reapplying to med school

[trying hard]

Hi - i have been very conflicted regarding my situation and would greatly appreciate some advice.
i scored a 42 on the mcat (15phy/15biol/12verbal) and i have had great internships and research experience. I had an internship at MIT doing lung cancer research, i also had one at Harvard medical school doing breast cancer research, and i have done breast cancer research at my university for 3 years. I have also done a lot of community service and other activities. However, my GPA is about a 3.0 because during my college years i had to help raise my 3 younger siblings (7,5,and 2 years old) because my mom suffers from really bad depression. i drove home everyday from school (about 45 minutes each way) while holding a job as well. I began to apply to med schools this year, but i decided to withdraw my application at the last minute. I guess i do have a bit of an advantage in the fact that i am hispanic and people keep saying that will help me. However, i would like to know the honest opinion of someone who is not involved. Do i have a fair chance at getting into med school? if not, what should i do? Thank you so much for your help.

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[emgirl]

Hi,

I think you definitely have a great shot- you should apply this year! Your MCAT is *phenomenal* and even if your gpa is around 3.0- that is not terrible, it's simply a little below average for matriculants (which I think is around 3.5, 3.6). That being said, I think your MCAT more than makes up for it on top of the fact that you have a good reason for a lower gpa, in that you were helping take care of family and not partying your way through college. I know that the whole URM issue gets people inflamed around here but I think that being Hispanic will help you in the app process because you bring diversity to a profession that is still overwhelmingly caucasian. I really think you should not withdraw your apps, apply to as many schools as you can, especially state ones and I think you will be just fine.

Good luck! Em

 

[sumehra]

I think there is an optional part of the AMCAS (i've never filled it out before so I am really not certain) for something along the lines of "disadvantaged student status" where you can explain your situation in an essay format (and maybe insert financial info also . . . ). You should look into that because med schools always want to hear the whole story, and your story seems to be a very valid one. ps congrats on the stellar MCAT score!

 

[jwang]

I graduated in July 2016, applied about 20 med schools 2016-2017. My college GPA is 3.9, MCAT 35, 3 years clinical volunteer experiences, no shadowing experience. However, I got zero interview invite. I am eager to know what I did wrong, so that I can improve for next round application.

By the way, I was in a 7-year BS/DO program. But I opted out by graduating after 3 years undergraduate study. Does this have any effect on my application to other medical school?