Hello everyone, seeking guidance...

I am 22 years old, I have 3 years of an active duty enlistment left in the Air Force, and I want to be a doctor.


I have no college, no SAT scores, and a 2.67 GPA from high school. I am originally from Seattle. I was born and raised 5 mins from the University of Washington campus and it has been a staple in my life since I can remember. I’ve always wanted to be Husky. Not only a Husky, but a husky doctor. But, financially it was not an option straight out of high school, so when I got into high school, I simply didn’t take my education as seriously as I should have.


Being in the military changed my atittude completely, it showed me potential I never thought I had. I am now an Air Traffic Controller who oversees and controls operations at a major military airfield with over 200,000 operations a year.


So long story short, now I’m ready to take down a Bachlor’s degree and pursue medical school, hoping to do them both at UW.


I’m just wondering if my military service and my improved grades since I joined the military can be a strong enough influence to get me into the UW without having to transfer from a CC. If anybody has any insight or an opinion/suggestion, I could use the guidance.


Thanks.

Although a ways in the future keep in mind UW is a WWAMI (Washington, Wyoming, Alaska, Montana, and Idaho) University so Bachelors is fine but check if you’d still be considered a WWAMI resident for med school. They don’t even give secondaries to non-WWAMI applicants - yes I learnt the hard way.

This is one of my favorite subjects. UW medicine, UW, transfers and CC! I am a Washington resident and this is the info I know of.


No harm in applying. My understanding is that they will pull your HS transcript. In fact, their 2008 freshman have GPA’s of 3.59-3.90. I don’t know the exact ins and outs of the route you are looking at. They give points for different experiences. They most likely give extra points to military personnel, minorities et cetera. With the University budget cuts, Green River CC is telling the CC students that our grades should be stellar in order to get the UW transfer. Officially, they just need to be a 3.0. But, I don’t even know if that grade is cutting it for a transfer.


If you have to or decide to go to a CC pick one that has students that have actually been accepted. Most likely they are keeping up with the University’s standards of education. It might not ding you so bad for your medical school application.


The mean GPA for CC transfers for 2008 is 3.16 to 3.73. (Thank goodness I am sitting at a 3.8 and anticipating an increase in that area).


Top 10 Feeder Community Colleges for Transfer Students: Bellevue, Seattle Central, Shoreline, North Seattle, Green River(CC that I am attending), Edmonds, Highline, Everett, South Seattle, Tacoma


Proportion of all UW students from Washington community colleges: 33%


Number of Transfer Applications Received: 3,799


My link for the above numbers is:


http://admit.washington.edu/Numbers


For more info on UW medicine (which is rated #1 in Family Practice by US News) is:


http://www.washington.edu/uaa/gateway/advising/ pre…


Best wishes!

Look over those numbers I quoted again. The HS stats are interesting. They do have students with lower GPA’s than I wrote accepted. Contact admissions and give them a call.

Yeah, I’m just hoping that my military service and life experience will overshadow my crappy grades. Are you going to be applying to UWSOM?

Your military service absolutely will make you stand out. Good luck!


Mary

I plan on it. I forgot my math skills and have been taking lower level math classes. With that being said I will not be applying till…2012 and matriculating in 2013. I have taken my electives for my undergrad degree and am finally getting into the meat of my degree. UWSOM is my #1 of course. Who’s to say where I will be on their list? I will apply extensively. Rumor has it a 30 MCAT gets you further in the process at UWSOM. I look forward to hearing what you decide to do.