Nontraditional-friendly schools? (Florida Resident)

[osckey]

I'm looking around for schools that are viable options to apply to as a non traditional student. What makes me nontraditional is that I failed my first year (2 semesters) of college when I was younger which I attribute to several things including a bitter divorce in my family that resulted in lots of displacement and legal actions. I picked up the pieces of my life, got a job, and left the university under an "academic salvage" plan where I went to my local community college and restarted my freshman year. I graduated the community college with a 3.3 (I was still learning how to learn and progress was gradual). As per my university's "academic salvage" plan I was readmitted as a transfer student and finished the remaining two years of my degree with a 3.6 gpa.

I took my MCAT in 2014, scored a 33, and subsequently graduated this past December. In all, it took 6 years from disastrous beginning to the solid end. I am a Florida resident, have very strong EC's (including several medical missions served and member of student government association), research (1.5 yrs in-house research with local medical school + 3 pubs and 1 poster), clinical shadowing, and am currently applying for a scribing position at my local hospital. Despite having graduated, I still take classes at night after work in order to keep myself academically involved and to show a commitment to strong academic performance.

Overall, my MD GPA with first year included is 3.1 and my DO GPA sits at 3.57. I know I'm a sure candidate for osteopathic schools so my questions regard allopathic schools. Normally, I'd refer to the MSAR to get an ideal picture of what allopathic schools to apply to but I feel that I have difficulty interpreting the MSAR with my gpa.

So given all this information and the proper context and backstory, are there any allopathic schools that you suggest I look into and pursue? Furthermore, shy of doing a post-bacc or SMP, is there anything you think I should be doing to improve my application? Is it foolish for me to pursue an allopathic education?

*Disclaimer*:
I understand that no one can predict the future and the attitudes of adcom members. However, I do want to hear the general consensus on this. Thanks to all of those who respond.

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[Darth Doc]

If you apply to a lower tier medical school that is known to not have much ethnic diversity and write a stellar personal statement that explains the adversity you've had to overcome, I think you have a chance, especially since you are URM. My opinion only, but I think my school would give you a chance.

In your shoes, I'd apply to the allopathic schools that fit those criteria as well as DO schools and pick the one you love the most of those you're accepted to.

 

[osckey]

If you apply to a lower tier medical school that is known to not have much ethnic diversity and write a stellar personal statement that explains the adversity you've had to overcome, I think you have a chance, especially since you are URM. My opinion only, but I think my school would give you a chance.

In your shoes, I'd apply to the allopathic schools that fit those criteria as well as DO schools and pick the one you love the most of those you're accepted to.

Thanks Darth. As for the personal statement, I am currently tailoring my personal statement to include an explanation of my past, but moreover, to highlight my strengths and otherwise incredibly strong application. GPA is the only thing wrong with my application and I do have a strong and consistent upward trend which capped at consistent 3.7 performances throughout my semesters. Thanks again for your input!

P.S.- West Virginia added to list of potential future application sites.

 

[GreenDuck12]

I would take a look at the MSAR to try and find out where your application would not be auto declined due to the numbers. I think the challenge will be getting over that first hurdle. After that, your application seems quite solid.

 

[osckey]

H

I would take a look at the MSAR to try and find out where your application would not be auto declined due to the numbers. I think the challenge will be getting over that first hurdle. After that, your application seems quite solid.

Hey, thanks for replying. I just purchased the MSAR a couple of hours ago and poured through a lot of it. Does the MSAR make mention of automatic cut offs? I do know the cutoffs for several of my state's schools is 3.0.

Also, I see a lot of schools where the high for MCAT is 33 and the low for GPA is around 3.2-3.3. These are definitely schools that are on my radar.

 

[gyngyn]

Cubans are not generally considered under-represented in medicine.
Language skills are always useful, though.

 

[osckey]

Cubans are not generally considered under-represented in medicine.
Language skills are always useful, though.

That's an interesting thought. I was always under the assumption that the Hispanic/Latino was considered URM. I am fluently bilingual.

 

[gyngyn]

That's an interesting thought. I was always under the assumption that the Hispanic/Latino was considered URM. I am fluently bilingual.

Hispanics are a heterogeneous category. Most Hispanic countries are not under-represented.

 

[osckey]

"Hispanics" are a heterogeneous category. Most Hispanic countries are not under-represented.

In your opinion, is this a nation-wide sentiment when classifying Hispanic/Latino individuals as URM? My mother is Uruguayan, is this something your institution would consider URM?

 

[gyngyn]

In your opinion, is this a nation-wide sentiment when classifying Hispanic/Latino individuals as URM? My mother is Uruguayan, is this something your institution would consider URM?

We, like most schools do not consider South Americans under-represented in medicine. They still add to diversity though, and language skills are always appreciated.

 

[osckey]

We, like most schools do not consider South Americans under-represented in medicine. They still add to diversity though, and language skills are always appreciated.

Thanks, I appreciate the input.

 

[GreenDuck12]

H


Hey, thanks for replying. I just purchased the MSAR a couple of hours ago and poured through a lot of it. Does the MSAR make mention of automatic cut offs? I do know the cutoffs for several of my state's schools is 3.0.

Also, I see a lot of schools where the high for MCAT is 33 and the low for GPA is around 3.2-3.3. These are definitely schools that are on my radar.

It won't mention the hard cut off explicitly but it will list the GPA range which you can use to infer the cut off. As you are perusing, make sure you take a look at differences of in state vs out of state applicants. Applicants with residency usually have an easier time gaining admission and can typically do so with lower (sometimes significantly) stats than out of state applicants. There are, of course, exceptions to this but depending on which schools look appealing, it may be worth moving somewhere new for a year to gain residency.

 

[osckey]

It won't mention the hard cut off explicitly but it will list the GPA range which you can use to infer the cut off. As you are perusing, make sure you take a look at differences of in state vs out of state applicants. Applicants with residency usually have an easier time gaining admission and can typically do so with lower (sometimes significantly) stats than out of state applicants. There are, of course, exceptions to this but depending on which schools look appealing, it may be worth moving somewhere new for a year to gain residency.

Although a bold move, I would not switch residency away from my state. It is one of the most saturated states in terms of options for medical education. Also, I cannot infer much from a suggested cutoff as my gpa is still below any implied cutoff at ~3.1. I do know that my local state school has a hard cutoff (automatic screen-out) at 3.0. Moreover, I do not know how adcoms may approach my application if it passes the initial screening parameters. I know of many people who have graduated, done post-bacc work, and been accepted. However, I opted to defer graduation and continue working on my undergraduate gpa (which I was advised had more weight). So I cannot post a post-bacc gpa as so many people on this site do. Although I can say that my gpa for the last 2 years is around a 3.6.

I will be applying very broadly and have heavily courted my local medical school (a state school) to the point that many of the faculty know me and that many of the PhD's in my lab (who seem really supportive of me) are on the interview committees and the adcom itself. I have a meeting with the dean of admissions next week to talk about the school and the admissions process. Throughout all of this, I have been waiting for one of these members to tell me that I should not apply to allopathic schools. However, and even my pre-health advisors agree, they have all said the opposite.

2015 is going to be an interesting year. Thanks for the reply.

 

[LeftShark]

I think you have a good chance of getting an MD acceptance. Apply to lower-tier schools, including all of the ones in Florida. Write a stellar personal statement. Write excellent secondaries. Have awesome letters of recommendation.

 

[QofQuimica]

If you are a FL resident, you should apply to all of our state schools, including Miami, as all of them heavily favor state residents. They will all consider nontrads. Your GPA is on the low side, but you do show an upward trend, and you have a good MCAT, both of which work in your favor.

Your AACOMAS stats are very competitive. If you would be willing to attend a DO school, then I recommend you apply to both AMCAS and AACOMAS in order to broaden your apps even more.

Whether you will be classified as URM is up to each individual school, but in general, the URM designation for Hispanics is primarily aimed at those of Puerto Rican or Mexican descent. These are the two Hispanic groups that have been historically underrepresented in US medicine. Physicians of Cuban descent in particular are definitely not underrepresented in the medical community here in FL. Therefore, you should not expect to be considered as a URM. You may, if you feel the designation applies to you, claim disadvantaged status on your app. This means that you feel you have overcome significant hardships not faced by the typical middle class or upper middle class med school applicant in order to be able to attend college and apply for medical school. If you are in doubt, go ahead and claim disadvantaged status and write the essay explaining your circumstances; this will allow each school's adcom to consider the context of your college performance as it sees fit.

FWIW, I am not a fan of medical missions as the main clinical experience for applicants, as I believe they are primarily a glorified vacation in most cases rather than a true volunteering experience. If you have a major interest in global health and/or significant experience working with NGOs in that context, your situation may be an exception. But doing the scribing and shadowing is definitely a good idea if your clinical experience consists of spending a week or two in another country where the primary beneficiary was yourself.

Hope this helps, and best of luck to you.

 

[osckey]

FWIW, I am not a fan of medical missions as the main clinical experience for applicants, as I believe they are primarily a glorified vacation in most cases rather than a true volunteering experience...

I absolutely agree. I visited several of the pre-med clubs at my university and saw there presentations for the missions trips. I immediately saw that they each planned 20hrs of fun and relaxation for 1 hour of work. Given that, I did not go with any pre-med club. I contacted a Haitian surgeon at my church who owns and operates his own orphanage in Haiti out of his pocket. I went by myself and lived in the orphanage for two weeks and did several projects. Waking up every morning at 5 AMand finishing the work day at 10 PM was incredibly satisfying. Overall, it was an incredibly rewarding experience and I'm glad I didn't go with any club.

Also, medical missions is not my main source of clinical experience.