Trying to get accepted

Started by gogiants08
Get help with your application

Use all the free resources available to you from SDN: articles, guides, expert advising, forums discussions, and school research.

Browse articles Compare schools My application plan Read Interview Feedback
Practice for interviews Ask an Advisor
G

gogiants08

New Member
10+ Year Member
15+ Year Member
Hi all,
I have a humanities bachelor with a 2.5 GPA from a reputable university in the states. My science GPA was around 2.1, but I retook many science classes at a premed program at a school in the Dominican Republic and got mostly B's. I took the MCAT and got a 21S. I have some ER volunteer hours, as well as hours shadowing a doctor. I'm currently planning to retake the MCATs and am planning to do some research.
I'm trying to get into the top 4. How does it look for me? What should I do to beef up my resume?
Thanks for the help!
 
gogiants08 said:
Hi all,
I have a humanities bachelor with a 2.5 GPA from a reputable university in the states. My science GPA was around 2.1, but I retook many science classes at a premed program at a school in the Dominican Republic and got mostly B's. I took the MCAT and got a 21S. I have some ER volunteer hours, as well as hours shadowing a doctor. I'm currently planning to retake the MCATs and am planning to do some research.
I'm trying to get into the top 4. How does it look for me? What should I do to beef up my resume?
Thanks for the help!
Click to expand...

You need about a 3.0-3.1 to have a chance at the big 4... AUC for instance had a MCAT average of 24 and a GPA of about 3.2 average... You would probably need a 28 MCAT with your current GPA to have a chance (they want to see something in your application where your acedemics are strong)...You've got to think about what's going to happen if you do attend the Caribbean also... All my classes passing is a 70% + and alot of my classmates have already failed out 3 semesters in... You've got to be determined to study, for you are on your own....And if you do make it to STEP 1, you've got to pass if to avoid being dismissed... If I were you I would do a special masters program at a medschool in the U.S. before considering the Caribbean... If you can't do farely well in the program I wouldn't consider the Caribbean for the potential to destroy your life financially if you don't make it is quite a possibility...Good Luck
 
gogiants08 said:
Hi all,
I have a humanities bachelor with a 2.5 GPA from a reputable university in the states. My science GPA was around 2.1, but I retook many science classes at a premed program at a school in the Dominican Republic and got mostly B's. I took the MCAT and got a 21S. I have some ER volunteer hours, as well as hours shadowing a doctor. I'm currently planning to retake the MCATs and am planning to do some research.
I'm trying to get into the top 4. How does it look for me? What should I do to beef up my resume?
Thanks for the help!
Click to expand...

to be honest with those grades you will not get into SGU, Ross, AUC or Saba. You have a chance at SMU, AUA, MUA, you will get in at St. James, Xavier, all saints etc. That being said i personally would not go to the third group of schools. You science GPA is in undergrad was real bad and doing a pre-med program in DR and having a GPA of probally under 3.0 is not good as well. This is the carribbean but school is not a joke you need to work hard and it is alot of material. the last thing you want is a year and half from now to be in 60k of debt and nothing to show for it.

To improve you chances, go to a American university and take pre-med classes i dont know if you could even get into a SMP with your grades, take the MCAT again and see how you do. not to be mean but with the grades and MCAT score id say the probability of you making it through an MD program is silm to none. take care and best of luck
 
jackets5 said:
to be honest with those grades you will not get into SGU, Ross, AUC or Saba. You have a chance at SMU, AUA, MUA, you will get in at St. James, Xavier, all saints etc. That being said i personally would not go to the third group of schools. You science GPA is in undergrad was real bad and doing a pre-med program in DR and having a GPA of probally under 3.0 is not good as well. This is the carribbean but school is not a joke you need to work hard and it is alot of material. the last thing you want is a year and half from now to be in 60k of debt and nothing to show for it.

To improve you chances, go to a American university and take pre-med classes i dont know if you could even get into a SMP with your grades, take the MCAT again and see how you do. not to be mean but with the grades and MCAT score id say the probability of you making it through an MD program is silm to none. take care and best of luck
Click to expand...

My low GPA is actually from about 8 years ago. I'm older now and taking school much more seriously. I'm planning to retake my premed courses at a community college. I have the perseverance for medical school and the USMLE. I know I can do it, but when I was young I just screwed up. I'm also starting research at an medical school in the states. If I get my science GPA up and do well on my MCATs do you think I can still shoot for the top 4?
 
gogiants08 said:
My low GPA is actually from about 8 years ago. I'm older now and taking school much more seriously. I'm planning to retake my premed courses at a community college. I have the perseverance for medical school and the USMLE. I know I can do it, but when I was young I just screwed up. I'm also starting research at an medical school in the states. If I get my science GPA up and do well on my MCATs do you think I can still shoot for the top 4?
Click to expand...

Community college? I would go to a reputable university, if it was me (best chance at admission)...second, if you can get ur science to a 3.0 minimum yo have a chance... Let's face reality here... THE BIG 4 have federal loans so they know everyone would be able to pay to go there (it's not who has money because of these available loans)... Next on the list, the BIG 4 doesn't want to bring down their entrance stats to even more subpar levels, they have plenty of applicants with 3.0 and 22-26 MCAT scores.... You need to do some serious studying to get in, and if you do get in get prepared to get slammed with 5x the material you do in pre-med courses in less time....As for St. George, I applied with a 3.3 and they wanted me to get atleast a 27 MCAT for acceptance (i was shocked)... I applied to AUC and was considered borderline and was interviewed (MCAT was higher than yours, and I was the first one to apply in the cycle --> 6 months early)...Finally, ROSS and SABA are similar to AUC....
 
Ross is your best bet, they will probably give you MERP though. I would try to get the mcat up to a 25-26 and you will get into ross
 
a817 said:
Ross is your best bet, they will probably give you MERP though. I would try to get the mcat up to a 25-26 and you will get into ross
Click to expand...

Are you saying a good MCAT will give me a shot with my current stats? Or if I retake a bunch of science courses at a community college?
 
gogiants08 said:
Are you saying a good MCAT will give me a shot with my current stats? Or if I retake a bunch of science courses at a community college?
Click to expand...

i have seen people, with 2.5 get in with higher mcats, but your science gpa is really bad. I would try to bring that up. It doesn't hurt to apply But you will probably get MERP. I would consider AUA, MUA, st. james. Of the three schools with federal loans, Ross is the most lenient on stats, if you got a 30 on the mcat, i think ross might overlook the bad gpa. You have a solid shot with a 25-26
 
Thanks for your encouraging words! I'm going to do research as well in hopes to boost my chances of getting in. I'm just worried if going to a community college will hurt my chances..
 
gogiants08 said:
Thanks for your encouraging words! I'm going to do research as well in hopes to boost my chances of getting in. I'm just worried if going to a community college will hurt my chances..
Click to expand...

If your taking classes at a community college and not DUKE university U of Michigan type university you proabably need a 3.9-4.0 in ur science courses for many other applicants will be applying from these other prestiegious institutions / state schools
 
spreebee said:
If your taking classes at a community college and not DUKE university U of Michigan type university you proabably need a 3.9-4.0 in ur science courses for many other applicants will be applying from these other prestiegious institutions / state schools
Click to expand...


You must have some kind of inferiority complex because of where you go or something, because any advice you give on this forum is bias and half the time an exaggeration. Re read what you wrote and tell me if it makes sense.

Ross takes 1300 students a year and they are not all from top universities. And it is not a huge disadvantage if you from one of them. We are not talking about Yale or something who factor the school you went to and adjust your gpa. Ross dose not do that to your gpa.

To the OP, you do not have to go to DUKE or UMICH to do a post bac in undergrad to get into Ross. Ross does except community college credits, but if you can do the post bac at a small 4 yr state or city college, it would be better.

This is what i would do in your position. I would register for the sept mcat, probably the last day it is offered. I would also call ross and ask them if you applied for january and were rejected, could you still apply in sept of the same year with a new mcat and grades. If they say yes, i would apply now for january. I would not tell them that you are taking the mcat in sept (because they will hold for your new grades). I would try to have everything complete asap. Hopefully they will give you a decision by late august. If they offer you MERP, i would take it. Then your fate is in your hands, and you have to prove to them that you belong there. I wouldn't be shocked if they accept you but your chances are slim. It is better than paying and taking classes like g chem, orgo,etc over which have minimal benefit to you when you reach med school. At least MERP will help you 1st year

If they reject you and you really want to go to the big 3, then i would retake courses in the fall and take the mcat again in sept.Thats the benefit of applying now and trying to complete within a week. If you know your decision by the end of august, it easy to register for courses if needed. While you are waiting for a decision from ross, pretend you are rejected and just study for the mcat again.

If you are getting a 23-24 on your practice exams, just postpone it to january. No point getting the same score again. Apply again when you feel your have improved your app.
 
ross is your best chance of the big 3 but if you are accepted it will be into the merp program. You need to do well in the CC classes with your grades you will need pretty much straight A's considering you will not be taking any upper division courses at a CC but pretty much retaking your pre-reqs. so logically you should do much better the second time around at a course. i would tell you to forget about SGU. i was accepted to SGU with a 3.1 GPA but had a 31 on the MCAT, they told me it was my MCAT score that got my in since they say their Average GPA is 3.4-3.5 and MCAT is 27. Ross is very leinent on stats but very cut throat when you get in also its on the by far the worst island in the carribbean. Try to get into AUC but your MCAT is going to need to be around a 26-27 with a vast improvement in your grades. best of luck
 
Thanks for the great advice, a817. People like you are what make forums like this so helpful. jackets5, I agree that I'll need to get A's for the classes I retake. At this point, I may consider doing them at a state school. But you're right about Ross. From what I hear it is INCREDIBLY cutthroat and lots of people fail out because they do not meet the bar that is set so high. But to be completely honest with myself, I am ready for this challenge, and I understand the cost of not doing well.
By the way, is AUC harder or just as hard to get into as Saba?
 
gogiants08 said:
Thanks for the great advice, a817. People like you are what make forums like this so helpful. jackets5, I agree that I'll need to get A's for the classes I retake. At this point, I may consider doing them at a state school. But you're right about Ross. From what I hear it is INCREDIBLY cutthroat and lots of people fail out because they do not meet the bar that is set so high. But to be completely honest with myself, I am ready for this challenge, and I understand the cost of not doing well.
By the way, is AUC harder or just as hard to get into as Saba?
Click to expand...

i would say saba is easier due to its current situation, but dont know by how much. I didnt apply to Saba, i did apply to AUC. I think AUC has a 2.75 minimum science gpa, but it might be overall gpa. For you i hope it is overall gpa, so you dont have your work cut out for you.

My opinion on the matter with Ross is that the material is the same in every school. Ross has the worst conditions of any school, but what what my friends that go there say it seems manageable. I know people that are doing well there. There rotations is kind of a mess, but if your ranked high, your fine because i think preference for clinicals go by rank. If you work hard, dont slack off, dont get homesick, have low expectations of the island you should be fine. That is my opinion on the matter. If you really want to go to AUC, then i would call them and see if the 2.75 gpa cutoff is overall, or science gpa or both.
 
a817 said:
You must have some kind of inferiority complex because of where you go or something, because any advice you give on this forum is bias and half the time an exaggeration. Re read what you wrote and tell me if it makes sense.

Ross takes 1300 students a year and they are not all from top universities. And it is not a huge disadvantage if you from one of them. We are not talking about Yale or something who factor the school you went to and adjust your gpa. Ross dose not do that to your gpa.

To the OP, you do not have to go to DUKE or UMICH to do a post bac in undergrad to get into Ross. Ross does except community college credits, but if you can do the post bac at a small 4 yr state or city college, it would be better.

This is what i would do in your position. I would register for the sept mcat, probably the last day it is offered. I would also call ross and ask them if you applied for january and were rejected, could you still apply in sept of the same year with a new mcat and grades. If they say yes, i would apply now for january. I would not tell them that you are taking the mcat in sept (because they will hold for your new grades). I would try to have everything complete asap. Hopefully they will give you a decision by late august. If they offer you MERP, i would take it. Then your fate is in your hands, and you have to prove to them that you belong there. I wouldn't be shocked if they accept you but your chances are slim. It is better than paying and taking classes like g chem, orgo,etc over which have minimal benefit to you when you reach med school. At least MERP will help you 1st year

If they reject you and you really want to go to the big 3, then i would retake courses in the fall and take the mcat again in sept.Thats the benefit of applying now and trying to complete within a week. If you know your decision by the end of august, it easy to register for courses if needed. While you are waiting for a decision from ross, pretend you are rejected and just study for the mcat again.

If you are getting a 23-24 on your practice exams, just postpone it to january. No point getting the same score again. Apply again when you feel your have improved your app.
Click to expand...


Ok, sorry people, I can only really talk for St. George, and AUC...I don't know SABA or ROSS... But i do know AUC you need about a 3.0-3.1 and a 24-25 MCAT if you under a 3.0 (the committee can tell you that if you call them)... I hope you get accepted but let's not put our hand in the cookie jar just yet... You need to prove yourself becuase these schools are getting more & more competitive... So go take ur classes, get good grades, and you'll be good to go....
 
Last edited:
Hey guys,
I am planning to apply to Caribbean medical schools for January semester. I have 3.58 cum. GPA. I'll have my first MCAT this september. What's the minimum MCAT score that would get me into Ross?
Thanks
 
You must log in or register to reply here.