Which schools to apply to

[aarick161]

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I may be what is considered to be an untraditional student. I received a Bachelor of Science in Computer Information Systems with a decrepit GPA of 2.89 with a very spotty track-record. Following this I earned an MBA with a 3.86 GPA. Will this be considered when the committees review my application? I went back and took all of the science prerequisites with a 3.64 GPA, if my calculations are correct. Oh, and I scored a 38 on the MCAT.

Given the aforementioned statistics, what schools may I have a chance of getting into? I know my undergrad GPA is my primary fallback. Do I have any hope?

 

[ironey]

So you probably have a cummulative GPA of 3.0 or better, right? People do get into med school with GPAs below 3.5 (search the forum for threads like that, I've seen them before). Your science GPA looks good.

In your interviews, however, you're going to have to do some really slick talking to explain your high MCAT compared to your GPA . . . . . . Isn't that funny? You probably poured hours of hard work into that exam and now you're going to have to explain why you did so well!

Go for it! What do you have to lose? (Well, besides the $$$?)

Oh, there are also several threads that discuss non-trad students and what schools are interested in them.

 

[aarick161]

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[aarick161]

Around 3.2-3.3 if you count my graduate coursework and post-undergrad prerequisite work completed at the local JC. I'm hoping to have a legimate shot at getting in a US school but am not opposed to attending a Carribean School if necessary.

Do admission boards look at current trends? For example over my last 60 units I have a 3.7, prior to that, when I was less than serious I was carrying a 2.2-2.3.

 

[Penguin Poptart]

I don't think your graduate course-work will figure into this process too much. They might notice it, but I"m pretty sure it will not be computed into your stats and no one will probably even mention it to you. It's probably more important that you went back and did better in your science pre-reqs, but you might want to take some more science courses, and keep working on that post-bacc record while you're applying. Also, I would seriously consider doing those courses at a "regular" university, if JC means Junior college.

 

[Funshine0123]

Unfortunately AMCAS is less than forgiving in that they average ALL of your grades together, but with your MCAT performance and the increase in grades, you do have a pretty good chance. There's a website out there, I think I used one off of The Princeton Review's site, that will tell you the average MCAT scores for the schools, as well as the average GPA's. That might be a good feature to use. I would apply to all of the schools that you really like, and then maybe pick out one or two with lower stats to use as safeties. Hope that helps.

 

[Penguin Poptart]

I forgot to add that I think it willhelp you a lot that you kicked ass on the MCATs and that theydo look at trends, but I think they still care about the overall numbers.

 

[Penguin Poptart]

Amcas keeps the graduate courses separate

 

[sidelines]

With regards to the Junior College comment...

While in one of the pre-med clubs at my university, we sometimes had guest speakers from various adcoms. During the question and answer session, I would always raise my hand and ask, "How do adcoms view junior college science work?" (I asked this b/c I was taking classes both at the univeristy and at a JC).

To my surprise, they all said it didn't matter, in fact, the guy from UCLA said take as many as you want at the JC and save yourself some money. I pretty much got the same response everytime I asked that question (to three different adcom members at three different meetings).

I believe what they said, however, some may not. I have also heard that some medical schools do limit the amount of JC course work, though I haven't done my research on that topic.

Hope this helps.

 

[IndyZX]

if you happen to do some of your premed requirements at a JC during the summer or whatever, i wouldnt sweat it -- you'll still get into med school as long as you do well on your other stuff.

if you all your premed courses at a JC, then i think your main stumbling block would be to explain why did you do it JC? if there was a good reason, then it shouldn't hurt you terribly. esp since the OP did very well on the MCAT.

 

[Penguin Poptart]

Just for the record, I meant no disrespect to JC grades. BUt this person is trying to show he's a reformed student, and to do that, the less complications in his "reformed record" the better. I was trying to give advice aimed at optimizing his success. I am also a non-traditional student, and so I can imagine that this person is already going to have his/her hands full explaining at interviews why the change of career. The less excuses the ad-com committees willhave not to take him/her the better.