Meeting with Associate Director of Admissions

[Snownoir]

Hi everyone. I've been "lurking" for about a month now (shortly after I realized I wanted to become a doc) and am very grateful for this environment and all the kindness (and humor) that people show.

So I've searched through the forum to see if my question was answered and I didn't see anything.

Towards the end of January I will be meeting with the Associate Director of Admissions @ one of my state schools (one I would very much love to go to). I didn't expect to get this meeting. I had called the school to ask a question about if they'd accept my BS (because I'll be graduating from an online Uni) and she answered that question and said that if I'd like to come in and chat she'd be more than willing to set up a time. Well, there was no way I was going to say "no thanks."

However, when I made that call, I had JUST determined that I wanted to go to med school. I was very very lost with little clue where to go and what to do. So at this meeting, I am unsure of what would be appropriate to ask. Any suggestions? Do I need to show her my transcript (I'd much rather not because its horrid, will explain later)? I don't have much to show for myself and would rather not flaunt that as much as possible.

_____
Quick background:
Started my UG at Cal Poly going for a BS in Animal Science (Pre-Vet). Did awful for numerous reasons. Didn't finish. Awful GPA. Though I did great in certain areas that I really enjoyed. A professor let me run his IVF lab for a year which I loved!

Took a two and a half year break and finally decided to finish my BS. I'm currently enrolled @ Kaplan for a BS in Health Sciences and should be done in 2.5 - 3 years. I only have one quarter of grades at Kaplan. The end of November, beginning of December, I realized that I really would like to be a Doctor. I've always enjoyed helping people and I've always been interested in human medicine and health.

I've done the calculations, recently, and created a spreadsheet to figure out how many units I'd have to take with the corresponding GPA in order to bring my overall above a 3.0. I opted out of not taking some pre-reqs as the local CC and will work on them over at UTA (local 4-year state school) instead. So I'll be having my GPA come from at least 3 different institutions (Cal Poly, Kaplan, UTA).

I have looked into shadowing and have a few Doctors that have given me the okay to do so with them. I'll be starting that next month. I'm setting up some volunteering with the local hospitals. Currently I have NO EC or volunteering or shadowing. I have no formal research experience (I've been involved with some at school and at work) or publications. I have my year of teaching and running a lab...
_____

So that's my background.

I appreciate the time anyone takes in responding to this with any insight/or advise on what to ask or speak about or bring, etc.

Thank you!

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[sassilysweet]

Hi everyone. I've been "lurking" for about a month now (shortly after I realized I wanted to become a doc) and am very grateful for this environment and all the kindness (and humor) that people show.

So I've searched through the forum to see if my question was answered and I didn't see anything.

Towards the end of January I will be meeting with the Associate Director of Admissions @ one of my state schools (one I would very much love to go to). I didn't expect to get this meeting. I had called the school to ask a question about if they'd accept my BS (because I'll be graduating from an online Uni) and she answered that question and said that if I'd like to come in and chat she'd be more than willing to set up a time. Well, there was no way I was going to say "no thanks."

However, when I made that call, I had JUST determined that I wanted to go to med school. I was very very lost with little clue where to go and what to do. So at this meeting, I am unsure of what would be appropriate to ask. Any suggestions? Do I need to show her my transcript (I'd much rather not because its horrid, will explain later)? I don't have much to show for myself and would rather not flaunt that as much as possible.

_____
Quick background:
Started my UG at Cal Poly going for a BS in Animal Science (Pre-Vet). Did awful for numerous reasons. Didn't finish. Awful GPA. Though I did great in certain areas that I really enjoyed. A professor let me run his IVF lab for a year which I loved!

Took a two and a half year break and finally decided to finish my BS. I'm currently enrolled @ Kaplan for a BS in Health Sciences and should be done in 2.5 - 3 years. I only have one quarter of grades at Kaplan. The end of November, beginning of December, I realized that I really would like to be a Doctor. I've always enjoyed helping people and I've always been interested in human medicine and health.

I've done the calculations, recently, and created a spreadsheet to figure out how many units I'd have to take with the corresponding GPA in order to bring my overall above a 3.0. I opted out of not taking some pre-reqs as the local CC and will work on them over at UTA (local 4-year state school) instead. So I'll be having my GPA come from at least 3 different institutions (Cal Poly, Kaplan, UTA).

I have looked into shadowing and have a few Doctors that have given me the okay to do so with them. I'll be starting that next month. I'm setting up some volunteering with the local hospitals. Currently I have NO EC or volunteering or shadowing. I have no formal research experience (I've been involved with some at school and at work) or publications. I have my year of teaching and running a lab...
_____

So that's my background.

I appreciate the time anyone takes in responding to this with any insight/or advise on what to ask or speak about or bring, etc.

Thank you!

You are going to have a tough time of it if you only have a 3.0 or just above. Your best bet may be to retake the classes you did poorly in and the apply for DO school instead of MD. DO schools will do grade replacement, which substitutes your old grade with your new one. MD schools will consider your retake as a separate class and it won't be specially waited.

It sounds like you just want some questions to ask her....I guess you could start with having an idea of why you want to do medicine, and then ask her about the specific program at that school. Is it systems-based? PBL? What are the average GPA & MCAT for matriculants? What is the percentage of in-state vs. out-of-state acceptances? Are there are cut-offs for secondaries/interviews (ie MCAT lower than a 25, GPA lower than a 2.8, etc). What sort of applicant is accepted? Those with a strong research background? Average number of clinical and/or volunteer hours?

I hope that helps a little...good luck with your meeting!

 

[QofQuimica]

However, when I made that call, I had JUST determined that I wanted to go to med school. I was very very lost with little clue where to go and what to do. So at this meeting, I am unsure of what would be appropriate to ask. Any suggestions? Do I need to show her my transcript (I'd much rather not because its horrid, will explain later)? I don't have much to show for myself and would rather not flaunt that as much as possible.

The answer to that question is going to depend on what you hope to get out of the meeting. Presumably, what you want to discuss is how you can improve your chances of getting into medical school, and particularly her medical school. However, if you want this person to be able to advise you properly, you need to give her the full story, *especially* the parts that you'd "much rather not." So, here is what you should bring:

1) unofficial copies of all of your transcripts--yes, even the bad ones. It's not like you can hide your old transcript from her once you apply to her school anyway, and she can't help you strategize on how to damage control if she doesn't know about all the damage.
2) a CV--if you don't have one, write one before you go. Make sure you put all of your significant ECs on there--volunteering, shadowing, research, teaching, etc.
3) MCAT score if you have it
4) PS draft--if you haven't written one yet, it's worth writing at least an outline before you go see her. It will help you organize your own thoughts better so that you can explain to yourself and to her why you want to go to med school.

Hope you get some good tips from her, and best of luck.

 

[Snownoir]

Thank you so much you two.

Sassilysweet, I am aware of the replacement of grades versus not with DO vs MD programs. I haven't made any decisions on which type of school I'd like to apply to. I'm more than sure I'd apply to both (thats around 3 years from now). The calculations I've made (I even made a spreadsheet) regarding my GPA was NOT based on replacement but addition. I determined what would get me to a cumulative of 3.0. Then I saw my max with just the required pre-reqs and the completion of my BS. If I do amazing with those, I'd have 3.22 or higher. So I've decided to take more than just what would finish up my BS and the pre-reqs. I'm going to take classes in other subjects that interest me as well (psychology) and upper level bio classes. Great thoughts and VERY great questions! Thank you. =]

QofQuimica, I was so hoping you'd respond. Thank you. All of that when I'd be applying in 2.5 years from now? I'll pull all of that together any way. No MCAT score though. With my plan written out as well so she can see where I am and where I plan to be come application time? You have some amazing insight though, thank you. I'll do as suggest though.

Thanks again!

 

[QofQuimica]

QofQuimica, I was so hoping you'd respond. Thank you. All of that when I'd be applying in 2.5 years from now? I'll pull all of that together any way. No MCAT score though. With my plan written out as well so she can see where I am and where I plan to be come application time? You have some amazing insight though, thank you. I'll do as suggest though.

Now is the best time to discuss these things with her, while you still have plenty of time to make good use of her suggestions. Once you're at the point of applying, she won't be able to help you improve your app any more, right?

 

[2010houston]

QofQ has great advice, as always -

Even though it can seem crazy to be thinking years and years ahead when you're not even to the point of applying to medical school, you absolutely have to. Coming in with as much info as you can (esp a CV and personal statement) will really help you get the most you can out of this meeting.

Good luck! I hope it goes well