What are my chances

[gayatri1990]

I am a michigan state resident. My GPA is 3.4 and my MCAT score is 32P. I took the MCATs twice. My first MCAT score was a 23P.

I have 6 different research projects that I have been working on. Out of the 6 projects, I have been working on 3 of them for over 2 years now. I also have 100 hours of volunteering experience and I have shadowed physicians as well.

A major negative that I see is my 3 credit class that I failed. I retook it and passed it, but not with a 4.0, but with a 2.5. That class was just horrible!

I am planning to apply to both DO and MD schools. I am really aiming to get into Michigan State University.

So, my question is, should I even bother applying? or should I wait for a year, get my GPA up and get more experience?

Any guidance/suggestions would be highly appreciated...Thanks!

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[Catalystik]

What was the class you failed and then got a 2.5 for? How long ago? Have you had a steep upward grade trend since then, if it was awhile back? As a general rule, applying with a downward grade trend is not a good idea.

Your research is very good. Your clinical experience is somewhat below average. How many shadowing hours? Was a DO among them?

Any leadership, teaching, or nonmedical community service?

 

[gayatri1990]

Thanks for the reply. The class was Microbial genomics and it was an upper level class. Looking at my GPA, it does have a roller coaster trend, so I am not sure if that is going to help at all.
I have a total of 20 hours for shadowing. I am planning to get more shadowing experience from both MD as well as DO.

I do not have any leadership experiences or any other extracurricular activities as such. I am the main research student and I teach patients regarding diabetes and coronary heart disease. I volunteered at old age community center but it was in summer before college.

The major reason why I am lacking leadership experiences is because I just moved to U.S. with my family right before college, so it did take some time for me to catch up.

If you have any suggestions to how I can gain such experiences, then please suggest. I can still wait for a year. Atleast, it is better than not being accepted anywhere!

Thanks so much!

 

[Catalystik]

In light of the added information, I think that waiting a year to improve your GPAs and ECs is a good idea.

So, you do have some teaching. Regular weekly community service is a good idea, and this would be a good venue for taking on a leadership role after they get to know you (what about something like volunteer teaching ESL to new immigrants? Or think of another cause you care about). I'd aim for at least 50 hours of shadowing.

Are any of your research projects clinical research, where you work with patients?

Are you a permanent US resident? Is English your primary language?

 

[gayatri1990]

Yes, I am a permanent resident. But english is my second language. Five of my research projects are clinical research with MD doctors and all of them involve patient interactions, either on phone or in person. Only one of my research project involves genomics research. I also worked on an independent research project for which i got credit from MSU human college of medicine.

Volunteering to teach at ESL is a great idea. Do you have any other suggestions that might work?

Thanks so much for your help!

 

[Catalystik]

With the added info of clinical patient contact during research activities, you're in good shape overall for clinical experience then.

Other nonmedical community service: Meals on Wheels, Habitat for humanity, soup kitchen, homeless or womens shelter, Big Brothers/Big Sisters, scout leader, tutoring kids after school in a poor district.

 

[bautile]

Hi,
Sorry I took so long to get back to you but we aren't "exactly" in the same situation. You're situation in terms of residency status is much more favorable than mine because I am not even a green card holder yet, I am still adjustment of status so I am in that limbo/gray area. But to answer your question :

I received a secondary request from MSU-COM (I'm not sure if they have autosecondaries) but I never bothered to complete it because I had 12 more secondaries to do and it was just too much of a hassle since MSU-COM had their own secondary process outside of AACOMAS.

With regards to your greencard, if you really do have one, then you are eligible for ANY school in the country. If you were adjustment of status like me, you need to double check with each school that they will accept you/allow you to enroll before you apply. The best way is to call admissions and ask.

I actually received 3 interview invites last October, NOVA, KCOM, and LECOM-B. I turned down LECOM-B because I received acceptances to both NOVA and KCOM within weeks of each other. At my interview at Nova, I provided copies of all of my documents (EAD, SSN, I-140 Approval, Pending and Acceptance of I-485, Driver's License, I-94, Passport) at the end of my interview to the admissions rep.
With KCOM however, there was a slight misunderstanding about a week ago and I almost thought I would not be able to matriculate despite my acceptance back in October because I wasn't eligible for an F-1 Visa and did not have possession of my green card. The registrar told me that that was the policy for "international students" and she didn't have the power to grant an exception. It turned out that I just needed to talk to Lori at admissions (I interviewed with her, she is SUPER nice, possibly the nicest person I have ever met) and she listened to my situation and said that it shouldn't be a problem so long as I provided documentation that I was here legally/legit and I can prove that I can pay for at least the first year of school.

If you are a gc holder, none of what i typed up applies to you but if you really are AOS like me, then take a page out of book and make sure that you are eligible. The worst feeling in the world, besides not being accepted, is being accepted and then not being eligible to attend, especially when you turned down another school where you were eligible and it is a few weeks before the start of another cycle!

If you have any other questions, or need clarification, don't hesitate to ask

 

[gayatri1990]

Hey,
Thanks so much for the reply. I do not have my greencard yet and I am in the AOS status as well. Sorry if I did not clarify it but your reply really helped a lot. I am interested in attending MSU-COM more than any other school right now, and I have also taken an appointment with the Admissions counselor but she is only available later in June. So, my main question was do you know if MSU-COM accepts AOS students like us? I am guessing that since you got the secondaries (considering it is not autosend), they would have looked at your application atleast, unlike MSU-CHM who screens people out based on their residency statuses