What are my chances? Weak GPAs, solid MCAT, etc.

[Pattycake25]

Hey guys, looking for some input!

- Virginia resident; extensive family ties to NJ however

- MCAT was 12 BS, 12 PS, 11 VR, S on WS.

- Undergrad GPAs: 3.11 cum., 3.30 sci. (institution is top 15).
***Low undergrad GPA is largely due to moderate/severe clinically diagnosed depression, which I explain in my application.

- GPA at Georgetown SMP was 3.45 overall, 3.22 strictly in medical courses, with no grades below a B.

A few other things:

1. Researched for a year after undergrad, before SMP - acknowledged in a presentation, but not listed as an author (due to a huge number of collaborators on the project).

2. Have an expected publication from an SMP class project.

3. Have been working with Big Brothers Big Sisters since last September.

4. Going to begin volunteering in a D.C. clinic in a few weeks.

5. Hoping to shadow a physician in September - the guy likes me, but he's OOS, so it depends on my work schedule.

Interested in both M.D. programs and D.O. programs. Also considering applying M.D./Ph.D., but increasingly uncertain about it - I love the idea of doing some research, but my goals there are fairly nebulous, and I don't want to sabotage my chances at a medical degree by hitching it to the Ph.D. =/

Thanks for any and all input!
Pat

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[MedAdComMD]

Hey guys, looking for some input!

- Virginia resident; extensive family ties to NJ however

- MCAT was 12 BS, 12 PS, 11 VR, S on WS.

- Undergrad GPAs: 3.11 cum., 3.30 sci. (institution is top 15).
***Low undergrad GPA is largely due to moderate/severe clinically diagnosed depression, which I explain in my application.

- GPA at Georgetown SMP was 3.45 overall, 3.22 strictly in medical courses, with no grades below a B.

A few other things:

1. Researched for a year after undergrad, before SMP - acknowledged in a presentation, but not listed as an author (due to a huge number of collaborators on the project).

2. Have an expected publication from an SMP class project.

3. Have been working with Big Brothers Big Sisters since last September.

4. Going to begin volunteering in a D.C. clinic in a few weeks.

5. Hoping to shadow a physician in September - the guy likes me, but he's OOS, so it depends on my work schedule.

Interested in both M.D. programs and D.O. programs. Also considering applying M.D./Ph.D., but increasingly uncertain about it - I love the idea of doing some research, but my goals there are fairly nebulous, and I don't want to sabotage my chances at a medical degree by hitching it to the Ph.D. =/

Thanks for any and all input!
Pat

This is not what you want to hear - but your SMP performance is a red flag. A low undergrad GPA can be redeemed by SMP - but you have to realize your SMP performance is going to "make or break" your chances. Anything below a 3.5 in SMP is a red flag - and raises question as to whether you are capable of handling med school classes.

You have gone too deep into the hole with your GPA to have a decent chance for MD - so I suggest you apply DO.

 

[leggo]

I have to agree. Your SMP is not awful, but it really isn't what medical schools want to see, since many apply with very high SMP GPA and that was your chance to show that you could excel in medical school. The other red flag is that you got 3.2s in the medical school classes, which is passing but not nearly good enough. MD will be tough, so I suggest you apply to some DO schools with your stats.

 

[Pattycake25]

This is not what you want to hear - but your SMP performance is a red flag. A low undergrad GPA can be redeemed by SMP - but you have to realize your SMP performance is going to "make or break" your chances. Anything below a 3.5 in SMP is a red flag - and raises question as to whether you are capable of handling med school classes.

You have gone too deep into the hole with your GPA to have a decent chance for MD - so I suggest you apply DO.

But the medical courses are graded on a curve set by first-year Georgetown students. As in, I did better than the average Gtown med first-year in those classes...

 

[MedAdComMD]

But the medical courses are graded on a curve set by first-year Georgetown students. As in, I did better than the average Gtown med first-year in those classes...

Students in SMP usually give everything they got and pulls 3.7+ GPAs. They are the ones you are competing with, not medical students.