Post-baccalaureate a good option?

[LehighValleyMD]

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Hello,

I am new to SDN so I apologize if I'm not doing this correct. I would just like to hear some input from some other minds.

Recently graduated from a small liberal arts college in PA with a 3.35 cGPA, 3.41 sGPA, 24 MCAT.

Obviously I wish I could have done better in all aspects as I hope to pursue a career in medicine at an allopathic medical school. However, after my MCAT score came back I really did not know what to do. However, my good friend from school informed me about Postbaccalaureate and SMP programs and I think they are a good option now. What are are my chances of getting in?
I am currently applying/finishing applications to Temple ACMS, Drexel IHS, USF MBS, TCMC MBS, and Tufts MBS programs to name a few. I just would like to get some input before I send my money off.

What do you guys think? Are these programs a good idea? Will they help my candidacy for medical school (MD)? Or should I take a year-off and apply DO and retake the MCAT?

*Note - My low GPA does have an explanation/story- I had cancer my freshman year of college that ultimately metastasized to my brain. Thankfully, I am all better now! However, it was quite difficult to study for my Bio 101 and other exam days after getting a craniotomy and chemotherapy which hurt my GPA early on (first two semesters). My grades definitely have an upward trend - had over 3.6 the last 3 semesters (including a 3.94 my last semester). Unfortunately, there is no "excuse" for my poor MCAT. I didn't take MCAT prep course for my first exam, rather I studied by myself. Highly considering taking a Kaplan or TPR class and retake the exam this spring.


Sorry if this is long-winded I am just uncertain of what the future holds

 

[Hailstorm]

SMPs fix GPA issues, not MCAT issues. The MCAT is in many respects a GPA equalizer, so your story of an improving upward trend is severely imperiled by your MCAT performance. Adcoms don't want excuses, they want results.

DO is certainly an option (though your MCAT is low for that too), but you're almost certainly wasting your time applying <30 MCAT to MD schools regardless of SMP performance. If you search enough you'll find some N=1 cases of various instate admissions/urms/really lucky special snowflakes but you really need to purchase the MSAR and take a long hard cold look at it.

 

[wades]

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[deleted248403]

Oh, and i've known students to get accepted into these programs with <25-26 and none of them are URM. You just need to know where to look and where to apply

Calling BS on that - it would tank the schools average MCAT. Given that the avg MCAT for an accepted MD student is about 31 now, and rises every year. Why would they take someone more than one standard deviation below the average for their school? that puts the student in the bottom 18%..... seems a bit fishy

 

[wades]

Calling BS on that - it would tank the schools average MCAT. Given that the avg MCAT for an accepted MD student is about 31 now, and rises every year. Why would they take someone more than one standard deviation below the average for their school? that puts the student in the bottom 18%..... seems a bit fishy

Im not saying that everyone accepted into those programs had those scores, just that i've known of people with similar scores to have been accepted. Look them up, starting with NEOMED, the information is right on the website....

http://www.neomed.edu/admissions/medicine/csu/post-bacc

 

[deleted248403]

Im not saying that everyone accepted into those programs had those scores, just that i've known of people with similar scores to have been accepted. Look them up, starting with NEOMED, the information is right on the website....

http://www.neomed.edu/admissions/medicine/csu/post-bacc

I see the minimum requirements but fail to see where it verifies that 26s got into the school...

 

[DrMidlife]

Well, you know, Suzanne Somers says she was cured from her breast cancer by eating bananas or something like that. So, obviously, clearly, eating bananas is your primary strategy if you get cancer.

Point being: any statement that starts with "I heard" or "I know a guy" is an anecdote. When you are considering options for your low GPA or low MCAT situation, of course you love those stories, because those stories allow you to believe you can skip over the hard work.

Pro tip #1: if your GPA and/or MCAT are 2 or more SD's below the matriculant average for your target schools, any solution that does not include doing things you'd prefer not to do is not a solution. Redemption is not convenient. Visit the reapplicant forum for a thousand stories of what happens when people apply to med school without getting honest with themselves. Visit aamc.org for applicant/matriculant stats.

Pro tip #2: if you think going to med school has nothing to do with doing well on the MCAT, you are going to be completely miserable in med school. Because in med school you will spend two years doing nothing but studying for and sitting for hours-long multiple choice exams that cover vast boatloads of material. So if you get into med school with that 24 or 26, then you still have to figure out how to study and take exams, but with the extra added pressure of six figures of student debt and the terror of failing out.

Best of luck to you.

 

[wades]

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[deleted248403]

I was simply answering the applicant's question that it IS POSSIBLE, not that it highly likely or the most preferred option, don't take things out of context. Anecdotal or not be it as it may. The truth is these sort of things happen more than you'd know, regardless of whether or not it is right or should be done. Im just shedding light on the fact that it does, don't shoot the messenger. OP, do research on the programs you are interested in and ultimately decide what is best for you.

Best

Yes anything is possible, and yet one should definitely not make a plan based around an n<5

 

[wades]

.

 

[DrMidlife]

Ok. Someone asked for information, I simply gave it. Whether or not you agree is your own opinion. So I mentioned a few more options, I wasn't saying its what the OP should definitely do ( again with this context). He asked about certain programs, I said that they exist. End of story.

Im really not against your stance, I just state options regardless of how controversial they may be (the OP can decide for himself upon doing his own research). Its nothing more than that, we can just agree to disagree on that matter if you like.

The problem is that you are giving somebody FALSE HOPE that there is an easier way into med school other than HARD WORK. Why would you do this? Why would you want somebody with a 24 or a 26 to sit on that score instead of working on their standardized test taking before they start med school? Do you personally have experience you want to share that rationally demonstrates that getting away with sitting on a 24 or a 26 was totally unrelated to success in med school and in securing a non-sh*tty residency? Do you honestly think that just getting into med school by any means necessary is the only important thing here?

Maybe you don't know anybody who flunked out of med school with six figures of student loans. I know about a dozen, at multiple schools, personally. I also know that there is significant delusional entitlement among the random low GPA and low MCAT newbies on SDN, and I like to save people time and money before they invest in their delusions. I'm wondering what is motivating you to spread rumor instead of trying to be actually helpful.

 

[wades]

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[DrMidlife]

I briefly looked at the NEOUCOM program, and honestly I think it should be assumed to be a diversity/retention program until somebody who is in it comes along to say otherwise. There's not much else that motivates a med school to do a program like this when it already gets 2500 apps.

Regardless, per the FAQ there are 35 total MD seats reserved for the feeder programS one of which is the postbac/MD. So maybe 5 people from the minimum-21-MCAT are getting MD seats?

 

[LehighValleyMD]

I didn't mean to start an argument here and I appreciate your inputs. However, I'd like to point out that some people here are questioning my work ethic. Thank you for fueling my determination even more so. I'd seriously like to point out that I DOUBT you could have done what I did during my undergraduate time. Seriously, try taking exams and going to 3-hour lab sessionswhile undergoing high-dose chemotherapy and stem-cell transplants. Unfortunately, I was unable to maintain 4.0 during this time but I worked my butt off to get the grades that I did. So before you sit behind your computer and rattle off on another "newbie" here on SDN think again. I have never skipped over hard work. In fact, I begin to question if you even know what that means buddy.

 

[The Helpful Aye Aye]

I didn't mean to start an argument here and I appreciate your inputs. However, I'd like to point out that some people here are questioning my work ethic. Thank you for fueling my determination even more so. I'd seriously like to point out that I DOUBT you could have done what I did during my undergraduate time. Seriously, try taking exams and going to 3-hour lab sessionswhile undergoing high-dose chemotherapy and stem-cell transplants. Unfortunately, I was unable to maintain 4.0 during this time but I worked my butt off to get the grades that I did. So before you sit behind your computer and rattle off on another "newbie" here on SDN think again. I have never skipped over hard work. In fact, I begin to question if you even know what that means buddy.

Relax- nobody's questioning your work ethic (you weren't even addressed directly). Did you stop to think that MAYBE Dr. Midlife was talking generally so that people with low scores who view this topic in the future don't count on being a statistical anomaly?

 

[LehighValleyMD]

Relax- nobody's questioning your work ethic (you weren't even addressed directly). Did you stop to think that MAYBE Dr. Midlife was talking generally so that people with low scores who view this topic in the future don't count on being a statistical anomaly?

Since I started the thread I figured it was directed to me. Take it as you want but that's how I saw it. Not sure where in my post it stated that I wanted/counted on being a statistical anomaly. Just sought some advice on what to do going forward. So relax @notajock2day I'm new to these forums. I didn't think someone would post/address something to other people - since I was the one who started this thread.

 

[deleted248403]

Since I started the thread I figured it was directed to me. Take it as you want but that's how I saw it. Not sure where in my post it stated that I wanted/counted on being a statistical anomaly. Just sought some advice on what to do going forward. So relax @notajock2day I'm new to these forums. I didn't think someone would post/address something to other people - since I was the one who started this thread.

Because things on the internet aren't read by other people. ever.

You are the one that needs to chill, this was all very civil and good discussion (esp with wades), until you went off the deep end.

 

[LehighValleyMD]

No thanks I'm okay. Oh and thanks for sarcasm Sherlock lol @robflanker . Honestly thought it was directed to me and so I responded accordingly. Why does everyone here get so butthurt that I was irritated about that comment? Sheesh. So much for the welcoming..But I guess that's something I should have expected based on reading threads on this forum beforehand.

 

[The Helpful Aye Aye]

Regardless, as someone who got the same score on his first MCAT, then tried and failed to get into an SMP I would recommend planning for the next SMP cycle. Since you're asking us these questions, I'm assuming you didn't indicate on your apps that you're going to retake the MCAT. If your GPA is borderline with a good trend, the promise of a high MCAT could implore some schools to waitlist you instead of rejecting you. It's really hard to get into allopathic SMP's with a 24 MCAT and you're taking a big gamble if you rush a retake with inadequate preparation. Only Temple ACMS is linkage, and they're probably not going to take you (sorry). Osteopathic SMPs like LECOM would probably take you as you stand now.

Background: After improving my score from 24 to 32, I've been accepted to an SMP.

 

[LehighValleyMD]

Regardless, as someone who got the same score on his first MCAT, then tried and failed to get into an SMP I would recommend planning for the next SMP cycle. Since you're asking us these questions, I'm assuming you didn't indicate on your apps that you're going to retake the MCAT. If your GPA is borderline with a good trend, the promise of a high MCAT could implore some schools to waitlist you instead of rejecting you. It's really hard to get into allopathic SMP's with a 24 MCAT and you're taking a big gamble if you rush a retake with inadequate preparation. Only Temple ACMS is linkage, and they're probably not going to take you (sorry). Osteopathic SMPs like LECOM would probably take you as you stand now.

THIS. Thanks for your input. I actually applied early to the Temple ACMS. IF I get in, I would need to score a 30 or better on the MCAT and maintain 3.5 in order to secure the linkage according to their secretary. So its not completely out of the realm. Additionally, USF MSMS program also sent an ii, but I am not familiar with this Masters Program and it won't secure me a spot in the SELECT class for USFCOM but it does present an opportunity to prove myself. Also, I have started the LECOM and PCOM apps. These also prove to be great options for me.

Also I did indicate I would be retaking the MCAT in early May. But this may be too late for some adcoms as they have deadlines for review/submission around early June. I don't wont to rush the studying like I did previously but maybe I should bump up the test day to late April if its available. Not sure where to go from here.