Would you apply if you were me?

[shaggybill]

3.6 BCPM
3.16 overall

35 MCAT

100+ hours shadowing
75+ hours volunteering in the ER
5 Int'l missions trips
2 years working in ER (non-clinical, but I get to see a lot of good stuff)
3 years of volunteer work in reptile research/surveys (not related to medicine, I know)
Possibly some work in research before I apply (next year).


I'm not looking to get into any top-tier schools. I'm actually not picky at all where I go as long as it's somewhere in the south-east. I'm just a little worried about my overall GPA. I had a 2.5 year stint at college right out of high school that I deeply regret, the result of which left me with a 2.06 GPA with 64 credit hours - no science classes. I worked (no college) for two years and then came back after I realized that I wanted to go into medicine. From the time I came back to school, I will have 6 semesters of between 3.7 - 4.0 GPA's.

What do you think? I really don't want to wait another year to raise my GPA since I'm already in my late 20's. Should I give it a go with what I've got?

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[ar2388]

i would apply this year, but apply broadly. can you explain the bad gpa in some way? your EC's and MCAT definitely seem to show that the gpa is some sort of fluke. with solid LOR's and an insane PS i think you have a good chance...

 

[abcabc1]

Can you provide the breakdown of your MCAT score, please?

You're smart in acknowledging that the marginal value of waiting one year to get into Medical School is greater for someone in their late 20s than a 21/22 year old straight out of College. You should not wait any longer than needed, as Medicine is a very long path.

You should be able to get into at least one school. Apply to all the schools in NC (including Duke, assuming NC is your home state) and private schools throughout the country: RFUMS, MCW, Drexel, Tulane, GW, NYMC, Albany, Rochester, Miami amongst others.

Your chances are much better than someone in the reverse situation: high GPA and low MCAT. It's much easier to believe that you could have earned a much better GPA (had you put in more effort) than someone with a high GPA and low MCAT could score significantly higher on the MCAT. Plus, the MCAT will correlate more with USMLE scores than GPA. It happens all the time; schools know your GPA was low b/c of outside circumstances and not studying as much as you could early on. Clearly, you've fixed that problem and did well on the MCAT. Good luck!

 

[paradocs we are]

Definitely apply!!

 

[shaggybill]

Thanks so much for the replies, everyone. That's definitely encouraging.

 

[pianola]

Yeah, unless you get really unlucky I don't see why you wouldn't get in. Just my 2 cents.

But definitely apply broadly. I mean, in general re: med school, there is no such thing as a safety school.

Best of luck.

 

[MilkmanAl]

Apply very broadly to ensure you'll get in somewhere. It'll happen.