Hi all, I have been lurking around this forum for a bit and have loved the support the NTs give to each other. This 38 year old, ORM, re-applicant would really like some input. Here are my basics:
-Over 15 years since prerequisites
-12 years since my MS (done at a state school to increase my application to PhD programs)
-6 years since I’ve taken a graduate-level physiology class (last hard science class)
-3 years since finished PhD in allied health discipline (did take graduate pathophys and neuroscience courses)
-finished post doc last year (drug trials coordinator)
-In between MS and start of PhD worked for a few years. Currently have an awesome job, but it’s not my passion. Started rounding and shadowing during my PhD and realized I needed to make the switch to medicine.
- Stats: cGPA =3.8, sGPA 3.2 AMCAS, 3.5 AACOMAS (AACOMAS counted my PhD courses as biology, but AMCAS did not). Essentially, screwed my first half of undergrad but increased sGPA as I matured.
Cons: MCAT = 500—— I don’t recommend anyone studying for the MCAT when doing a post doc! Also, have a great job and title, which an interviewer at my first interview exclaimed “why on earth would you leave it for medicine?!” And was then lectured on why medicine is too big a gamble for someone with my job.
Pros: 11 publications, a lot of leadership experience, a lot of community service, 5 years of mentoring URM for STEM pipeline programs, awards/grants, over 400 hrs of shadowing/rounding, a decade working in clinical research, and media appearances.
Last cycle: Applied late-- primaries done late August; last secondary done end of September. I got 3 interviews, 1 MD, 2 DO. All rejected.
I know that I need to up my MCAT score. MCAT is in 4 weeks, and I’ve already put in 400 hours of studying time, which is more prep than I put into last year’s exam.
I’m on the fence regarding an SMP, although I’ve been accepted to the 4 SMPs I’ve applied to. 3 programs are at allo schools, but I would equally like to get into a DO program for med school. So is the SMP route worth showing I can still handle a hard science course load after being out of the game for a decade? Or should I just focus on nothing but the MCAT and make sure my apps are in early? AMCAS primary is 90% done, AACOMAS primary is 95% done.
Anyways, thanks for letting me get this off my chest! I hope my fellow NTs are coping relatively well with the wrench this pandemic has thrown at us!
-Over 15 years since prerequisites
-12 years since my MS (done at a state school to increase my application to PhD programs)
-6 years since I’ve taken a graduate-level physiology class (last hard science class)
-3 years since finished PhD in allied health discipline (did take graduate pathophys and neuroscience courses)
-finished post doc last year (drug trials coordinator)
-In between MS and start of PhD worked for a few years. Currently have an awesome job, but it’s not my passion. Started rounding and shadowing during my PhD and realized I needed to make the switch to medicine.
- Stats: cGPA =3.8, sGPA 3.2 AMCAS, 3.5 AACOMAS (AACOMAS counted my PhD courses as biology, but AMCAS did not). Essentially, screwed my first half of undergrad but increased sGPA as I matured.
Cons: MCAT = 500—— I don’t recommend anyone studying for the MCAT when doing a post doc! Also, have a great job and title, which an interviewer at my first interview exclaimed “why on earth would you leave it for medicine?!” And was then lectured on why medicine is too big a gamble for someone with my job.
Pros: 11 publications, a lot of leadership experience, a lot of community service, 5 years of mentoring URM for STEM pipeline programs, awards/grants, over 400 hrs of shadowing/rounding, a decade working in clinical research, and media appearances.
Last cycle: Applied late-- primaries done late August; last secondary done end of September. I got 3 interviews, 1 MD, 2 DO. All rejected.
I know that I need to up my MCAT score. MCAT is in 4 weeks, and I’ve already put in 400 hours of studying time, which is more prep than I put into last year’s exam.
I’m on the fence regarding an SMP, although I’ve been accepted to the 4 SMPs I’ve applied to. 3 programs are at allo schools, but I would equally like to get into a DO program for med school. So is the SMP route worth showing I can still handle a hard science course load after being out of the game for a decade? Or should I just focus on nothing but the MCAT and make sure my apps are in early? AMCAS primary is 90% done, AACOMAS primary is 95% done.
Anyways, thanks for letting me get this off my chest! I hope my fellow NTs are coping relatively well with the wrench this pandemic has thrown at us!