"What are my chances"...Its kinda long but has to be

[slarveson]

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Hi, I graduated with an accounting degree in 2006, worked for a year and then started this pre-med thing. Since starting in fall 2007, I have taken all the core pre-requisites except for o-chem 2 and have also taken anatomy, physiology, genetics, cadaver practicum, medical terminology, phlebotomy, and 1 research project thats still in the works that my teacher says will probably get published....all of these classes combined GPA = 3.872. However, my grades were horrific the first 70 credits of my accounting degree from 2001-2004 (more on that in a min)...for my science elective in 2001, i took Biology 1 and got a C in lab and lec. Add in 2 math classes (0930 and 1010...the easiest ones) where i got C's in both in 2001-2002 and Science GPA goes down to 3.546

K now for the really bad stuff...first 70 credits of college from 2001-2004 (and 1 semester in 1997) GPA was like a 2.7 and thats not counting about 10 retaken classes. Then, from 2004-2006, working on my accounting degree, i got a 3.48 with 1 retaken class that will bring it down to a 3.2ish....bottom line is that total cummulative including all classes taken the past couple years and counting all retaken classes = 3.105...total GPA not counting retaken classes = 3.35...Total GPA Since starting the pre-med thing in fall 2007 - now = 3.9+

BOTTOM LINE: Science GPA = 3.55, Cummulative = 3.105, Total GPA Since fall 2004 (113 credits) = 3.66, MCAT = not taken..............Cummulative not counting retaken classes = 3.35 (for DO application).


Extra Curriculars:
1) volunteer for the Doctor's Free Clinic (good patient exposure and set up and watch and assist doctor in minor surgeries) from fall 2007 - current once a week for a few hours.
2) ER volunteer from 3/08 - 1/10 once a week for 4 hrs...cleaned rooms and made sure rooms were well supplied...occasionally help patients to their rooms but not to much exposure here so don't know if i should count it as community service or patient exposure?
3) President of a pre-med club at school for 1 semester
4) "Big Brothers Big Sisters" volunteer from 10/2009 - 9/2010 (ongoing)Can I count this as leadership because im basically being a role model for this little kid?)
5) helped dad's struggling business for free for about 150+ hrs in the last 2 years so counting it as community service
6) numerous short-term community service volunteer experiences totaling about 30-40 hrs in past 2 years.
7) worked part time as an accountant for 1st year of pre-med (2007-2008)

I need to shadow some doctors and get some more leadership experiences but don't know how to go about it...do you just show up at a doctor's office and ask if you can shadow them? Leadership experiences are hard to come by too but ill figure it out by the time i apply. I have a couple more leadership experiences but they are from 10 years ago (im 31) and pretty sure you can't count them if they happened more then 5 years ago right?

All Science classes except math and first time bio 1 were taken from 2007 fall - now.
Showed a significant upward trend since 2004 and all my retakes were in really lame classes that were easy had i tried at all (new student orientation, database presentations (twice), intro to speech, dance appreciation.....all with F's!.....couple D's in classes like economics and geology, C's in alot of classes that i could Ace now without even trying). Im hoping they will look into this but im afraid that my cummulative GPA will not reach the cutoff point to where they would look any further than that. Is it true that most schools won't look any further if the MCAT and GPA's don't reach a minimum? Luckily DO schools don't count the retaken classes and so i should be good there....if not then im sure i can get into ross and/or st.george in caribbean don't you think?.....also, the cummulative GPA will be just a hair better than what i showed because need to convert my one and only "quarter" credits taken to semester credits which will benefit me especially because 3 of those grades were F's (fall '97) I haven't taken the MCAT yet but what minimum score would i need to get for DO, MD, top Carib? ANY ADVICE WOULD BE GREATLY APPRECIATED AND THANKS A TON FOR READING ALL OF THIS!
slarveson New Member

Posts: 9Joined: Thu Apr 29, 2010 9:48 pm

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[lorenzomicron]

no research?

 

[noshie]

5) helped dad's struggling business for free for about 150+ hrs in the last 2 years so counting it as community service

So... This is not community service. But you should include it in your application, just include it as work even though you didn't get paid. Working for family means that sometimes you don't get paid, but it will show that you have had responsibilities and you should write about what you learned from it in the description.

Also, your ECs are a little lack luster. Having no research experience will probably hurt you. You need to focus on gaining meaningful experiences. You can count anything you have done since high school, even if its old! Put it in!!! As for shadowing, cold calling doctors offices worked for me, so maybe try that.

I reread your post and maybe I missed it, but when are you applying?

MCAT needed with that GPA will need to be at least above a 28 for MD and maybe around there for a DO also.

The last thing I want to tell you is: Calm Down! You seem to have a lot on your plate, and you need to make a plan and stick with it. I get the feeling that you are running around like a chicken with its head cut off… If you have at least a year before you apply then you need to fix all of the holes in your application (research, more volunteering, clinical experiences, shadowing, more interesting ECs). Good Luck!!!

 

[noshie]

Extra Curriculars:
1) volunteer for the Doctor's Free Clinic (good patient exposure and set up and watch and assist doctor in minor surgeries) from fall 2007 - current once a week for a few hours. clinical volunteering
2) ER volunteer from 3/08 - 1/10 once a week for 4 hrs...cleaned rooms and made sure rooms were well supplied...occasionally help patients to their rooms but not to much exposure here so don't know if i should count it as community service or patient exposure? clinical volunteering
3) President of a pre-med club at school for 1 semester leadership
4) "Big Brothers Big Sisters" volunteer from 10/2009 - 9/2010 (ongoing)Can I count this as leadership because im basically being a role model for this little kid?)mentoring or non clinical volunteering/community service
5) helped dad's struggling business for free for about 150+ hrs in the last 2 years so counting it as community service work experience
6) numerous short-term community service volunteer experiences totaling about 30-40 hrs in past 2 years.community service
7) worked part time as an accountant for 1st year of pre-med (2007-2008)work experience




Hope that helps with your classifications!

 

[slarveson]

Thanks noshie, sorry for sounding frantic, but i wanted to give all details so i can get better advice...I have really bad grades from first couple years of college which is my main concern. i will have one solid research by the end of summer and instructor says good chance it will be published. If i can get one more research in and another leadership and some doctor shadowing and a 30+ MCAT then I could get into a US MD? What if I got a 30MCAT and applied to DO at the end of this summer, do you think i would have a chance? I've never seen a post with my situation...there are always some key points (really bad grades and then really good grades and/or bad grades are from very long ago and for a different degree etc and/or bad grades are from easy classes only.) that are different so don't know how to perceive my chances.

 

[noshie]

Thanks noshie, sorry for sounding frantic, but i wanted to give all details so i can get better advice...I have really bad grades from first couple years of college which is my main concern. i will have one solid research by the end of summer and instructor says good chance it will be published. If i can get one more research in and another leadership and some doctor shadowing and a 30+ MCAT then I could get into a US MD? What if I got a 30MCAT and applied to DO at the end of this summer, do you think i would have a chance? I've never seen a post with my situation...there are always some key points (really bad grades and then really good grades and/or bad grades are from very long ago and for a different degree etc and/or bad grades are from easy classes only.) that are different so don't know how to perceive my chances.

Every situation is unique. But the whole point is that you need to fix the cracks in your application. Yes, a 30 MCAT will be great in terms of overcoming the low GPA somewhat. But I’ve found that certain key points must be hit. They are:

1. Improve your grade trend somehow (post bac or a considerable masters with high GPA)
2. Improve or get a good MCAT score (near 30 or above)
3. Clinical volunteering
4. Non clinical volunteering
5. Considerable research (not like following around someone who does research, more like getting your own project)
6. Presentations on your research would be great
7. Publications
8. Leadership experience
9. Mentoring
10. Clinical experience with considerable patient contact (preferably not volunteering)
11. Work experience would be ideal to show that you are responsible (you are a non trad so I am guessing you have this)
12. Letters of recommendation from people that you have known or worked with for years, that way they are personal


With all this being said, even if you have all of this, there is no way to know your real chances of getting in. It’s really kind of random. People with excellent scores don’t get in sometimes. So it all comes down to how they perceive your dedication to this profession.

Last week I was talking to a med student while she was helping me with my personal statement. Something she said really stood out to me. She said that your application as a whole has to tell the adcoms that at the end of even the worst day in med school, residency or even as a full doctor, you will still love your job and not regret your decision. What are you going to do when a patient pukes on you, when you have to decompact a patient’s bowels, when you have to work a 24 hour shift, when you have to give up all of the things you love doing for the sake of medicine? That’s what they want, someone who would never think of doing anything else. I personally feel that I will be doctor, I don’t even doubt it for a minute in my mind because I know that this is the only profession for me. When people ask me what I’m going to do if I don’t get in this year, after two years of flat out rejection, I still say that I am going to med school next year no matter what. I have dedicated a lot of time to my applications and broadening my medical experiences. Being in the hospital is like home for me. You need to not doubt yourself at all, if this is really what you want to do then you will do what it takes to get there.

 

[slarveson]

thanks again noshie, i don't think i can get a real job for this coming year because will have way too much on my plate with mcat study, research, tough course load, application procedures, continue to volunteer etc. Hope i can get past the job thing and still get into a DO

 

[noshie]

You've never had a job? I don't mean you have to have one when you apply... I meant ever in your life. I've heard from many people that conduct med school interviews that they like seeing that someone has held a job. It gives them a sense of maturity.

 

[slarveson]

oh yeah i've had several jobs but just not in the medicine field

 

[noshie]

oh yeah i've had several jobs but just not in the medicine field

Ok, that’s good! You scared me... I was thinking someone at your age without any work experience would be a red flag for sure! Even though it’s not in medicine you can try to tie in your jobs with how they are relevant to becoming a physician. For instance, I worked at a bakery in the mall for 5 years. Although I was working in retail, this job gave me loads of customer service experience, and medicine is undoubtebly a customer oriented profession. Also, I learned responsibility, cooperation, pride in my work and leadership from this job. I met a diverse group of individuals and learned to communicate effectively with people from different backgrounds. Therefore, this is highly relevant to my future career as a physician. Get it?