Another site this was posted a PPT about Medschool
Heres the main problem I have with it:
In reply to:
Maintain 3.0 GPA
Minimum 100 hours of volunteer work
Courses:
Biodiversity & Bioprinciples w/Lab
General Chemistry 1 & 2 w/Labs
Organic Chemistry 1 & 2 w/Labs
College Physics 1 & 2 w/Labs
Biochemistry 1
Genetics
Microbiology w/Lab
Human Morph & Funt 1 & 2 w/Labs
Intro to Prepforssional Studies w/Lab
Methods of Calculus
Courses here are ok but not needed, and the 3.0 is the real problem we all know a 3.0 will not work to get into Medical school
then same PPT a few slides later:
In reply to:
GPA- minimum 3.4 (avg: ~3.6)
MCAT- spring of junior year
Minimum score accepted = ~28
APPLY- summer between jr/sr year (Apply to 10-15 schools)
INTERVIEW- fall of senior year
ACCEPT- spring of senior year
ATTEND- fall of graduation year
This is titled "Competitive" instead of the 3.4 being the Minimum........ really I think this is misleading. I have found that 3.4 and 28 are the minimum to be accepted not Competitive........
In reply to:
Course load each semester (minimum 24 credits/year)
State of residency (best chances in your state)
No minimum course loads I know of
State residency may not matter as much.
I'm not a big fan of advisers because I think they get things wrong many times and here I see that once again............
Keep in mind that “different from my perspective” doesn’t mean “wrong.” There are those who get into med school with 3.0s - including me, though you’d likely consider me an exception, due to my low undergrad and high post-bacc.
In my experience, state of residency does matter, though of course it’s not the only factor. Statistical evidence would suggest that that is, in fact, the case - more in some states than others. Anecdotally, course load also seems relevant. I’ve heard good things from AdComs as well as advisers, w/re my taking a full (15 or so) courseload that was primarily hard sciences.
shrug We all do what we can to be competitive, and we all do what we can to analyze our odds. From our perspective, it ends up looking like a crapshoot anyway. In reality, it’s probably no more than half crapshoot
Keep in mind that "different from my perspective" doesn't mean "wrong." There are those who get into med school with 3.0s - including me, though you'd likely consider me an exception, due to my low undergrad and high post-bacc.
In my experience, state of residency does matter, though of course it's not the only factor. Statistical evidence would suggest that that is, in fact, the case - more in some states than others. Anecdotally, course load also seems relevant. I've heard good things from AdComs as well as advisers, w/re my taking a full (15 or so) courseload that was primarily hard sciences.
*shrug* We all do what we can to be competitive, and we all do what we can to analyze our odds. From our perspective, it ends up looking like a crapshoot anyway. In reality, it's probably no more than half crapshoot
You see you did not get into Medical school with a 3.0, You did a post Bac and have a much higher GPA
there are Premeds who see this and think they will be accepted out of Undergrad with a 3.0 and I'm sorry but this does not happen MOST of the time if at all. There are so many I know with 3.5 and 3.6 still rejected year after year, they have the right stuff it seems but for one reason or another they have been waitlisted, BTW Waitlisted is considered Accepted by many STATS. It is not the same if you never attend a Medical school.
I know and glad that we at OPM do a lot of encouragement but I like to give solid decent advice and I cannot tell a 3.0 undergrad if they apply with a 3.0 and 28 MCAT that this will work, I just cannot, sure they can apply and maybe they get lucky, but lucky and being one who should get accepted are two different things.
I always think for the 2.8 to 3.3 er's that POST BAC can really help. Pi You prove it.
But you have to do the work in the Post Bac to get in.
Bill, I agree that most of the time a traditional student with a 3.0 GPA and low MCAT is not going to get accepted. There are probably some exceptions to that, as in any case. A person may have done very poorly their freshman year and then gotten there act together and made a very strong showing from then on. Or, they may have had personal issues that forced them to withdraw during a term and ended up taking F’s for the term, but otherwise did well.
There are always some students who get in with a low GPA OR a low MCAT. Usually though, the traditional student who gets in with ONE of those has an exceptional application other than that one aspect. i.e. - they have a low MCAT, but a great GPA, LORs, volunteer experience, etc.
As for the info in the powerpoint . . . It’s always interesting to me the lists of courses that colleges tell their pre-meds that they need. I’ve come to the conclusion that colleges determine the pre-med coursework based on required courses and courses that somebody at the college thinks that pre-med students need for medical school (even though they’re not required). I have a suspicion that they put some courses on the list because a handful of medical schools require them and they don’t want students saying “I couldn’t get into school X because I didn’t have a required course - it’s your fault because I took all the courses that you told me I needed.”
I’ve got to think that the 24 credit hour is specific to that particular school’s structure. Most undergraduate institutions won’t allow you to take that many credit hours.
As for state residency - that can definitely be a big deal. Ohio has 7 medical school, six of which are state supported schools. Of those, probably five of the six have traditionally said that at least 50% of the class needs to be state residents. At a couple of them the policy was as high as 75%. So, if you’re an Ohio resident, you definitely have a better shot at an in-state school because the number of med school seats: population ratio is pretty good. Other states (California comes to mind) have such a huge population relative to the number of seats that even though state schools give preference to residents, your odds may be as good at out-of state schools.
Yes I agree you should always apply In state, I think I do not post this clearly enough, What I really see is premeds thinking they should not apply to other schools across the country because they will not have a shot, they do not live in that state. We know that is not true. For your best chances with an Average or below average Application I would apply to no less then 10 schools in a cycle, some apply to 20 or more. Some states the Pickings for school are slim so they have to apply else where to have a decent chance. So I agree with in state I just want to get it out there that applying to more is better.
As far as Advisers, Judy here is one of the best I have ever come across, even this power point was not totally bad just a few places I thought it could have been better.
Blush…thank you. Let me clarify…that wasn’t my power point.
If you scan through the MSAR, you will see that nearly all med schools have the same requirements, all pretty standard and covered in various comments in OPM.
I recommend that any applicant always apply to all of his/her state supported schools, and then a number of other schools which meet some of that person’s personal requirements (location, urban/suburban/rural, pass/fail, etc.). I think “about 20” is a reasonable number.
I’m always surprised when I see clients who have included med schools on their school list which are schools which take nearly no out of state residents. When choosing schools, look at the stats in the MSAR. Don’t select out of state state schools which take less than 15-20% of students from out of state. (This does not apply to private schools which don’t get state funding.)
As for gpa…the general average gpa range (nationally) of matriculated students is about 3.2-4.0. The mid-point is a bit over 3.6 (science, non-sci, and cumulative).
Last year (entering 2007) the MCAT national average for matriculating students was: V=10, B=11, P=11. Of course, individual med schools range up and down from this.
Blush...thank you. Let me clarify...that wasn't my power point. :-)
If you scan through the MSAR, you will see that nearly all med schools have the same requirements, all pretty standard and covered in various comments in OPM.
I recommend that any applicant always apply to all of his/her state supported schools, and then a number of other schools which meet some of that person's personal requirements (location, urban/suburban/rural, pass/fail, etc.). I think "about 20" is a reasonable number.
I'm always surprised when I see clients who have included med schools on their school list which are schools which take nearly no out of state residents. When choosing schools, look at the stats in the MSAR. Don't select out of state state schools which take less than 15-20% of students from out of state. (This does not apply to private schools which don't get state funding.)
As for gpa...the general average gpa range (nationally) of matriculated students is about 3.2-4.0. The mid-point is a bit over 3.6 (science, non-sci, and cumulative).
Last year (entering 2007) the MCAT national average for matriculating students was: V=10, B=11, P=11. Of course, individual med schools range up and down from this.
Cheers,
Judy
Thanks Judy Pretty much what I tell other premeds.
I make the mistake at times of quickly posting and not thinking first ( LOL ) But I have read your posts for years and really appreciate your time on here.
