Taking Second Shot at Med School

[kingpiccolo08]

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Hello, all.

I started college as a pre-med, with big dreams of becoming a doctor. After doing semi-decent in general bio and flunking physics, however, I pretty much gave up on it entirely. After transferring to a new school closer to home, I started working towards a degree in IT.

The main problem, though, was that I didn't find the work satisfying. I could never shake the desire to work in the medical field. Towards the end of my coursework in networking, after consulting with my family, I decided to take another crack at medicine.

I retook Physics I at a local community college the summer before I transferred to my current school, and got a B+. At my current school, my cGPA is a 3.9 and my science GPA is 4.0. I've taken General Chem I and II, and A&P I; I've yet to take Physics II, and I'm currently in Orgo I and A&P II. Still haven't taken the MCAT.

I've worked as a medical receptionist at a clinic in Queens for the past 4 years. I have about 50+ hours of shadowing experience in a hospital setting, following a radiologist and several residents. I'm also a member of various honors societies. I don't have much of anything in the way of research or non-HC volunteer work, however.

What should I do to maximize my odds? Do I have any shot at making it into med school in 2013, even if my grades and MCATs are on point?

 

[kobemd54]

What is your overall GPA between the two schools that you attended? Med schools look at the cumulative GPA for your entire college career, not just your current school. As you noted, you lack research and non-HC work, which I think will make your application stronger. I will suggest doing some of that if you are applying to research oriented schools.
It's too soon to tell without an MCAT how good your chances are right now.Your shot at medical school depends on how you pad your application, how you do on the MCAT, how good are your LOR, etc. in the upcoming year. If you can do all these things that I listed well, you will have a great chance of getting into med school.

 

[redhaireddeamon]

1. Do well on the MCAT
2. you need to get alot of volunteering experiences in, since you have none
3. increase your shadowing hours
4. do you have any research? get some!
5. get good LORs

this is just the basis stuff to cover-any premed applicant should have these to be a competitive applicant

Class of 2016

 

[kingpiccolo08]

I just put in my stats on the AACOMAS application, just to see what it looks like on the whole. It currently reads a 3.47 sGPA and a 3.67 overall.

Plan to bust my butt on getting those ECs. As for LORs, I have some awesome science teachers in mind (one of whom is an MD, the other a podiatrist), so I'm not too worried about that.

Thanks for the input, guys. 🙂

 

[Catalystik]

I just put in my stats on the AACOMAS application, just to see what it looks like on the whole. It currently reads a 3.47 sGPA and a 3.67 overall.

Considering that the average DO matriculant has a 3.47 cGPA and 3.36 sGPA, you're in good shape. Average MCAT score is 26.49.