What are my chances? UNUSUAL CASE!

[medschoolnooooo]

Hello everyone,

I'm currently 22 years old and I'm interested in Med School. I go to the University of Central Florida

Freshman GPA (2004): 3.85
Sophomore Year (2005) : Bio 2 - D Chem 1 - F Calculus NC and then again a withdrawal

In 2004, I was also working as a real estate agent.

Now I went to work for a Fortune 200 company as a sales rep in 2005 during the same time I got a D, an F, and a Withdrawal in my second attempt in Calculus. I made 110,000 dollars in 18 months of working there and was quite successful. I couldn't handle school and working 60 hours a week during that year and half.

I left to return to school in 2007. And I have had a 3.875 GPA in the last three semesters. I'm only one semester away from application time so I plan on taking my MCAT this July so I can apply for Med School for 2010!

So as of right now:

My Major: Micro/Molecular Biology
GPA with my 2005 semester (which includes a D and an F) is: sGPA 3.481 and my cGPA is 3.489 (when I apply)

GPA without my 2005 semester is: sGPA: 3.81 and cGPA: 3.85

mCAT: Have not taken it yet!


EC:
- For the last 8 months, I am Fundraising chairperson for Habitat for Humanity at my school
- 150 hours volunteering in Emergency Room and ICU
- Worked for Fortune 200 company for 18 months and made six figures in 18 months and still left the position to become a doctor

Research:
- 4 months of research doing organic synthesis and molecular biology research on riboswitches

Shadowing:
-about 4 hours a week for the last 3 months in a GI tract center

Letters of Recommendation:

- One from a Government Official, discussing my knowledge of economics and geopolitical affairs
- One from my Anatomy professor, he is an MD/PhD
- One from my friends who are anestheiologists (both MDs)
- One from my VP of Sales and Marketing at my former company
- One from my Calculus Professor (PhD) claiming that even though I dropped calculus twice I got an A my third time and I was his best student

Personal Statement: Excellent

My state of residency is Florida.

Notes:

What are my chances for Medical Schools (MD programs only) and PharmD schools?


Anyone?

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[katarina90]

Seriously? I don't see how you're worried. You have awesome ECs from the sound of it, and a decent gpa as well. So you made some bad grades soph. year, but you redeemed yourself with an upward trend, and then some. It sounds to me like you have a good chance of getting in to md schools, as long as you do well on your MCAT, so make sure you study hard for it. Good luck! : )

 

[HrryUpNwait]

Why are you going to wait until July to take the MCAT? Take it in April or May so you can get your apps in ASAP!!! This is very important- I applied this cycle and earlier is better, trust me. I would certainly explain those rough semesters because it will be a red flag. Even if you have recovered, there are plenty of applicants out there with the same GPA who never slipped up, so be sure to explain why you are "special". I like your letters of rec but make sure the first one is a bit more broad than economic interests and geopolitical affairs because- although academically impressive-it does not speak to medical admissions commitees unless you make sure it paints the picture of a future doc. Any volunteering?

 

[Bacchus]

I think you're going to encounter bumps by failing on prerequisite and narrowly missing an F in another.

 

[Mobius1985]

Did you retake all the classes you did poorly in, or just the Calculus?

 

[medschoolnooooo]

Yeah. I retook Bio 2 got an A. Retook Chem I got a B. But I got an A in Chem II. My GPA is 3.48 with the slip ups but I was making 6 figures. These students have no idea what it means to leave good money just to become a doctor. That's my case. It all happened in one semester and I didn't return until 2 years later to retake the courses.

What do you guys think?

 

[nabeel76]

I think you'll be fine as long as you keep that upward trend. They'll forgive 1 bad semester regardless of how much money you were making, but they'll still ask you about it. I don't think they'll place that big of an emphasis on your passion for medicine based on the fact that you left a high paying job, especially when in your case your priority that bad semester was clearly work and not preparing for med school in the first place. On the contrary, you might have to defend why you left such a profitable career behind in the first place.

P.S. I wouldn't really bring up the fact that you were making x amount of dollars and left that all behind as a supporting argument to your commitment for medicine at an interview - it might make a bad impression. Just imply that you were successful at your previous position/career.

 

[Mobius1985]

One bad semester won't sink you now that you've redeemed your poor grades with a recent upward trend. But your low GPA of 3.489 needs to be balanced with an MCAT of 33 or so (maybe 32 for a forgiving state school). Your ECs are adequate, with the research being at the bare minimum. You've got leadership with Habitat for Humanity, but considering you're "non-traditional", I hope you did something else to show your humanitarian side over these years. The shadowing is fine. Do you have other interests/hobbies to add to make you look well-rounded, like sports, the arts, or music, etc?

I agree with the above that you shouldn't bring up the income you made in your job. Yeah, it was awesome for someone without a college degree to make that much money, but what's more important is why you chose medicine. If interviewers want to know, they can ask you. Be humble about it, and you'll come off better. And have a good answer for why you so forgot yourself in the pursuit of your high paying job, that you completely forgot your responsibility to withdraw from classes that semester, and failed to consider the possible consequences. Your hard work, happily has dug you out of the GPA hole you were in. But thinking ahead is an important trait for a physician to have. My purpose in emphasizing this is not to scold you, but to prepare you for the inevitable grilling you'll have to face.

Assuming a good MCAT score, that someone besides you thinks your Personal Statement is excellent, a good collection of Letters of Reference (I don't see the relevance of the government official's LOR, but I'm young and may be missing something. I think you need one more science letter, and this is expected to come from one's research advisor), and a humble but confident attitude while interviewing, I think you have a good chance of an acceptance.

This is not the place to find out your chances for pharmacy school. Consider asking in the prepharmacy forum of SDN.

 

[medschoolnooooo]

Well thank you so much for all your informed replies!

I have to be clear, the reason I want to do medicine is because I understand three main principles:

Economics governs the standard of living of an average citizen.
The Economics of a country is typically controlled by an elite corporate bureaucracy that has very little understanding of the average citizen's true needs, and couldn't possibly help and supply this kind of help to middle class. It certainly has the shareholders in mind which typically are of upper socioeconomic class and/or foreign investors.

I love to provide people information and aid to solve their most dire issues and I deal very well under pressure as demonstrated by my sales position's success. I left all the corporate bureaucracy, all the money, and all the success to achieve what I felt truly had a direct and morally comprehensive impact on the average citizen's life. And that is medicine. Research is not rewarding on a frequent enough basis, and pharmacy is far too distanced from the source of reward. But medicine allows me to convey aid to a citizen directly and I simply want to make clear, the money never mattered to me. If I wanted money, sales is much less work. What's important to me is to feel as though I am helping people regardless of the economic gain and/or regardless of feeding the economic cycle we currently live within.

Is this an appropriate rational to express to an adcom board?

 

[xscpx]

Why are you looking at med school and pharmD school? Doctors and pharmacists are two totally different careers. A pharmacy degree is not an adequate back up plan for not getting into medical school.