I usually lurk over in the non-trad forum, but I figured I'd make a stop here as my question is MD-specific.
I am a very capable student, had my choice of any college in the country coming out of high school (literally), went to an Ivy, realized I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life so did...nothing...and graduated with a GPA in the tank. Doubly unfortunately, I was a science major, which means my sGPA is also in the tank. This GPA does not reflect my capabilities at all, but it did reflect my maturity at the time. I did it, I own it, and I'm going to overcome it.
3+ years after graduating I realized that I would like to pursue medicine and for a host of reasons, I will be pursuing a MD degree and not a DO degree. The switch has flipped, I'm focused, and I have a 4.0 in the pre-med science courses I've taken so far to bring up the GPA (the ability was always there, and now the motivation is too). It looks as though I may have the opportunity to complete a second degree at another Top-15 school, so my question is if a second degree might be frowned upon my adcoms.
I've heard two schools of thought on this. One is that if they see a disaster first degree from a top school and then a stellar second degree from a top school, they will recognize that I am capable of med school academics, which is what they really want to see evidence of in the first place.
The other is that they would prefer to see you "roll with the punches" so to speak, accept that you screwed up, and not try to change the past. They want to see you look forward, and not re-do undergrad. (Although like I said, in my case I would have enough credits for the degree anyway.)
The other variable is that I will not have a committee letter from my first undergrad institution, but assume I would if I completed a stellar degree at the second. I know that most places allow LOR substitutions for the committee letter, but I'm not sure if there would be any disadvantage to that. I would also have more academic credentials and awards, because right now I have none (other than a 4.0 from high school and a 1580/1600 old SAT score, neither of which matter 🙂 )
And finally, if I have the chance to pursue coursework at a more expensive top school vs. a less expensive lesser-known school, will As at the top (and harder) school be looked upon more favorably than As from the lesser-known (and, frankly, easier) school? I know Goro over in the Non-Trad forum has said that it matters "not a bit," but I've seen conflicting reports. I'd obviously like to keep the cost as low as possible, but I'd definitely go into some debt if it may help me climb out of this mess I've created for myself.
Thanks for any advice, particularly from the adcom/faculty members out there.
I am a very capable student, had my choice of any college in the country coming out of high school (literally), went to an Ivy, realized I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life so did...nothing...and graduated with a GPA in the tank. Doubly unfortunately, I was a science major, which means my sGPA is also in the tank. This GPA does not reflect my capabilities at all, but it did reflect my maturity at the time. I did it, I own it, and I'm going to overcome it.
3+ years after graduating I realized that I would like to pursue medicine and for a host of reasons, I will be pursuing a MD degree and not a DO degree. The switch has flipped, I'm focused, and I have a 4.0 in the pre-med science courses I've taken so far to bring up the GPA (the ability was always there, and now the motivation is too). It looks as though I may have the opportunity to complete a second degree at another Top-15 school, so my question is if a second degree might be frowned upon my adcoms.
I've heard two schools of thought on this. One is that if they see a disaster first degree from a top school and then a stellar second degree from a top school, they will recognize that I am capable of med school academics, which is what they really want to see evidence of in the first place.
The other is that they would prefer to see you "roll with the punches" so to speak, accept that you screwed up, and not try to change the past. They want to see you look forward, and not re-do undergrad. (Although like I said, in my case I would have enough credits for the degree anyway.)
The other variable is that I will not have a committee letter from my first undergrad institution, but assume I would if I completed a stellar degree at the second. I know that most places allow LOR substitutions for the committee letter, but I'm not sure if there would be any disadvantage to that. I would also have more academic credentials and awards, because right now I have none (other than a 4.0 from high school and a 1580/1600 old SAT score, neither of which matter 🙂 )
And finally, if I have the chance to pursue coursework at a more expensive top school vs. a less expensive lesser-known school, will As at the top (and harder) school be looked upon more favorably than As from the lesser-known (and, frankly, easier) school? I know Goro over in the Non-Trad forum has said that it matters "not a bit," but I've seen conflicting reports. I'd obviously like to keep the cost as low as possible, but I'd definitely go into some debt if it may help me climb out of this mess I've created for myself.
Thanks for any advice, particularly from the adcom/faculty members out there.
