see much changing.

Anyway, I wrote a blog post about my super low stats to give some of you a positive outlook on the situation, so I hope it helps a little: www.aspiringminoritydoctor.com/2017/01/a-post-for-pre-meds-low-gpa-low-mcat.html

 

[xkb89]

Thank you so much... needed to read this


Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile

 

[BarrelRoll]

EDIT: Nevermind. Saw it in your grade column.

Definitely something I needed to see. I was worried I'd still have to do 1-2 more years of gpa improvement even before applying to an SMP. I'm going to take SDN's advice and believe that reinvention will be rewarded!!

 

[MrFixIt]

You rock!

 

[kelminak]

Quite a few people have posted concerns about the new AACOMAS policy changes, so I just wanted to share my story to give a different perspective. Even with the original retake policy, my GPA never hit above a 3.0, but that didn't stop me from gaining an acceptance, and I am now in my third year of medical school.

I obviously can't speak for the schools, but I believe a lot of them will still continue to look for upward trends and/or take into account just your postbacc, graduate coursework, or last large set of hours. This new policy might change how your numbers show up, but osteopathic schools tend to be more holistic in their approach to applicants, so I really don't see much changing.

Anyway, I wrote a blog post about my super low stats to give some of you a positive outlook on the situation, so I hope it helps a little: www.aspiringminoritydoctor.com/2017/01/a-post-for-pre-meds-low-gpa-low-mcat.html

How did you not get autoscreened at schools? Did you contact them directly at any point?

 

[OrdinaryDO]

Don't take this the wrong way, but it is a very different scenario in the shoes of URM's - ESPECIALLY women of URMs ( I am assuming you are a minority by the title of your page?). If you are not an URM you will have a VERY tough time gaining admission into a medical school with these stats.

 

[samac]

I'm amazed you got in with those stats. Congrats. But everyone else reading this needs to know you're a unicorn.

 

[DreamingDoc]

How did you not get autoscreened at schools? Did you contact them directly at any point?

I'm pretty sure I was autoscreened at a lot of schools, but the only one that I ever contacted directly was my state school and that was prior to applying.

 

[DreamingDoc]

Don't take this the wrong way, but it is a very different scenario in the shoes of URM's - ESPECIALLY women of URMs ( I am assuming you are a minority by the title of your page?). If you are not an URM you will have a VERY tough time gaining admission into a medical school with these stats.

If being a URM female meant easy access to med school, it wouldn't have taken me 5 years and multiple application cycles to get accepted (and for the record, I know a non-urm male with lower stats who is in med school).

It would be tough for ANYONE to get accepted with my stats, but the entire point of my post was that it is definitely possible. Stats shouldn't be the only focus of an application and there are a lot of schools that take into account persistence and hard work.

 

[Marrowist]

What school you going to?

 

[sedentarynotgary]

Great read. Really needed this today.

 

[DreamingDoc]

What school you going to?

GA-PCOM

 

[AAhopeigetin]

If being a URM female meant easy access to med school, it wouldn't have taken me 5 years and multiple application cycles to get accepted (and for the record, I know a non-urm male with lower stats who is in med school).

It would be tough for ANYONE to get accepted with my stats, but the entire point of my post was that it is definitely possible. Stats shouldn't be the only focus of an application and there are a lot of schools that take into account persistence and hard work.

The truth is that it is much harder for URMs to get to the application stage let alone gain an acceptance. If you look at the overall percentage of articulated by race. AA have only an 18 percent chance of getting in while all other groups have a substantially higher chance. With that said

GA-PCOM

Thanks for your inspirational story.

 

[Clarus]

How did you do on the MCAT?

 

[DreamingDoc]

The truth is that it is much harder for URMs to get to the application stage let alone gain an acceptance. If you look at the overall percentage of articulated by race. AA have only an 18 percent chance of getting in while all other groups have a substantially higher chance. With that said


Thanks for your inspirational story.

Yep, I agree and there is published data regarding the fact that it is not as easy for URMs as SDN would lead you to believe it is.

Thank you for reading and glad I could inspire a few people 🙂

 

[DreamingDoc]

How did you do on the MCAT?

If you click on the link to my post, there are screenshots of all my stats including my MCAT scores.

 

[McRibs]

Quite a few people have posted concerns about the new AACOMAS policy changes, so I just wanted to share my story to give a different perspective. Even with the original retake policy, my GPA never hit above a 3.0, but that didn't stop me from gaining an acceptance, and I am now in my third year of medical school.

I obviously can't speak for the schools, but I believe a lot of them will still continue to look for upward trends and/or take into account just your postbacc, graduate coursework, or last large set of hours. This new policy might change how your numbers show up, but osteopathic schools tend to be more holistic in their approach to applicants, so I really don't see much changing.

Anyway, I wrote a blog post about my super low stats to give some of you a positive outlook on the situation, so I hope it helps a little: www.aspiringminoritydoctor.com/2017/01/a-post-for-pre-meds-low-gpa-low-mcat.html

I understand that these threads are intended to make shafted grade-replacers feel good about the new AACOMAS rules but your story is exceptional.

I've got to maximize my chances, not hope for a sub 3.0 miracle.

A juicy sticky from Goro with up-to-date, hard and fast plans for pre-meds substantially affected by the AACOMASpocalypse would give me some strategy, which I'd prefer over hope any day.

Unfortunately, I doubt we'll have any truly phat stickies until another cycle or two rolls by.

Anyways, congratulations on getting over the wall and being more than half-way through medical school, you really did accomplish something great.

 

[OrdinaryDO]

If being a URM female meant easy access to med school, it wouldn't have taken me 5 years and multiple application cycles to get accepted (and for the record, I know a non-urm male with lower stats who is in med school).

It would be tough for ANYONE to get accepted with my stats, but the entire point of my post was that it is definitely possible. Stats shouldn't be the only focus of an application and there are a lot of schools that take into account persistence and hard work.

Anything is possible. Sometimes it just comes down to who you know. However, your situation doesn't apply to the vast, VAST majority of those who aren't URM+Female which are both diversity aspects medical schools are trying to target. It's nothing to take away from your achievements, but it is reality and you cannot become blind to that.

 

[DreamingDoc]

I understand that these threads are intended to make shafted grade-replacers feel good about the new AACOMAS rules but your story is exceptional.

I've got to maximize my chances, not hope for a sub 3.0 miracle.

A juicy sticky from Goro with up-to-date, hard and fast plans for pre-meds substantially affected by the AACOMASpocalypse would give me some strategy, which I'd prefer over hope any day.

Unfortunately, I doubt we'll have any truly phat stickies until another cycle or two rolls by.

Anyways, congratulations on getting over the wall and being more than half-way through medical school, you really did accomplish something great.

Thank you for the congrats. I don't want people to think that I just miraculously got accepted and there was nothing else in my application that stood out.

Outside of my stats, everything else about my application was solid and this was because I did everything I could to maximize my chances.

I have an entire "Applying to Medical School" section on my blog where I specifically discuss every aspect of my application and what students can do to improve their chances, so feel free to check it out if you want to know more.

 

[DreamingDoc]

Anything is possible. Sometimes it just comes down to who you know. However, your situation doesn't apply to the vast, VAST majority of those who aren't URM+Female which are both diversity aspects medical schools are trying to target. It's nothing to take away from your achievements, but it is reality and you cannot become blind to that.

There's a reason why schools are being pushed to target certain URMs, but that doesn't mean they're actually doing it. If you can provide evidence-based research and facts to support that it is easier for URM females to get accepted into medical school, I'd be happy to engage in further discussion on the subject.

 

[impervious0ne]

.

 

[OrdinaryDO]

There's a reason why schools are being pushed to target certain URMs, but that doesn't mean they're actually doing it. If you can provide evidence-based research and facts to support that it is easier for URM females to get accepted into medical school, I'd be happy to engage in further discussion on the subject.

If you need me to do this for you, then you have no perspective on the admissions process. This is widely known..even on SDN. If you can find me evidence that this ISN'T the case, then I will gladly do some research to prove it to you if you desire.

EDIT: Okay, I decided to go back and do some stat digging just for you.

• 2015: Caucasian Avg. Applicant GPA = 3.49 / African American = 3.21
• 2015: Caucasian Avg. Matriculation GPA = 3.56 / African American = 3.3
• 2015: Caucasian Avg. Application MCAT = 26.72 / African American = 22.06
• 2015: Caucasian Avg. Matriculation MCAT = 27.33 / African American = 23.86

• 2014: Caucasian Avg. Applicant GPA = 3.47 / African American = 3.20
• 2014: Caucasian Avg. Matriculation GPA =3.53 / African American = 3.33
• 2014: Caucasian Avg. Application MCAT =26.51 / African American = 21.93
• 2014: Caucasian Avg. Matriculation MCAT = 27.11 / African American = 23.67

• 2013: Caucasian Avg. Applicant GPA = 3.46 / African American = 3.20
• 2013: Caucasian Avg. Matriculation GPA = 3.52 / African American = 3.30
• 2013: Caucasian Avg. Application MCAT = 26.18 / African American = 21.66
• 2013: Caucasian Avg. Matriculation MCAT = 26.83 / African American = 22.85

 

[pseud0]

Getting in with a 21 MCAT and sub 3.0 GPA is probably a less than 1% story, even as an African American Single Mother (a preferred URM, I'm sure).

Anecdotal hope shouldn't really be considered imo.

for those reading this who plan on applying with similar stats, you have an almost zero percent chance of getting in.

In any case, congrats to OP and good luck in 3rd year.

 

[DreamingDoc]

If you need me to do this for you, then you have no perspective on the admissions process. This is widely known..even on SDN. If you can find me evidence that this ISN'T the case, then I will gladly do some research to prove it to you if you desire.

EDIT: Okay, I decided to go back and do some stat digging just for you.

• 2015: Caucasian Avg. Applicant GPA = 3.49 / African American = 3.21
• 2015: Caucasian Avg. Matriculation GPA = 3.56 / African American = 3.3
• 2015: Caucasian Avg. Application MCAT = 26.72 / African American = 22.06
• 2015: Caucasian Avg. Matriculation MCAT = 27.33 / African American = 23.86

• 2014: Caucasian Avg. Applicant GPA = 3.47 / African American = 3.20
• 2014: Caucasian Avg. Matriculation GPA =3.53 / African American = 3.33
• 2014: Caucasian Avg. Application MCAT =26.51 / African American = 21.93
• 2014: Caucasian Avg. Matriculation MCAT = 27.11 / African American = 23.67

• 2013: Caucasian Avg. Applicant GPA = 3.46 / African American = 3.20
• 2013: Caucasian Avg. Matriculation GPA = 3.52 / African American = 3.30
• 2013: Caucasian Avg. Application MCAT = 26.18 / African American = 21.66
• 2013: Caucasian Avg. Matriculation MCAT = 26.83 / African American = 22.85

The reason why I brought up the research is because not only do I know the numbers, but I have had the opportunity to sit in on conversations with the AAMC and other organizations that recognize the same issues when it comes to URMs gaining an acceptance into medical school.

What your post fails to show is the numbers of those applying and matriculating. I'm assuming you pulled your data from the AAMC site (https://www.aamc.org/data/facts/applicantmatriculant/), so going off the 2016-2017 data based on MCAT and GPA scores (table A16), you'll also see:

Black: applicant 4344 / matriculant 1497 = .34
White: applicant 25544 / matriculant 10828 = 0.42

If you look at the race and ethnicity breakdown (A12), it shows:

Black female: accepted 940 / applied 2802 = .33
Black male: accepted 598 / applied 1542 = .38

White female: accepted 5359 / applied 11490 = .47
White male: accepted 5970 / applied 14049 = .42

This post was not meant to turn into a discussion about race, but yes, there is evidence out there to show that getting into med school is not easier for URMs, and me asking for the evidence was my way of trying to get people to actually look it up. If you're going to pull out the numbers, make sure you show all the stats so people can get a full view. I obviously don't have time to do that, but you can start by going through ALL the data in the aamc link.

 

[DreamingDoc]

Getting in with a 21 MCAT and sub 3.0 GPA is probably a less than 1% story, even as an African American Single Mother (a preferred URM, I'm sure).

Anecdotal hope shouldn't really be considered imo.

for those reading this who plan on applying with similar stats, you have an almost zero percent chance of getting in.

In any case, congrats to OP and good luck in 3rd year.

When I was applying I remember seeing a chart on AAMC that broke down GPA and MCAT scores by matriculation, and while my chance was low, it was not at zero percent.

I appreciate the congrats though.

 

[PossibleDOC?]

No matter how you slice it URMs have a much easier time getting into US MD or DO schools, I know several of URMs who had worse stats than me (if you can believe it) and they got into schools while it took me two cycles (ORM). While this story is inspiring it is filled with many unicorn like events, a single mother, URM, probably a come back story in there, the schools salivate at that.

To anyone reading prepare well, because you will most likely not be the 1% like OP but I do send my congratulations OP keep up the good work

 

[DreamingDoc]

No matter how you slice it URMs have a much easier time getting into US MD or DO schools, I know several of URMs who had worse stats than me (if you can believe it) and they got into schools while it took me two cycles (ORM). While this story is inspiring it is filled with many unicorn like events, a single mother, URM, probably a come back story in there, the schools salivate at that.

To anyone reading prepare well, because you will most likely not be the 1% like OP but I do send my congratulations OP keep up the good work

Going by your logic, I should have been accepted the first or even the 2nd time I applied (yep, it took me more cycles than you), but I wasn't. And like I mentioned before, I know of a few ORMs with stats lower than mine who were accepted (crazy, huh?).

You could've had perfect stats and nothing else to show for it, while that URM with lower stats might have had a better application. A huge reason why I value osteopathic schools is because they look at the entire applicant and not just the numbers. My stats were low, but please understand that everything else in my application was solid including research, publications, volunteer work, employment, and anything else you want to name (all of which I have blog posts describing in great detail).

Which brings me back to the original point of my post: while stats can give the upper hand in the gaining an acceptance, there's still hope if you take the time to improve your application and make sure everything else looks great about you.

So yes, I definitely agree with you when you say to prepare well, because that is extremely important.

 

[PossibleDOC?]

All im going to say is this I applied with the average MCAT for an ORM matriculant (about a 30) and i have several URMs with a 3.0 (bare minimum for most schools) and a 22MCAT......they got in and my MCAT and GPA (3.4) were rejected and I had more research, volunteering, etc......

IDK where you were applying hah Harvard? any who this is supposed to be inspirational and helpful so to those of you reading this even OP has said to prepare and she's a miracle so listen to her you will need it in these cycles.

 

[impervious0ne]

@DreamingDoc,

Every data offered by AACOMAS and AMCAS shows that adcoms do consider things outside of academics (ethnicity, socioeconomic, etc). What people are saying is that you can't extrapolate your story for other people. This isn't a debate about race. You have a very significant "pull" that most applicants with poor academic credentials do not. Please realize that you belong to a very unique applicant pool and don't easily dismiss the criticism of others.

That being said, congratulations. I wish you best of luck in your career.

 

[AAhopeigetin]

The reason why I brought up the research is because not only do I know the numbers, but I have had the opportunity to sit in on conversations with the AAMC and other organizations that recognize the same issues when it comes to URMs gaining an acceptance into medical school.

What your post fails to show is the numbers of those applying and matriculating. I'm assuming you pulled your data from the AAMC site (https://www.aamc.org/data/facts/applicantmatriculant/), so going off the 2016-2017 data based on MCAT and GPA scores (table A16), you'll also see:

Black: applicant 4344 / matriculant 1497 = .34
White: applicant 25544 / matriculant 10828 = 0.42

If you look at the race and ethnicity breakdown (A12), it shows:

Black female: accepted 940 / applied 2802 = .33
Black male: accepted 598 / applied 1542 = .38

White female: accepted 5359 / applied 11490 = .47
White male: accepted 5970 / applied 14049 = .42

This post was not meant to turn into a discussion about race, but yes, there is evidence out there to show that getting into med school is not easier for URMs, and me asking for the evidence was my way of trying to get people to actually look it up. If you're going to pull out the numbers, make sure you show all the stats so people can get a full view. I obviously don't have time to do that, but you can start by going through ALL the data in the aamc link.

I would also like to point out that osteopathic percent of applicants accepted that are black is much worst than aamcs. Additionally, if there were not any HBCUs the numbers would be even worst. Controlling for HBCU matriculates yields an 18% chance of gaining for African Americans. Not to waste too much time but I would like to give an example of a particular school. Chicago College of Osteopathic medicine which is in suburban Chicago has only matriculates 16 black people from 2000 to 2016. Out of over 4000 applicants between that time period. Remember this school is in a major metropolitan area that has the largest black population in the US. This school matriculated only 16 more blacks than were matriculates between 1940 and 1956 and the school was white only then lol.

 

[OrdinaryDO]

The reason why I brought up the research is because not only do I know the numbers, but I have had the opportunity to sit in on conversations with the AAMC and other organizations that recognize the same issues when it comes to URMs gaining an acceptance into medical school.

What your post fails to show is the numbers of those applying and matriculating. I'm assuming you pulled your data from the AAMC site (https://www.aamc.org/data/facts/applicantmatriculant/), so going off the 2016-2017 data based on MCAT and GPA scores (table A16), you'll also see:

Black: applicant 4344 / matriculant 1497 = .34
White: applicant 25544 / matriculant 10828 = 0.42

If you look at the race and ethnicity breakdown (A12), it shows:

Black female: accepted 940 / applied 2802 = .33
Black male: accepted 598 / applied 1542 = .38

White female: accepted 5359 / applied 11490 = .47
White male: accepted 5970 / applied 14049 = .42

This post was not meant to turn into a discussion about race, but yes, there is evidence out there to show that getting into med school is not easier for URMs, and me asking for the evidence was my way of trying to get people to actually look it up. If you're going to pull out the numbers, make sure you show all the stats so people can get a full view. I obviously don't have time to do that, but you can start by going through ALL the data in the aamc link.

My post points out just what I mentioned before and gives you the exact answer you sought out from me. The number of total applicants vs matriculants do not matter in this argument. My argument is that URMs are frequently selected with lower than average stats due to the expansion and recruitment of URMs into the medical field. It is a public campaign and even my school is posting flyers and taking part in outreach programs to recruit URMs. This is not a bad thing! I was just point out the false sense of encouragement you are giving to those who are not URMs. There is no data for this, but if you look up how many ORMs with <3.0gpa and <23 MCATs together actually get into medical school, the number would be close to 0 every single year. YES, some kids DO get in, but even goro has mentioned on here (whom is an ADCOM) that some people just know the right person to get them in - that, or they have contributed in some major way to the advancement of that institution.

Your case is the exception, not the rule.