Rough Start

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Hardbody

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I am sure everyone is bored to death with whats my chances but I will be brief.

first stint in school- cumgpa: 1.13 over 87 credit hours, science gpa .51 (No I am not joking)

Second stint- cumgpa: 3.9 over 119 credit hours, science gpa 3.92

For a cumulative total of 2.73 and science 2.78

I am a New York State resident and wil be applying to all state schools.

MCAT: physical 13, verbal 10, writing q, bio 13 for (36q).

Worked full time in the second stint at school, took heavy course loads (over 20 credits each semester).

I will be applying come June 06. I would like honest answers, do I have a shot yes or no?

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Hardbody said:
I am sure everyone is bored to death with whats my chances but I will be brief.

first stint in school- cumgpa: 1.13 over 87 credit hours, science gpa .51 (No I am not joking)

Second stint- cumgpa: 3.9 over 119 credit hours, science gpa 3.92

For a cumulative total of 2.73 and science 2.78

I am a New York State resident and wil be applying to all state schools.

MCAT: physical 13, verbal 10, writing q, bio 13 for (36q).

Worked full time in the second stint at school, took heavy course loads (over 20 credits each semester).

I will be applying come June 06. I would like honest answers, do I have a shot yes or no?


Yeah, you have a shot. I'm guessing the really bad stuff happened a long time ago. The only problem I foresee is that some schools have a minimum cutoff for gpas-- usually around 3.0 but since you've been doing so well for so long, I think the very strong upward trend is going to be very much in your favor along with your awesome mcat score. I predict you will get in, but I'd apply to plenty of schools.
 
Silas2642 is correct.
Also, what are your ECs?
If your state has cut-offs, then you will need to take enough classes to raise your gpa. I had a classmate in that circumstance. He had to take an extra 3 semesters of courses. :(
Luckily for you, applicants are often chosen for secondaries by a scaled score comprised of MCAT scores & gpas. Your MCAT & new gpas strongly suggest that you have academic ability, and if your bad grades are all at the front end of your transcript, then the adcom has evidence that you have matured into a good student. You will also need good ECs to distinguish your application.

Best of luck!
 
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dude, what the hell happened in that first stint? you're obviously a smart guy, but i hope you've got some good reasons for doing that poorly.
 
EC's are one thing that I don't have, but STRONG LOR's are not a problem. Taking 24 credit hours and working 30 hours a week left very little time for EC's. Very little clinical exposure, about 40 hours shadowing an MD.
 
vn2004 said:
dude, what the hell happened in that first stint? you're obviously a smart guy, but i hope you've got some good reasons for doing that poorly.

I don't want to make excuses. All I can say is I had a tough time overcoming my adversity at first, unlike most other people on this board. When I went back to school it wasn't easy for me, but I attribute my turn around to proper attitude. I was willing to do whatever it took to get that A, and ace every test I took including the MCAT.

Bottom line on that first stint at school is that I really didn't apply myself at all.
 
I think you'll be able to find a few schools who see your recent success and aren't terribly concerned with the cumulative gpa. You might run into trouble with a lack of ECs though. Do you have any significant ECs besides the shadowing? Sports? Clubs? Volunteering? Anyway, I'm not an expert, but if I were you, I'd be equally worried about ECs as my grades.



Oh, and congrats on finding your motivation and doing so well. :)
 
Hardbody said:
EC's are one thing that I don't have, but STRONG LOR's are not a problem. Taking 24 credit hours and working 30 hours a week left very little time for EC's. Very little clinical exposure, about 40 hours shadowing an MD.
Warning: Adcoms are not particularly sensitive to your situation. You won't have to have been involved in as many clubs or activities, since you are so busy academically & with work. However, you will be expected to have an interesting amount of volunteering & medical related experience, and some research experience might not hurt too much either.

Like you, I had little shadowing experience (16 hours total!!!) However, I was able to spin the situation in the right way. I was lucky to be able to recast the shadowing requirement as "exploring medicine." I had TONS of experience exploring medicine, through research, friends, volunteering at the hospital, and reading. Luckily for me, this gambit paid off. I got in. However, the other parts of my application were super strong, so your ECs may be more important than mine...

:luck:
 
odrade1 said:
Warning: Adcoms are not particularly sensitive to your situation. You won't have to have been involved in as many clubs or activities, since you are so busy academically & with work. However, you will be expected to have an interesting amount of volunteering & medical related experience, and some research experience might not hurt too much either.

Like you, I had little shadowing experience (16 hours total!!!) However, I was able to spin the situation in the right way. I was lucky to be able to recast the shadowing requirement as "exploring medicine." I had TONS of experience exploring medicine, through research, friends, volunteering at the hospital, and reading. Luckily for me, this gambit paid off. I got in. However, the other parts of my application were super strong, so your ECs may be more important than mine...

:luck:

I agree - the GPA stuff may not stand in your way given your lengthy recent success and high MCAT. But most schools consider solid clinical exposure a prerequisite (probably even more so if you are not coming directly out of your initial college bout), because medicine is something they want to make sure you know what you are getting into, because it is really not for everyone and not all reasons for entry into the profession are equally good or thought out. More importantly, I'd think YOU'D want to know what you are getting into, which is something you probably can't get from a mere 40 hours of shadowing. You may want to figure out how to fit in time for some decent ECs before the application date, or else push off the application to get some in.
 
Hardbody said:
EC's are one thing that I don't have, but STRONG LOR's are not a problem. Taking 24 credit hours and working 30 hours a week left very little time for EC's. Very little clinical exposure, about 40 hours shadowing an MD.


I agree with everyone else... lack of clinical experience could really hurt you. To me (and I think everyone else) it seems clear that you can do the work that medical school requires. What adcoms will be asking is, "does this guy know what he's getting into? Will he be an asset to the medical community?" I think shadowing some more is a great way to get clinical exp., and also a good solid letter of rec. I ended up getting two lor from two physicians that I had a blast shadowing and I think that has really helped me out.

I know you're busy, but if this is what you want, then somehow you'll find time. Good luck to you, man.
 
Consider applying both MD & DO. For all of the classes that you repeated, your DO applicaiton will only count your most recent class. Assuming that you repeated a number of classes, that will dramatically improve your GPA for your DO applicaiton.
 
Hardbody said:
I am sure everyone is bored to death with whats my chances but I will be brief.

first stint in school- cumgpa: 1.13 over 87 credit hours, science gpa .51 (No I am not joking)

Second stint- cumgpa: 3.9 over 119 credit hours, science gpa 3.92

For a cumulative total of 2.73 and science 2.78

I am a New York State resident and wil be applying to all state schools.

MCAT: physical 13, verbal 10, writing q, bio 13 for (36q).

Worked full time in the second stint at school, took heavy course loads (over 20 credits each semester).

I will be applying come June 06. I would like honest answers, do I have a shot yes or no?

I think you have a shot...A lot of people have struggled in college, recovered from that, and then subsequently were admitted to medical school. Without knowing your story, the major problem I see is not only that you got bad grades, but that you seemed to get them for a long time (seems to be about 6 semesters). Your subsequent GPA and MCAT are very strong, clearly indicating that you are an intelligent person. However, adcoms may be wary of someone who had such a long period of difficulty academically. During an interview, you would obviously get a chance to attempt to explain your bad grades. However, to make sure you get an interview, it would help to be a more complete applicant. Work on your ECs, get a lot more medical experience. As others suggested, it might be a good idea to take some additional classes to boost your GPA over 3.0

Good luck!
 
you have some time left till june. VOLUNTEER and do something outstanding
 
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