WAMC – Nontraditional Applicant (Looking for Honest Feedback)

[TheGrindIsReal]

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WAMC – Nontraditional Applicant (Looking for Honest Feedback)

Hi everyone. I’m a nontraditional applicant preparing for the upcoming application cycle and would really appreciate honest feedback on my chances and areas I should strengthen.

State of residence: Florida
URM: Hispanic / Latino
Undergraduate GPA: 3.18 cumulative
MCAT: Recently taken (waiting for score)

Undergraduate Institution: Public university
Major: Health Sciences

Clinical Experience:

• Medical scribe in a cardiology practice
• Hospital volunteer assisting patients with non-medical needs

Physician Shadowing:

• Orthopedic surgery
• Bariatric surgery
• Anesthesiology

Research Experience:

• Led multiple research projects related to cardiovascular disease, obesity, and metabolic health.
• First author and research lead on a project examining sleeve gastrectomy in patients with Left Ventricular Assist Devices (LVADs) as a bridge to heart transplantation.
• Served as co–principal investigator on the project and was responsible for study design, literature review, and presentation.
• Research poster presented at three academic conferences.
• Selected as a top three national finalist in a competitive student research program where my proposed experiment was reviewed for the possibility of being conducted aboard the International Space Station.
• Currently collaborating on contributions related to hibernation physiology for an academic textbook project.

Leadership:

• Academic mentor for an autistic university student for two months.

Volunteering:

• Hospital volunteer assisting patients
• Volunteered at homeless shelters earlier in life

Background / Nontraditional Path:
I started college immediately after high school to become a physician, but early in my academic career, I experienced serious health complications related to lithium toxicity that resulted in kidney failure. Because of this, I stepped away from school for several years to focus on recovery and stabilizing my health.

Eventually, I returned to college, completed an associate’s degree in chemistry, and continued toward a bachelor’s degree in health sciences. Since returning, I have focused on building clinical experience, engaging in research, and reaffirming my commitment to medicine.

Career Interests:
Cardiology / Interventional Cardiology.

Questions:

1. Assuming a competitive MCAT score, how realistic are my chances for MD vs DO programs?
2. Would my GPA likely require additional coursework (post-bacc or SMP) before applying?
3. How will admissions committees view my nontraditional academic path?
4. Are there other areas of my application I should strengthen before applying?

I appreciate any feedback or suggestions.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

Welcome to the forums.

We're missing lots of numbers. What are your year-by-year GPA's, noting the semesters after you recovered?

How many hours of experience are connected with each listed activity?

Do you have any primary care experience with shadowing or clinical exposure? How many hours?

Why are you pivoting from a generally good research career to medicine? Why is patient care your passion?

 

[Faha]

Are you fluent in Spanish?

 

[TheGrindIsReal]

Are you fluent in Spanish?

Yes, and I am also a native native Spanish speaker born and raised in Puerto Rico. I am fluent in English.

 

[TheGrindIsReal]

Welcome to the forums.

We're missing lots of numbers. What are your year-by-year GPA's, noting the semesters after you recovered?

How many hours of experience are connected with each listed activity?

Do you have any primary care experience with shadowing or clinical exposure? How many hours?

Why are you pivoting from a generally good research career to medicine? Why is patient care your passion?

Hello,

I will get back to this thread with my GPA over the years. I am currently interested in pursuing either an MD/MPH, but I am leaning towards an MD/PhD as well.

I have around two months of experience as a medical scribe full-time from 8:00 am to 5:00 pm.
50 hours of shadowing, 100 hours of volunteering at a hospital, and two months of mentoring a college student with autism.
I do not have experience shadowing or working with a primary care physician.

That is a great question. I am not pivoting, but as I mentioned, I have a deep passion for medicine and research. Therefore, I am aiming for an MD/PhD. If my stats do not satisfy the requirements, I will retake the MCAT and aim for all A's in my classes from now on.

I am expected to graduate in the fall of 2026. Yet I don't have all my pre-requisite classes. I am missing Physics 1 and 2 with labs, Bio 2 lab, and Biochemistry. I was planning to take the remaining pre-requisite courses by the spring/summer semester of next year.

 

[TheGrindIsReal]

Welcome to the forums.

We're missing lots of numbers. What are your year-by-year GPA's, noting the semesters after you recovered?

How many hours of experience are connected with each listed activity?

Do you have any primary care experience with shadowing or clinical exposure? How many hours?

Why are you pivoting from a generally good research career to medicine? Why is patient care your passion?

Patient care is also my passion. I have experienced being at the patient's bedside and had faith in my providers that I would survive. This moment made it certain that I also want to be a physician, besides doing research.

The GPAs per year are the following,
1st year 3.78 in Puerto Rico, (Post recovery) 2nd year 3.31 at a state college, 3rd year 3.18, senior year still working on it, and a public university within Florida.

I also have several news features, covering public health issues such as obesity, my experience as a medical scribe, and twice for doing the Space research. And one for my experience at a university's health research day.

While research does fit me well, I also want to become an expert physician who listens and provides support to their patients. If I ever get to pursue a career in cardiology, I would be dealing with human hearts, no time to be playing around.

Also, I am now facing a chronic liver disease known as cirrhosis due to all the psych meds I am taking.

 

[Faha]

Yes, and I am also a native native Spanish speaker born and raised in Puerto Rico. I am fluent in English.

Post your MCAT score here when available and I will suggest schools that you can apply to.

 

[TheGrindIsReal]

I spoke with several Florida medical schools recently and received very consistent advice regarding my application strategy.

My current GPA is not considered competitive enough yet, and multiple schools recommended that instead of applying prematurely, I should focus on strengthening my academic record through additional science coursework.

Originally, I was planning to pursue an MPH, but I was advised that while it is valuable, it would not significantly improve my academic metrics for medical school admissions. Instead, they recommended completing remaining prerequisites through a post-baccalaureate and pursuing a science-heavy master’s degree (such as Anatomy, Physiology, or Biomedical Sciences) to demonstrate strong performance in rigorous biomedical coursework.

Because of that, I recently applied to the University of Florida College of Medicine’s MS in Anatomy & Physiology (distance learning) program. The program does not require the GRE, and I have already submitted my statement of purpose, application fee, and letters of recommendation. I’m targeting Spring 2027 admission.

I’m approaching this with a long-term mindset. Rather than applying across multiple cycles with the same weaknesses, my goal is to fix the academic metrics first and build the strongest application possible.

I’m also considering whether a physician–scientist path (MD/PhD) may make sense given my research involvement, but for now the priority is improving my academic foundation and completing the necessary prerequisites.

Curious if others here have taken a similar path (post-bacc + science master’s before applying). Would appreciate hearing about outcomes or advice.

 

[TheGrindIsReal]

Update: I applied to another university within the state of Florida, which is my home state. The degree is fully online, and I spoke with several colleges of medicine that told me that whether the degree is online does not matter, as it is still considered a Master of Science.


The program I applied to is a Master’s in Medical Sciences with a concentration in Molecular Oncology.


I requested five letters of recommendation for the institutions I applied to. These letters come from two physicians and three PhD faculty members. The two physicians are people who know me well, and I have known both of them since 2019. One is my research mentor and has supported me throughout the years, and the other is a physician I shadowed and worked with on case reports.


The PhD faculty members represent diverse academic backgrounds. One of them is the Dean of Engineering and served as my teacher and facilitator for my microgravity space research project, where I served as a co–principal investigator. Another letter is from the Director of Student Research and Innovation at my university, who is familiar with my research abilities. The final letter is from my statistics professor, who witnessed my academic improvement over the semester, where my performance improved from a D to a B+.


I also met with my academic advisor today, and we discussed both post-baccalaureate and Master of Science pathways. We have already selected all of my remaining courses, which will allow me to complete all medical school prerequisite requirements by the end of 2026.


My goal moving forward is to earn all A’s in my remaining coursework and to work extremely hard in my master’s program if I am accepted.


The programs do not require the GRE, but I will submit my MCAT score to the institutions as soon as it becomes available.


By dedicating this year to completing a master’s degree, I will also be able to strengthen my application for medical school and apply once with a more competitive profile rather than applying multiple times.

P.S. - I am planning to take the MCAT again.