MD Second degree friendly schools

[not my real name]

Hello,

I've looked through previous posts on this topic, and it seems unclear where consensus lies on the impact of doing a second degree. I've reached an overall conclusion that, a) if you do extremely well, the adcoms might not consider your first degree all that much, and b) you still need a cGPA above "x" threshold to have someone notice your application.

I was wondering what people thought of my chances in US MD schools. I am a US citizen who has lived in Canada his whole life, so no state of residency. My hope would be that I could somehow get into a private school with a decent endowment, as I would desperately need financial aid.

Here's my stats:
- First degree in Law (it's a Bachelor's degree in Canada), did poorly. Got a 2.92 in the end with about 100 credits. It was not the right place for me, and I was a not a good student at the time. Graduated 7 years ago.
- Worked (actual work, not volunteer) one year with a humanitarian organization in sub-Saharan Africa, thought I wanted to go that route.
- Worked one year in a community development organization in the US.
- Worked four years in suicide intervention / crisis line / mental health environment.
- While doing that, went back to school to do my science pre-requisites for medicine / Bachelor of Science.
- 35 credits in the basic sciences, with a 4.18/4.30 GPA.
- Started a B.Sc. in the biological sciences, currently 51 credits in with a 3.95/4.00 GPA.
- MCAT from 2012: 12 Phys, 10 Biol, 13 Verbal, R

If it weren't for Law, no problem. However, even with my recent stats I'm pulling a 3.44 cGPA. Not great. Hence my question...

Any chance at "upper tier" schools with these stats? I ask about those schools because I am under the impression that there is more financial support available, which may not actually be true... My end goal is GP, so taking on lots of debt is a little scarier.

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[Catalystik]

I've looked through previous posts on this topic, and it seems unclear where consensus lies on the impact of doing a second degree. I've reached an overall conclusion that, a) if you do extremely well, the adcoms might not consider your first degree all that much, and b) you still need a cGPA above "x" threshold to have someone notice your application.

I was wondering what people thought of my chances in US MD schools. I am a US citizen who has lived in Canada his whole life, so no state of residency. My hope would be that I could somehow get into a private school with a decent endowment, as I would desperately need financial aid.

Here's my stats:
- First degree in Law (it's a Bachelor's degree in Canada), did poorly. Got a 2.92 in the end with about 100 credits. It was not the right place for me, and I was a not a good student at the time. Graduated 7 years ago.
- Worked (actual work, not volunteer) one year with a humanitarian organization in sub-Saharan Africa, thought I wanted to go that route.
- Worked one year in a community development organization in the US.
- Worked four years in suicide intervention / crisis line / mental health environment.
- While doing that, went back to school to do my science pre-requisites for medicine / Bachelor of Science.
- 35 credits in the basic sciences, with a 4.18/4.30 GPA.
- Started a B.Sc. in the biological sciences, currently 51 credits in with a 3.95/4.00 GPA.
- MCAT from 2012: 12 Phys, 10 Biol, 13 Verbal, R

If it weren't for Law, no problem. However, even with my recent stats I'm pulling a 3.44 cGPA. Not great. Hence my question...

Any chance at "upper tier" schools with these stats? I ask about those schools because I am under the impression that there is more financial support available, which may not actually be true... My end goal is GP, so taking on lots of debt is a little scarier.

A 3.44 with a serious upward grade trend/MCAT 35 has the potential to get you into a US MD program somewhere, but unless you represent a demographic that "Top" schools yearn to have better represented in their class, IMO it's unlikely they'll bite, especially when such schools tend to be research-oriented (and you mention none) and aim to train future leaders in medicine (which I don't see the potential for among your ECs, though conceivably, you just didn't go into that level of detail).

 

[Goro]

You'll be fine. The key thing is to show you're baling on Law because it's simply not for you (and Medicine is) and NOT because the job prospects are poor.

Hello,

I've looked through previous posts on this topic, and it seems unclear where consensus lies on the impact of doing a second degree. I've reached an overall conclusion that, a) if you do extremely well, the adcoms might not consider your first degree all that much, and b) you still need a cGPA above "x" threshold to have someone notice your application.

I was wondering what people thought of my chances in US MD schools. I am a US citizen who has lived in Canada his whole life, so no state of residency. My hope would be that I could somehow get into a private school with a decent endowment, as I would desperately need financial aid.

Here's my stats:
- First degree in Law (it's a Bachelor's degree in Canada), did poorly. Got a 2.92 in the end with about 100 credits. It was not the right place for me, and I was a not a good student at the time. Graduated 7 years ago.
- Worked (actual work, not volunteer) one year with a humanitarian organization in sub-Saharan Africa, thought I wanted to go that route.
- Worked one year in a community development organization in the US.
- Worked four years in suicide intervention / crisis line / mental health environment.
- While doing that, went back to school to do my science pre-requisites for medicine / Bachelor of Science.
- 35 credits in the basic sciences, with a 4.18/4.30 GPA.
- Started a B.Sc. in the biological sciences, currently 51 credits in with a 3.95/4.00 GPA.
- MCAT from 2012: 12 Phys, 10 Biol, 13 Verbal, R

If it weren't for Law, no problem. However, even with my recent stats I'm pulling a 3.44 cGPA. Not great. Hence my question...

Any chance at "upper tier" schools with these stats? I ask about those schools because I am under the impression that there is more financial support available, which may not actually be true... My end goal is GP, so taking on lots of debt is a little scarier.