Nontraditional Applicant

This forum made possible through the generous support of SDN members, donors, and sponsors. Thank you.

muchconfuse

New Member
7+ Year Member
Joined
Jul 31, 2015
Messages
9
Reaction score
0
I could really use some thoughts because frankly I have no idea where I stand.

Year in school: super senior (spent 5 and 1/2 years in college, I'll be graduating after this semester). Also, I transferred colleges after my sophomore year to a smaller school in my hometown.

Country/State: US, Texas

General Stats: Indian female

Schools: All Texas MD schools, Nearby DO schools. Reach at UChicago just because I like the school.

Cumulative GPA (old school): 3.4

Science GPA (old school): 2.5. Failed Ochem 1.

Cumulative GPA (new school): 3.92

Science GPA (new school): 3.7

Major: Marketing

MCAT: 515

Research: 3 published papers, around 400 hours in pharmacy and neuroscience

Volunteering: not much.

Shadowing: 50 hours with opthalmologist, 30 hours with psychiatrist, 30 hours with sleep specialist, 30 hours with plastic surgery

Extracurriculars: dance, art, creative writing, LGBT activism and support (I help kids who were thrown out of their homes find food, shelter, and support. I'm also gay and have a bad relationship with my family so I'm passionate about this). Also in a business fraternity and an animal shelter support club.

Work: Youtube channel with around 100k subscribers, server at a restaurant over breaks, writing and math tutor, marketing interships

Other: studied abroad for a semester in Spain, can now speak Spanish fluently. While there did an internship and some hospital volunteering.

Specialty of interest: psychiatry, opthalmology

Graduate degrees: none

Rural health: no

Members don't see this ad.
 
Have you applied?

What is your cGPA(both schools-all classes taken)? Same for sGPA?

Your ECs are really weak.

I’m not at all sure what you are asking actually.
 
Need some clinical experience. Your LBGTQ work sounds like volunteering? If not, I’d do some volunteering as well.

I am also not sure what your AMCAS GPA grid will look like, which is important.


Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile
 
Members don't see this ad :)
Need some clinical experience. Your LBGTQ work sounds like volunteering? If not, I’d do some volunteering as well.

I am also not sure what your AMCAS GPA grid will look like, which is important.


It might be volunteering.. it's mostly an independent project. I keep spare beds in my apartment and take in people who don't have a place to go.

I'm not sure what the GPA would be either... my current school doesn't count the GPA from my old school in but maybe for the post's sake we could talk about the average for both? This being roughly 3.7 overall and 3.1 in science. Some science courses were retaken however (for example, my failing ochem grade became a B) which complicates things.
 
Have you applied?

What is your cGPA(both schools-all classes taken)? Same for sGPA?

Your ECs are really weak.

I’m not at all sure what you are asking actually.
I'm asking if I have a chance at medical school. What can I do to improve ECs? No I have not applied yet.
My GPAs if we take just the averages would be 3.7 for cumulative and 3.1 in science.. that said I retook some science courses and I'm not sure how that would influence things.
 
It might be volunteering.. it's mostly an independent project. I keep spare beds in my apartment and take in people who don't have a place to go.

I'm not sure what the GPA would be either... my current school doesn't count the GPA from my old school in but maybe for the post's sake we could talk about the average for both? This being roughly 3.7 overall and 3.1 in science. Some science courses were retaken however (for example, my failing ochem grade became a B) which complicates things.

When you apply you will have so much space to write about your story you'll get sick of it ;) (atleast that was my experience)

AMCAS GPA is what medical schools will see and ultimately, at least academically, may/may not be what sets you back (your MCAT is pretty strong!). AMCAS will look at your grades from every school you have taken courses and calculate their own GPA. So it is a matter of how many credits you had (accounting for both your cGPA and sGPA) at each institution. They will also count both courses, for the courses you have retaken, in calculating your two GPAs. Ultimately, you will have the chance to write your narrative about anything academic difficulties (via your personal statement and secondaries essays for some schools).
 
When you apply you will have so much space to write about your story you'll get sick of it ;) (atleast that was my experience)

AMCAS GPA is what medical schools will see and ultimately, at least academically, may/may not be what sets you back (your MCAT is pretty strong!). AMCAS will look at your grades from every school you have taken courses and calculate their own GPA. So it is a matter of how many credits you had (accounting for both your cGPA and sGPA) at each institution. They will also count both courses, for the courses you have retaken, in calculating your two GPAs. Ultimately, you will have the chance to write your narrative about anything academic difficulties (via your personal statement and secondaries essays for some schools).
How did your application go? Just curious.

And that may be it. I definitely have some comments to make on why my GPA was what it was in the past. I guess that all I can do is try to beef up my volunteering and ECs.
 
How did your application go? Just curious.

And that may be it. I definitely have some comments to make on why my GPA was what it was in the past. I guess that all I can do is try to beef up my volunteering and ECs.

You sound like you still have time! When do you plan to apply? An upward trend in your GPA is great. You aren't the first to apply to medical school with some academic difficulties in the past -- as a matter of fact, it happens to many applicants (and a ton of them are successful!).

My application is going... fairly successfully so far, but it is a long and emotional process (definitely long... like over a year!)
 
You sound like you still have time! When do you plan to apply? An upward trend in your GPA is great. You aren't the first to apply to medical school with some academic difficulties in the past -- as a matter of fact, it happens to many applicants (and a ton of them are successful!).

My application is going... fairly successfully so far, but it is a long and emotional process (definitely long... like over a year!)
I have a little bit of time! I'm planning to apply this summer. I know I've spent a long time in school already, but i guess i feel less rushed since I skipped some grades when I was a little kid. So it feels like I'm on track even if I'm not, haha.

And oh! I thought you already sent it in and got your results. Good that you're taking your time with everything, though. Definitely better than rushing out something mediocre.
 
I have a little bit of time! I'm planning to apply this summer. I know I've spent a long time in school already, but i guess i feel less rushed since I skipped some grades when I was a little kid. So it feels like I'm on track even if I'm not, haha.

And oh! I thought you already sent it in and got your results. Good that you're taking your time with everything, though. Definitely better than rushing out something mediocre.

Read up and learn everything about applying to medical school. Calculate your AMCAS GPA (you can do it by looking at your transcripts from both of your schools and researching how AMCAS calculates your GPA).

I found starting with these to be very helpful.
1. MSAR -> Look it up, buy it, and use it to apply broadly to medical schools. Compare your GPA, MCAT, and critically analyze your experiences and the missions of the schools you apply to. Understand how your state fares in medical school admissions and what special circumstances you may/may not have in your favor (which can cloud up some of the data in the link I posted)
2. https://www.aamc.org/download/321508/data/factstablea23.pdf

Good luck! Make this process... Fun ;)
 
Read up and learn everything about applying to medical school. Calculate your AMCAS GPA (you can do it by looking at your transcripts from both of your schools and researching how AMCAS calculates your GPA).

I found starting with these to be very helpful.
1. MSAR -> Look it up, buy it, and use it to apply broadly to medical schools. Compare your GPA, MCAT, and critically analyze your experiences and the missions of the schools you apply to. Understand how your state fares in medical school admissions and what special circumstances you may/may not have in your favor (which can cloud up some of the data in the link I posted)
2.

Good luck! Make this process... Fun ;)

Thank you! I'll try.
 
Top