Hi everyone,
I’m a non-traditional medical school applicant - I’m 30 years old. I have a B.S. and M.S. degree. Both of them are in the biological sciences. My college GPA is 3.2 and I did an SMP(special master’s program) after college at an osteopathic medical school and finished with a 3.9. I applied to medical school twice after the SMP and was rejected both times with no interview invites. My MCAT score is 499. I applied to a mixture of MD(lower tier and in-state), but most were DO schools.
I’ve gone over my application and targeted my weak points - low MCAT, my writing wasn’t optimal (personal statement and extracurricular activities), I need more clinical hours (volunteering and shadowing). My weak undergrad GPA was compensated for by the SMP and I had a biology class that was a C- (below the prereq cutoff for all schools), but I did a postbacc and earned an A in the lecture and lab, so I feel that I have proven my ability to succeed as a student and I am confident that I would excel in medical school.
The issue I am struggling with right now is that I am dealing with a great deal of trauma. I excelled in my SMP and finished at the top of my class, but it was not without a cost - I was viciously and relentlessly bullied. It was very traumatic and it broke me as a person. This program had a linkage to their medical school and I know I would have made it in, but I was so traumatized and riddled with PTSD that I didn’t apply to their medical program. I’m still afraid to use their resources. I could have done better on the MCAT, but I took it about a month after I was released from the hospital (side effect of the bullying).
I am conflicted as to whether I should study to take the MCAT again, get more clinical hours, and reapply next year for the 3rd time. I feel like the bullying extinguished the last spark of life I had left in me and I don’t know how to gather the strength to try one more time. But I want this so badly, worked so hard, and can’t let go of this dream.