Serious Advice Needed

[kdubb11]

I hope I am posting in the right place, apologies if not. My dream is to become a physician, but I am unsure of which path is the correct one for me. After an extremely horrible life tragedy, in which I realized life is way too short, I applied to AUA in the Caribbean to start next fall. I have an interview with that school in the near future, but I am now unsure if I should wait another year and apply to US schools.

I graduated with a BA in Biological Sciences, minor in Medical Humanities.
cGPA: 3.57
sGPA: 3.54

-Volunteered in busy ED for 100 hrs
-Shadowed cardiologist 30 hrs
-Currently volunteer with a VAC: 150 hrs so far, in training for EMT certification
-Member of community service sorority, plenty of hours of various volunteering
-Held leadership positions in honor societies, volunteer groups

I also currently work full time at a prestigious lab, worked in several labs while in undergrad, though I have very little interest in doing research.

Are my grades and EC's competitive enough to get into a US MD program? What about DO? I know my GPA isn't the best for med school. I am planning on taking the MCAT early this spring, but I am torn about wasting another year or just going down to the Caribbean and working my butt off, if given the opportunity.

Does anyone have any advice? It would be greatly appreciated.

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[FrkyBgStok]

Do not go to the carribean. There are too many people already complaining about having problems getting into residencies in the states. This should be an absolute last resort. Your gpa isn't too bad and iif you get a 28+ on the mcat and apply day 1, you are virtually a shoe in for DO schools. And you would still be slightly competitive for low tier MD. Just relax and don't go carribean.

 

[tiedyeddog]

What is your state of residence?

 

[kdubb11]

What is your state of residence?

New York

 

[tiedyeddog]

New York

Carribean is an awful way to go. Working your butt off and getting great scores on the steps could still likely result in not getting a residency spot anywhere, or just a totally undesirable one. There are a ton of MD schools in New York and your GPA isn't that bad.

My advice is to study really, really hard for the MCAT see what happens. A lot of what you do next after that depends purely on your MCAT score. Getting a 31+ will make really up your chances of getting in somewhere. You're better off taking a couple more years to get into a US MD or DO institution than ever going to the Caribbean. The end goal here is not a degree. It's a license that allows you to do something with your degree. A degree by itself is pretty much worthless.

You should go to amazon.com and buy the new MSAR. It has statistics on every medical school in the US. It will give you a better idea of what schools you are competitive for. There are also SMP's associated with many medical schools that are a great way to gain entry and become more competitive. Google them.

Hope this helps!

 

[kdubb11]

Carribean is an awful way to go. Working your butt off and getting great scores on the steps could still likely result in not getting a residency spot anywhere, or just a totally undesirable one. There are a ton of MD schools in New York and your GPA isn't that bad.

My advice is to study really, really hard for the MCAT see what happens. A lot of what you do next after that depends purely on your MCAT score. Getting a 31+ will make really up your chances of getting in somewhere. You're better off taking a couple more years to get into a US MD or DO institution than ever going to the Caribbean. The end goal here is not a degree. It's a license that allows you to do something with your degree. A degree by itself is pretty much worthless.

You should go to amazon.com and buy the new MSAR. It has statistics on every medical school in the US. It will give you a better idea of what schools you are competitive for. There are also SMP's associated with many medical schools that are a great way to gain entry and become more competitive. Google them.

Hope this helps!

Do not go to the carribean. There are too many people already complaining about having problems getting into residencies in the states. This should be an absolute last resort. Your gpa isn't too bad and iif you get a 28+ on the mcat and apply day 1, you are virtually a shoe in for DO schools. And you would still be slightly competitive for low tier MD. Just relax and don't go carribean.

Thank you, that gives me some reassurance. My reasoning to want to go Caribbean is to get out of here and get started working on my career ASAP. My only issue with staying and applying this summer, is that I have no idea how I would spend that extra year. My current situation is pretty depressing.

I am also assuming a SMP would be something that I would look into applying AFTER I have applied to get into a US school? Or would applying now for next fall be a good idea?

I will definitely check out the MSAR. Thanks again, I really appreciate and value your advice!!

 

[Catalystik]

Your GPA (which is fine for DO schools) isn't low enough to need an SMP for an MD acceptance. You'd be better off earning some As in upper-level Bio and Biochem in some undergrad postbac classes to prove you can do it, and getting a good MCAT score to offset the slightly low-for-acceptees average GPA. If you can "work your butt off" hard enough to get competitive Step scores and qualify for a US residency, then you can work your butt off right now and get a terrific MCAT score so you can matriculate to a US med school.

Past chances of All Applicants with a cGPA of 3.56 and MCAT of 30 was 54%.
With a 31, it was 60%.
With a 32, it was 64%.
With a 33, it was 68%.
Etc.

 

[blue0rchid]

please don't go to caribbean. get a good mcat score and you'll get in somewhere in the US.