Non-trad re-application: advice greatly appreciated!

[watanabe]

Hi All! So i'm a long time lurker and posted a few times, I just got a new account because my previous usn was way too obvious. Anyway, my situation is that I'm currently sitting on 2 waitlists. I received 3 interviews this cycle, 2 from IS and one OOS. I got rejected to one of my IS. I'm just curious as to how to approach this next application cycle if i don't get in.

Stats: 30R (10,10,10)
Sci/Cum GPA: 3.22/3.43 (top 10 University, Biology major - upwards trend towards last 2 years, just not enough of a trend).

Leadership: President of my sorority, executive leadership on greek council, various other leadership in local philanthropy clubs
Shadowed about 500 hours in ER, IM, Neurosurg, and Anesthesiology
LOR: 1 from my PI (research for 3 years as an RA, but no publications), 1 from an upper level bio course that I got an A in, 2 from faculty advisors when I was in a leadership position, 1 from a non-science professor who said she wrote me a superb and very verbose LOR, and 1 from a nurse when I was working as an intern in an outpatient clinic collecting data on clinical efficiency (this one I don't think is as strong)

I graduated last spring in 2012 and have been working in various clinical positions: I worked as a tech in the OR for about 5 months before I had to move back home for family. I now work in a cadaver lab and as an outpatient scribe (4 months now). In all, I've had about 9 months of clinical exposure, working 40 hours/wk.

I know my grades and MCATs are on the low end. I also didn't apply to DO this past year which was a big mistake. I'm just wondering if I should re-apply immediately starting June (if i don't hear back from my waitlists). In that case, I might take a few classes to boost that gpa, however, my pre-med advisor said that if i submit my amcas before then, the classes won't count, although i'm guessing I can just send in updates to my application later?
I'm not looking to get into top-tier schools. Ideally I just want to go in-state. Seeing how i got interviews to my IS schools, I'm not sure how else to improve so that next time I get an acceptance. I was reading up on the resources for the school I got rejected from and they advised that instead of focusing on the stats (since I already interviewed) I should work on my experiences. Also, most of my interviews were MMI (which I felt all went really well). I even got a comment that I seemed to have everything together and I answered the question better than most.

Alright long story short.... what should I do? Apply this year or wait another year to strengthen my application?

I forgot to mention that I also have a summer internship teaching English/SATs/HS subjects in a different country in Asia (will still have my other clinical jobs when I return from the trip).

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[lalalaaaaaa]

Apply DO for sure! You have great ECs, just low on the numbers end. The upward trend will help you at DO schools too.

If you're really set on MD, then you will probably need to take an extra year off and probably take some extra classes to pull up your GPA or retake the MCAT and shoot for +34.

Good luck!

 

[kplreveal]

.

 

[watanabe]

hi lalalaa thanks for the advice! do you know if itd be frown upon to take some of the harvard/berkeley/ucla extension classes? I'm limited on time just from my multiple jobs (and to pay rent).

 

[lalalaaaaaa]

hi lalalaa thanks for the advice! do you know if itd be frown upon to take some of the harvard/berkeley/ucla extension classes? I'm limited on time just from my multiple jobs (and to pay rent).

I don't think they would be frowned upon, and I have no idea if these count towards your GPA like other classes (I would imagine they do). But they are probably super expensive. Since your GPA is definitely on the low end, it might be worth it. That might be a question to ask the PreMed forum.

It probably also depends on what courses you take and why. A contemporary American poetry class might not be seen as that relevant (I would argue otherwise though ) whereas an upper division science class would definitely prove that you can handle med school. If there is a local college in your area, I would look into taking some science classes there.

 

[mspeedwagon]

Alright, might just be me, but I had a good laugh with someone graduating in 2012 calling themselves a "non-traditional student." The average age of all med students is 24.

Now on to more helpful advice:
- Don't re-take your MCAT. It's 30 and it's balanced.
- Raise your GPA. Your sGPA is low.
- You can take classes at any undergrad institute (all the Extensions... they will all count toward your undergrad GPA).
- I took classes at Harvard and Berkeley Extension schools. I'm biased, but I do think they are both pretty good (Harvard has the edge since they have a lot more consistent professors at the extension and Berkeley has a lot more turnover. Granted, that could be good or bad, depending on the prof).
- After the cycle is over, contact your state schools and ask how you can improve your application. That really is going to be have more weight than anything anyone can tell you on this forum.

 

[watanabe]

thankss everyone! So to clarify non-trad: when i was interviewing, the schools said anyone who didn't apply straight out of college (aka did not take gap years) was considered non-traditional. I guess theres just a spectrum of how non-trad we are.

Would it be bad if I re-applied this year with no change in grades when i submit my amcas?

 

[mspeedwagon]

If you apply to the same schools with the same application, you'll likely end up with the same outcome. Why not ask schools at the end of the cycle what you can do to improve your application and start working on that ASAP.

You can submit and add info about what steps you are taking to improve your application. Good luck!

Would it be bad if I re-applied this year with no change in grades when i submit my amcas?