The Underdog Thread

[TriagePreMed]

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Hey underdog buddies. I got a question for all of you.

Is sGPA counted more heavily for us non-trads? I ask because I'll have a pretty high sGPA (3.8ish) but only about a 3.1cGPA. I graduated about 4 years ago with a 2.7 and only 2 science courses with a 3.0.

 

[DbDan]

Hey underdog buddies. I got a question for all of you.

Is sGPA counted more heavily for us non-trads? I ask because I'll have a pretty high sGPA (3.8ish) but only about a 3.1cGPA. I graduated about 4 years ago with a 2.7 and only 2 science courses with a 3.0.

It seems that way. Generally speaking it seems that if you have a solid sGPA and a cGPA that doesn't disqualify you from acceptance (ie must be >3.0) you should be fine. What I think is the MOST important is a recent history of good grades. Seeing as how you are 4 years out of school, your recent grades must be close to a 4.0. That's pretty significant IMO.

 

[SFO-IST]

It seems that way. Generally speaking it seems that if you have a solid sGPA and a cGPA that doesn't disqualify you from acceptance (ie must be >3.0) you should be fine. What I think is the MOST important is a recent history of good grades. Seeing as how you are 4 years out of school, your recent grades must be close to a 4.0. That's pretty significant IMO.

Agreed. These cutoffs get them to look at your application and then you must impress with everything else: recent gpa, personal statement, life story, etc.

 

[TriagePreMed]

It seems that way. Generally speaking it seems that if you have a solid sGPA and a cGPA that doesn't disqualify you from acceptance (ie must be >3.0) you should be fine. What I think is the MOST important is a recent history of good grades. Seeing as how you are 4 years out of school, your recent grades must be close to a 4.0. That's pretty significant IMO.

They are a 4.0 so far. I'm hoping to keep up with that rhythm. Seeing that next semester all my professors are the same I had this last semester and summer, I think it's plausible.

 

[DbDan]

They are a 4.0 so far. I'm hoping to keep up with that rhythm. Seeing that next semester all my professors are the same I had this last semester and summer, I think it's plausible.

👍 Keep up the good work. For non-trads I honestly believe its recent grades and MCAT that will get you in.

 

[wolverinepwns]

👍 Keep up the good work. For non-trads I honestly believe its recent grades and MCAT that will get you in.

👍

 

[TriagePreMed]

👍 Keep up the good work. For non-trads I honestly believe its recent grades and MCAT that will get you in.

Thanks. I hope I also get in like you guys. Good job to you and SFO.

On a side note about pre-reqs, it was a bit scary going back to school. First, the challenge of good grades, but I was also worried it would feel like "god, I gotta do this just to get to med school," but I've actually learned a bunch of neat things along the way.

 

[DbDan]

Thanks. I hope I also get in like you guys. Good job to you and SFO.

On a side note about pre-reqs, it was a bit scary going back to school. First, the challenge of good grades, but I was also worried it would feel like "god, I gotta do this just to get to med school," but I've actually learned a bunch of neat things along the way.

Thanks 😀

I hear ya on having to go back to school. Retaking classes to me was a huge pain and I felt like I was going to hate myself but the 2nd time taking those classes, and actually paying attention this time, taught me all kinds of fun stuff (even though most of it was random knowledge sidenote stuff that only tangentially related to the "need to know" information)

 

[Sinfest]

Sending in my letter of interest to AZCOM tomorrow

Do I just send it to the office of admissions?

 

[SFO-IST]

Thanks 😀

I hear ya on having to go back to school. Retaking classes to me was a huge pain and I felt like I was going to hate myself but the 2nd time taking those classes, and actually paying attention this time, taught me all kinds of fun stuff (even though most of it was random knowledge sidenote stuff that only tangentially related to the "need to know" information)

YES!!! This was the best part of doing the post-bac. I put much more effort into my classes and got so much more out of them. I felt like I could continue doing a post-bac forever if it were financially feasible. Med school will hopefully kind of be a continuation of my post bac.

PS congrats to you and everyone else on their acceptances, but more importantly, congrats to every underdog reading this thread who had the gonads to pursue what they wanted to do despite the odds. You guys will become better physicians due to this experience!

 

[DbDan]

Sending in my letter of interest to AZCOM tomorrow

Do I just send it to the office of admissions?

Good luck! If I could put in a good word for you I would There was a girl who wrote a good Letter of Interest to UCI when she got a Pre-interview hold and wound up with an acceptance. Hopefully you'll have similar results and I'll see you on campus next fall! 👍

 

[Sinfest]

Good luck! If I could put in a good word for you I would There was a girl who wrote a good Letter of Interest to UCI when she got a Pre-interview hold and wound up with an acceptance. Hopefully you'll have similar results and I'll see you on campus next fall! 👍

haha thanks man, I know you would if you could

 

[crosspoint]

Hey I am a big Underdog...scored below a 20 on my MCAT...but GOD has blessed me to start school at LMU DCOM next Fall so DO not give up on your self you all know your calling and know in your heart you want to be a doctor...DO NOT GIVE UP...

 

[ScarletKnights]

haha thanks man, I know you would if you could

What do you typically put in a letter of interest? Is it simply just you stating you are interesting or do you also update them with what you have been doing?

 

[DJack]

Hey I am a big Underdog...scored below a 20 on my MCAT...but GOD has blessed me to start school at LMU DCOM next Fall so DO not give up on your self you all know your calling and know in your heart you want to be a doctor...DO NOT GIVE UP...

Wow! Nice. How did you do that? What was your GPA?

 

[crosspoint]

3.9 Grad GPA

 

[cliquesh]

Are you a minority? No one should get accepted with a score below 20.

 

[Postal]

^I bet $5 you are a minority. Am I right? There is no ****ing way you should have been accepted with below a 20.

*sigh* Does it matter?

Although I admit below a 20 is crazy low( I most certainly would have retaken), no need to assume crosspoint is a minority bc he/she got in with a low score.

 

[cliquesh]

Yea, it actually does. For one, it is going to false hope to non-minorities.

 

[TriagePreMed]

Yea, it actually does. For one, it is going to false hope to non-minorities.

This is one of the saddest posts ever. It reminds me of my racist friend when he heard the story of a kid that had a low High School GPA and got into Harvard. His first question "is he black?" answer was no.

Look at the statistics of all admitted students. While it may be true that minorities get in at a slightly higher rate per capita, there are still thousands of minority rejections. There are also white and asian applicants that get in with low scores.

I hope you can understand how your question can be interpreted as offensive and the answer is irrelevant on either yes or no.

 

[BestDoctorEver]

Hey I am a big Underdog...scored below a 20 on my MCAT...but GOD has blessed me to start school at LMU DCOM next Fall so DO not give up on your self you all know your calling and know in your heart you want to be a doctor...DO NOT GIVE UP...

Wow...I still have hope.

 

[PurkinjeFLboy]

Just wanted to say thank you for putting this thread up. I read through some of the threads in the forum, reading how some of this people are worried about getting into top tier med schools with 3.7-3.8 GPAs and +33 MCATs. I'm like "WHAT THE %^&$!?" I see that crap and I think 1) are you freaking serious? You are actually worried about getting into med school?, and 2) if this dude is worried about getting into med school, then I might as well throw in the towel because I have NO CHANCE in getting accepted. So thank you guys.

 

[aspiringOSTEO]

1

 

[cliquesh]

lol

 

[crosspoint]

Thank you aspiringOSTEO I really appreciated it...and to the ones who may put me down I was preparing to take my MCAT over in January or March which ever one I felt most prepared for...I recieved my phone call out the blue and GOT ACCEPTED when I was not expecting it LUCK no GOD yes....so please don't try to put me down LMU DCOM saw something special in me and something special about my application and they wanted me to be apart of their family....so I will go on to fulfill my dream so before you put some one down regardless of their scores or GPA's you really do need to check yourself that may be why you are not in school right now....and am I a minority? Jealous much

 

[cliquesh]

So is that a yes?

 

[Postal]

So is that a yes?

don't bother, ya'll

 

[cliquesh]

How do you not see an issue? Admitting someone into medical school who scored below the 25th percentile on the MCAT? If cross has an amazing personal story, fine, admit her. However, if her life is just generic and she happens to be a minority, I think it is insane that she was accepted.

 

[gatewasani]

I think a 3.9 grad gpa counts for something,

last time i checked, they just don't give those away.

 

[Atom bum]

don't bother, ya'll

I think admission committees know what they are doing, and if he/she had an application that made him/her stand out over the low MCAT score, it was probably a good choice. At my state MD school they said once you have interviewed the deciding factors are 10% GPA 10% MCAT and 80% everything else. So even with a low MCAT score he/she could be up around 90% which is way above average.

I don't think It doesn't make sense for anyone to be worried about underdogs getting into medical school. Anyone that gets into medical school still needs to get through medical school and that ain't no cake walk in the tea park. If the applicant shouldn't be in medical school, underdog or not, they probably won't make it. Attrition is a bitch!

 

[drctother]

whoa people on here are getting so harsh to Cross. Maybe he/she has something ridiculous on their application like they shadowed a DO for 3 years or they have some really touching personal experience. While I agree I would be very pissed like many of you if someone with a below 20 MCAT was taken over me, I would not be as upset knowing that they are a well rounded friendly person who will make a great doctor.

I have a low GPA (3.1-3.2) but make up for it with a 30 MCAT, crazy ECs, huge medical experience, and huge upward trend (3.9-4.0 GPA senior year in all hard sciences). Cliff could be a similar exception. I mean I got two interviews with those stats.

Not trying to upset anyone. Good luck to everyone🙂

 

[Sinfest]

What do you typically put in a letter of interest? Is it simply just you stating you are interesting or do you also update them with what you have been doing?

I can't give you a definitive answer, but I wrote about how I believe AZCOM is a good match for who I am, and how I'm a good match for AZCOM. I didn't have anything to update them with, but if I did, I would have.

 

[DbDan]

I think admission committees know what they are doing, and if he/she had an application that made him/her stand out over the low MCAT score, it was probably a good choice. At my state MD school they said once you have interviewed the deciding factors are 10% GPA 10% MCAT and 80% everything else. So even with a low MCAT score he/she could be up around 90% which is way above average.

I don't think It doesn't make sense for anyone to be worried about underdogs getting into medical school. Anyone that gets into medical school still needs to get through medical school and that ain't no cake walk in the tea park. If the applicant shouldn't be in medical school, underdog or not, they probably won't make it. Attrition is a bitch!

I agree with all of this pretty much. Fact of the matter is though that if you have a 3.9 grad GPA, you should have a strong enough foundation of information to easily surpass a 20 on the MCAT. It leads me to believe there is a major issue with test taking ability and ability to use the information that the person has learned. That does not bode well for Step 1. Cross, good luck, I hope there was a reason for why you did so poorly and I hope that you do actually succeed in med school. I wouldn't wish having to drop out w/ all that debt upon anyone.

 

[crosspoint]

Much success to you also THANKS....

 

[sedaniel]

Happy Thanksgiving, fellow underdogs!!! Hope everyone has a lot of yummmmy food coming their way 😀

 

[JCurcio]

Accepted LECOM class of 2015!!!

 

[DJack]

Accepted LECOM class of 2015!!!

congrats! what are your stats?

 

[JCurcio]

23 (8, 7, 8) cGPA 3.6 sGPA 3.7

 

[Dr Yiot]

No need to sugar-coat it dude, it's best to be honest 🙂

Don't worry, I would never choose my school just because of a girl. She's a part of it, but not the whole story.







Oh no 😱 hahaha jk

Thanks for putting things into perspective man, and sorry to hear about the situation with your mom. How long have you guys been married? My gf is definitely supportive, and she wants me to choose the school I want to attend. If it's Nova, then she wants me to go, because she knows I would be happy there. Damn, why can't she just be a totally selfish bitch? I would just ditch her, and it would make the decision much easier jk



Nope, you're not being nosey at all. Thanks for your input 🙂

I've asked a few Touro students, and just like some people on SDN, they have been giving me really mixed reviews. Some really positive, some really negative, and most are middle-ground.

weve been married 3 months now. we met about 2 weeks before getting married but shes the love of my life.

jk we did really get married 3 months ago though. known her about 4 years now, dated for three and lived together for 2 prior to getting married. yeah man it sounds like shes worth it, go with your gut on choosing a school. if will come to you

23 (8, 7, 8) cGPA 3.6 sGPA 3.7

congratulations, now if they would just show me some love👍

 

[Sinfest]

weve been married 3 months now. we met about 2 weeks before getting married but shes the love of my life.

jk we did really get married 3 months ago though. known her about 4 years now, dated for three and lived together for 2 prior to getting married. yeah man it sounds like shes worth it, go with your gut on choosing a school. if will come to you

I seriously made the 🙄 face after finishing the first paragraph haha

Congrats!

 

[guydudcl371]

General question for underdogs: Trying to determine which schools are actually sending out rejections pre-interview (post-secondary). I know some schools just hold onto apps until the end of the cycle and then send out a massive number of rejections at once. I know CCOM, RVUCOM, and LECOM-B send out rejections pre-interview and post-secondary, what other schools? Thanks!

Trying to figure out which of these schools I'm still in the running for and which are just chilling till the end of the cycle.

 

[cliffhuxtableDO]

nova rejected me pre-interview

 

[aspiringOSTEO]

1

 

[wolverinepwns]

Its very intersting that I have not heard ANYTHING from Nova, Lecom Erie, and Western and its been almost 3 months?

 

[medgold]

Accepted LECOM class of 2015!!!

When were you complete JCurio? I have very similar stats to yours and great EC's and a master's in psych, and they rejected me right off the bat with no interview. I think I was complete in mid-October. I've heard they really took a lot of people very early this year.

 

[DbDan]

Its very intersting that I have not heard ANYTHING from Nova, Lecom Erie, and Western and its been almost 3 months?

Not uncommon. I haven't heard a word from any of the schools listed as "complete" on my MDapps and my very last secondary was completed at the end of July... thats 4+ months at this point.

Western is the only one I'm surprised about of those 3. Western normally has a pretty quick review - reject, interview, hold. They do have pre-interview holds though, sorta like AZCOM.

 

[wolverinepwns]

Not uncommon. I haven't heard a word from any of the schools listed as "complete" on my MDapps and my very last secondary was completed at the end of July... thats 4+ months at this point.

Western is the only one I'm surprised about of those 3. Western normally has a pretty quick review - reject, interview, hold. They do have pre-interview holds though, sorta like AZCOM.

Yeah but I'm assuming they should have sent me a letter saying you're on hold. I'm gonna give them a a call I think later today and see, the GF keeps asking me if I've heard from western or not.

 

[DbDan]

Yeah but I'm assuming they should have sent me a letter saying you're on hold. I'm gonna give them a a call I think later today and see, the GF keeps asking me if I've heard from western or not.

Ya, like I said Western is the only one I am surprised about. Call and ask for an update or e-mail. The admissions councelors are really nice about getting abck to you via e-mail. They actually encouraged contacting them.

 

[cubs87]

Its very intersting that I have not heard ANYTHING from Nova, Lecom Erie, and Western and its been almost 3 months?

I have been complete with rvu, lmu, nova, both lecom, and at still since mid september and nothing

 

[JCurcio]

I was complete in mid July... Interview November 12th, got the acceptance November 26th.