Red flags

[veryoptimistic]

I’m planning to apply next year but there are a lot of red flags on my app and I’m scared they’re really going to negatively affect my chances.

For context I am in my senior year, ORM, and have a 3.79 cgpa/3.67 sgpa (no mcat yet but I’ll prob get something around 508). My ec’s are average and I started most of them within the last year.

Red flags:

1. I took all of my prerequisites except for biochem at 3 different cc’s. I spent 2 and a half years at cc’s to finish my gen Ed’s before I transferred to my current school which is a TX state university. After a year and a half at my first cc in IL, I moved to TX and started taking cc classes here. Will this look bad to adcoms?
2. I took Orgo 1 AND 2 during the SAME summer ONLINE at a CC. They were both 5 weeks classes and very intense. 5 days a week 4-5 hours a day including lab. I only did it because it was the best option money wise and for scheduling. Looking back, I really regret doing this but you cant change the past unfortunately. These 2 orgo classes and statistics were the only classes I took at the 3rd cc. I did this mainly because this cc had more affordable summer classes. It also doesn’t say on the transcript that they were taken online. Will this be a deal breaker for a lot of schools?
3. I have A’s in all of my prerequisites except for bio 1 and 2, gen Chem 2, and biochem, which I got B’s in.
4. On top my pre reqs being at cc’s, some of them were taken online. I took bio 1 and gen Chem 1 at the beginning of covid so it had to be online. But other classes, like physics and ochem I took at the beginning of 2022 online at my cc. However, I checked and they don’t indicate on the transcript that they were online classes. Does this mean that the adcoms won’t know? I’m not sure how the system works exactly so how big of a red flag is this?
5. It will take me 5 years to graduate. I had to take a light course load for a few semesters during covid because I moved states so I am graduating in spring 2024. Also, the gen ed requirements in IL are different than TX so I had to take some extra classes. However in my last semester, I will only need to take one class to finish my psych major. Does graduating late look really bad with a light course load and average ec’s?

I am now at my state university in TX majoring in psychology taking upper level bio and neuroscience classes for electives. So far so good and my only B is in biochem.



So with all that being said, how screwed am I? From what I have read online, I’m sadly coming to the conclusion that I’ll be out of the running for MD schools. I might only apply to DO schools since they aren’t as strict about cc and online classes. On top of that, I’m a TX resident without amazing stats. Thanks for reading, any input is appreciated.

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[deleted1139416]

These are not red flags. Your app is just a bit weaker but that’s fine.

I think if you aim for a 510 on the MCAT you have a solid shot at some great DO schools.

 

[LunaOri]

You are not out of the running for MD schools, especially if you take a gap year or two and work on those EC’s. If you have to take one more semester at school, can you add a couple more upper level science classes?

 

[Med Ed]

Real red flags include an IA for cheating, a DUI (or two), 200+ credits with a cGPA of 2.6, and five sub-500 MCAT scores.

 

[LunaOri]

Real red flags include an IA for cheating, a DUI (or two), 200+ credits with a cGPA of 2.6, and five sub-500 MCAT scores.

Also any history of violence, sexual harrassment, or dealing in controlled substances.

 

[Goro]

Or a major downward GPA trend (like 3.8 -> 3.0) or a bad LOR

 

[LizzyM]

You can't change the past but you can shape the future which means putting in a ton of hours (like 4 courses worth of time) during that last semester of college and prepping the hell out of the MCAT. Don't settle for 508 -- aim for 512 or better. Take practice tests under test conditions routinely and spend time going over the answers - both incorrect and correct (be sure you didn't get it right because it was a lucky guess).

You can certainly use the section on "what more should we know about your application" to say that you had financial pressures that led you to choose the most economical way to complete your pre-med classes before transferring to X University. We get it. It is the people who attend an Ivy and take o-chem or physics in the summer at a CC who are getting the stink eye, not people like yourself who start at CC.