First time poster here. I graduated from a major state university with a 2.9 gpa, getting a couple Cs, Ds and an F in the core sciences (orgo, bio etc).
Then I aced a federal test and got selected to be an air traffic controller in the second busiest facility in the world, and have been working there for six months.
My question is this: With my work experience, if I get a solid MCAT score (35+), and retake and ace some core science classes at a community college, is there any chance of getting into an american medical school? Or is there something additional I need to be doing to increase my chances of getting accepted?
Would truly appreciate any helpful replies. Thanks
Hi there! I dunno if there’s hope for us 2.9 GPA’s or not. But at least trying will let me know for sure. I know there’s another guy here who had a lower GPA and I think he got into med school. Hopefully he’ll chime in.
Good luck though, on whatever you decide.
With an MCAT of 35+ you would have an outstanding chance. There are numerous scenarios where students with a less than stellar gpa and a highly competitive MCAT have been excepted, also you want to strengthen your extra cirricular activities as well. Clubs, boards volunteering are a must.
The greater the variety the better. You must stand out as a candidate who is very diverse in his/her experiences…
This does not mean obviously to slack on your GPA, always strive to do the very best that you can, and try for that 4.0. My point being, make yourself diverse, and strive to do the very best that you can. That said, there are many factors in considering a candidate for acceptance.
Really good to hear theres hope. 
Far as extracurriculars go, are there some activities preferred over others?
Also, typically how many community college science classes would it take to show an admissions committee that a student is a strong candidate, in spite of the poor gpa?
Just a couple of points. If you use the forums search function you will be able to see extensive discussions on these topics.
- Community College vs 4 year college / university (I’m Canadian so the education system is slightly different). Anyway, it appears that the general concensus is that the majority of your pre-reqs should be take a 4- year school vs a community college. You may be able to get away with a few, unless you live in a state like CA (? I think that is the state that people refer to for being able to take more courses at community colleges - I think because of their affiliations with 4 year schools).
- extracurricular activities - These need to reflect your personality and what excites you NOT just that it looks good on an application. You should have something that will give exposure to patients in some way and if you can swing something with an “underprivileged” segment of society, that would be good to. But overall, make sure you are passionate about it. If you get an interview, you have to be able to talk from the heart!!
Just my 2 cents worth from reading all the posts over the last year.
Good luck.
Lynda
I would like to echo of LJSimpson said about the E.Cs…you definitely want to and should enjoy the activities that you become involved in. Don’t make a habit of just “doing” things because you think they may look good to someone else.
Become involved in something that you are passionate about. This is a great way to insure that you will shine through, and make a difference in what you do. In other words, don’t treat it like community service or something that was forced upon you.
Other than that, you will do great! And please keep the site updated on your adventures and progress…
- haiku Said:
First time poster here. I graduated from a major state university with a 2.9 gpa, getting a couple Cs, Ds and an F in the core sciences (orgo, bio etc).
Then I aced a federal test and got selected to be an air traffic controller in the second busiest facility in the world, and have been working there for six months.
My question is this: With my work experience, if I get a solid MCAT score (35+), and retake and ace some core science classes at a community college, is there any chance of getting into an american medical school? Or is there something additional I need to be doing to increase my chances of getting accepted?
Would truly appreciate any helpful replies. Thanks
Then I aced a federal test and got selected to be an air traffic controller in the second busiest facility in the world, and have been working there for six months.
My question is this: With my work experience, if I get a solid MCAT score (35+), and retake and ace some core science classes at a community college, is there any chance of getting into an american medical school? Or is there something additional I need to be doing to increase my chances of getting accepted?
Would truly appreciate any helpful replies. Thanks
You are going to need to take all of the prerequisites, AND some additional science classes, to show that you now can do what you were not able to do in your first go-round in college. And you will have to do VERY WELL in all those classes. You probably don't have room for *any*thing but As with a GPA below 2.9, although if your new scorecard shows *almost* all As, you might could sneak a few B+s by an AdCom.
And don't think that it is easy to get a 35 on the MCAT! Even a really good test-taker cannot expect to do so well. A 35 is in the top 5th percentile of all MCAT scores. (You can see for yourself, here. )
You need to consider that it took you (presumably) four years of college to dig yourself the hole that you find yourself in. You should expect that it will take you that long to dig back out.
ATC experience will be a *very* cool thing for your interviewers to discuss with you briefly - but it's not going to be the make-or-break thing that gets you noticed. Your task in the next few years will be to rack up grades that get noticed for good reasons. Good luck!
Mary
To tag onto Mary’s response, I would encourage you to NOT take any of these classes at a CC. You have much to make up, and doing it somewhere perceived to be “less competitive” or “less rigorous” will not serve you well.
Cheers,
Judy
- Mary Renard Said:
- haiku Said:
First time poster here. I graduated from a major state university with a 2.9 gpa, getting a couple Cs, Ds and an F in the core sciences (orgo, bio etc).
Then I aced a federal test and got selected to be an air traffic controller in the second busiest facility in the world, and have been working there for six months.
My question is this: With my work experience, if I get a solid MCAT score (35+), and retake and ace some core science classes at a community college, is there any chance of getting into an american medical school? Or is there something additional I need to be doing to increase my chances of getting accepted?
Would truly appreciate any helpful replies. Thanks
Then I aced a federal test and got selected to be an air traffic controller in the second busiest facility in the world, and have been working there for six months.
My question is this: With my work experience, if I get a solid MCAT score (35+), and retake and ace some core science classes at a community college, is there any chance of getting into an american medical school? Or is there something additional I need to be doing to increase my chances of getting accepted?
Would truly appreciate any helpful replies. Thanks
You are going to need to take all of the prerequisites, AND some additional science classes, to show that you now can do what you were not able to do in your first go-round in college. And you will have to do VERY WELL in all those classes. You probably don't have room for *any*thing but As with a GPA below 2.9, although if your new scorecard shows *almost* all As, you might could sneak a few B+s by an AdCom.
And don't think that it is easy to get a 35 on the MCAT! Even a really good test-taker cannot expect to do so well. A 35 is in the top 5th percentile of all MCAT scores. (You can see for yourself, here. )
You need to consider that it took you (presumably) four years of college to dig yourself the hole that you find yourself in. You should expect that it will take you that long to dig back out.
ATC experience will be a *very* cool thing for your interviewers to discuss with you briefly - but it's not going to be the make-or-break thing that gets you noticed. Your task in the next few years will be to rack up grades that get noticed for good reasons. Good luck!
Mary
Thanks for the detailed post Mary. I was definitely considering the implications of science courses at a cc and what you said makes a lot of sense. Totally agree that it is gonna take a while to climb out of this hole but I'm hopeful.
- jcolwell Said:
To tag onto Mary's response, I would encourage you to NOT take any of these classes at a CC. You have much to make up, and doing it somewhere perceived to be "less competitive" or "less rigorous" will not serve you well.
Cheers,
Judy
Cheers,
Judy
Would it be considered any less "rigorous" if the classes were taken over a span of 2-3 years? Working full time and taking a heavy science workload is probably not a good idea.
- haiku Said:
My question is this: With my work experience, if I get a solid MCAT score (35+), and retake and ace some core science classes at a community college, is there any chance of getting into an american medical school? Or is there something additional I need to be doing to increase my chances of getting accepted?
I disagree somewhat about the advice given about courses at the community college in one particular situation. In my experience, core courses at the CC are fine as long as you also take upper level science courses (Immuno, Biochem, Histo, ect) at a major university.
Do adcoms look at the fact that you are working while doing your UG? I was a little put off when I went to the P.A. school information session at the university near me and the guy flat out told everyone that the adcoms for the P.A. school would not be impressed by you taking 2 science courses and acing them in semester. So when I talked to him privately I asked the question “what if I were working full time, volunteering, have a family and aced my 2 courses or occasionally 3 each semester?” And his reply was “Doesn’t matter, you need to be taking at least 4 preferably 5 or 6 courses and acing them every semester, the admission committee doesn’t care if you’re having to work full time, you need to not work full time and focus on school 100%”.
So I was just wondering if that holds true for medical school as well?
Because I honestly can’t afford to quit my job and take more than 2 or 3 courses, at least not yet. So is that going to look bad for me that I’m only in school half or three quarter time?
- RAdamson Said:
Do adcoms look at the fact that you are working while doing your UG? I was a little put off when I went to the P.A. school information session at the university near me and the guy flat out told everyone that the adcoms for the P.A. school would not be impressed by you taking 2 science courses and acing them in semester. ............ the admission committee doesn't care if you're having to work full time, you need to not work full time and focus on school 100%".
In 1991, I was told by the then Dean of the med school at Chapel Hill when I told him I needed to work "You're either going to work, or go to school". Needless to say, I was pretty devastated then but I've found what he said to be the case with just about every other adcom member I've ever talked to.
Actually, I’ve heard that phrase a lot…“don’t work.” Well, unless someone is going to pay my living expenses, that isn’t possible. I think what they don’t want to hear are excuses. They want to hear that you are committed to this pursuit. Sometimes it is better to not to put the “I have to work” comment into the equation.
For the OP, I would suggest you look into DO schools, as you can replace the “bad” grades with better ones, increasing your GPA. MD schools usually don’t and will average old and new, so if you got a D in the original and a B in the new class, that is still only a C.
And while I would normally defend CC classes, I do agree with Mary and Judy, that if you already have your bachelors degree, you should definitely look to finish the courses in a 4-yr.
Yeah it just isn’t possible for me to not work although I am going to be getting my phlebotomy certificate and going to work doing that so at least it’s healthcare related and I suppose that will look far better than “legal assistant”. It will also allow me to work a different schedule which will allow for more classes to be fit in. I know I have alot of GPA repair to do and it will be awhile before I am ready for MCAT or anything else so right now I’m going to work on repairing my GPA and I know that in a few years I’m going to quit work and go to school full time prior to applying for medical school, we have a financial plan that will allow that as well set into place.