Please help me out...

[DreamingDoc]

So I am a full-blown member of the site, but I created a new account in order to remain slightly anonymous for at least a little while. I am a urm, single mother, low gpa/mcat student, and I was recently accepted into an osteopathic medical school. I recently started a new blog, and would appreciate it if some of the SDN members would check it out and offer comments/suggestions. My goal is to share my story and inspire others who may have experienced similar obstacles. So far, I only have 10 posts, so it shouldn't be too much of a hassle to read, although some of my posts are a bit lengthy. The address is www.aspiringminoritydoctor.com and it's also in my signature. Thanks in advance!

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[docemmettbrown]

Honestly i do see your signature... may be caused by mobile phone

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[BestDoctorEver]

So I am a full-blown member of the site, but I created a new account in order to remain slightly anonymous for at least a little while. I recently started a new blog, and would appreciate it if some of the SDN members would check it out and offer comments/suggestions. I am a urm, single mother, low gpa/mcat student, and I was recently accepted into an osteopathic medical school. My goal is to share my story and inspire others who may have experienced similar obstacles. So far, I only have 10 posts, so it shouldn't be too much of a hassle to read, although some of my posts are a bit lengthy. The address is in my signature. Thanks in advance!

That is really impressive if you really got in with a 21 mcat. I also have a friend (URM) who got in with a 20 this cycle and I considered that a miracle.

 

[DreamingDoc]

Honestly i do see your signature... may be caused by mobile phone

Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk

Sorry, I removed it from my original post because I was being moderated and thought that was the reason why. It's www.aspiringminoritydoctor.com

 

[DreamingDoc]

That is really impressive if you really got in with a 21 mcat. I also have a friend (URM) who got in with a 20 this cycle and I considered that a miracle.

I took it four times, and my scores were 21, 22, 20, and 21. Anything is possible and I have a ton of other amazing things in my app as well.

 

[cabinbuilder]

Congrats, just be sure if you start struggling in med school be sure to seek out help sooner than later. Lots of folks struggle.

 

[DreamingDoc]

Congrats, just be sure if you start struggling in med school be sure to seek out help sooner than later. Lots of folks struggle.

Thanks. The struggle is what scares me the most, but I've never been afraid to ask for help.

 

[darklabel]

Wow, I'm glad you made it in after having to overcome a low GPA and MCAT and doing it all as a single mother. Come boards time, I hope you change your study habits so that you can score well and be happy wherever you end up.

Good luck and congratulations! I wish you and your family well.

 

[EMDO2018]

Yeah im wondering how people who score high teens, low 20's do on the boards. Im a URM with 27 MCAT and im nervous about boards. Do you have to cover more information for boards or is it abut the same amount of material that was on the MCAT?

 

[BestDoctorEver]

Yeah im wondering how people who score high teens, low 20's do on the boards. Im a URM with 27 MCAT and im nervous about boards. Do you have to cover more information for boards or is it abut the same amount of material that was on the MCAT?

The DO I shadowed told me she got in with an 18 MCAT and had no trouble getting thru med school and passing the boards. She is NOT an URM. She told me the MCAT and the boards are two different beast..

 

[HopefulReapp]

I know that I will probably get some negative comments for this post, I honestly don't understand why you were offered a spot. You had a 2.5 GPA and a 20 on the MCAT. Life experiences can show that you have a passion for the field, but I don't see how it can lead to competence throughout medical school and later treating your patients.

You could argue that the MCAT may not be a great indicator of academic aptitude, but I have a hard time understanding how four+ years of university classes and a C+ average is indicative of someone being capable of succeeding in medical school.

I absolutely congratulate you on how far you have gotten in whichever situation that you may have gone through and wish you the best of luck in the future.

 

[EMDO2018]

I know that I will probably get some negative comments for this post, I honestly don't understand why you were offered a spot. You had a 2.5 GPA and a 20 on the MCAT. Life experiences can show that you have a passion for the field, but I don't see how it can lead to competence throughout medical school and later treating your patients.

You could argue that the MCAT may not be a great indicator of academic aptitude, but I have a hard time understanding how four+ years of university classes and a C+ average is indicative of someone being capable of succeeding in medical school.

I absolutely congratulate you on how far you have gotten in whichever situation that you may have gone through and wish you the best of luck in the future.

In all fairness she did a post bac and did very well.

 

[IslandStyle808]

Congrats on your acceptance. Word of advice to you is to sit down and really figure out how to do well in school (considering the low GPA and low MCAT). You seem to be juggling a lot right now. I would start making connections with you school already. Have a faculty member you can talk to (just in case of an emergency or a bad unit) and also find resources do well in medical school. However, considering you did well in your post-bacc, you are already on the right track.

 

[cliquesh]

Yeah im wondering how people who score high teens, low 20's do on the boards. Im a URM with 27 MCAT and im nervous about boards. Do you have to cover more information for boards or is it abut the same amount of material that was on the MCAT?

There's more information on the step 1 than the mcat, but it's mostly memorization. The mcat and comlex/usmle use different skills.

According to one of my school's deans those below a 24 are at risk for failing and those 27+ will likely pass. That was just some random quote she said once.

There was a small group of students in my class that had 20 to 23 mcats. They all failed one of the biochem courses first year, they all had a rough time with boards and all of them ended up in aoa family medicine.

 

[DreamingDoc]

I know that I will probably get some negative comments for this post, I honestly don't understand why you were offered a spot. You had a 2.5 GPA and a 20 on the MCAT. Life experiences can show that you have a passion for the field, but I don't see how it can lead to competence throughout medical school and later treating your patients.

You could argue that the MCAT may not be a great indicator of academic aptitude, but I have a hard time understanding how four+ years of university classes and a C+ average is indicative of someone being capable of succeeding in medical school.

I absolutely congratulate you on how far you have gotten in whichever situation that you may have gone through and wish you the best of luck in the future.

I don't take any offense to your post and I just wanted to clarify that I did not get accepted based on my undergrad scores alone. I completed a Master of Science in Biochemistry degree (as stated in my blog) and ended with an overall GPA of 3.7. I am not concerned with not passing biochem in med school because I have two degrees in it already.

As for the mcat, I've met quite a few great doctors in specialized fields who admit to having a low score, so I'm not sure how indicative it is of success.

 

[user3]

So I am a full-blown member of the site, but I created a new account in order to remain slightly anonymous for at least a little while. I recently started a new blog, and would appreciate it if some of the SDN members would check it out and offer comments/suggestions. I am a urm, single mother, low gpa/mcat student, and I was recently accepted into an osteopathic medical school. My goal is to share my story and inspire others who may have experienced similar obstacles. So far, I only have 10 posts, so it shouldn't be too much of a hassle to read, although some of my posts are a bit lengthy. The address is in my signature. Thanks in advance!

What kind of URM are you?

 

[DreamingDoc]

What kind of URM are you?

AA

 

[cabinbuilder]

The DO I shadowed told me she got in with an 18 MCAT and had no trouble getting thru med school and passing the boards. She is NOT an URM. She told me the MCAT and the boards are two different beast..

This is true. I had a low MCAT and didn't fail any of the board exams. They basically tell you all the way through med school what to expect on the boards.

 

[DreamingDoc]

This true. I had a low MCAT and didn't fail any of the board exams. They basically tell you all the way through med school what to expect on the boards.

Good to know

 

[BestDoctorEver]

There's more information on the step 1 than the mcat, but it's mostly memorization. The mcat and comlex/usmle use different skills.

According to one of my school's deans those below a 24 are at risk for failing and those 27+ will likely pass. That was just some random quote she said once.

There was a small group of students in my class that had 20 to 23 mcats. They all failed one of the biochem courses first year, they all had a rough time with boards and all of them ended up in aoa family medicine.

Did you go to Nova or AZCOM?

 

[cliquesh]

Did you go to Nova or AZCOM?

Nope

 

[DreamingDoc]

Just wanted to bump this. I've added a few posts since Friday, and I really do appreciate all the feedback and support.

 

[DreamingDoc]

Bumping this! I had a chance to interview Dr. Jennifer Caudle tonight, and I thought a few people could benefit from the post. She is a DO and currently an on-air health expert for CNN. Such an inspiration and I hope it inspires others.

 

[DreamingDoc]

A couple of interviews have been added, and I'm way less anonymous than when I originally posted, so bumping again!

 

[edgerock24]

Why are virtually all of the interview responses in 3rd person? This makes it seem like you simply did a Google search on this person and hashed out information in a Q&A format. Also, why would you post the physician's email address to the public like that? Doesn't seem appropriate.
Also, the title of the blog.. "Aspiring Minority Doctor." Come on. Need something better as a title. Trying too hard to play the race card. Puts a bad taste in my mouth before reading a single word.

Blog has potential if you focus on, for instance, giving specialized admissions/premed/medical school advice for Pre-DO/DO students. Right now it's just amateur city. Step it up.

 

[DreamingDoc]

Why are virtually all of the interview responses in 3rd person? This makes it seem like you simply did a Google search on this person and hashed out information in a Q&A format. Also, why would you post the physician's email address to the public like that? Doesn't seem appropriate.
Also, the title of the blog.. "Aspiring Minority Doctor." Come on. Need something better as a title. Trying too hard to play the race card. Puts a bad taste in my mouth before reading a single word.

Blog has potential if you focus on, for instance, giving specialized admissions/premed/medical school advice for Pre-DO/DO students. Right now it's just amateur city. Step it up.

Thank you! You're the first person to give me the constructive criticism that I was looking for.

As for the interviews being in third person, so far every interview I have done has been by way of phone conversation. I record the conversations, type it up, and then send it to them so that they can make any corrections or deletions. I have found that sometimes they may say something that doesn't accurately convey what they mean, and they like to type in their own additions or deletions. Third person just seems to work. For example, in my most recent interview with Dr. Cannon, she was in a hurry to get to the hospital. When I sent her the typed responses, she wanted to make some changes and actually typed it the way she wanted it to be. If you look closely, you'll see some of the writing style is different from mine shown in previous posts.

Dr. Cannon personally typed her business e-mail address into the post. I have her personal e-mail address and would never post information like that, but she wanted to give a way to contact her just in case anyone was interested (maybe for those who need a shadowing opportunity?). In my interview with Dr. Caudle, she wanted me to include her facebook, instagram, and twitter information. It is appropriate because it is what they want.

I am definitely an amateur, and today literally marks the 2nd month of blogging for me. This is something I have never done, and I am learning as I go. So far, I'm proud of the results. Thank you again for your response, and I will definitely try to implement the specialized advice.