Hello Everyone,
I've been applying to medical school for the past two years now, and, unfortunately, I have yet to be accepted anywhere. This is a very long post, so thank you to anyone that reads it. If I can get any help or advice from anyone out there, it would be much appreciated.
First, here are my stats: 3.8 Cumulative GPA, 3,74 Science GPA, 31 MCAT (11 Bio, 10 V, 10 P), California resident.
I first applied to medical school through AMCAS back in the 2015-2016 cycle. I was very foolish and I underestimated the importance of submitting my application early. So I ended up submitting pretty late and my LORs did not arrive until even later in the cycle. Nonetheless, I still managed to get 1 II. However, I was wait-listed and ultimately rejected.
As I'm sure many of you out there can relate, not getting into any medical school is disappointing. But, I took an honest look at my application and analyzed my weaknesses. I was strong in the research, non-clinical volunteering, and Leadership aspects of my application, but I lacked significant clinical experiences. With that in mind, I got involved in physician shadowing. Along the way, I also gained a part-time job tutoring a student with a learning disability and also earned my EMT certification.
At this point, I made the decision to reapply in this current 2016-2017 application cycle. I made sure to submit all of the application material (Primary, Secondary, LORs, etc...) early this time and to apply more broadly than I did the year before. I know the cycle is not done yet, but it's not looking very promising. I only had 1 II so far, and my interview did not go well. It's mid-October right now, and I'm starting to fear that I will be met with the same fate as last year.
Slowly, I've come to see what the real weakness in my application may be. At first glance, my stats do not appear to be "weak" per se, but if you look more closely at my GPA trend, you'll see a different story. On the page of the AMCAS application that gives you the GPA breakdown of all four years of college, this is how my Science GPA looks like (Freshman: 3.68 Sophomore: 3.93 Junior: 3.89 Senior: 3.45).
I graduated from a competitive university with a BS in Biochemistry in spring 2015 and my senior year was pretty difficult both academically and personally. I was going through some very distracting problems in my personal life at the time and, looking back, it really cut into my study hours. Despite this, I was still getting decent grades (A's and A-'s), but one of my upper-division courses was an absolute killer and I ended up with a C+. This one C+ really tanked my science GPA for the year. Please don't get me wrong, I accept full accountability for my slip-up and I'm in no way trying to deflect blame.
Initially I spoke to my premed counselor about whether this would be an issue or not, and she assured me that 1 C+ isn't something I should worry about given my other stats. I wasn't even asked about in my interview during the 2015-2016 cycle so I just figured that this wasn't the reason for my lack of success. However, during my interview this year, I was repeatedly scrutinized by my interviewer for my GPA drop senior year and I couldn't effectively explain to him what was going in my life at the time (its a long and very personal story). This is leading me to believe that my 3.45 science GPA from senior year may be causing the lack of IIs that I'm currently experiencing.
The past is the past and there's nothing I can do to change what happened almost 2 years ago, but I would really like to prove a point to the admissions committee that I can indeed handle a medical curriculum and that my senior year science GPA is not an accurate representation of my academic capability. The problem, however, is I'm not sure how to really do that.
At the moment, I'm taking a Microbiology class at my local cc and I sent an application over to St. George's as a back up in case I decide to go to the Caribbean. I'm also thinking about retaking the MCAT and really dedicating my time and effort into doing very well on it in the hope that this can erase any doubts that adcoms may have from my senior year in college.
If anyone has any thoughts of suggestions, I would love to hear it. Thank you for your time.
I've been applying to medical school for the past two years now, and, unfortunately, I have yet to be accepted anywhere. This is a very long post, so thank you to anyone that reads it. If I can get any help or advice from anyone out there, it would be much appreciated.
First, here are my stats: 3.8 Cumulative GPA, 3,74 Science GPA, 31 MCAT (11 Bio, 10 V, 10 P), California resident.
I first applied to medical school through AMCAS back in the 2015-2016 cycle. I was very foolish and I underestimated the importance of submitting my application early. So I ended up submitting pretty late and my LORs did not arrive until even later in the cycle. Nonetheless, I still managed to get 1 II. However, I was wait-listed and ultimately rejected.
As I'm sure many of you out there can relate, not getting into any medical school is disappointing. But, I took an honest look at my application and analyzed my weaknesses. I was strong in the research, non-clinical volunteering, and Leadership aspects of my application, but I lacked significant clinical experiences. With that in mind, I got involved in physician shadowing. Along the way, I also gained a part-time job tutoring a student with a learning disability and also earned my EMT certification.
At this point, I made the decision to reapply in this current 2016-2017 application cycle. I made sure to submit all of the application material (Primary, Secondary, LORs, etc...) early this time and to apply more broadly than I did the year before. I know the cycle is not done yet, but it's not looking very promising. I only had 1 II so far, and my interview did not go well. It's mid-October right now, and I'm starting to fear that I will be met with the same fate as last year.
Slowly, I've come to see what the real weakness in my application may be. At first glance, my stats do not appear to be "weak" per se, but if you look more closely at my GPA trend, you'll see a different story. On the page of the AMCAS application that gives you the GPA breakdown of all four years of college, this is how my Science GPA looks like (Freshman: 3.68 Sophomore: 3.93 Junior: 3.89 Senior: 3.45).
I graduated from a competitive university with a BS in Biochemistry in spring 2015 and my senior year was pretty difficult both academically and personally. I was going through some very distracting problems in my personal life at the time and, looking back, it really cut into my study hours. Despite this, I was still getting decent grades (A's and A-'s), but one of my upper-division courses was an absolute killer and I ended up with a C+. This one C+ really tanked my science GPA for the year. Please don't get me wrong, I accept full accountability for my slip-up and I'm in no way trying to deflect blame.
Initially I spoke to my premed counselor about whether this would be an issue or not, and she assured me that 1 C+ isn't something I should worry about given my other stats. I wasn't even asked about in my interview during the 2015-2016 cycle so I just figured that this wasn't the reason for my lack of success. However, during my interview this year, I was repeatedly scrutinized by my interviewer for my GPA drop senior year and I couldn't effectively explain to him what was going in my life at the time (its a long and very personal story). This is leading me to believe that my 3.45 science GPA from senior year may be causing the lack of IIs that I'm currently experiencing.
The past is the past and there's nothing I can do to change what happened almost 2 years ago, but I would really like to prove a point to the admissions committee that I can indeed handle a medical curriculum and that my senior year science GPA is not an accurate representation of my academic capability. The problem, however, is I'm not sure how to really do that.
At the moment, I'm taking a Microbiology class at my local cc and I sent an application over to St. George's as a back up in case I decide to go to the Caribbean. I'm also thinking about retaking the MCAT and really dedicating my time and effort into doing very well on it in the hope that this can erase any doubts that adcoms may have from my senior year in college.
If anyone has any thoughts of suggestions, I would love to hear it. Thank you for your time.
