Mental Health/ Admission Process

[phloemxylem]

Hi all,

I've read many mixed responses to this question and wanted to follow-up to see if a more agreeable solution would surface.

Like many med-school hopefuls on this forum, I scraped by in undergrad. Severe depression, drug/alcohol abuse and apathy led to poor performance in most areas of study. At graduation my cpga was a meager 2.2. Despite my undergraduate performance, I knew I wanted to enter healthcare and took a job as an ER Tech at a level I trauma center. I loved my job, but left after a year+ to take care of my dad after he almost lost a fight with diabetes and subsequent renal failure-- he got away with just losing a foot. During that time, I took up (only slightly) more flexible work in food & beverage and used that beverage to cope with some of the stress I was facing at home. This progressed for..

Fast-forward 2 more years when I lost my dad. Enter grief counseling turned therapy. While this was by far the most significant loss I've experience, therapy allowed the clouds to open rather beautifully. I kicked the sauce, began to hit the gym regularly, achieved an otherworldly sense of clarity, and decided to start cleaning up my gpa in a post-bacc program. It was during this time that my desire to become a physician was reaffirmed, and I started working solely toward that.

I now have added nearly 70 credit hours of straight As to my undergraduate education and am signed up for 16 more to push my c/sgpa to ~3.2. I've also participated in research and have amassed substantial volunteer experience in both clinical and non-clinical settings. Fully understanding what I need to achieve on the MCAT to be seriously considered after such a spotty first four years of undergrad, my questions are: Assuming they look past my early academic record, would admission committees look less favorably on my history with depression? Is that something to even be included in the application process? Is 'reinvention of self' substantial criteria for admission?

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[strider144]

What's you post-bacc GPA, and how many years have passed since you graduated undergrad? Did you ever get into trouble with drinking / drug use, either through legal offenses or through your school?

How to shape your narrative is a thing, but there are schools that reward reinvention. If you have a good GPA from your post-bacc coursework (3.7+, with some upper level sciences) and can pull off a good MCAT score, you've got a shot. DO schools are more likely to be interested, along with a small selection of MD schools that like non-trads with compelling stories. This is assuming no major red flags, and you would want to think long and hard about just how much information to share with schools.

 

[phloemxylem]

I'm nearly 8 years out of undergrad now. I was arrested in college for DUI, 2007. No legal issues since. 4.0 post bacc.

I guess the difficulty lies in determining what should be included in my personal statement.

 

[emergencycat]

Congratulations on getting sober! That's a big accomplishment, keep up with the good work. Your post-bacc GPA is great and a lot of school will take into account how much you've changed. While 2007 was a long time ago, it is a red flag that needs to be explained. While I wouldn't necessarily discuss yourself as an alcoholic in your personal statement, something along the lines of "I realized then that drinking was causing me problems. I took steps x, y, and z and completely stopped drinking." May be good to have a paragraph about it in your PS. I would also talk about the support system you have in place now, as medical school (and the practice of medicine) is very stressful and relapse is not uncommon. Addiction is very serious, and while practicing physicians have programs that support their sobriety as well as policies in place to help keep them sober/protect them, it may serve as a barrier to your admission to medical school.

I know multiple people in my class that are sober, though I'm not sure if any of them discussed it in their admissions process. People have been accepted with DUI's, especially when it has been a long time since they were arrested. Were you convicted? Definitely clarify all the steps since.

Your PS can definitely be about your reinvention; discuss what came to motivate you and how you've changed. Study hard in order to well on the MCAT, and between doing well on that and the great post-bac GPA I would think you'll get interviews. Make sure to apply BROADLY. Whenever there's a red flag on an application, I think it's important to apply to as many schools as you can afford/would be willing to go to. Best of luck in this process and congratulations again!

 

[Goro]

Hi all,

I've read many mixed responses to this question and wanted to follow-up to see if a more agreeable solution would surface.

I now have added nearly 70 credit hours of straight As to my undergraduate education and am signed up for 16 more to push my c/sgpa to ~3.2. I've also participated in research and have amassed substantial volunteer experience in both clinical and non-clinical settings. Fully understanding what I need to achieve on the MCAT to be seriously considered after such a spotty first four years of undergrad, my questions are: Assuming they look past my early academic record, would admission committees look less favorably on my history with depression? Is that something to even be included in the application process? Is 'reinvention of self' substantial criteria for admission?

The bolded is what shows that you of now is NOT the you of then. There are MD schools (and all DO) that reward reinvention.

 

[strider144]

I'm nearly 8 years out of undergrad now. I was arrested in college for DUI, 2007. No legal issues since. 4.0 post bacc.

I guess the difficulty lies in determining what should be included in my personal statement.

You will have to explain the DUI, but you've clearly made some huge changes in the intervening years and schools will be able to see that. Your history shouldn't stop you. You had a transformative experience that, while undeniably tragic, set you on your current path and you've done the hard work of turning your life around. Just keep doing what you're doing, med school is absolutely possible.

 

[LizzyM]

Do you have someone, either a pre-med advisor or a professor who knows your whole story and who can write a strong letter of recommendation? Although you will address this, I've also seen it done in the LOR as well and coming from a third party sometimes have a bigger impact. Frankly, this is one of the reasons I find LORs from Columbia (post-bac) and Harvard to be among the strongest out there. They have no qualms about telling a story that outlines a student's journey. You need someone in your corner who will be that writer. If you have not already confided in a trusted advisor (not a therapist), find someone in that role before you apply.

 

[phloemxylem]

Thanks for the kind words and encouraging remarks. I have developed some very meaningful relationships with my advisor, many professors, and physicians; but none of my most recent mentors are privy to my whole story. Perhaps the Dean of Students from my early undergrad would weigh-in via a LOR. He's written on my behalf before and advised me through many of the hardships I faced back then, including the DUI.

Would a better alternative be to bring someone associated with my most recent successes up to speed?