Really Freaking Out

[kristinairene]

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I believe Lizzy M said that a high enough MCAT can make up for just about anything...hahaha....I like to think thats true to an extent. I have 3.26S gpa at a top 15 school notorious for grade deflation, 35S MCAT, and 5 invites...OP the real issue here is why are you willing to throw in the towel so easily....

Nice! I'm gonna start thinking that way when I feel down.

 

[scarshapedstar]

DO = Doctor of Optometry.

Trufax.

 

[gettheleadout]

Why the hell do people here criticize DO too much that like they think people only go to DO schools because its a piece of cake?!

I've seen this statement somewhere in here *Im not gonna get into medical school so I'll just be an optometrist or dentist?* --like seriously? they make it sound like its easy and only for losers who didn't get into med school eventhough some people do really want to be an opthalmologist./dentist.

Still there, still misspelled. 😛

DO = Doctor of Optometry.

Trufax.

O.D.?

 

[Neurosis]

I am african american, but I want to get into Medical school on my own merits (or be rejected on my own merits). I haven't done very well in school, but it is my work and that is what I want to be evaluated on.

So that's why I am not including my ethnicity in my application. Point Blank. If I can't be a doctor on the white/asian scale, then I just won't be a doctor.

🙄 I admire your sense of integrity, but please get real. The thing is in this world whenever you get any advantage over competition, in most cases, take it. Because chances are if the opportunity was given to others they're gonna use it.

 

[akaVonk]

🙄 I admire your sense of integrity, but please get real. The thing is in this world whenever you get any advantage over competition, in most cases, take it. Because chances are if the opportunity was given to others they're gonna use it.

Agreed. While it is admirable to not want race to factor into an adcom's assessment of your app, it's an issue that will become apparent for secondaries that ask for you to include a photo of yourself too (can't remember if you have to submit one with the AMCAS primary as well?). Also, regarding the "white/Asian scale" mentioned by the OP- just as you feel that it's inappropriate to be profiled in a certain way for being a URM, I'm sure some Caucasian and Asian students feel that it's unfair to be "selected against" in some cases. Although white/Asian status might seem technically "neutral" such that neither status really helps, some people maintain that being in either category might disadvantage you if your app is concurrently being assessed with candidates of similar stats and extracurricular profiles- in such cases, people feel that preference might be given to someone of different ethnicity/cultural background for "diversity's sake."

 

[235788]

Exactly. And MD. Point is, OP is not even in the ballpark of "not going to be a doctor".

no way i believe he got into an md school with a 2.8 without an SMP or something. I can put below my name i was accepted at emory, but it would be BS. Not suggesting he's lying, I just dont buy it.

 

[gettheleadout]

no way i believe he got into an md school with a 2.8 without an SMP or something. I can put below my name i was accepted at emory, but it would be BS. Not suggesting he's lying, I just dont buy it.

So you aren't suggesting he's lying, but you don't think what he's saying is true...

 

[doit4themunki]

I am going to stick it out. Looking at the GPA/MCAT grid applicants with my GPA range had a 40.3% chance of acceptance with a MCAT of between 30 to 32 and a 52.1% chance with a 33 to 35.

I think if I apply to enough schools, then I will have a shot. I only need one to accept me.

Here is my list. Can anyone comment on whether it is appropriate and if I should add more?

List:

In state for Texas:

Texas A&M
Texas Tech-El Paso
Texas Tech-Lubbock
UT-Houston
UT-San Antonio
UT-Galveston
UT-Southwestern

Out of State:

Rush Medical School
Rosalind Franklin Medical School
Drexel
Thomas Jefferson
Tulane
Loyola
Albany Medical School
New York Medical College
SUNY Downstate
Albert Einstein
Yeshiva
Howard Medical School

Apply to as many as you can afford to / won't make you crazy.

I had 3.6 gpa 3.4 science. Applied to about ~20 places. 10 MD interviews, 3 MD acceptances, and I didn't do that great on the MCAT either (29Q). 5 places that i interviewed at (including Case and Ohio State) both said that If i had done better on the MCAT i would have definitely gotten an acceptance.

All in all, i wasn't a stellar applicant, but schools can see if you have been really working hard and if its something you really want. You'll be fine 🙂

 

[LoveandHate]

Break 30 and you'll be in good shape for an MD school somewhere.

Break 35 and you'll be competitive for any school except perhaps top 5.

And chill out. 3.5 is not an application-killing GPA. Go have a drink and enjoy the holiday.

I respectfully disagree. Break 35 with a 3.3 GPA and you'll be competitive for any school except perhaps the top 25 sounds more reasonable. For example, the average MCAT score and GPA at the Univ of California medschool I attend is 35 and 3.7 for my class and it's not even top 5 last I checked.

Can't change your GPA significantly now anyways so just don't let it get worse. Getting straight A's isn't hard. You need to work on your study skills and scheduling. Med School is 10000 times more difficult

 

[LoveandHate]

I am going to stick it out. Looking at the GPA/MCAT grid applicants with my GPA range had a 40.3% chance of acceptance with a MCAT of between 30 to 32 and a 52.1% chance with a 33 to 35.

I think if I apply to enough schools, then I will have a shot. I only need one to accept me.

Here is my list. Can anyone comment on whether it is appropriate and if I should add more?

List:

In state for Texas:

Texas A&M
Texas Tech-El Paso
Texas Tech-Lubbock
UT-Houston
UT-San Antonio
UT-Galveston
UT-Southwestern

Out of State:

Rush Medical School
Rosalind Franklin Medical School
Drexel
Thomas Jefferson
Tulane
Loyola
Albany Medical School
New York Medical College
SUNY Downstate
Albert Einstein
Yeshiva
Howard Medical School - ?

I think this is a good list. Maybe add more safeties if your MCAT score doesn't end up stellar

 

[235788]

So you aren't suggesting he's lying, but you don't think what he's saying is true...

I think there is something that he is leaving out.... or he's lying

 

[235788]

Apply to as many as you can afford to / won't make you crazy.

I had 3.6 gpa 3.4 science. Applied to about ~20 places. 10 MD interviews, 3 MD acceptances, and I didn't do that great on the MCAT either (29Q). 5 places that i interviewed at (including Case and Ohio State) both said that If i had done better on the MCAT i would have definitely gotten an acceptance.

All in all, i wasn't a stellar applicant, but schools can see if you have been really working hard and if its something you really want. You'll be fine 🙂

but as a fellow ohio resident we have it much better then some people.

 

[NoNotYouLionel]

If you're applying to Texas schools, you have to put your picture on the TMDSAS primary application. Not listing your race is pointless.

 

[kristinairene]

Still there, still misspelled. 😛

O.D.?

Darn it 😳

 

[doit4themunki]

but as a fellow ohio resident we have it much better then some people.

That's true for sure

 

[varsityblue]

No, don't take a post-bacc. Simply take easypeasy science electives. For example, at my institution, there are a bunch of courses intended for non-majors and humanities students. Consider taking a few of them each term to boost your science GPA.

 

[chiapet874]

No, don't take a post-bacc. Simply take easypeasy science electives. For example, at my institution, there are a bunch of courses intended for non-majors and humanities students. Consider taking a few of them each term to boost your science GPA.

So you think ADCOMs are idiots?

 

[varsityblue]

So you think ADCOMs are idiots?

No, I never implied that. Instead of taking pointless electives in junior year, OP can take easier classes--like Intro Astronomy, Intro Zoology, and so on--to boost his/her GPA given his/her circumstances. I took a bunch of foreign language classes I knew I'd do well in last year for this very reason. Do what you need to do, OP.

 

[chiapet874]

No, I never implied that. Instead of taking pointless electives in junior year, OP can take easier classes--like Intro Astronomy, Intro Zoology, and so on--to boost his/her GPA given his/her circumstances. I took a bunch of foreign language classes I knew I'd do well in last year for this very reason. Do what you need to do, OP.

ADCOMs want to see that you can handle the workload in medical school, how would taking those classes prove that point? ADCOMs can obviously tell when someone is trying to buff one's GPA with fluff courses.

Some buffer courses is alright, but you need to take harder courses in conjunction or else you've proven nothing with your GPA increase.

 

[varsityblue]

ADCOMs want to see that you can handle the workload in medical school, how would taking those classes prove that point? ADCOMs can obviously tell when someone is trying to buff one's GPA with fluff courses.

Some buffer courses is alright, but you need to take harder courses in conjunction or else you've proven nothing with your GPA increase.

All right, fine. Medical schools do want to see challenge but they also want to see excellent grades. OP should try to strike the balance that affords him/her options later.

 

[235788]

ADCOMs want to see that you can handle the workload in medical school, how would taking those classes prove that point? ADCOMs can obviously tell when someone is trying to buff one's GPA with fluff courses.

Some buffer courses is alright, but you need to take harder courses in conjunction or else you've proven nothing with your GPA increase.

👍👍
they are not idiots and see through BS class schedules.

 

[fudGez14]

and at schools like HYP, there are no "easy/BS" classes. coming from a current attendee of HYP, even classes that we consider to be "easy" classes, people catch on so fast and start taking these classes that they no longer are easy, or professors realize that it might have been lax and start cranking up the intensity. and a class might sound easy by the title, but by no means does that correlate to making it easier for you to get a better grade in the class, especially since your competition at HYP will be intensely difficult to even be average (B-).