Should I risk it?

[juddson]

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Here's my deal:

Non-trad who graduated from undergrad in 1996 with an MA and BA (long story, but special program permitted me to get them at the same time). Went to law school (ivy) and worked for two years as an attorney. Went back to undergrad in 2001 and took all of the prereqs as a post-bacc (chem I,II; bio I,II; phys I,II; ochem I,II) plus biochem. Post bacc work is all A's.

April MCAT was 30Q (all 10's).

However, AMCAS counts post bacc as undergrad, which means my undergrad science GPA is only 3.48 because of a horrible freshman and sophmore year 10 years ago, despite the 4.0 post bacc GPA.

The average MCATs at my state schools (for instate and out of state combined) are 30 and 31 (three of my state schools have lower averages than that). I would be thrilled to get into the school with an average of 30. But, my top choice is a private school (in state) with a 32 average


Judd

 

[SMW]

You don't need more science classes. Plenty of people get in with just the pre-reqs, and your graduating an ivy law school and working as an attorney will make you stand out even as a non-trad applicant. I got into 5 schools with a 3.4 sci/3.5 cum GPA from a non-Ivy but elite undergrad and no further coursework (and no research either!). Of course, if you have your heart set on a top 10 school, then that might change the answer. But if I were you, I'd just go for it, applying to a wide range of schools

 

[JasmoneLUMC]

Juddson,

You should feel confident with your MCAT score. I'm a non-trad, too, (currently MA in ethics at an ivy) with an undergrad science background and not an MCAT score as great as your's. Maybe your is not a 32, but these are just medians and non-trads typically have experience which makes their evaluation different than straight-out-of-undergrad applicants and should help you greatly.

With an MCAT like that from a non-trad with what looks like a potentially extremely insightful background, you will be a coveted price for many programs top tier and lower. Your science GPA is very near the median. Have faith! I say go for it this year, and know that they'll look at all your grades, not just what AMCAS decided is your most relevant grades in their calculations.

All you need to do is brave the AMCAS system...

 

[MEDicated]

hey juddson,

my situation is kinda similar to yours without the nice law degree🙂 anyhow, i graduated with a BS in 2001 and had mediocre grades, and have done post-bac taking the exact same classes along with you and receiving the 4.0 over the past two years. i spoke with the pre-med advisor and he indicated that my grades were fine and i've demonstrated the ability to handle a rigorous workload, similar to you. i was also worried about receiving a B should i continue the post-bac route in some upper level biology course, but he advised me to take this opportunity and research new things and look for an interesting job while i apply.

you don't seem like an applicant they will be questioning in terms of ability, but you didn't say anything about your motivations for doing medicine. maybe look into getting a job in the medical field for a year even though working as an attorney would be much more lucrative. something like that would say a hell of a lot to an admissions committee. it almost goes without saying, but volunteering is something you should consider too. good luck!

 

[conure]

I graduated in 1994, got a MPH and then decided to try for med school. I took all prereqs got a 4.0 and 30 on my MCAT (Aug.). I got in to my state school.

I decided to take Bio Chem I, II last year (during my application cycle) for a number of reasons. I needed something additional to do through the year, I wanted to show I could do well in upper level classes as well, thought it was good prep for first year, I figured a B/B+ wasn't that big of a trade off (I got A's both semesters).

So take one upper level class if you have the time. It is an easy thing to throw in to an update letter and talk about in an interview.

You are very competetive. I also had a friend who was in law school and applying to med school. He got in to a Texas school. going through law school and working in law gives you a poise and distinction that many other applicants don't have it will show at interviews. Good luck, by the way what is you state school?

 

[jalan2]

Originally posted by SMW
You don't need more science classes. Plenty of people get in with just the pre-reqs, and your graduating an ivy law school and working as an attorney will make you stand out ...

I agree. (Nice analysis on the UCinn thread by the way Judd.) IF you get As on all of them, how much will the 2-3 science classes lift up your GPA? But... how much will it hurt your GPA if you don't get all As? And, like you said, all this effort won't show up when you apply. I don't think a little difference in GPA will help you much in waitlists. Your post-bacc grades and MCAT have proven that you can successfully handle science classes.

You did not mention about clinical experiences. If I were you, I'll put my effort there immediately so I can include touching anecdotes in the personal statement (of that clinical experience) along with your other impressive experiences.

 

[juddson]

for the opinions.

I often think the clinical stuff is the hardest part of this whole process. I have a semester and summer of volunteering at a childrens hospital, a semester of shadowing (which was really great) and am volunteering right now as well. I also applied for a patient care assistant position at my local hospital, which if I get would be pretty good.

My state schools are:
Ohio State
U. Cinci.
Northeastern Ohio Universities college of med.
Medical College of Ohio
Wright State.

We also have CWRU (which includes a new school with the Cleveland Clinic) which is private, but 60% come from instate.

Judd

 

[jalan2]

Judd,

If it can make you feel better about the amount of your clinical experiences, when I start to apply back in June of last year I had only obtained less than 3 months' worth of clinical experience as a medical assistant at a free clinic. I put in my AMCAS app that I was going to continue it until this summer. Besides that, I had interviewed a couple of docs and had planned to go on a medical mission trip last Sept. If you can reflect and articulate what you learned during your clinical experiences in your Personal Statement, activity section of your AMCAS app, and interviews (I'm sure you can do this very well!), you should be in a good shape doing what you're doing.

-j2