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As a student that has struggled to get good grades in STEM/BCPM courses since high school, I thought I'd share the tips and pointers that I've picked up through this process to maximize acceptance chance. I know a ton of other people get sunk by the sGPA or BCPM electives that screw over their grades, so this is definitely not something only I dealt with.
Some tips might be toeing the ethics line, but hey, you gotta do what you gotta do, right?
Step 0: Before College
1. Take as many APs/IBs as possible, so you can test the **** out of those cut-throat intro bio/chem/phys lectures. Free up space for electives (that I'll explain later). Getting a 4/5 on an AP exam is light years easier than even a B in a 500 person first year lecture.
2. Know what school you're signing up for. Life's a bitch, and truth is grade inflation/deflation can make or break an app. Obviously you have to consider other factors when choosing between UG schools, but make sure you do thorough research on this before settling on a college. In example, I'd choose Brown over MIT for pre-med any day of the week (disclaimer: Brown is probably the most chill UG experience for future docs--school wide P/F, no rank, no official GPA, no grad requirements, #1 grade inflation in America, extreme preference for its' own UGs @ Alpert Med, decent prestige, tons of EC opportunities, good Fin aid--out there, so definitely apply there and roll the dice).
3. Aim high. You never know what school you might get into or how much financial aid you could get (most Ivys & peers are very good about this) without trying. Despite the vehement denial of some people on these boards, where you go to school matters. And top private schools tend to inflate, once again. Grade inflation is your friend; who cares if 90% of the people in your class got an A, as long as you do too, game over baby.
Step 1s: Early on in your UG career
1. Don't major in BME/ChemE/Bio/[insert any flashy life science field here]. If you're NOT GOOD at something, don't study a major that'll require you to study it a ton. Choose something like Psychology, Human Development, English, etc--whatever you're good and and something you can 3.8+ in. Do research on what's "easier" at your school. In the grand scheme of things, med schools don't really care what you studied.
2. For hard sciences, take only the mandatory pre-reqs. Regardless of what your misinformed advisers may tell you, these are limited to: 1 year of bio (and lab). 1 year of gen chem (and lab). 1 year of physics (and lab). 1 year of orgo (some only do 1 semester, I'd recommend 1 year for maximum options) and lab. 1 semester of biochem (preferably over the summer, it's easier that way). Make sure you take the easiest course track, for non-majors (ie. non calculus phys, non-accelerated chem, etc etc). Do not get greedy and forget why you are reading this: YOU SUCK AT SCIENCES. Remember: in this case, less is more.
3. Research and load up on "fluff sciences," the courses at every school that are condescendingly easy yet are still BCPM. Ecology, astronomy, evolution, botany come to mind. Look at 300 and 400 level electives with funny or cool titles: often, these are classes that profs teach for their own enjoyment and personal interest. This means grading is super chill. Look for electives geared towards freshmen, they're generally easy AF. This can boost your sGPA significantly, and is worth whatever potential scrutiny there may be.
4. Be friends with upperclassmen. They'll give you the low down on where the cruise control sections are. Check your school/online for potential ratings systems (like Northwestern's CTECs, or websites like RMP.com).
5. Know freshman forgiveness/allowance policies. Some schools have special rules for new students that allows for complete grade removal. When in doubt, ask your UG studies office: no need to keep that C on the transcript if it can be cut.
6. Fully utilize add/drop period. Not sure about a course? Sit in for a couple weeks, and ask youself the tough q's: Can I do well here? Do not be afraid to drop it if the answer is not a firm "yes."
These should hopefully boost the numerical part of the problem (sGPA) to an acceptable level.
Step 2s: Outside of the classroom
1. Do research. To continue compensating for below avg pre-req performance, do kick-ass research (which isn't that hard) and get a pub/poster/conference + awesome EC science LOR.
2. Rack up clinical/nonclinical volunteering, clubs, sports, whatever you're interested in. You're not a STEM savant, so show the adcom who you are. Get involved in as many things as possible, but make sure your grades don't slip.
Step 3: MCAT
1. Study for as long as you can, as hard as you can, and as often as you can. Like it or not, the MCAT is not an in-depth test of complex scientific subjects. Like the SAT/ACT it's a rudimentary covering of lessons that are really basic in nature. It's much more about testing strategy than content mastery. Enough practice will make perfect. That means just overload the practice problems until you can do it in your sleep.
Step 4: Playing Games with AMCAS
1. Here comes the fun part. AMCAS will verify your course listings (what you initially classify each course as) against your transcript and make edits as necessary. The truth: they're not as stickler about the boundaries of BCPM as SDN is. If it is even remotely science-y, put it down as a Bio/Chem/Phys/Math/Astronomy or whatever, and put the onus on them to change it if necessary. Chances are they won't, as long as it's reasonable. If you have a syllabus on hand, ask them to reclassify any courses that they do change in round 1, and submit the syllabi as proof of science material covered.
Note: you should submit the first day to allow time for potentially delayed verification during this process and still be an "early applicant" in the cycle as a whole.
I got courses that blatantly weren't even science counted as BCPM.
So as a student that is sub-par in sciences, the things you need to worry about are: 1. sGPA, 2. MCAT, and 3. ECs. Do the bare minimum in areas you won't excel in, and max out other areas that most other pre-meds overlook. You'll get in.
My "true" sGPA is atrocious by MD school standards (low enough for Carib lol), and yet these strategies have immensely boosted my chances, and led to an already very successful cycle. Some of the above things I didn't realize until later, so implement them early and you will be golden.
Peace out.
Some tips might be toeing the ethics line, but hey, you gotta do what you gotta do, right?
Step 0: Before College
1. Take as many APs/IBs as possible, so you can test the **** out of those cut-throat intro bio/chem/phys lectures. Free up space for electives (that I'll explain later). Getting a 4/5 on an AP exam is light years easier than even a B in a 500 person first year lecture.
2. Know what school you're signing up for. Life's a bitch, and truth is grade inflation/deflation can make or break an app. Obviously you have to consider other factors when choosing between UG schools, but make sure you do thorough research on this before settling on a college. In example, I'd choose Brown over MIT for pre-med any day of the week (disclaimer: Brown is probably the most chill UG experience for future docs--school wide P/F, no rank, no official GPA, no grad requirements, #1 grade inflation in America, extreme preference for its' own UGs @ Alpert Med, decent prestige, tons of EC opportunities, good Fin aid--out there, so definitely apply there and roll the dice).
3. Aim high. You never know what school you might get into or how much financial aid you could get (most Ivys & peers are very good about this) without trying. Despite the vehement denial of some people on these boards, where you go to school matters. And top private schools tend to inflate, once again. Grade inflation is your friend; who cares if 90% of the people in your class got an A, as long as you do too, game over baby.
Step 1s: Early on in your UG career
1. Don't major in BME/ChemE/Bio/[insert any flashy life science field here]. If you're NOT GOOD at something, don't study a major that'll require you to study it a ton. Choose something like Psychology, Human Development, English, etc--whatever you're good and and something you can 3.8+ in. Do research on what's "easier" at your school. In the grand scheme of things, med schools don't really care what you studied.
2. For hard sciences, take only the mandatory pre-reqs. Regardless of what your misinformed advisers may tell you, these are limited to: 1 year of bio (and lab). 1 year of gen chem (and lab). 1 year of physics (and lab). 1 year of orgo (some only do 1 semester, I'd recommend 1 year for maximum options) and lab. 1 semester of biochem (preferably over the summer, it's easier that way). Make sure you take the easiest course track, for non-majors (ie. non calculus phys, non-accelerated chem, etc etc). Do not get greedy and forget why you are reading this: YOU SUCK AT SCIENCES. Remember: in this case, less is more.
3. Research and load up on "fluff sciences," the courses at every school that are condescendingly easy yet are still BCPM. Ecology, astronomy, evolution, botany come to mind. Look at 300 and 400 level electives with funny or cool titles: often, these are classes that profs teach for their own enjoyment and personal interest. This means grading is super chill. Look for electives geared towards freshmen, they're generally easy AF. This can boost your sGPA significantly, and is worth whatever potential scrutiny there may be.
4. Be friends with upperclassmen. They'll give you the low down on where the cruise control sections are. Check your school/online for potential ratings systems (like Northwestern's CTECs, or websites like RMP.com).
5. Know freshman forgiveness/allowance policies. Some schools have special rules for new students that allows for complete grade removal. When in doubt, ask your UG studies office: no need to keep that C on the transcript if it can be cut.
6. Fully utilize add/drop period. Not sure about a course? Sit in for a couple weeks, and ask youself the tough q's: Can I do well here? Do not be afraid to drop it if the answer is not a firm "yes."
These should hopefully boost the numerical part of the problem (sGPA) to an acceptable level.
Step 2s: Outside of the classroom
1. Do research. To continue compensating for below avg pre-req performance, do kick-ass research (which isn't that hard) and get a pub/poster/conference + awesome EC science LOR.
2. Rack up clinical/nonclinical volunteering, clubs, sports, whatever you're interested in. You're not a STEM savant, so show the adcom who you are. Get involved in as many things as possible, but make sure your grades don't slip.
Step 3: MCAT
1. Study for as long as you can, as hard as you can, and as often as you can. Like it or not, the MCAT is not an in-depth test of complex scientific subjects. Like the SAT/ACT it's a rudimentary covering of lessons that are really basic in nature. It's much more about testing strategy than content mastery. Enough practice will make perfect. That means just overload the practice problems until you can do it in your sleep.
Step 4: Playing Games with AMCAS
1. Here comes the fun part. AMCAS will verify your course listings (what you initially classify each course as) against your transcript and make edits as necessary. The truth: they're not as stickler about the boundaries of BCPM as SDN is. If it is even remotely science-y, put it down as a Bio/Chem/Phys/Math/Astronomy or whatever, and put the onus on them to change it if necessary. Chances are they won't, as long as it's reasonable. If you have a syllabus on hand, ask them to reclassify any courses that they do change in round 1, and submit the syllabi as proof of science material covered.
Note: you should submit the first day to allow time for potentially delayed verification during this process and still be an "early applicant" in the cycle as a whole.
I got courses that blatantly weren't even science counted as BCPM.
So as a student that is sub-par in sciences, the things you need to worry about are: 1. sGPA, 2. MCAT, and 3. ECs. Do the bare minimum in areas you won't excel in, and max out other areas that most other pre-meds overlook. You'll get in.
My "true" sGPA is atrocious by MD school standards (low enough for Carib lol), and yet these strategies have immensely boosted my chances, and led to an already very successful cycle. Some of the above things I didn't realize until later, so implement them early and you will be golden.
Peace out.
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