Typical WAMC thread

[jheritage]

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I attended a top 20 school, and, long story short, I just found myself uninspired and ended up with a 2.7 cgpa and one credit away from a history degree. I was the general manager of a restaurant for three years after that and then opened a daycare/preschool. For the last four years I have been doing developmental therapy for children with developmental delays and started attending a local university to get my bio degree as I realized I wanted to go into medicine.

First 4 years of undergrad 2.7 gpa (History) 108 hours
Second 4 years 3.91 cgpa (Biology with a minor in ASL) 170 hours
These together give me a cgpa of 3.47 and a BCPM of 3.65
I have been on the dean's list every semester the last four years.

I have a 41R on my MCAT

I feel like I have shown a HUGE rise in performance over my initial undergrad experience, but I am worried that I might be lost in certain med school filters before my application was even looked at.

Here are the rest of my stats

Research - I have over two years of research with 3 pubs.

Clinical - I have almost 250 hours in a paid clinical setting set up through my university. I also have another 400 in shadowing and volunteer work. I have also spent the last four years doing developmental therapy in 1/1 and group settings for children 0-18.

EC- I am active in several organizations as well as my volunteer work.

Leadership - I feel like my management/teacher positions are a huge reflection on my leadership capabilities... please correct me if I am wrong in assuming this and need more leadership opps.

I will be applying VERY widely next year, but does anyone think I have even a remote chance at top tier schools?

Oh! Btw, I'm new here! Hello everyone and thanks for any info/help!

 

[jheritage]

my dream school would be Pitt...

 

[bucks2010]

The 4 full years of excellent grades and a superb MCAT should bode well for you. That said, the "top tier" places are all very competitive so applying early & broadly will be important for you.

 

[Catalystik]

I think you have a good chance of an MD acceptance somewhere, but can't be reassuring about a "top twenty" considering you. At least that high MCAT score and (presumably) nontraditional age will probably ensure that human eyeballs take a look at your application to judge your potential. Superlative LORs could also help you. All things are possible.

Your ECs look good. The ASL will help you stand out. Are you fluent in medical signing or have experience with same, by any chance? Don't forget to mention other hobbies, avocations, sports, and artistic endeavors.

 

[jheritage]

Thank you both for the replies. I guess what I really needed to know is if my MCAT would be enough to get my application reviewed by an actual person instead of a logarithm. I am pretty confident in my application once it gets that far. I just wasn't sure if it would make it pass the 3.5 filter.

I am very confident in my signing abilities -- ASL, QSL, and medical signing in both. Standing out was actually one of the reasons I decided to learn signing over Spanish. I felt that, while Spanish is a much needed language in the medical community, many others had that covered while ASL didn't receive as much attention. I guess that the argument could always be made that the patient could write what they needed, but it's about making them comfortable in a difficult and stressful situation.

I will be 32 entering med school, so I assume I would be non-traditional. I consider myself lucky in that I don't have a family yet though. I applaud those that are doing it, but I just don't see how I could have juggled a family with the hours I've put in JUST to be able to have med schools look at me.... much less to actually be competitive IN med school...

 

[ridethecliche]

I have a friend that applied this cycle with a 40 MCAT but a sub 3.0 GPA that got an interview at Pitt.

Given that he got an interview and hasn't done a 2nd undergrad that he excelled at, I'd say that they'd give you a look at the very least.

Good luck! It really looks like you've refocused and your passion for learning has been reignited.

I know it doesn't really matter what I think, but I think that you'd be a good candidate given that you've shown that you can excel as a student now.