Medical Should I just give up?

[LizzyM]

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I'll try to make this as short as possible

cGPA= 3.01
Very strong upward trend (Freshman=0.96, Sophomore=2.67, Junior=3.72, Senior+5th year=3.88)

Have so many credit hours that cGPA no longer budges. An entire new BS (120 fresh credits of straight 4.0) barely gets me to a 3.2. All upper level science/pre-reqs taken Junior-5th year with lots of extra science to prove I could perform in them. BCPM GPA is also wrecked due to freshman year+dual credit high school

Decent ECs (leadership, TA, volunteering (mostly non-clinical) and unique work experience
Actively gaining more clinical volunteering and trying to shadow more


Checked the MSAR and a not seeing any allopathic admissions whatsoever with a cGPA below 3.4.

Not taken the MCAT yet. This is not a WAMC thread. Just looking for some outside input to figure out what I can do. I have not met anyone with an upward trend as drastic as mine, but I am sure they are out there. Long story short, I was forced to go to college when I did not want to while medical school was the last thing on my mind. I completely own the initial low GPAs and take full responsibility. I would not be where I am now without such a colossal failure. My initial failure led me down my path to medicine, but I realize that my stats just don't match up. Any input would be so, so appreciated.

Do you know your stuff? The MCAT will prove that you do (or don't). Could you hold your own in a M1 class? Would you bet thousands of dollars that you could succeed in med school? If yes, you might be a good candidate for a Special Masters Program (SMP). This is a last ditch attempt to show that yes, you could succeed in medical school despite your overall GPA. In essence, it means paying for 5 years of medical school but it sounds like you can make it work.

 

[LizzyM]

I truly, absolutely believe so. There is what I believe to be an SMP associated with the school I wish to attend, but I am having an incredibly hard time finding any reassuring information about it anywhere. Nothing seems to indicate that it would even significantly increase my chances of admittance to my desired school, and I cannot find any accounts of student experience here or elsewhere. Is this fairly typical?

In addition, would a high MCAT score be sufficient to prove to adcomms that I do actually know my stuff? I have no doubts that I can achieve one. My horrible grades were about 7 years ago now, and I wasn’t even in a single bio or chem class back then.

I’m a little hesitant to enroll in an smp, as I have already spent a full additional year taking classes (could have graduated a year previous to when I did) and maintaining a GPA reflective of what the school in question seems to desire, thus putting me in significantly more debt (for a number of personal reasons) Not complaining at all, just genuinely trying to look at things realistically and understand what I can actually afford. If the smp wasn’t sufficient to convince schools that I am worth their time, I fear personal financial ruin. I suppose this is a personal problem.

Thank you so, so incredibly much for your reply. It means a lot to have the opportunity to receive some guidance from someone who knows what they are talking about.

There aren't a ton of people who do SMP and you won't find many in any given school. You might contact some of your target medical schools and ask if they have admitted students from SMPs and, if yes, which SMPs they regard highly. You can also ask the SMPs what proportion of students who matriculate go on to MD schools in the US and DO schools and what proportion of students who matriculate go on to complete the master's degree (be wary of schools that matriculate many but graduate few -- "easy to get in, hard to stay in").

Your first job is to prep for the MCAT and take some practice tests under standard text conditions. If you score 510 or better, you should keep going down the pre-med road. If you were to apply to medical school and need 5 years of tuition to graduate, would you go? If you were to go to medical school with the understanding that there was a 50-50 chance that you might flunk out the first year and be on the hook for a year's tuition, would you go anyway and hope to prevail? That's basically your situation at this point. How confident are you that you will do well and succeed?

 

[Goro]

Rising GPA trends are always good. With a strong MCAT, you can target your state schools and others that reward reinvention (which will necessitate having DO schools on the list). But, as insurance, in the same cycle, you should also be applying to SMPs or do a DIY post-bac,

And read this:

• Goro's advice for pre-meds who need reinvention

 

[LizzyM]

One last question . My freshman year, my undergrad institution put me into classes that I did not meet the requirements to enroll in. I learned this from peers during my second semester after struggling so hard that I gave up completely. I addressed my advisor about this and how I was failing and needed to change my major, and they indicated that I could not. I know now, of course, that that was completely untrue. Would it be appropriate to address this in a very professional manner in my apps? Not to shove blame onto anyone other than myself, but to paint a picture of how hopeless and unguided I was, and how this and numerous other factors led to my failure (example: my laptop broke a few weeks into school, and one of my classes required that we have one in class. I had no money to afford a new one, so I stopped going out of sheer embarrassment and shame)? I learned and grew a lot from these experiences, and they are integral to who I am today. Or should I just say I was stupid and immature?

On the AMCAS application, you have the option of listing your parents names, highest education completed and their occupations. This is used to place your family into one of several socioeconomic status buckets. (see https://www.aamc.org/download/351766/data/amcassesdisadvantagedindicator.pdf for more information). You also have the option of self-identifying as "disadvantaged" and can write a brief description of how your childhood created a situation that placed you at a disadvantage compared with your peers as you started college. I write this because I wonder if you were a first generation college student or had very limited resources such that you couldn't get the laptop replaced, get advice from a parent about changing majors, etc.

It is possible to write something in your personal statement for admission to medical school that says that your initial attempt in college was hampered by poorly informed advisors who approved your enrollment in classes you were not eligible to take due to lack of pre-requisites, and incorrectly informed you that you could not change your major. This and other situations, such as a broken laptop, so thoughly discouraged you that you stopped attending classes. Then you could go on to say how you got your mojo back, why you decided that a career in medicine is the right fit for you, how you've tested that idea (work, volunteering, etc) and why you think that you are a good fit for medicine and medical school (you have the academic performance inidicative of someone who can do well in medical school).

First thing is the MCAT. You'll need to invest quite a bit of time (about 14 hours to take and review each practice test plus a big chunk of time to go through the test prep books to understand the material and the way in which it is tested) and some money. If you don't do well on the practice tests, or on the real thing, you can let go of this dream without having invested in the SMP. Take that step and see what happens.

Schools are often looking for a "diamond in the rough" or someone who has had a less than straight path to medical school as some schools have found these candidates to be very good students and excellent doctors. Don't give up yet!