WAMC First-time applicant

[StudentDoGter]

Non-traditional student (27yr old) with large gap between Freshman/Sophomore and Junior/Senior years (stopped 2011, restarted 2015)

cGPA undergrad: 3.39
sGPA undergrad: 3.52
AO GPA: 3.36
MCAT: not taking for another month, but FL's average 505
Masters in Global Medicine Program: 3.9+ GPA
URM Hispanic female

I failed two consecutive quarters containing science classes due to family/financial reasons but retook classes and received A's.
Last 3.5 years of school earned a 3.89 GPA
Very strong upward trend (2.5 --> 3.66 --> 3.89)

EC: 660+ hours of clinical volunteering experience in multiple departments
Shadowing experience
Volunteered at private pain management clinic
Volunteered at community health fair as a translator
Reading tutor for elementary students
Volunteered at mobile showers for homeless population
LOR: 2 MDs (1 science, 1 non-science professor)
1 DO (former science TA)
1 from clinical volunteer program

I am worried because of my overall grades, although my more recent grades are drastically different from my grades as a 19yr old. WAMC?

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[premedpower8484848]

Personally, I believe your upward GPA trend is definitely helpful and your EC’s are solid too. However your MCAT score will be quite important. If you get a good enough score I think you should be in a decent place to apply for both MD and DO. If you have your heart set solely on MD getting a 508+ or so would be really helpful. The higher the score the more it will compensate for any potential questions about your GPA.

However, I think it’s hard to give you much more advise without your MCAT score.

 

[Faha]

Where is your state of residence ? Are you fluent in Spanish ? Post your MCAT score here when available in June and I will suggest a list of schools.

 

[candbgirl]

Do your posted GPAs include all of the failed courses? If not refigure them including the Fs. All grades for all courses are included in your GPAs. No exceptions. Get rid of the Candy Strip thing. That’s high school( at least I’ve never seen a college aged candy stripe volunteer.). Good luck on the MCAT.

 

[StudentDoGter]

Do your posted GPAs include all of the failed courses? If not refigure them including the Fs. All grades for all courses are included in your GPAs. No exceptions. Get rid of the Candy Strip thing. That’s high school( at least I’ve never seen a college aged candy stripe volunteer.). Good luck on the MCAT.

Yes those GPAs include all failed courses.
Thanks!

 

[StudentDoGter]

Where is your state of residence ? Are you fluent in Spanish ? Post your MCAT score here when available in June and I will suggest a list of schools.

state of residence is CA
I am not a native speaker but I can speak Spanish with intermediate fluency I'd say, conversational and medical (something I will be working to improve of course)

 

[Walter Raleigh]

All depends on MCAT. Upward trend is always good. If you are lucky you might get treated like you have a 3.7; those early courses were when you were young and immature and you have a stellar upward trend: three and a half years of 3.89 coursework is evidence that you're a strong student. Ideally, you'd want to cap that off with a 505+ MCAT for DO schools and a 513+ for MD.