Reapplicant/WAMC: URM, Low-Income, Upward Trend, Low MCAT

[fut.med.stu.1]

Hey SDN! I’m a 2nd time potential re-applicant for this upcoming cycle, and a current first year master's student at a reputable medical school. My biggest issues seems to be my GPA and MCAT score. I have done a lot of work to increase both my cumulative and science GPA by taking over 40+ credits in math and science at my local university with about a ~3.74 GPA. However, when I took the MCAT last summer I procrastinated with my studying, and decided to work 40+ hours at my job, leaving only about ~18 days of full-time studying before my MCAT that consisted of 12 hours reviewing material/practice tests. Since the beginning of this year, I have been studying ~5 hours a week and taking a FL MCAT practice test every few weeks, scoring between a 506-509. I feel much better about the material, and the current course work in my program has helped a lot, and I plan on studying full-time once my semester wraps up in a few weeks. I have registered for the July 2023 MCAT, and would like some advice as to whether or not I should submit a new application this upcoming cycle or hold off another year to continue studying for the MCAT and/or potentially adding additional post-bacc courses.

PS: This current cycle I received two interviews, one at the school I am enrolled at, and another at LECOM, which both led to post-interview rejections. I plan on adding more DO schools to the list below.

• cGPA and sGPA as calculated by AMCAS or AACOMAS
  • cGPA: 3.46, sGPA 3.18
  • Upward trend, Freshman: 3.25, Sophomore: 2.23, Junior: 3.34, Senior: 3.65, Post-Bacc: 3.74, Master's: 3.37
  • Master's GPA is lower than I expected, but some courses are graded alongside the medical students
  • Sophomore year unfortunately consisted of 30+ science credits, which significantly impacted my sGPA
• MCAT score(s) and breakdown
  • 494: C/P (124), BB (124), CARS (123), P/S (123) taken July 2022
• State of residence or country of citizenship (if non-US)
  • VA
• Ethnicity and/or race
  • Latino
• Undergraduate institution or category
  • Top 25 Public University ('21)
• Clinical experience (volunteer and non-volunteer)
  • Volunteer MA at a free-clinic (190 hours)
  • CNA at a major hospital working in the COVID unit (1000 hours)
  • MA at a local family practice (400 hours)
• Research experience and productivity
  • 400 hours in a biochem lab during my junior and senior year
  • 600 hours in a public health research team with 1 publication as the primary author
• Shadowing experience and specialties represented
  • 40 hours with an internal medicine hospitalist
  • 28 hours with a pediatrician
  • 30 hours with a surgeon
• Non-clinical volunteering
  • 200 hours during undergrad at the local soup kitchen
  • 100 hours during undergrad with a local mental health facility reading to patients/leading activities
  • 120 hours during during my first gap year at a local elementary school tutoring special needs students
• Other extracurricular activities (including athletics, military service, gap year activities, leadership, teaching, etc)
  • Server at a local restaurant for 3 years in undergrad
  • VP of Latin American Student Association
  • Campus Tour Guide
  • Secretary of the Medical Brigades club, leading volunteer work in Honduras (my heritage)
  • Science Teacher during my first gap year
• Relevant honors or awards
  • Dean's List the last few semesters
  • Poster Presentation at Public Health Conference in LA
• Anything else not listed you think might be important
  • First generation, low-income

In the previous cycle, I applied to 20 MD programs using the FAP and 5 DO schools. Here is the list of schools applied:

MD: Eastern Virginia Medical School, George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences, Georgetown University School of Medicine, Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine, Howard University College of Medicine, Meharry Medical College, Nova Southeastern University, New York Medical College, Robert Larner, M.D. College of Medicine at the University of Vermont, Rush Medical College, San Juan Bautista School of Medicine, Sidney Kimmel Medical College, Tulane University School of Medicine, UCLA/Drew Medical Education Program, University of Central Florida College of Medicine, University of Virginia School of Medicine, Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine, Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine, and Wayne State University School of Medicine

DO: LECOM (PA), VCOM, PCOM (Philly), Rocky Vista (CO) and Touro CA

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[chilly_md]

You’ve taken enough post-bacc classes and did well in them. I would have recommended stopping there as opposed to doing an SMP, as the lower GPA hurts you and there was not much to gain after your 40 credits of upper division science courses.

It comes down to how you do on the MCAT. You will ultimately need to include more DO schools this time around.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

Get some support and network with LMSA chapter officers at your target schools.

You really need to nail this MCAT. SOME schools will average results for screening purposes.