Hi, fellow old pre-meds! I was looking for a little advice on how I can strengthen my application as I go along this process…First a little about me. I promise to be short.
I am 30 years old and have spent a few years living and traveling through South America. During my journey, I found that I developed a strong sense of duty towards humanity and a specific interest in medicine. I have a degree in English (2.9 GPA) from January 2000. The last couple of years, I have spent raising a little boy and working on pre-reqs at a combination of university and cc. I have earned As in all of these courses. I only have 1 more semester of O Chem and biology left to complete my pre-reqs. I recently started a hospital volunteer program designed specifically for pre-med students, involved in direct patient care for the first three months and then rotations through surgery and labor and deliver afterwards. I’m planning on taking the MCAT in June. So, any ideas?
Is there anything you wish you would have done at my stage of preparation?
Thanks.
Leigha
Leigha,
It looks like you’re on the right way. Some of the schools have a GPA cut-off, below which they won’t even consider an application; I’m pretty sure that for many MD schools it’s 3.0. Since you were getting As in all of your prerequisites it’s definitely going to bring your overall GPA to 3.0 or a little bit higher; And it looks like your science GPA is going to be higher that your non-science, which is definitively to your advantage. With your South American + volunteering experience, I think you will have a good story to tell, so if you write a great personal statement, you can surely sell yourself. If the university where you’re taking classes right now has a pre-med advisor, you should talk to him/ her. They will probably be able to give you more specific advice;
Good luck,
Kasia