Rough Start, Strong Finish. Chances?

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iRise

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Hey everyone,

I have been browsing this website for quite some time and have picked up some great tips and advice. I was wondering if any of you could give me some advice regarding my chances for medical school (where I should apply to, are UC's an option, etc.) as well as what I need to improve before applying.

California Resident, attending a UC school
Cum GPA: 3.63, BCPM: 3.61, Non-Science: 3.65
MCAT: 36 (12/11/13)
Public Health Sciences major and Political Science major

My GPA is low because of my freshman and sophomore year. I was a student-athlete those years struggling with a medical condition that kept me out of classes (missed exams, multiple hospital stays, a lot of make-up work, etc.) and a majority of the seasons. I retook the classes I did poorly in (a chemistry class, biology class, and math class) over the summer and during junior year getting A's in all three. However, the first time I retook Chem 1A I got a C- (during my freshman year), took it again and got an A (my junior year). My junior year I averaged a 3.8-3.9 (took 80% of my science classes this year) and my senior year so far is a 4.0.

  • EMT-I Certification: 2,000 clinical hours; taking Paramedic courses right now so that I can work as a paramedic during my off year(s)
  • Phlebotomy Certified: 600 hours working in lab
  • Clinical Care Extender (Volunteer): 300 hours
    • Gynecology and Urology - 3 months
    • Emergency Department - 3 months
    • Telemetry - 3 months
    • Intensive Care Unit - 3 months
    • Orthopedic Surgery - 3 months
    • Labor and Delivery Floor - 3 months
  • Shadowing: a pediatrician (30 hours), orthopedic surgeon (30 hours), and hematologist (30 hours)
  • Clubs and Organizations
    • Black Student Union member: 3 years
    • Pre-Health for Minority Students: 3 years
    • Traveled to Honduras for a week to provide medical care for over a 1,000 locals
    • Wrote for the University's paper 3-4 times a year
    • Volunteered at a local soup kitchen every two weeks for two years
  • Tutoring at the University and local community colleges (biology and political science courses for two years)
  • Research: genetic epidemiology for 6 months, poster
  • NCAA Division I athlete (scholarship): two years
  • Coach children's camps for the university in the summers
Am I competitive for UC schools? Will admissions be understanding regarding my first couple years due to my GPA rising and being consistent during my junior and senior year? Anything else I need to work on? Also, I am applying as a URM. I'm African American and Native American and was wondering if I could put down both or if I would have to choose one. Please let me know. Any advice is much appreciated.

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You'll have a very nice application. Terrific MCAT score. Decent cGPA with two good explanations for the early academic troubles and a recent upward trend. Outstanding clinical experience. More than enough shadowing, with variety. You've got tutoring and coaching to put under teaching, medical and nonmedical community service. And the Sports provide another form of altruistic activity. I'd like to have seen more research, but at least you tried it. Did the Black Student Union provide a leadership experience, or anything else you did? Don't forget hobbies.

I do think you'll be competitive for a UC school.

I believe you can check off two boxes so you should be able to list both AA and Native American. Are you on the tribal registry? You may be asked for proof.
 
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Are you calculating your cGPA and sGPA using both of the grades your received in chem 1? MD schools will still account for the C- as well as the A, unlike DO which allows grade replacement. Excellent app otherwise, nice MCAT :]
 
Your GPA shouldn't hold you back at all considering how strong the rest of your application is. Add on top of that... URM? Division I sports? Psh. I'm glad you didn't apply this year, so I didn't have to compete against you for spots. :p
 
Wow thank you for all your responses, they were very encouraging! I never thought I would be in this position my sophomore year. The Black Student Union provided some leadership experience, but I think that is what I am lacking in most. Any suggestions for what I can do for leadership? And yes, I did average my retakes with the original grades. Once again, thank you for your responses every body.
 
Hmm... then wouldnt OP's GPA be only 3.3/3.4?
But I guess if you are URM that is still a pretty good GPA, and with all the rest, you have shots all over the country.
 
Very competitive just from looking at GPA/MCAT. Add in URM and you're like Barack Obama. 2000 clinical hours? Really? Haha...
 
Wow thank you for all your responses, they were very encouraging! I never thought I would be in this position my sophomore year. The Black Student Union provided some leadership experience, but I think that is what I am lacking in most. Any suggestions for what I can do for leadership? And yes, I did average my retakes with the original grades. Once again, thank you for your responses every body.

Just try and get a leadership position in an organization you are in or start up a nonprofit effort that feeds the poor, etc.
 
Just START UP an NGO ;p
 
Thanks for the new responses! I did find out that my father is registered with a tribe. I'm going to try to register as soon as possible. And would my GPA be higher for DO schools due to them taking my most recent grade? I might include some DO schools just in case. Thanks again!
 
Thanks for the new responses! I did find out that my father is registered with a tribe. I'm going to try to register as soon as possible. And would my GPA be higher for DO schools due to them taking my most recent grade? I might include some DO schools just in case. Thanks again!

Apply to DO schools only if you're actually interested in DO. Otherwise, I really see no problem with you getting into an allopathic school.
 
This application is almost too good to be true. AA and Native A? Incredible job dude.
 
OP, you don't need more "gold" when your application as it stands is already "golden". If you are enrolled as a tribal member, you will get questions about your identity as a tribal member and how you've been involved in tribal culture. Be prepared for them.

everyone needs as much "gold" as they can get.....:thumbup:
 
This application is almost too good to be true. AA and Native A? Incredible job dude.

Putting "incredible job" after "AA and Native A" annoys me to no end. Yes, it's an incredible set of EC's to have done, for anybody, but... yeah... being AA and Native A isn't a "job".

:p
 
Thank you for all of the responses. I will be applying to all the UC's to see what happens, but I was curious about my chances to get in to USC, Standford and some out of state schools, including some ivy leagues (U of Michigan, Cornell, U of Penn, U of Conn, Yale, Columbia, NYU, Northwestern, U of Mass, and U of Chicago). I know most of those are extremely difficult to get into, so I'm wondering if my GPA will automatically keep me from getting into those medical schools.
 
Go to mdapplicants.com and run a search for URM with your stats. You'll notice you have a very good shot at the Ivy League and top medical schools. Just apply broadly. Good luck.

Thank you for all of the responses. I will be applying to all the UC's to see what happens, but I was curious about my chances to get in to USC, Standford and some out of state schools, including some ivy leagues (U of Michigan, Cornell, U of Penn, U of Conn, Yale, Columbia, NYU, Northwestern, U of Mass, and U of Chicago). I know most of those are extremely difficult to get into, so I'm wondering if my GPA will automatically keep me from getting into those medical schools.
 
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