Should I push my app back a year?

[elleE23]

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[BobbyKoch]

Illness, family issues, emotional stress, etc are all part of life. They will continue to occur no matter what field you end up in, so you have a good opportunity now to build confidence and develop resiliency for the future.

Your goals now are:
1. finish with the strongest GPA possible. GPA repair is doable but it takes time and $$$. Your numbers arre far from sunk, so if you are in a position to keep taking classes and excelling, do it.
2. Kill the MCAT. Take numerous full length practice tests under timed, test day conditions. Do not sit for the exam until you are performing well on practice tests.
3. Shadow and build your clinical exposure but not to the detriment of 1 and 2.

If you're experiencing anxiety and a lack of confidence, seek professional help. There's no shame in doing so! Like I said, grappling with difficulty now will make you stronger for the road ahead. When AMCAS opens in May, if you have a good MCAT and the rest of your app is in good shape, apply! If not, take another year, med school isn't going anywhere and the cycle is stressful and expensive. You really want to get in on the first try if at all possible! I wish you luck!!

 

[SpoiledMilk]

I'm supposed to take the MCAT in April and apply in June, but I don't know if I should push my app back, retake biochem in the fall, get a job that helps my app even more, and work on bringing up my science GPA again (it took me from a 3.7 to a 3.6). My confidence is trashed and I'm not sure what to do anymore. It's taken me this long to even post about it. The nightmares over biochem and the MCAT are relentless and I just couldn't bring myself to even ask about it. I feel like a fraud at times. Also adding that I am a Texas applicant. Thanks in advance.

Don't let the bold above get you. Everyone feels inadequate at one point or many points in their lives. Let the feeling pass and focus on what needs to be done. As an ex-coach, I am sure you have given your team a pep talk when things are not going right. Now you got to give yourself one and believe in the message.

As a Texas applicant, you are in good shape (metrics-wise) regardless of the C. Don't focus on the past and don't repeat biochem in the fall. Get healthy mentally/psychologically and put all your energy into studying and doing well on the MCAT. Set a goal of hitting 510+ on the MCAT.

While doing this, continue to volunteer and get 50 hours of shadowing with a primary care physician (FM, Pedi, OBGYN, IM).

With your metrics, your ECs, and hopefully a 510+ MCAT, you will get interviews at Texas schools.

Come back after taking the MCAT and post on the What Are My Chances (WAMC) forum and you will get advice on schools outside of Texas to apply to also.

GL!!!

 

[Goro]

Hi everyone,

My stats are 3.4 cGPA, 3.6 sGPA. I am Colombian (not a URM, I know), and part of the LGBTQ community. I really want to serve the youth transgender community as a doctor. Volunteer experience is working with LGBTQ youth every week at a center. I also have the standard hospital volunteer hours. I need to shadow more. I started my own business to pay for school and am in the process of founding an LGBTQ club at the university I'm completing my pre reqs at.

Undergrad: I was a scholarship D1 collegiate athlete. I finished with a 3.2 cGPA and a 3.0 sGPA from one math class. I did not take any other science classes in undergrad.

Post grad: I was one of 8 selected for a year long coaching fellowship for my sport, while I was training at a pre elite level to compete for the national team (injuries ended my career). I also coached the top novice team in my region and went on to help coach the second best team in the country.

Post bacc: I believe my post bacc GPA is a 3.7. I just got a C in biochem by 1 point. I was in and out of the doctor and hospital all semester for relentless GI issues and have lost close to 30 pounds, putting me underweight. I vomited in the middle of my third biochem exam and couldn't finish the test, so my professor allowed me to "erase it," which made my final exam worth more than 60 percent of my grade. I made a 70 on it, which then tanked my grade in the class to a 79, which gave me a C. I was in A range before I got sick during the third test.

I'm supposed to take the MCAT in April and apply in June, but I don't know if I should push my app back, retake biochem in the fall, get a job that helps my app even more, and work on bringing up my science GPA again (it took me from a 3.7 to a 3.6). My confidence is trashed and I'm not sure what to do anymore. It's taken me this long to even post about it. The nightmares over biochem and the MCAT are relentless and I just couldn't bring myself to even ask about it. I feel like a fraud at times. Also adding that I am a Texas applicant. Thanks in advance.

You need to apply when you have the best possible app. Your academic history has several homes in it, one of which is that C. You shouldn't be getting Cs in any post-bac work, since the idea is to show that you can handle med school.

Very sorry to hear of your illness woes, but this raises a judgement issue. You should have taken a W when you got sick, instead of trying to bulldoze your way through.

One more year of solid post-bac work should net you some success. LGBT are considered URM by a number of med schools, and there are med schools that reward reinvention. Naturally, MCAT will make or break you. Do NOT take this until you are 100% ready!

 

[SpoiledMilk]

Thanks for the response... I have allotted three months of full time study (aside from one class and shadowing) for the MCAT in April. Why do you feel like I should not repeat biochem in the fall if I might ask?

Because even if you get an A the second time, along with the C, it will average to a B and the significance to your sGPA is minimal. As long as you were able to grasp the basic concepts of biochemistry the first time around, the best use of your time would be to put maximum effort towards your MCAT.

Since you are scheduled for the April MCAT, do the studying and as it approaches, gauge your possible score from the full length exams, esp from the three AAMC practice exams. If you are not scoring around 508+ by then, you can always reschedule.

With your LGTBQ status and ECs, with a 510+ MCAT and 3.6 sGPA, you will at least get an interview from TCOM and will be a good candidate for IIs from other Texas schools.

 

[Goro]

Thank you for the response. In regards to taking the W, we only had three exams in biochem. The third exam was 2 weeks before the final. I was sitting at a high B, A range going into the final before the third exam, and was unfortunately past the withdraw deadline at the time of the third exam. I had no choice. In regards to the MCAT, I am registered for April 19th. Do you feel like it would behoove me to completely forget about applying this cycle, push my MCAT test date back, and just focus on taking classes instead? Thanks again

If you ace the spring semester, and do very well on MCAT, then I think it will be worth taking a crack at this coming cycle.

 

[Goro]

I'm only taking one class this spring to prepare for the MCAT. Do I need to be taking more? Do I go ahead and start doing prepreqs for PA school instead? I don't even know what's best anymore.

My postbac consists of
Bio I and II: A's
Physics I and II: A's
Cell Phys: A
Biostatistics: A
Psych: A
Upper level Bio elective: A
Chem I and II: B's
Ochem I and II: B's
Biochem: C

A: Follow your heart.
B: If A) -> Medicine, you still need to show that you can handle med school. You're getting more Bs than As and that's an issue. You need A >> Bs.
Read this:

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

 

[Goro]

Sorry for all of the questions, i just want to make sure I'm clear... so currently my post bacc ratio is 8 A's to 4 B's. I'm just a little confused... I mean I've been feeling pretty hopeless lately in regards to my future medicine, and a 3.4 cGPA 3.6 sGPA is bad, but I didn't realize I was this doomed. I just want a realistic outlook moving forward and it seems like this is an uphill battle and I've essentially put the nail in the coffin. To get my sGPA above a 3.6, i would have to take 8 science classes in the next year. I know the goal is to prove I can handle the coursework, but if I'm still having to do this much repair, isn't it kind of a lost cause and I should focus my money elsewhere for something that will give me a career? I'm getting the sense here that I'm not competitive for DO or MD.

My apologies, you're doing much better than I thought you were doing! I misinterpreted your grades list as to be chronological, not by grade order. Therefore, have a good spring semester, take the MCAT, and apply in June/July/August.

Capeesh?