School list and outlook/chance...

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Astharia

Astharia

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My stat's aren't great, I'm a non trad with three kids at home but I think my story is good and interesting. AMCAS GPA 3.07, sGPA 2.84 My AACOMAS GPA is 3.23 with sGPA of 3.05. I have 2900 hours of paid EC/clinical experience working registration at a hospital, where I did inpatient reg. and ER reg with insurance authorization experience and switchboard experience. I have 320 hours of teaching experience and will start an unpaid internship this summer working with a DO at a free teen clinic, and in the fall doing an adolescent pregnancy prevention internship teaching sex ed in my area. I believe that I have great LORs that can attest to my character. I have started MCAT studying and am taking it either late July or early August (My best chance to do well).

My GPA is my biggest weakness I had one semester full of Cs and a D+ in Orgo I because I had a death in the family and my son was diagnosed with multiple food allergies within the same month, it was very hard for me to process that, not to mention he had a reaction to peanuts while I was on the way to an exam. My husband is also currently in grad school while working full time (He'll be done by the time I enter if I get an acceptance). I plan on retaking orgo I this summer to conclude July 8 to get a good grade in on my application. I know full well that realistically I should work on some grades and not apply in a rush like this this year, but it's hard for me to let an application cycle fly by... waiting one year to apply=one year more living on single income (even if my income is 25K with no acceptance it helps a ton).

So Here's my School list for DO and MD app this year: I'm looking to cut the MD portion out a bit to save $$$ but I think my DO list is appropriate.

I'm an Iowa applicant if that helps (even though neither DMU nor Carver favor in-state heavily :'( )

DMU
CCOM/MWU
ATSU-KCOM
RVUCOM
MSUCOM
OU-HCOM
MU-COM
PCOM
LECOM
LMU-DCOM
UofIowa
Commonwealth (Pennsylvania)
Central Michigan
Drexel
Quinnipiac
The University of Toledo
University of Minnesota
Western Michigan University
Writght State University

Feel free to be brutal, TIA.
 
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Without an MCAT nobody can really give you a solid idea (and taking the MCAT after the cycle has already started is generally not a good idea).

But, that GPA is going to hurt you severely. A D in an important pre-req is also much more significant than a D in World History. Since you're open to DO, why not take advantage of their grade replacement policy? You can go back and retake any classes you did poorly in, and they'll only consider the grade in the second go. For many people this can shoot their GPA way up.

It'll require backing up and taking a little more time before application, but doing it once and doing it right is the key here. That would put you in a position with a much better GPA, and also not have you looking at taking an MCAT mid-application cycle where a bad score will absolutely tank you (after you've already sunk thousands of dollars into your app).
 
I would wait a year, your GPA is really low and it sounds like it won't be that hard to bring it up. Since you have a family, having a choice of where you live is really valuable, and you're way more likely to do that with a better GPA.
 
That school list... In general to do well at a public med school outside your home state you need to either be a top 5% candidate or URM or both.

So at this point it looks like you chose most of your schools based on location, which is a good way to waste a whole lot of money. I mean, Mayo? I don't recommend pursuing MD, but if you do, you need to get the MSAR and study it.

It would be prudent to be terrified about what would happen if you got into med school, with your GPA. Getting in somewhere does nothing for you if you're not ready for the work. Med school MD or DO will happily crush you like a bug.

I suggest looking into the masters programs hosted at DO schools which are designed for this. That would give you a stable location, a good foundation, and a predictable path.

Best of luck to you.
 
Thanks! I've considered DMUs masters program, I'll look more into it. I really don't think my GPA reflects unpreparedness because there's a little more to my story than what I wrote (mainly dropping out twice when I was young and not knowing what I wanted to do.) Either way, I'll take the advice to heart. My orininal plan was to just apply to my state schools this cycle and that was it since my chances are low. Does applying twice hurt your chances the second time?
 
I've also thought about applying to only DO schools assuming I got a 501+ on the MCAT.
 
Mayo was a fantasy btw lol, I realize there's no chance 😛
 
I'm going to be honest here. With your stats and MCAT, you really have no shot at any of the programs on your list (you have a 0% chance at any of the MD programs you listed) . As mentioned above, many of those programs are state schools who only take spectacular students from out of state. It is worrisome to me that you even have a school as prestigious as Case Western on your list, given your stats. I'm not sure you've done the adequate research into the mean stats for these schools and just how competitive they are. If you had, I doubt you'd be rushing to apply this cycle; instead you'd be asking about how many of your classes you should retake and how best to improve your stats to make yourself competitive (mostly for DO programs). To have a chance, you MUST retake the pre-reqs you got a C or less in. You say those grades don't reflect your academic abilities, and maybe they don't. But how is a school supposed to know what you are capable of if you don't prove it to them by retaking and doing well in the pre-reqs? You need to provide schools with evidence you can handle the academic rigor of medical school, and currently your application is completely devoid of this. Someone can correct me if I'm wrong because I'm still not super familiar with the new MCAT, but I also believe a 501 is low even for DO schools. From what I've read you really need a 504+ here with almost all As in your retakes to give yourself a good shot. My GPA and sGPA were similar to yours when I graduated undergrad (although I hadn't taken any real pre-reqs because I wasn't planning on med school back then). To make myself a competitive applicant I aced a post-bacc and got a solid MCAT. You need to do the same. Please don't throw away thousands of dollars this cycle.
 
Honesty is needed, I appreciate it. I've tossed around a lot of ideas, one of which to retake those classes, though I believe I've only gotten a C in one prerequisite besides Orgo. I'm supposed to graduate this fall so I may just push it back a semester and do 100% retakes this spring and see where that puts me. I think I'll be closer to the 3.4 or 3.5 mark for DO.
 
Astharia said:
Thanks! I've considered DMUs masters program, I'll look more into it. I really don't think my GPA reflects unpreparedness because there's a little more to my story than what I wrote (mainly dropping out twice when I was young and not knowing what I wanted to do.) Either way, I'll take the advice to heart. My orininal plan was to just apply to my state schools this cycle and that was it since my chances are low. Does applying twice hurt your chances the second time?
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applying twice is never as good as applying once, therefore avoid it. max out your app then apply. same w/mcat: max out your prep, take it once. the average retake score is lower.

having problems that affect your undergrad gpa are never excused unless they are true one time only situations like a car accident where you weren't the driver. problems happen in med school too. the cost to you and to your med school of doing poorly because of life is a whole lot of pain and debt. so there's an expectation that you'll be predictable and resilient under stress. the industry of med ed is increasingly supportive of families but the burden remains on the parent to figure a whole lot out on their own.

if there is a multiple-consecutive-year mostly-hard-science full-time undergrad very-successful (3.7+) performance in your undergrad career, then you're ready for the mcat and for med school. if not, you're gambling.
 
I understand what you're saying, but I'd like to point out that I doubt anyone is truly "ready" for medical school before they matriculate. Similar to no one is really "ready" to have kids, because you are venturing into an unknown area. Also, my undergrad is anything but traditional. I started at a CC and did 100% of non-science classes to get an AA (I did take calc I and stat there). From there I went on to do a full-time biology program at a well-respected state school (Iowa State). What does this mean? That I entered in with a plan of taking 100% science courses/prereqs to graduate. I have taken no filler classes outside of a human sexuality class. So I assume that my load of physics, pathology, dev. bio, and biochem + labs is like a mini-easier version of medical school. I have done well where I am outside of one semester. I understand the idea of giving harsh, honest advice but without knowing the person you're critiquing, how factual can you really be? Isn't being overly harsh about as accurate as being overly encouraging?
 
Most of us have a non-traditional path, hence the board name. Many have come from a super-low GPA, as you will be (as I did too). The successful ones you'll see are people who went back and did exactly what @DrMidlife is suggesting, either via post-bacc, DO grade replacement, or, in more extreme cases, a new degree.

Many of us have been where you've been, and that's why we're giving the advice we are. It's not harsh, it's just the reality of the fact that over half of medical school applicants in any given year will be unsuccessful, and starting off with such a low GPA without any sustained, successful attempt at repair is a good way to put yourself in that category off the bat.

You truly do want to apply once with the strongest app you have, and that means stepping back and assessing what you can do to improve before diving in. DO grade replacement is perfect for someone in your situation. I would seriously consider it.
 
I had a son die when I was 21. He was 6 months old. I failed every class while pregnant and then more after he died.

THAT was not the issue. The issue is that I was drunken, stupid party girl who got knocked up, disowned by the parents, beat up by the father and had NO study skills... oh, and undiagnosed ADHD.

Eventually, I graduated. 2.196, I think, maybe. Worked for a couple of decades during which I had a 2nd son, (now 24)... and went back to school taking the pre-reqs, getting the diagnosis and help for the ADHD and now carry almost a 4.0... from a school near you.

No one is every ready to have a child... but as drmidwife and others have said, "drama" will happen in med school too. How will you handle that?

During the last year of my pre-reqs, my dad had a heart attack, another person died 3 days later, my contract ended; I still managed to get an A- in genetics which sorely bummed me out, while working full time and supporting 4 people (my elderly parents, my son and myself).

The point being, I had to manage through that time because I know... 100% ... my dad will pass away at some point and likely, given his age, during med school. I needed to know I can get the grades I need now rather than succumb to my 20-something self and say, "It's a great excuse."

Your app is awful beyond the clinical exposure and ECs. Sorry, that's blunt. You have no volunteering and nothing to show that you can get an MCAT score that's decent. Why? Because you have not figured out how to get the grades you need TO do well on the MCAT. It's not a 1:1 relationship but it sure shows that the knowledge base is there. A 501 is not good. Many of us get that on the diagnostic from the test prep companies who are notoriously insufferable to take.

Also, your school list indicates a lack of research on what it takes to be competitive at any school. You live in IA. Have you visited the schools in the area? Travel north and visit UM - TC when they have the open house and ask the adcoms who attend that to give their thoughts. The ones who show up are very willing to help - answering questions, guiding on what they look for...

While it is hard to swallow the pill know this: many of us on here came in the similar situation (as Ecc mentioned) ... we've all done whatever it took to get us to where either we're admitted students, or dammitttt, "THIS IS MY YEAR!!" 🙂 (and it is) Don't lose faith if this is what you want but don't rush an app when you have nothing to show that you can be a great student. And ... keep coming back. Stay in touch with people who know what it's like to overcome and to reinvent themselves.

best of luck.
 
So although I've taken the advice to heart and decided to put off the application and MCAT after retaking at least a semester to boost my AACOMAS GPA, I'm still not so sure why a 3.23 is just awful and I'll never get in. I never said I only had drama during that one semester, just that I did poorly learning to adjust. I'm not looking to graduate at the top of my medical school class and find a cure for cancer. I just want to help people, interact with families, and also have a career that is heavily science based. I am listening to what you guys are saying, but I really feel that you may be a little overly on the stats. The chances of getting in are not good, I know that. But they're not zero, and theoretically applying to a ton of schools raises that (though I'm not wasting the money this cycle).


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where in here is anybody saying you'll never get in. read it again.

tons in this thread covers what is important in your situation from people who got into med school from your numbers. read it again.

thicker skin please and consider the possibility that people just gave you a bunch of their time out of well-qualified and helpful concern instead of whatever you think it is.
 
JW2020 said:
I'm going to be honest here. With your stats and MCAT, you really have no shot at any of the programs on your list (you have a 0% chance at any of the MD programs you listed) .
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Fair enough, you're correct that no one ever "said you'll never get in, ever" but they did say "you'll never get in, this cycle". Which... like I said, I've listened to all of the advice offered, maybe I'm not being clear that I'm NOT saying "you guys are dinguses, and your advice sucks." but that your advice was heard, valued, appreciated, but is it really that bad?

In my view, my path to fixing my GPA was a semester or two long, and a good 6 month study for the MCAT. The advice that you guys are giving me, I feel that the I'm going to have to take multiple years to fix my GPA or a Post-Bacc is mandatory. I'm really not offended... I'm not sure where that came across, but always text is ambiguous to actual emotion.
 
You're underestimating your competition (who this year had a mean GPA of 3.7). If you consult the MSAR you'll get a good idea of exactly where a 3.07 stands at most MD schools, and it's not pretty.

There are many, many more applicants than seats for medical school, which means that everyone who wants to get in simply will not, no matter how great their intentions are. And while GPA is not the be all and end all for admission, it is very highly ranked as a factor taken into consideration when adcoms are sorting through thousands and thousands of applications. Are your chances zero? Of course not. But do they decline the farther you get below the norm? Yes.

You'll definitely see smatterings of people who get in with 3.2's. Sometimes they have absolutely stunning life stories. Sometimes they're non-trads with a bad old GPA averaged with a fantastic, sustained more recent GPA (I'm in this category, 3.28 cGPA now, due to a 2.71 long ago and then an entire new bachelor's at 3.9 fifteen years later). Sometimes it's just a true outlier and we'll never know the reason. But no matter what it's out of the norm, and for all of us who've come from behind, it's taken a lot of effort.

A medical school application is the entire package, and that is MCAT, GPA, EC's, essays, interview, and those crazy intangibles that only adcoms will ever know. Someone lacking punch in any of these faces a bigger uphill battle than someone who doesn't. This is why people do post-baccs, re-take the MCAT, etc. Your best shot at medical school lies in making each of those pieces as strong as possible. Being that you have the opportunity to do this and increase your chances, why wouldn't you?
 
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@Astharia

Please don't be so easily offended by the honest opinions of others especially when those opinions are intended for your good. DrMidlife and the other experienced individuals possess valuable wisdom on this particular discussion/topic. The truth is always going to hurt and that is not going to change. What is important/what you can change is how you cope with the truth and use that energy as a vehicle to execute your plans for success (which is getting accepted into medical school). I advise you to read the New and Improved Low GPA Thread in the Postbac forum on the 2nd or 3rd page...it needs to be stickied (there is so much wealth of information and I read it daily) I am about to begin my post-bac this summer and I will re-mediate my sub-par performance in undergrad.

GL to you
 

Ya, thought OP originally said she got a 501, then realized she said she was aiming for 501+. Forgot to edit it out. Still think my post is valid. She needs retakes and a good MCAT, then needs to put together a realistic list of schools for next year's cycle. She should not apply this cycle.
 
we can spend all the time in the world in this thread critiquing the critique of the critique

or hey look SDN has like 9 million other threads about getting into med school from a low GPA, with a whole lot more people piping up than the half dozen of us who are coincidentally bored and on SDN right now

how to find them: search on "low gpa"
 
It's a seller's market and medical schools can afford to turn away applicants like yourself.

As of right now, your stats are lethal for MD and DO.

The fastest path for you to become a doctor will be to retake all F/D/C science coursework, do well on MCAT, and apply to DO schools.

IF you're boning for the MD degree, there are MD schools that reward reinvention. You'll need to ace all the classic pre-reqs, and ace either a post-bac (which can be DIY) or a SMP, ideally one given at a med school. Then also ace MCAT (513 or better, 33+ on the old scale).

Do not apply until you have the best possible app. This is a marathon, not a sprint. Med schools aren't going anywhere, and, in fact, by the time you apply, several more schools will have opened their doors.


Astharia said:
So although I've taken the advice to heart and decided to put off the application and MCAT after retaking at least a semester to boost my AACOMAS GPA, I'm still not so sure why a 3.23 is just awful and I'll never get in. I never said I only had drama during that one semester, just that I did poorly learning to adjust. I'm not looking to graduate at the top of my medical school class and find a cure for cancer. I just want to help people, interact with families, and also have a career that is heavily science based. I am listening to what you guys are saying, but I really feel that you may be a little overly on the stats. The chances of getting in are not good, I know that. But they're not zero, and theoretically applying to a ton of schools raises that (though I'm not wasting the money this cycle).


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Astharia said:
I feel that the I'm going to have to take multiple years to fix my GPA or a Post-Bacc is mandatory.
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That is exactly what we are saying.

A 3.0 is terrible for medical school, for PA and possibly, for the high-end nursing schools (U of MN - TC requires a 4.0 - talking nursing here, though they won't state that, without it you will not get in).

No one has said you'll never get in; you are not going to be ready to apply this year, and I'm 99% sure, you won't be ready next cycle either. Look at the 2018 cycle, plan for it; make a table of what you have to do, to be ready.

Go above and beyond the "normal" requirements to get in position... otherwise, you'll just be another 3.1 GPA app w/ a 501+ MCAT who got rejected.
 
GPA is not really fixable because math. Even with DO grade replacement GPA doesn't move a lot.

What gives a low GPA app legitimacy is a performance in there, somewhere, fairly recently, that is med-school-worthy. People talk about "upward trend" but that doesn't mean a 3.0 in a heavy load for a semester, or one hard-earned A in biochem or a similarly hard class. It means a streak of school terms that show a heavy mostly-science load is something you can get mostly A's in. That plus an above average MCAT would give me confidence that somebody won't be one of the students who quits or fails out after one semester. (My school lost 6 out of 146 after the first semester. That's a loss equal to the annual salary for about 3 full time staff for the med school. For the students it's a broken lease, crushed dreams, politely disappointed friends and family, impending student loan payments, and frequently a disappearance from facebook. In other words: bad.)

So, first, you have to have a GPA high enough to get past a med school's autoscreen. When a school gets 5000-15,000 apps for 150 seats, autoscreens are basic sanity for the faculty who (mostly volunteer to) review apps. For the OP I think this is a major problem for MD schools, but the DO autoscreens should be ok. Anecdotally, DMU had a 3.0 minimum back in my day. Note that SMP work doesn't touch the cumulative undergrad GPAs, but can help after the autoscreen.

Then you have to make it past heavily biased human eyeballs, partially described above. MD or DO.

Then you have to survive. There's an epic thread spun from pure gold about this: http://forums.studentdoctor.net/posts/17325520/

Best of luck to you.
 
I've thought about DO schools most specifically anyway because I know MD would be a long shot, unless Iowa does have some in-state bias like the website says (I've heard they don't). I've already changed my schedule for the fall so that I won't graduate and I can work on grades the next semester instead. Next spring I can focus on the MCAT as well and get an early app in. I still have a lot of school left, I'm hoping for a 4.0 this semester or close to it and here on out, then I'll reevaluate my GPA. I'll crunch numbers and see what kind of repair I can do within a year and see if it will be enough. If not I'll look at master's programs at DMU since it's in my area. That being said, is the school list above still appropriate? I've weeded it down a bit after reading your guys' answers.
 
Astharia said:
Next spring I can focus on the MCAT as well and get an early app in.
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You really are not paying attention. YEARS/terms. Next spring/early app is not that. Think possibly of applying June 2018, class of 2023. Extending graduation, really doesn't help. It won't budge that GPA. If you take classes AFTER you graduate, it shows up all by itself on it's own line. Post-bacc GPA.

Astharia said:
I still have a lot of school left, I'm hoping for a 4.0 this semester or close to it and here on out, then I'll reevaluate my GPA.
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1. Your GPA when combined with the undergraduate courses won't move much, if at all. It would take YEARS of 4.0 and many, many, many credits to make it to a decent GPA.

2. MCAT 513+ is your goal for ANY of the MD schools you listed. And without a substantial POST-BACC GPA, MN won't consider you. There's just simply not enough there when they have 1000s of other candidates to choose from, including alumni and those with strong ties to the region. I cannot speak for DO schools and MCAT requirements but suspect they are above a 505 minimum as well.

FWIW, DO schools are not "easier" ... they may perceptively be "easier" to get into but the curriculum is very much similar to MD.

3. Your GPA is only 1 of many issues with your current status. It is a critical one but only 1.

Medical schools, AFAIK, do not focus solely on GPA and MCAT, they also hone in on volunteering, community service, shadowing, research, etc. There's a reason people withhold a cycle to get that extra experience and beef up an app.

4. MCAT scores are only good for so many years not because of the AAMC but because the schools won't use them. So, for instance, say you take the MCAT next spring (2017) put in a failed app in 2017, don't do much to improve and apply again in 2018, fail again in 2018; now you're not only a two-cycle failed applicant but now you'd be facing possibly RETAKING the MCAT.

We - all of us who have chimed in on this thread - are not telling you NOT to go for it. We're telling you your goals are impossible. We're telling you how to level set your goals to be attainable. Right now, they are not.

Finally, because I hate walls of text and long-donkey-ended diatribes: I waited a cycle myself. I literally cried when I withdrew last fall. Sat in my room and wondered WTH... it felt like I'd been punched. In the gut. With a sledgehammer. But by waiting, until I was really ready? This is my day, my week, my month, my year, my cycle. Wouldn't you rather be that? then shoving a poorly constructed app down a medical school's throat? 🙂 Of course! So do that 🙂
 
I'm paying attention, but I'm honestly not convinced that my GPA movement would be slow as you stated. I have the AACOMAS spread sheet calculators at home. I have a lot of As on my transcript, I just messed up in a few areas, and I'm retaking one class this summer, one in the fall, and a whole semester (likely) in the Spring then graduation. I believe that I put these in the calculators last night and it'd put me close to a 3.4 with Bs/B+ on the retakes (safe grade) and a 3.5 with As. My goal is not 3.8, that would take an immense amount of time and money. If I apply with a 3.5 and don't get in, I'll likely do a post-bacc program. An MCAT of 513 is 89 percentile according to new numbers just released. 501 is 54-56th. (I had just read something about the percentile being adjusted very recently). I find it hard to believe that I have to score in the 90th percentile to get into a medical school. All I'm saying is that I don't think anything above a 501 would keep me OUT.
 
I also want to point out real quick that although I stated I dropped out twice, the first time I had only about 10 credits and 7 of them Bs and one C. The second time I only took 7 credits and failed both (of which I've already retaken my first semester back and gotten an A and A-). My earlier self was smart enough to not drag it on too long when I knew I wasn't ready. So my road to GPA recovery probably won't take multiple years since my blunders are at my state school, of which I only have one bad semester and about two or three other mediocre grades. I did well in everything else.


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Astharia said:
My stat's aren't great, I'm a non trad with three kids at home but I think my story is good and interesting. AMCAS GPA 3.07, sGPA 2.84
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If your transcript already has A's on it, and your GPA still sucks, how do you figure some B's and a sprinkling of A's is gonna get you to 3.5? 😵

Grade replacement on ugrad GPA is only for DO. You know that right? MD does not do that. And your 2.8 for allo ... well, 368 credits of 3.67 to get to 3.5.
 
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you need 90th percentile with your gpa. i had 95th and 3.67 with 5 semesters of 4.0, got one interview and one acceptance. this isnt for the faint of heart. take your years now and get it right otherwise it wont happen

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MD is out the window unless you are willing to invest multiple years of solid post-bac work...even then there is still no guarantee. Your primary focus should be DO (faster route to becoming a physician). You also need to perform well and achieve a competitive MCAT score. Don't for one second believe that aiming/planning to score at least a 500 (bear minimum) on the test will land you interviews/acceptances with your gpa comeback story because it will not. You need to take that test once and only when you are truly ready...seriously (scoring consistently high).
 
Ffs guys, give me the benefit of the doubt, I have done nothing but listen to you and take your advice and been respectable and civil in conversation while still trying to engage in debate. I have done some research so I'm not 100% ignorant, but as always there's still probably much for me to learn. There's a plethora of posts in "what are my chances" forums that have numbers of 3.5 ish (DO) and a 504 (example) MCAT where responses are typically apply broadly to these schools: and you have a decent shot. I am not "gung ho" dead set on MD, I've stated multiple times that I realize the chances are much lower, but if I'm going to apply to a DO school, it doesn't make sense to apply to no MD school. My main goal is DO school, because I know it's most realistic. I've stated this within this post a few times and you guys keep saying I'm not listening yadayadayada a MD program will never take you. Any improvement in talking about is all DO grade replacement, a 3.4 would take forever for MD GPA replacement.


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Are you urm? You'll be wasting your money and time applying to MD schools if you aren't (not saying urms are a shoe in to being accepted). I don't understand your logic. Your gpa is your red flag. Don't allow your MCAT to become another one. Don't be complacent and think that if you get a 504 score you can scrape by into a school...nope just nope. This game of applying can display crazy results. You may think you are a good match at one school because you have great numbers (gpa/mcat) but the school could easily dismiss your app to the can for some random reason. Aim high and study very hard for this career dictating test. Nobody has insulted you or demean you in any way.
 
I'm not saying I'm only going to study for a 504, but I'd have to really think about retaking it if that was my dcore


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Astharia said:
give me the benefit of the doubt, I have done nothing but listen to you and take your advice
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not really... you keep coming back thinking you will be successful next year

Astharia said:
There's a plethora of posts in "what are my chances" forums that have numbers of 3.5 ish (DO) and a 504 (example) MCAT where responses are typically apply broadly to these schools: and you have a decent shot.
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Probably, but they are probably also including in their app:

extensive volunteering
extensive shadowing
extensive clinical
extensive POST-BACC courses with A's

You, at this point, have nothing like that to offer ...

edited to add: with a 504 and nothing else to show, AAMC just got $300 in their coffers + whatever else you pay to get rejected

Not one of us has said, will say, don't go for it. Everyone has said to go slow. You seem to miss that point. Trust me, the years pass rather quickly.
 
Score*. Hell, I'm going to study my ass off for that and do as well as I can, but I'll have to determine the line for retaking the test, and a 504 might be it. Also, not URM, but female nontrad.


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Ad2b said:
Not one of us has said, will say, don't go for it. Everyone has said to go slow. You seem to miss that point. Trust me, the years pass rather quickly.
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Fair enough, I have definitely decided to slow the F down compared to where I was last week, stressing about everything thinking I could get in this cycle (I Can't, and I feel silly for even thinking it, but I at least got myself pretty organized for when I do apply). I have extensive clinical experience, and will be working on volunteering experience from now, as I have an internship lined up that I"m starting this summer and will be at least 10hrs/week for 40 weeks or more. It took me a while to try to find a meaningful volunteering EC that I wanted to do. Having worked in the ER, the volunteers in that hospital did nothing besides put clipboards of charts together, hand it to the nurse, and clean the waiting room. I didn't feel that added anything to my application beings that I worked in the ER and registered patients in their room. No I wasn't their CNA or anything, but I've also thought about getting a job as a CNA as I have that requirement, but my GPA needs to be priority. Shadowing is obviously on the list, especially a DO since I believe its basically an unspoken requirement.
 
Shotapp said:
Nobody has insulted you or demean you in any way.
Click to expand...
I never said they did. I've already stated that I'm not offended or upset. I am simply helping to clarify areas that I think may not be totally accurate (mostly area's concerning myself, I'm not trying to defend any application process, for example.) and get more info from the response, which I have.
 
Also, DrMidlife I just read a post of yours that's quite old listing out SMPs. I'm definitely going to look into those more. After more research on those programs, and after my grade replacements, I'll likely apply to DO schools next year and SMP programs. Thanks!


Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile
 
Goro spelled your plan out in the most simple way possible, so get to it and avoid SDN until you've done that and are nearing time to apply.

Your stats suck for MD & DO right now, so fix that!!!!!!!!!

Make A's, get a 505 MCAT, volunteer, etc... stop beating your dead horse and get on a new one.

Best of Luck
 
I am wondering in if is the cumulative GPA or the Science GPA. My overall GPA will be low 2.7-3.0(i have not taken any science). If I take my science courses and get a 3.7-4.0 and of course do well on the MCAT will I stand a chance?
 
clairetastic said:
I am wondering in if is the cumulative GPA or the Science GPA. My overall GPA will be low 2.7-3.0(i have not taken any science). If I take my science courses and get a 3.7-4.0 and of course do well on the MCAT will I stand a chance?
Click to expand...
You will have a shot at DO and maybe MD IF you do well. Just understand that most go in thinking 4.0 in all science courses and most rarely do that. So do your best and from that you'll see if med school is an option. Best of luck

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk
 
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