Look at some of the med school websites, like OHSU (Oregon Health Sciences University). Their auto cut off (which they are serious about) is 2.8 GPA, which you are significantly above; however, they are VERY serious about their mission to serve the community and especially the underserved populations. Your background in this may open doors you wouldn’t expect based solely on your GPA.
Look at the mission statements of the various medical schools, see which you resonate with, then look at GPA minimums. Stop looking at the “average GPA”…they may hide the lower GPAs of students like you who have exceptional extracurriculars that push them into the running.
Annette
pi1304: I should have said that I was writing from a biased perspective, realized from my own interactions with premed advisors as a much older applicant with some marginal science GPA issues (I hesitate to use non-traditional because I believe it is an over-used appellation).
sevenwheels: I will get an MSAR as well as go online to look at their mission statements and lower-end stats.
- BaileyPup Said:
Not saying advisor's need to be cheerleaders, but many seem to be ivory tower academians, who love to crap on your dreams.
My advisor didn't tell me not to do medicine, but strongly urged me to have a "back-up plan" for not getting into medical school. At the time he was just another advisor in life sciences, but even then he was the go-to guy for all things pre-med. I think the "negativity" they present is an important role, because if a student can be swayed by the suggestions of an advisor then their decision wasn't a very strong one in the first place.
He no longer asks what my backup plan is, because he knows I'm in this for the long haul.
- PixieSanders Said:
I'm in this for the long haul.
I think that the only way to succeed at this race/marathon/gamble is to stick it out for that "long haul" -- provided it really is what you want.
I’ve found that most premed advisers don’t know a lot about what makes a person competitive for medical school. I’m in my second year at LMU-DCOM and I was wondering about MCAT and GPA scores for osteopathic schools and I collected as much data as I could and listed it here
http://osteopathicmedstud ent.com/osteopathic-schoo…
Sorry to plug my own site, but I had a hard enough time locating this stuff when I needed it. I hope it helps.
Granted this was info from 2009 (some more recent), but it shows you a good range to shoot for. Honestly, if you have a 3.2+ in a post bac program, as long as you have a decent MCAT and your overall undergrad GPA is above a 3.1 there are plenty of DO schools that would take a look into your application.
- bapassey Said:
I've found that most premed advisers don't know a lot about what makes a person competitive for medical school. I'm in my second year at LMU-DCOM and I was wondering about MCAT and GPA scores for osteopathic schools and I collected as much data as I could and listed it here
http://osteopathicmedstud ent.com/osteopathic-schoo...
Sorry to plug my own site, but I had a hard enough time locating this stuff when I needed it. I hope it helps.
Granted this was info from 2009 (some more recent), but it shows you a good range to shoot for. Honestly, if you have a 3.2+ in a post bac program, as long as you have a decent MCAT and your overall undergrad GPA is above a 3.1 there are plenty of DO schools that would take a look into your application.
http://osteopathicmedstud ent.com/osteopathic-schoo...
Sorry to plug my own site, but I had a hard enough time locating this stuff when I needed it. I hope it helps.
Granted this was info from 2009 (some more recent), but it shows you a good range to shoot for. Honestly, if you have a 3.2+ in a post bac program, as long as you have a decent MCAT and your overall undergrad GPA is above a 3.1 there are plenty of DO schools that would take a look into your application.
with data compilations that are more comprehensive and fully referenced than anything else that I can find, you can plug your own blog anytime. I am going to contact AACOM and make them aware that their own data site lacks this information that prospective DO students seek
bapassey, are you the guy I heard about in my interview that lives in knoxville?
Also what kind of support does LMU -DCOM have for spouses?
Hi. I’m new, new, new here, but I thought I’d chime in that I’ve been busy uploading all of my coursework into AMCAS and panicking the entire time. As I looked over the grades from 3 (gasp) three schools from my 18-21 year old days, I had no idea what I was thinking or doing. Young me = dumb@ss. I really was in a huge shame spiral about failed classes that I feel sure I just didn’t do any work for and the volume of classes that did not remotely add up to any degree plan. Honestly, I didn’t know how to handle it, and still am grasping at straws. That time was over 15 years ago, and I have since become a much, much better student. The obvious issue is that that F in college algebra in 1995 is haunting me at night and will do nothing good for my BCPM.
I called the admissions specialist at the school I’m applying ED for this year, explained the situation, and I have to say that she was really awesome. She told me to do the best I can this semester, work toward the best possible MCAT, write up my prior grades/what I learned in the experiences section, and then submit. She said once I had confirmation that the school had received my app to write a letter to the dean emphasizing what I told her about feeling regret over the past, finding a path, maturing as a student, and that I did not want my old self’s grades to hold me back from making my dream of practicing medicine come true. She told me to stay with those talking points: nontraditional, upward trend, lessons learned through secondary and (hopefully) interviews.
I feel like she sensed my sincerity, and I hope her guidance is spot on. I cannot imagine a day that would make me happier than the one in which I am accepted to med school! Hope some of this guidance gives hope.
Wait, you’re filling out AMCAS in January? If you’re applying in 2012 for 2013 admission, the application won’t be available until sometime in mid-May. If you’re applying early decision for 2012 admission, you’ve missed that deadline by many, many months. Am I misunderstanding your post?
Actually, as I re-read my own post that I think I wrote over enthusiastically and in chemistry induced delirium 
I now can clarify… I should have said, “as I prepare to…”
The VP of recruitment at my #1 choice told me to open the current app and get very familiar with the format, including downloading the “how to apply” .pdf. From there, she said a good idea was to put all of your information into a word document so that it’s easily editable, revised, and 100% as you like it at the application opening date. This way, doing the app would be more or less c&p rather than agony. The other obvious advantage being that my app would arrive at the school this summer as early as possible.
Thanks for catching my gaffe! If you have any words of wisdom from med school land, I’d love to hear them !