What's my next move?

[BePerfect]

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[aalamruad]

I'm planning on taking MCAT July 22 and applying this cycle. I will graduate in June. My sGPA is 3.1 and my cumGPA is 3.28. I will improve both after this semester as I am taking 3 science classes now. I go to a top liberal arts school. I am hispanic and a Florida resident if that means anything. I have solid extracurriculars, extensive shadowing, good research (1 publication, +2 years) and work experience. I was worried my GPA was too low to apply this cycle so I was considering an SMP/Master's. Would it be worth it or would it not necessarily help me? My goal is to get into an MD school. I am planning on either being a scribe or doing clinical research in my gap year. Advice on how I can best proceed would be appreciated. Thank you

Your next step is to do incredibly well on the MCAT. That's about it.

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[Goro]

I suspect that unless you have a great rising GPA trend, that even if you ace these three courses, that it won't move your GPAs up all that much into competitive territory, even for FL. I have a feeling that you'll need to do a SMP if you're boning for the MD. You're OK, but not great for DO schools, but probably are fine for the two FL ones.

At best, you can try one app cycle using only ALL FL schools, but apply to an SMP as well.

I'm planning on taking MCAT July 22 and applying this cycle. I will graduate in June. My sGPA is 3.1 and my cumGPA is 3.28. I will improve both after this semester as I am taking 3 science classes now. I go to a top liberal arts school. I am hispanic and a Florida resident if that means anything. I have solid extracurriculars, extensive shadowing, good research (1 publication, +2 years) and work experience. I was worried my GPA was too low to apply this cycle so I was considering an SMP/Master's. Would it be worth it or would it not necessarily help me? My goal is to get into an MD school. I am planning on either being a scribe or doing clinical research in my gap year. Advice on how I can best proceed would be appreciated. Thank you

 

[BePerfect]

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[Petrichor1]

My advisor told me my GPA is a bit low but she said I have a good shot last time we spoke. We will see what she says tomorrow. Average GPA at my school is ~3.3-3.4. I know an alum who had awesome EC's, ~3.5-3.6 GPA and 32 MCAT who interviewed at Stanford and Harvard. He told me I will be fine to apply with a 3.3 cumGPA as long as I do well on the MCAT. What type of SMP is best for my situation? I was confused by all the different options for Master's programs. I have taken all the prereqs and even a couple upper division bio classes. Should I plan on more coursework instead of working? Thank you!

You may want to set expectations to a low because that alum may have gotten into the schools in years that weren't as competitive as now. While you're most welcome to apply anywhere you want, you will have to expect the worse if you're shooting that high. Cast a good safety net as Goro mentioned, you certainly don't want to waste some years like I am doing.

 

[LizzyM]

Your next step is to do incredibly well on the MCAT. That's about it.

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Correct! The equivalent of 30-35 (305-315) is where OP needs to be to have a 50-50 chance of being admitted and that is taking ethnicity into account.

A SMP should be a last ditch effort. A good performance can get you in. A poor performance seals your fate and is not marketable making it even worse. (Employers are not clamoring to hire people who have done okay, or worse, in what is essentially the first year of medical school.) You are essentially paying for 5 years of medical school with the first year being a trial offer -- if you do well, you will be allowed to start over from the beginning, if you don't do well, you will be shown the door.

That said, while the average medical student had an undergraduate GPA of 3.67 (A-) or more, yours is below the B+ level suggesting that you have not performed as strongly. How are you going to show schools that you do well in the classroom?

 

[Goro]

The plural of anecdote is not "data" and most advisors are *****s. I hate to be blunt, but as of right now, you're not competitive for MD schools.

My advisor told me my GPA is a bit low but she said I have a good shot last time we spoke. We will see what she says tomorrow. Average GPA at my school is ~3.3-3.4. I know an alum who had awesome EC's, ~3.5-3.6 GPA and 32 MCAT who interviewed at Stanford and Harvard. He told me I will be fine to apply with a 3.3 cumGPA as long as I do well on the MCAT. What type of SMP is best for my situation? I was confused by all the different options for Master's programs. I have taken all the prereqs and even a couple upper division bio classes. Should I plan on more coursework instead of working? Thank you!

 

[prehealthadvisor55]

... and most advisors are *****s.

🙁