what do y'all think

[elee20]

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I love this forum! This is actually my first day posting. I wanted to ask y'all if you think I have a chance at med school. I am a former college athlete and professional athlete that a year and a half ago decided Medicine is where I really want to be. The thing is my gpa isn't great because all I cared about in college was the committment to my sport. I've made some connections with a few people on the admissions commitee, but I don't know how much that's going to help. I've also done tons of shadowing, research, and have my name on a patent. If I do well on the april MCAT, do y'all think I have a chance at any school? I don't care which school, I just want one to give me the opportunity. Thanks in advanced!

 

[finnpipette]

sure, you sound like a very interesting person that would definitely enhance the diversity of a class. I'd take some post-bacc classes to up a low GPA though and show recent academic work...that always helps.

 

[jlee9531]

listen to the spam-man...

yeah i am assuming you took all your prereqs for med and you did decently on them.

if you do awesome on the mcat that will be huge...

post-bacc is a good idea if you feel that you gpa is low and not competitive enough...

and to top if all off it says you are from texas and thats a great state for residents trying to get into med school.

good luck.

 

[Spitting Camel]

We can't tell you without some numbers to work with... if you're talking 2.0, it may be near impossible because some systems reject right off the bat for a low G.P.A. Consider post-bac, like finn said before 🙂

 

[elee20]

My undergrad gpa isn't that low but it is a 2.7. I'm hoping to get past the initial screening and then I think the adcomm will see I have an interesting application. Do you think DO or foreign med school might be a better choice?

 

[CalBeE]

As you'll read in this forum, many people are quite skeptical about foreign medical schools, and I think the consensus is that you should try DO schools first before foreign med schools. Even if you decide to go of countries, go for foreign schools that are more "recognized" (Eg. Ross and St. George?? I don't know their exact names)

 

[Neuronix]

Originally posted by elee20
My undergrad gpa isn't that low but it is a 2.7. I'm hoping to get past the initial screening and then I think the adcomm will see I have an interesting application. Do you think DO or foreign med school might be a better choice?

Ouch. That is very low. Most applicants have an interesting application and the problem med schools have is picking through all the 3.5+ GPA people and all of their interesting talents. This is why the process seems random as it is, there's just too many qualified applicants!

I'm not particularly sure what to tell you. Nobody is completely out of the game, but unless you're willing to settle with some overseas options I don't think you're going to have much luck. There's options like post-bacc that might help you raise your GPA. Perhaps you should ask the pre-DO and/or International crowd about your chances of getting into osteopathic or a foreign medical school with your GPA. You definately want to do as well on the MCAT as you can, but it's not going to make up for a low GPA. Perhaps if you decide to do a post-bacc or hold off on applying to med school it would benefit you to take the MCAT in the future and not right now. This is because scores do expire in 3 years, and if you do take time out to improve your GPA and then don't make it in on the first try, you could be stuck taking the MCAT again.

Good luck!

 

[elee20]

Thanks y'all for the good advise. I guess I have alot of thinking to do. I'm already signed up for the PR MCAT course and don't want to waste $1400 if there's no chance for me to get an acceptance. If anyone else has anything to add I'd like to get other opinions as well.

 

[acab]

Elee,

If you're absolutely sure medicine is what you want, I'd go for it. If you ace the MCAT and have good LORs, I think you might get into somewhere. I would apply DO along with allo, just to broaden your chances. If you don't get in, then you can think of foreign or not med school at all.

In sum, do NOT give up right now if that's what you really want. You have an interesting background and you can pump up your gpa with a few more courses.
Good luck!

 

[Mr.Tweed]

If you do well on your MCATs, then your performance might compensate for your GPA. You should seriously consider DO schools. You may have a very good chance of getting accepted, and you can have a great career with a DO degree. Also try for MD of course.

 

[Amy B]

I'm sorry but your gpa is not good at all. Are you still in school or have you graduated? If you are still an undergrad you could take some more classes and try to bring the gpa up.

Other wise you really need to take a post-bac program or a bunch of post bac classes in order to show the adcoms that you can handle med school.

That said, I guess if you get 32 or above on the MCAT, that might save you, but it will be a very high uphill battle.

It is so irratating when people suggest going DO just because of a lower GPA. It is true, on average a DO gpa is somewhat lower than MD but not by much and 2.7 is below a number of cutoffs for most DO schools.

I just think you need to take some more classes, do well in them and then apply if you are going to have a shot. And of course kick butt on your MCAT. Good luck.

 

[elee20]

Sorry AMY B, I did not mean it as though DO is a lesser degree because I do not feel that way at all. DO schools just have a tendency to look past the numbers sometimes and I was just thinking that my chances would be better applying there. If I got the opportunity to attend a DO school I would be extremely happy!! Sorry to all the DO's!!!!

 

[Neuronix]

I've known people with around 3.0 GPAs and amazing MCAT scores (37 - 40) who have not been able to get in. Typically, they don't get any interviews, but even if they do their awesome LORs and ECs aren't enough to get them into the school. I'm sorry, but that's just the way it is. A great MCAT won't make up for a bad GPA (<3.3). It's also a common misconception that once you get an interview, that the interview is all that counts. Of course this varies from school to school, but typically the interview only counts for one (sometimes small) piece of your whole application.

Still, I'm coming from the allopathic perspective. I don't know how much luck you will have with other options. Good luck!

 

[Amy B]

Originally posted by elee20
Sorry AMY B, I did not mean it as though DO is a lesser degree because I do not feel that way at all. DO schools just have a tendency to look past the numbers sometimes and I was just thinking that my chances would be better applying there. If I got the opportunity to attend a DO school I would be extremely happy!! Sorry to all the DO's!!!!

No need to apologize. I just wanted to put in my 2 cents on the subject. It is just when people start talking about DO and foreign like they are simliar choices for a lower stats applicant that can't apply MD, that is when I really take issue with what they are saying.

I agree with your logic about DO looking at more than just numbers. You are totally correct with that observation. They really look at an applicant's totally package when making their decisions and that is the way it should be. I have applied MD and DO and been accepted by both. The DO school is my first choice. I love the school, staff, courses, and over all committment to training a rural primary care physician.

If you can bring up your gpa above 3.0 (preferrably 3.2 or above) or a 3.2 or above post bac GPA, get a good MCAT, have a fair amount of clinical EC, understand the DO education and get a recommendation from a DO you either shadowed or interviewed with, you would be able to apply to a DO school.

Again, no need to apologize. I understand you are over looking all your options.