Non-Trad, how will AMCAS interpret/display my transcript?

[wlt217]

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By the time I submit my application, I'll be requesting transcripts from 5 institutions. I'm wondering what adcom's are going to see, and how they might react. Any comments are appreciated. Here's a rough approximation of transcripts:

School #1 (community college), attended 2003-2004
credits: ~30, GPA: ~2.5

School #2 (small LAC), attended 2005-2006
credits: ~30, GPA: ~2.5

School #3 (music conservatory), attended 2006-2007
credits: ~30, GPA: ~3.0

School #4 (another cc), attended 2007-2010 (enrolled 4/6 semesters)
credits: ~40, GPA: ~2.5

School #5 (low-rank research univ.), attended 2010-2014
credits: ~140, GPA: ~3.99

sGPA should be 3.9+ (currently 4.0, still several science classes I'd like to take next year)

I suffered from depression until around the time I transferred into School #5, which will be addressed in my PS.

My understanding (based on posts by LizzyM) is that credits are grouped into blocks of ~30 to define each traditional UG year (freshman, sophomore, etc), with anything beyond 90 being lumped into 4th year. That will certainly work for parts of my transcript, but if it shows "2.5, 3.0, 2.5" for the first three years, how many adcoms are going to be interested in digging into the 4th "year" which contains all my pre-reqs and, frankly, a substantial portion of my justification for being a competitive applicant?

Thanks in advance, and let me know if I left out anything that might help answer my questions.

 

[LizzyM]

Obviously you are older than 22 and have attended 5 different institutions. That is visible on your AMCAS application before the grades are seen.

In the grid that shows gpa split into BCPM (science) and AO (all other) and total by year also number of credits per year... that will clearly show that your last "year" is 100+ credits. Alas, your overall gpa is 3.33 so that is going to get you screened out at a lot of places. .

Every class and every grade will be recorded on your application and adcoms can look at those and some like to pull out their favorites (some believe o-chem and/or physics are good predictors of success or reasonable courses to use for comparisons among applicants). Your challenge is going to be getting to look beyond your overall gpa. If you have any personal connections at any of the schools you are considering, or know someone who does, use them to put in a good word for you with a phone call to the admissions office (e.g. your brother-in-law's cousin is a professor of surgery there-- ask him to make a call on your behalf). You are up against thousands of applicants with >3.5 gpa so to break out and get a look-see you are going to need to pull in some favors.

 

[MedPR]

Obviously you are older than 22 and have attended 5 different institutions. That is visible on your AMCAS application before the grades are seen.

In the grid that shows gpa split into BCPM (science) and AO (all other) and total by year also number of credits per year... that will clearly show that your last "year" is 100+ credits. Alas, your overall gpa is 3.33 so that is going to get you screened out at a lot of places. .

Every class and every grade will be recorded on your application and adcoms can look at those and some like to pull out their favorites (some believe o-chem and/or physics are good predictors of success or reasonable courses to use for comparisons among applicants). Your challenge is going to be getting to look beyond your overall gpa. If you have any personal connections at any of the schools you are considering, or know someone who does, use them to put in a good word for you with a phone call to the admissions office (e.g. your brother-in-law's cousin is a professor of surgery there-- ask him to make a call on your behalf). You are up against thousands of applicants with >3.5 gpa so to break out and get a look-see you are going to need to pull in some favors.

👍

I'm befuddled by the fact that you were able to take 130 non-science credits without a single BCPM class mixed in.

 

[Goro]

We look at cGPA and sGPA first, and then year by year performance. I congratulate you on finally acheiving some balance in your life and showing your true potential.

You should be fine for any DO program. There will be some MD programs that look at the current you, not the you from several years ago, but the trick is researching them. Contact some Admissions Deans to see if you're competitive.

By the time I submit my application, I'll be requesting transcripts from 5 institutions. I'm wondering what adcom's are going to see, and how they might react. Any comments are appreciated. Here's a rough approximation of transcripts:

School #1 (community college), attended 2003-2004
credits: ~30, GPA: ~2.5

School #2 (small LAC), attended 2005-2006
credits: ~30, GPA: ~2.5

School #3 (music conservatory), attended 2006-2007
credits: ~30, GPA: ~3.0

School #4 (another cc), attended 2007-2010 (enrolled 4/6 semesters)
credits: ~40, GPA: ~2.5

School #5 (low-rank research univ.), attended 2010-2014
credits: ~140, GPA: ~3.99

sGPA should be 3.9+ (currently 4.0, still several science classes I'd like to take next year)

I suffered from depression until around the time I transferred into School #5, which will be addressed in my PS.

My understanding (based on posts by LizzyM) is that credits are grouped into blocks of ~30 to define each traditional UG year (freshman, sophomore, etc), with anything beyond 90 being lumped into 4th year. That will certainly work for parts of my transcript, but if it shows "2.5, 3.0, 2.5" for the first three years, how many adcoms are going to be interested in digging into the 4th "year" which contains all my pre-reqs and, frankly, a substantial portion of my justification for being a competitive applicant?

Thanks in advance, and let me know if I left out anything that might help answer my questions.

 

[wlt217]

Thanks, LizzyM! I do have a contact at my #1 choice, I'll be sure to ask whether she's willing to make a call for me.

👍

I'm befuddled by the fact that you were able to take 130 non-science credits without a single BCPM class mixed in.

I was mostly focusing on music, but now that you mention it I did take an algebra class prior to that point (got a B), so I spoke too soon about having a 4.0 sGPA.

We look at cGPA and sGPA first, and then year by year performance. I congratulate you on finally acheiving some balance in your life and showing your true potential.

You should be fine for any DO program. There will be some MD programs that look at the current you, not the you from several years ago, but the trick is researching them. Contact some Admissions Deans to see if you're competitive.

Thanks, it definitely is a fantastic feeling to finally have overcome my issues, and I'm looking forward to working hard in the coming years to make up for lost time.

I'm glad to hear that sGPA is at least seen early on. I'll take your advice and try to figure out which schools are more open to considering someone in my situation.