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Hello,
I would like some advice on my situation and possibly a school list.
A bit about me:
I am a hispanic female who comes from an extremely low SES. I am also a CA native.
I was able to graduate from college in only 2 years since my family could not afford 4 years and I have been pursuing a research oriented Master’s degree but not an SMP.
My Master’s GPA is a 3.8, but my undergraduate GPA is low as it is a 3.3 with an upward trend.
My MCAT is a 508.
I have tons of EC’s
- 5000 hours volunteering/interning in a low income school, about 3 years
- 2000 hours being a home health provider
- 1500 hours of research, I have 3 different projects. Mostly based on clinical psychology.
- 50 hours shadowing a primary care physician.
My biggest concern is that my undergrad GPA and my MCAT will hurt my application. I have kind of a unique story, but I don’t know how far unique will take me.
Thank you for taking the time to read this, and for responding!
While the GPA is a little on the low side.. having the upward trend, the high GPA in a masters, and a decent MCAT along with all of your ECs - and the extensive hours for them as listed, you have a great shot most, if not all, DO schools. For MD, since they usually don't put any weight on masters degrees, even with the upward trend, the GPA and MCAT may hinder you, sans schools that take low SES into account and state schools (though I'm admittedly less familiar with the CA schools and their policies or trends).
If you want DO, you're pretty solid as is for virtually anywhere.
But If you want MD, some might suggest retaking the MCAT to compensate for the GPA and to apply to state schools plus probably a list of additional schools that take your stats typically.