WAMC: URM, cGPA 2.3, sGPA 2.6, 513 MCAT

[DaGingerbreadman]

1. cGPA: 2.3; sGPA: 2.6
2. MCAT 513 (129/127/129/128)
3. Florida (US Citizen)
4. Ethnicity Nigerian-American (URM)
5. Undergrad: private local undergrad
6. Last 30 credits: 2.88 (2000-4000 level science courses)
7. Clinical experience: 940 hours (medical assistant)
8. Non-Clinical Volunteering:
   1. none
9. Non-Clinical Work:
   1. Worked 500+ hours as a hotel night auditor at
   2. Worked in school cafeteria 3+ years

I started undergrad as a finance major while trying to do med school prereqs. My grades ended up tanking and I switched major to premed/bio. Graduated after 5.5 years. I'm thinking of applying to a masters and then hopefully down the line an MD/MBA if thats still an option. I'm looking at the temple and drexel linkage programs though I don't know if I should expand my search to masters without linkage. Beyond that, I'm thinking of applying to the following schools, but don't know if its worth doing with my GPA. Over the course of my undergrad I did too many credits for a posbacc to meaningfully impact my GPA. Thanks for your advice!

Howard
Meharry
Morehouse
Charles Drew
Florida State
U Florida
Central Florida
Florida Atlantic
Florida International
Miami
NOVA MD
Tulane
Rosalind Franklin
Medical College Wisconsin
Oakland Beaumont
Wayne State
Indiana
Vermont
Hackensack
Drexel
Temple
George Washington
Eastern Virginia
Wake Forest

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[Criscarter25]

I’m just a pre-med applying this cycle so you can take my advice with a grain of salt. Your GPA and trend are a no-go for applying DO or MD. How many credits would it take to get to a 3.0? I’d recommend a post-bacc, then SMP. Doing a masters program given your recent history of grades is not a good idea. However, your MCAT score is great. How did you get a 513 MCAT?

 

[Mr.Smile12]

I agree... let's back up a bit. Have you taken the prerequisites, and if so, what is your BCPM GPA? What is left beyond the prerequisites? Is that 2.88 GPA over your last 30 credits consistent with your science courses?

You probably have a little shadowing with your MA experience, but not having community service is challenging for entry to US medical schools, even with linkages. Having zero is non-negotiable with a lot of schools.

 

[candbgirl]

Since applying to med school offers no certainties, I’m not sure what to say. But your application has so many red flags that IMO you aren’t anywhere near competitive at this point. A big question is how in the heck did you score a 513 on the MCAT? The disparity between your GPAs and your MCAT will cause many reviewers to wonder why such a gap. Were your last 30 hours part of a DIY or part of your undergrad degree? But either way your last 30 hours should have been As (and a B or two). This would help to assure ADCOMS that you have grown as a student and you can handle the rigors of med school.
You need nonclinical volunteering and some shadowing. But that can wait. You have to figure out what you want to do about your GPAs. In general, MD schools aren’t really impressed with Masters degrees. They expect you to get As. DO schools supposedly are open to the results of a grad program and some combine your grades.

 

[Faha]

Your GPAs are not competitive for any MD or DO schools. You would benefit from a post bacc where you take enough undergraduate level science courses in order to raise your sGPA to 3.0. You could do this at a local college. If you raise your sGPA to 3.0 then the GPA-MCAT grid shows you have a ~75% chance for a MD acceptance. This may take 2 years or longer depending on how well you do in the science courses. A masters degree will not help you.

 

[Approach]

What Faha said

Op--You should identify how many credits you need to get a 3.0sGPA asap and get grinding. Also get some non clinical volunteering in!

Time is somewhat of a concern depending on when you took the MCAT. Retaking a competitive score because of MCAT expiration would be a real pill.

 

[DaGingerbreadman]

I agree... let's back up a bit. Have you taken the prerequisites, and if so, what is your BCPM GPA? What is left beyond the prerequisites? Is that 2.88 GPA over your last 30 credits consistent with your science courses?

You probably have a little shadowing with your MA experience, but not having community service is challenging for entry to US medical schools, even with linkages. Having zero is non-negotiable with a lot of schools.

I believe my BCPM GPA is 2.52. I'm not sure I understand your follow up question, but beyond that I have a lot of F's in finance courses from my C's get degrees finance major days... those I believe contribute most greatly to my low GPA. My last 29 sGPA credits were 2.99. Is there a threshold number of volunteer hours you think I should target?

 

[DaGingerbreadman]

Since applying to med school offers no certainties, I’m not sure what to say. But your application has so many red flags that IMO you aren’t anywhere near competitive at this point. A big question is how in the heck did you score a 513 on the MCAT? The disparity between your GPAs and your MCAT will cause many reviewers to wonder why such a gap. Were your last 30 hours part of a DIY or part of your undergrad degree? But either way your last 30 hours should have been As (and a B or two). This would help to assure ADCOMS that you have grown as a student and you can handle the rigors of med school.
You need nonclinical volunteering and some shadowing. But that can wait. You have to figure out what you want to do about your GPAs. In general, MD schools aren’t really impressed with Masters degrees. They expect you to get As. DO schools supposedly are open to the results of a grad program and some combine your grades.

So I studied full time for my MCAT for 3 months. Prior to that I invested in a learning psych course and delved into some productivity pipelines which I think definitely optimized my test prep phase. I overloaded credits my last semester and studied and took the MCAT and GAMSAT (I'm a British Citizen so at the time I was keeping doors open for British med school), which hurt my gpa a bit last semester. Last semester sGPA was 3.55.
If a program offers guaranteed acceptance into their MD program following meeting a threshold GPA in their master's program, do you think that would be a valid way to circumvent the low GPA?

 

[DaGingerbreadman]

Your GPAs are not competitive for any MD or DO schools. You would benefit from a post bacc where you take enough undergraduate level science courses in order to raise your sGPA to 3.0. You could do this at a local college. If you raise your sGPA to 3.0 then the GPA-MCAT grid shows you have a ~75% chance for a MD acceptance. This may take 2 years or longer depending on how well you do in the science courses. A masters degree will not help you.

It'd take 51 4.0 credits to get my sGPA to a 3.0. Part of my thought process is financial at this point as I'm fully funding myself on an MA salary. I know financial aid and federal loan programs are available for master's programs to a limited extent, but it was my understanding that postbacc classes are all self-financed, so I'm not sure how I'd be able to afford it. I took my MCAT 09/2022. Thanks so much for the advice everyone! Much appreciated

 

[Approach]

I know financial aid and federal loan programs are available for master's programs to a limited extent, but it was my understanding that postbacc classes are all self-financed, so I'm not sure how I'd be able to afford it.

When financing a DIY post bacc it's possible to still use federal undergraduate loans. It depends on how much you borrowed when you got your bachelor's. By applying as a second degree seeking bachelor's student to a local college you are still eligible for financial aid.

 

[candbgirl]

So I studied full time for my MCAT for 3 months. Prior to that I invested in a learning psych course and delved into some productivity pipelines which I think definitely optimized my test prep phase. I overloaded credits my last semester and studied and took the MCAT and GAMSAT (I'm a British Citizen so at the time I was keeping doors open for British med school), which hurt my gpa a bit last semester. Last semester sGPA was 3.55.
If a program offers guaranteed acceptance into their MD program following meeting a threshold GPA in their master's program, do you think that would be a valid way to circumvent the low GPA?

Well that just adds a whole new layer to your application. Not all US schools accept/consider nonresidents. And those they do accept are superstars. IMO, if they were going to accept someone with your stats the person would be a US citizen.,

Why not go to school in England?

 

[DaGingerbreadman]

Well that just adds a whole new layer to your application. Not all US schools accept/consider nonresidents. And those they do accept are superstars. IMO, if they were going to accept someone with your stats the person would be a US citizen.,

Why not go to school in England?

I'm a valid triple citizen of Nigeria, England, and US, born in the states. I traveled to the UK during breaks during undergrad, so I'm entitled to resident status both there and here (in a technical way). Now I'm working in the US and my UK residence will expire next year.

Doctors earn more in the US and the UK NHS is on fire right now. Everyones on strike and earning nothing. My sis schooled here and went there and is finishing fellowship in UK. She doesn't recommend it. Tbh, not to say I'm doing medicine for the money per se, but I wouldn't be pursuing it if it didn't have the financial compensation present in the US.

Tennessee did pass that law accepting IMGs w/o them doing residency, but that seems pretty shakey

 

[Jazzy2]

I’ll be the oddball in the chat and post an actual real world experience instead of doing a repetitive paragraph about post-bac or SMP. I graduated undergrad with a 2.6 cGPA in 2021. I received 3 Acceptances this year for DO and 1 for MD. I did 1 gap year and did a regular Masters degree in Chemistry (not an SMP). I finished my Masters with a 4.0 and my MCAT was 511. I didn’t have a single interviewer ask me about how I achieved my MCAT score while having a low gpa because ITS NOT IMPORTANT. If you have the graduate coursework plus the MCAT score then you can show that you’re able to handle the course load, especially if you do an SMP. I also didn’t have any community service or shadowing hours. Only direct clinical experience as a phlebotomist and MA. I did have full-time work experience since sophomore year of high school without a break and I used that in my personal statement as well. My advice to you would be to leave SDN, Reddit and whatever other medical school forums there are. There won’t be any positive or useful advice in these groups for you because of your stats. Focus on your app and start crafting that personal statement now- even if you’re not applying this round! Also, choose your schools wisely.

 

[candbgirl]

I’ll be the oddball in the chat and post an actual real world experience instead of doing a repetitive paragraph about post-bac or SMP. I graduated undergrad with a 2.6 cGPA in 2021. I received 3 Acceptances this year for DO and 1 for MD. I did 1 gap year and did a regular Masters degree in Chemistry (not an SMP). I finished my Masters with a 4.0 and my MCAT was 511. I didn’t have a single interviewer ask me about how I achieved my MCAT score while having a low gpa because ITS NOT IMPORTANT. If you have the graduate coursework plus the MCAT score then you can show that you’re able to handle the course load, especially if you do an SMP. I also didn’t have any community service or shadowing hours. Only direct clinical experience as a phlebotomist and MA. I did have full-time work experience since sophomore year of high school without a break and I used that in my personal statement as well. My advice to you would be to leave SDN, Reddit and whatever other medical school forums there are. There won’t be any positive or useful advice in these groups for you because of your stats. Focus on your app and start crafting that personal statement now- even if you’re not applying this round! Also, choose your schools wisely.

Congratulations. You’ve worked hard and have reaped the rewards. Good luck as you move forward.
But also understand, there are always a few outliers in this process who for no rhyme or reason beat the metrics and end up in med school. I’m not saying you are one of them. You obviously had a plan and you successfully implemented it.

 

[Goro]

Your GPAs are not competitive for any MD or DO schools. You would benefit from a post bacc where you take enough undergraduate level science courses in order to raise your sGPA to 3.0. You could do this at a local college. If you raise your sGPA to 3.0 then the GPA-MCAT grid shows you have a ~75% chance for a MD acceptance. This may take 2 years or longer depending on how well you do in the science courses. A masters degree will not help you.

Concur. Op, you need to prove that you can handle med school.

Read my post on reinvention for premeds

 

[LeaveNoTrace]

Last 30 credits: 2.88 (2000-4000 level science courses)

Not sugarcoating here. This is lethal. Your URM status might still mean something, Supreme Court decision or no, but even this time last year that would've killed you dead. There are serious doubts as to whether you're up to snuff academically. It would be a different story if you had had 30 credits of 3.7+ from a DIY postbacc.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

I'm a valid triple citizen of Nigeria, England, and US, born in the states. I traveled to the UK during breaks during undergrad, so I'm entitled to resident status both there and here (in a technical way). Now I'm working in the US and my UK residence will expire next year.

Doctors earn more in the US and the UK NHS is on fire right now. Everyones on strike and earning nothing. My sis schooled here and went there and is finishing fellowship in UK. She doesn't recommend it. Tbh, not to say I'm doing medicine for the money per se, but I wouldn't be pursuing it if it didn't have the financial compensation present in the US.

Tennessee did pass that law accepting IMGs w/o them doing residency, but that seems pretty shakey

If this thread is still active: OP, definitely get yourself connected with one of the mentoring organizations targeting aspiring Blacks in medicine, especially Black men. Let me know if you need suggestions.

 

[DaGingerbreadman]

If this thread is still active: OP, definitely get yourself connected with one of the mentoring organizations targeting aspiring Blacks in medicine, especially Black men. Let me know if you need suggestions.

Absolutely would be interested! Do you have any recommendations for specific organizations?

 

[DaGingerbreadman]

I’ll be the oddball in the chat and post an actual real world experience instead of doing a repetitive paragraph about post-bac or SMP. I graduated undergrad with a 2.6 cGPA in 2021. I received 3 Acceptances this year for DO and 1 for MD. I did 1 gap year and did a regular Masters degree in Chemistry (not an SMP). I finished my Masters with a 4.0 and my MCAT was 511. I didn’t have a single interviewer ask me about how I achieved my MCAT score while having a low gpa because ITS NOT IMPORTANT. If you have the graduate coursework plus the MCAT score then you can show that you’re able to handle the course load, especially if you do an SMP. I also didn’t have any community service or shadowing hours. Only direct clinical experience as a phlebotomist and MA. I did have full-time work experience since sophomore year of high school without a break and I used that in my personal statement as well. My advice to you would be to leave SDN, Reddit and whatever other medical school forums there are. There won’t be any positive or useful advice in these groups for you because of your stats. Focus on your app and start crafting that personal statement now- even if you’re not applying this round! Also, choose your schools wisely.

Appreciate the alternative persective! What was your strategy after the masters? Did you apply to your state schools, or apply to a lot of schools in general?