First off I want to say that I’m soooo glad I found this website! I feel like I’ve learned so much after being on here for 15 mins, and it’s reassuring to know that there are other people put here just like me going through the same struggle.
So some quick background info…. I am a 24 yo African-American female and I’ve wanted to be a doctor since the age of 2, and even though I’ve considered RN, NP, PT, OT etc, etc, I’ve always come back to wanting to be an MD. I went to Boston University and graduated in 2006 as a Human Physiology major with a pre-med concentration, psych minor, final GPA: 2.73. After seeing this I decided to go to a post-bacc program to help my grades. I was rejected from all of them because my grades weren’t horrible, but not great, so they suggested I get my Masters. I didn’t do well in my sciences, but I am a hard worked and once I put my mind to something, I do it and I do it well.
I’m currently in the middle of obtaining my masters in public health since I knew I wanted it regardless of if I was a MD or not, and my Grad school GPA is a 3.8. I am planning on taking the MCAT this August (oh Lord!) and have been having disturbing nightmares of failing the MCATS after spending $1,900 on a prep course, and subsequently not getting into Med school, lol. The biggest thing holding me back from applying is the fear of not getting in, and I want a few words of advice on how realistic it is for me to think that I’ll be able to get into medical school.
Other stuff… All throughout undergrad I volunteered, was an officer of the pre-med society, did internships, worked in MD’s offices, etc. I am doing similar stuff here during grad school, but not volunteering b/c of classes, working, school committees/associations and putting all my energies to taking the MCAT and doing well.
So what I want to know:
1 – Do I have a decent chance of getting into a US med school? I am also planning on applying to a few Caribbean schools as a backup
2 – How well will my MPH help me get in
3 – The only undergrad science professor I had regular contact with has left BU… I only have a science professor outside of bio/phys/chem who I could get a LOR from – who should I ask?
4 – What schools are the nicest to those with low GPA’s
5 – What should I do in my personal statement to have these schools even consider giving me a secondary app?
Thanks Guys!
~ Little Girl Lost
- You have an uphill battle because of your older grades. My concern, and I think admissions committees MAY share it, is this: You say you didn’t do well in your sciences, but you don’t say you figured out what the problem was and got better at it. That is what I think you need to do. Figure out what holds you back, fix it, and take a few advanced undergraduate science classes as a special student and knock them out of the park.
- The MPH is not a huge help because it is not heavy in the sciences, but if you got a lot out of it and feel passionate about the subject it certainly won’t hurt you.
- FIND the professor who left. He or she went somewhere. Find out where and get that letter! If you take another science class you can get to know that professor and get a second science letter, which some schools require.
- Not sure about that one.
- Figure out what your strengths are and talk about those. Talk about why you want to be a physician. Find something about your academic background that reassures admissions committees you will succeed in the intensive basic sciences courses you will take in med school. If you can’t find something convincing, go back to my answer to Question 1, and don’t apply yet.
You probably feel that time is marching on, but you do have time to step back and address your grade issues proactively and put together the best possible application.
Welcome to OPM!
Hi and welcome,
Yes you have a chance just not a great one IMHO
The undergrad Major of PSY and a 2.74 is not going to over really well, a Major like that the Medical schools will expect better then 3.0 in to tell the truth.
in The Masters you are doing really well but I have to agree with samenewme here, it is not heavy science something you needed to boost you. You should take some more science courses on the side to prove you can do the science.
I would apply to US schools, focus on DO schools and then Caribbean 3 as back up. You could get into any of the big 3 Caribbean schools SGU,AUC or ROSS.
Good Luck.
I don’t know what course work you took while doing your MPH but if there weren’t any hard science courses (by that I mean non-social science) some schools might question your ability to make the adjustment. I say that as a sociology major as an undergrad and that was a question that constantly came up during my interviews. Your MCATs will play an important role. If you get a 40, that will go a long way to demonstrating that you can suceed in the sciences. Still, I would have gone for an Masters in Science rather than an MPH. An MPH is still pretty impressive though.
You probably are starting to look at the AMCAS application. It might be a good time for you to figure out your BCPM GPA. Schools focus more on that than your overall GPA.
I agree with DRFP in that your focus should be on applying to DO and the Caribbean. Apply as many places as you want but if money is a concern, I think your best shot is at DO and Caribbean schools. Also, I am guessing you probably have built up a good network. Why not talk to some of your professors while you were completing your MPH. Their input might go a long way in getting your foot in the door. I am not saying they can garuntee you admission but if you can get a shot at an interview, from there you can allow schools to better know you and some might look past the grades and focus more on your recent work.
My last thought - don’t fret over the GPA. Even if it hurts you now, you are still young. If this is what you really want to do, in due time it will happen.
I think you need a “rehab program,” and you thought the MPH would do that, but it’s not going to help you very much. If your grades in the sciences as an undergrad weren’t very good, then you MUST go back and take additional science coursework, and do very well in it, to have a good shot at U.S. schools. For that matter, having an inadequate foundation in the sciences is going to make your road that much harder at a Caribbean school.
[Lots of people go to the Carib but many fewer end up with an M.D. - the attrition rate is far higher than in U.S. schools. In many ways I think it is harder to do well in the Carib because you don’t have nearly the support services that U.S. schools have.]
I would not apply this year if I were you. I would devote at least a year to additional undergrad science coursework, cultivating relationships with those professors with an eye toward getting LORs from them, and show that you’ve learned how to do well in hard-core science stuff. You can’t bring up that old GPA but by showing new, excellent science grades you’ll make the point that you are not the person you were a few years ago.
Good luck!
Mary
I just wanted to offer a word of encouragement. Last June I applied to 15 medical schools with a 3.6 GPA, a 3.1 science GPA. I had an F in Physics II and I was in the midst of retaking it when I applied so I did not yet even have a replacement grade for that class to show to adcoms. I had had no recent science courses–in the preceding 3 or 4 years–but I had been working as an EMT in rural Alaska for a year and a half which I think counterbalanced this deficit. I posted on oldpremeds and studentdoctor.net and many people responding to my post were like, “Are you insane? Go back to school for a few years, etc.” (There were some positive postings too but they were far outnumbered byt the negative ones.) After I earned an A in the Physics II retake, I received four offers to interview and I have since received two acceptances, one to a top-tier school that I never dreamed I would get into. I have also been approved for a scholarship with the military which includes a monthly living allowance–this is very imp to me as I am married with children and the financial challenges of attending medical school are greater to someone with the responsibility of a family. So, I am thirty one this May and I am starting medschool in August at a great school. It can be done, even with blemishes on your record. In my case, I was able to do it with two semesters of science courses after a four year break from school. I wish you the best and don’t give up.
Val,
I wish you the sincerest congrats on your acceptances and am glad you posted your outcome.
As many of us know first hand, there are many intangible aspects to an application that are hard to evaluate. Looking back, I don’t think anyone on here meant to be discouraging, but rather realistic based on what limited knowledge we had. I’m very happy that we were wrong in your case. 
Please keep us posted on how things are going for you.
- Val Cagle Said:
Otherwise, I'd have to ask if you're a legacacy because the ONLY people I know of that can "skirt" the GPA/MCAT requirements with minimum effort are those who are very well connected somehow (see UF 2008 admit of a politically connected premed that got in without an MCAT).
I’m sorry you asked this question about legacy because it implies that Val didn’t get in based on merit. It’s a very unfair assumption.
Let me assure you that “knowing someone” may only open an interview door (slightly). From then on, it’s up to the applicant to make his/her case for being someone the school wants to accept.
And although applicants may get in without seeming to have “all the requirements,” until one knows EXACTLY what that application looked like, you absolutely cannot assume that the admission process was skirted in some way. Perhaps someone has “old” MCATs (say 5 years old instead 3), but the scores were “only” 14 and 15s. Is that person suddenly unqualified if granted an exception to repeating the MCAT?
I’ll get off my tall soapbox now. But please(!) do not assume or question that any med school matriculant somehow had doors opened that shouldn’t have been opened.
Cheers,
Judy
- jcolwell Said:
Let me assure you that "knowing someone" *may* only open an interview door (slightly)
Yet, an unfair assumption is EXACTLY what you've made here with my comment.
I wasn't impling the OP was a legacy. In fact, if you read my post carefully, I stated the opposite. I simply stated that the ONLY way I've known people to get around "application issues" without having to jump through a million hoops, is by having connections.
I believe anyone looking at the situation of the young man who was admitted to UF, a very competitive medical school without an MCAT score and over the objections of the adcom, can easily surmise that his Fathers political connections played a HUGE role in his admissions.
http://www.gainesville.com/article/20080410/NEWS /8...
Now "ironically", the dean is outta there, as he should be!
http://www.gainesville.com/article/20080523/NEWS /4...
Finally, getting to the interview stage may only "slightly" open a door, but I understand that for a LOT of schools, getting to this stage gives you clean slate so to speak. Besides, isn't this one slight opportunity what many things in life tend to be about, getting an opportunity to show who you REALLY are up close and personal?
- pathdr2b Said:
- jcolwell Said:
Let me assure you that "knowing someone" *may* only open an interview door (slightly)
Yet, an unfair assumption is EXACTLY what you've made here with my comment.
I wasn't impling the OP was a legacy. In fact, if you read my post carefully, I stated the opposite. I simply stated that the ONLY way I've known people to get around "application issues" without having to jump through a million hoops, is by having connections. As a matter of fact, I find it a bit disingenuous for someone who is a legacy of a particular school they were admitted to, not to mention that along with the rest of the highlights of their app since as I understand it, many schools give "points" for being a legacy.
For example, I believe anyone looking at the situation of the young man who was admitted to UF, a very competitive medical school without an MCAT score and over the objections of the adcom, can easily surmise that his Fathers political connections played a HUGE role in his admissions without an MCAT score.
http://www.gainesville.com/article/20080410/NEWS /8...
Now "ironically", the dean is outta there, as he should be!
http://www.gainesville.com/article/20080523/NEWS /4...
Finally, getting to the interview stage may only "slightly" open a door, but I understand that for a LOT of schools, getting to this stage gives you clean slate so to speak. For many people which I think applies to life in general, having this one slight opportunity is all they need to change what was previously a slight chance of being admitted, to a definite yes! And isn't this what getting to the interview stage is all about?
Hi and welcome…as far as your questions go…Been there,done that…got the hat to go with the stupidly funny T-shirt also…
Seriously, I agree with some of what the posters have said…
- I had about 4 F’s on my record at the post-graduate level. I just quit going to some masters prereq classes and never withdrew so they turned to ‘F’.
- My undergrade GPA was around 3.0 in the sciences with an overall of 3.3. Now, this was not from a community college or university. It was from a trade school that had gone through the hoops to be able to issue bachelor’s degrees.
- My prereqs were from a community college (all I had time/money for) but I made all A’s.
- My MCAT was a 25P.
So how did I get here? Don’t want to get preachy but I did ask God for help.
I also was in heavy contact with the admissions office about my application and what I needed to do to be a better applicant. OMD also helped and recommended KCOM. KCOM is a great place and you can’t go wrong there. I’m not just saying that either. Those people are friendly and truly look at people who want to be doctors but may have a smudge or two (or 4) in the past…
Can you do it? Sure. Depends on how determined you are.
You might want to seriously consider the post-bacc at UNTHSC-TCOM. They basically get the ‘meat’ classes of the first year of medical school and take their last semester with the med students. You get to know the faculty, they get to know you and there’s a certain number of seats held for post-baccs (those who qualify) in the incoming class. It’s hard to qualify - maintain a 3.5 minimum. But if you get through the post-bacc with that GPA and don’t get selected for TCOM, other Texas schools will generally be giving you a call. It’s a good program.
In defense of Val Cagle, her basic statistics look fairly competitive. She already completed her premedical perquisites years ago (with the exception of her retake of Physics II) with an overall 3.6 GPA and an MCAT of 29 or 30. What she was lacking when she applied last year was recent science coursework (again, with the exception of her Physics II class). She later posted last year she was enrolling in advanced-level premedical coursework for the fall and spring semesters. So, it would be really instructive for everyone if she could elaborate a bit more on what had happened in the meanwhile and how much her additional coursework played in her acceptances. I’d especially like to ask what had happened to eight of the medical schools she applied to last year because she wrote last year that she had applied to 23 medical schools (= 18 allopathic + 5 osteopathic), but from her most recent post she now writes that she only applied to fifteen medical schools.
Hi everyone,
Good to know you guys remember who I was. Yes, I applied to 23 schools originally. Ultimately though, I only had fifteen ‘complete files’. I withdrew my application from the other eight for various reasons.
I took the mcat twice, and made a 29 and 30. I retook b/c my score had become obsolete, not b/c I wanted to improve it.
The two semesters of science coursework were part-time semesters and included these three classes: Physics II, Psychology, and Human Anatomy. That’s it for science coursework: 7 hours worth. (I took the psychology b/c it was a PA school prereq and I thought PA school was where I might be headed). I would have taken a third semester of science if I had not already had an acceptance by the time spring semester rolled around, but that ended up being unnecessary.
One major factor in my acceptance, in my opinion, was the school’s unique view of who makes a good doctor. The school where I have chosen to matriculate, which is Tulane, tends to have a very versatile student body–many more artists, musicians, writers, and second-career people than I saw at other schools. During my interviews, the interviewers seemed to focus intently on the writing I had published (literary nonfiction and parenting magazine articles, NOT research), and languages I can speak. The zeroed in on these things more than the interviewers at the other schools. From what I observed, Tulane has somewhat of a funky, offbeat feel–and the students fit in with this feeling. I was interviewed at my state school MCG, where the competition was far less intense than at Tulane, and I was waitlisted there. Yet it made sense to me. The environment at MCG was so much more conservative–I don’t know what they made of me, a married mom in her thirties, former political activist, current writer, etc. I didn’t get the same sense of interest and approval I did at Tulane. Yet, if I had applied just based on mathematical likelihood of acceptance, MCG would have been the better bet.
Anyway, I think I fit in well with Tulane’s idea of the ideal medical student, and not so well with MCG’s idea of who that is. That’s not something I anticipated when beginning this whole process this time last year–that my success could come down to something like this, something so hard to gauge or predict, something that varies from school to school…but I think, at least in part, it did.
Oh, and I knew no one at any of the schools where I interviewed. After I was waitlisted at MCG a doctor neighbor of mine who graduated from MCG said he could probably help me out with getting off the waitlist, but by then I had declined to be on the waitlist and had sent Tulane my letter accepting their acceptance. I feel good about how everything turned out…even that part of it. Getting to go to a school that truly wants me, not going to the school that is ambivalent about me and only b/c of my cardiologist friend’s connections.