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Originally posted by princess87Hi,
I am in my last year of undergrad. I’m a Biology major, originally planned on going to medical school, but got discouraged along the way. My GPA is not great- about a 3.4 with a science GPA of around 3.2. I have mostly B’s in science classes, with an occasional C. I have not taken organic chemistry or physics yet (due to anxiety issues).
I have also done a few medical internships and definitely would like to do more. Is there any advice you can give me? I know my grades aren’t very good, but I would really like to be a pathologist. Is there anything that can help my situation? (I know probably as many hours as possible in the field can’t hurt). Also I have not taken my MCATS yet. Any advice would be appreciated.
Dear Princess 87,
Thanks for your inquiry. Sounds like you have done some pretty good work. The key piece now is to make sure you are really working as hard as you can during your final year of college. You want to get mostly or all A’s. I would suggest reassessing around February or so to see how you are doing and what you want to do moving ahead. If you are doing well academically and really want to go to medical school, you might consider a post bac program for the fall of 2012, and you may be in a position to take the MCAT and apply for the fall of 2013. Nothing to do now but bear down and work hard. Contact us again next year, and you might consider at that point signing up for a one hour consultation to help you plan your strategy.
Best wishes,Dr. Shelton
Senior Consultant
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Originally posted by ynguyenHello,
I am currently a senior at my university, double majoring in Business Administration and Health Science. Originally I wanted to pursue a Health Administration degree, however I wanted to become a doctor instead. My current stats are 3.1 Cumulative GPA 3.55 Science GPA (with more science courses to go). The reason for my low GPA are due to my business courses (accounting & economics aren’t meant for me).
I plan to apply to medical school. I have not taken the MCAT yet, and will need to finish taking the pre recs. First of all, do I even have a chance? What advice do you suggest that I should do? If so, should I stay in college for another year to take the pre recs at my current college, or graduate with my business degree and take my pre recs at a Community College? Also, will medical schools take into consideration that I realized late in my college career that business was not for me because I did not do so well in them?
Thank you for your help.
Dear Ynguyen,
Thanks for your inquiry. My sense is that you should stay in school where you are and complete your pre-reqs, and obviously try to get your overall GPA up. You definitely should not take these courses at a community college. You should also be thinking about your volunteer and work activities related to health care. When you are further along next year, you might want to contact our office and sign up for a one-hour consultation in order to get a thorough assessment of your situation.
Best wishes,Dr. Shelton
Senior Consultant
AdmissionsConsultants
703.242.5885Keep up with us on:
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Originally posted by Barry_sedanHello,
I am a graduate student from Canada (and a US green card holder) planning to apply to US universities during the next admissions cycle.
I graduated in 2009 with honours in molecular biology with a 3.78 /4.0 GPA (science and overall) and I am currently in the last semester of a thesis based Masters in experimental medicine (4.0 GPA).
During my university years I accumulated 4 years worth of research experience and I have had several student government positions as well as one year of part-time hospital voluteering.
Finally, I took the MCAT last year and scored a 35Q.However, since I am from the province of Quebec, I completed some of my science prerequisites in CEGEP, which is an academic step between high school and university that is unique to Quebec (replaces last year of high school and first year of university).
Given my academic record and experience, would I be able to apply to US medical schools? And if so, do I stand a good chance for admission?
Thanks!Dear Barry_sedan,
Thanks for your inquiry. Based on the information you provide, you seem to be a very competitive applicant for a number of medical schools in the U.S. In terms of how you fulfilled your prereq courses, that’s a technical question that I hesitate to try and answer in this forum. You might contact AMCAS or a few schools that you might have an interest in, and pose the question to them. You should get a precise answer.
Let us know when you are ready to apply–we will be glad to help you with your application process.
Best wishes,Dr. Shelton
Senior Consultant
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703.242.5885Keep up with us on:
quote:
Originally posted by naticcmlHello!
I am a non-traditional student-age 27-just graduated with a BA in Anthropology GPA 3.49, and I have zero of the prereqs done, but I am thinking about going to a post Bacc in Southern California. I was wondering if you have honest advice about the post-bacc programs…the one that USC offers is quite expensive, around 60 thousand, but they give you opportunities, letters of recc, put you in an MCAT course, and have an 85% acceptance rate into med school upon first application. You also must apply and be accepted.However, UCLA Extension offers classes that anyone can take, with an introductory sciences certificate to get all the prereqs done. They dont have any stats for people entering med school, and I believe the professors switch each quarter (so you dont have much of a chance to get to know them) and also the labs for Chem, OChem and Bio are separate, and you only take them in the summer (not concurrently every quarter like most schools). This was is only about 10 grand.
The money isnt an issue, really, but if you think classes are classes, then saving the money and taking the pre reqs at UCLA would be fine. But if you think there seems to be a huge benefit in an official post-bacc, then I want to think about doing that certainly. It seems as though a HUGE percentage of USC’s post bacc go on to USC Keck School of Medicine.
Any advice you might have one what way is going to be a better route to medical school between those options would be great.
Also, what is your opinion on taking calculus? I have a full year of basic college level statistics that I needed to satisfy my BA requirements, but I dont know if I should take calc as well.
Thanks!
Dear Naticcml,
Thanks for your inquiry. I am not familiar with these post bac programs but USC seems to have some obvious benefits. In general I would suggest going to the best quality academic institution you can, and also where you can get to know your professors. My sense is that you should apply to a number of programs and see where you get accepted. Then you can choose your best option. Regarding your other question, many schools require or recommend calculus. So if you want to be safe, you might want to take it at least one semester.
Hope this helps.
Best,Dr. Shelton
Senior Consultant
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Originally posted by Pons Asinorumam a post-bacc “non-trad” student that had to take a detour from pre-med due to getting pregnant in college. I still finished, graduate with a 3.5 GPA as a nurse from a top 3 university, and have worked as a pediatric critical care nurse for 5 years while doing my post-bacc science requirements. Post-bacc GPA is 3.65. MCAT is a balanced 36. I also work as a forensic examiner and have done lots of international medical relief work, plus all the “normal” stuff everybody has done (some volunteering, honor societies, Dean’s List and so on.) I am a little nervous because I feel my GPA is on the lower side. I def got a handful of C’s in undergrad before I decided to grow up and get serious! Luckily most of my sciences are post-bacc.
Positive reviews of my PS as well as lots of recs from docs I work with. What are my chances of being admitted…
…..somewhere/anywhere?
…..to a very competitive school such as Hopkins or Harvard?Many thanks.
Dear Pons Asinorum,
Thanks for your inquiry. Sorry to take so long to get back to you. Based on the information that you supply I think it’s quite possible that you could be competitive for medical school admission- probably not the elite schools but good, mid-range schools. Let us know if we can help with the application process.
Best,Dr. Shelton
Senior Consultant
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quote:
Originally posted by Cliff128Hello,
I was wondering if you could give me your thoughts on my situation.
I graduated undergrad with a pretty low GPA 3.3, and a major in econ (but from a lib arts school)
I don’t have the pre-reqs done (chem/o chem/physics)
And I am currently enrolled in law school…
I decided that I probably don’t want to be a lawyer, and am interested in going to med school…
If I took all the pre-reqs and MCATS next year, then applied in 2013, would I even have a chance to get into a decent med school?
Also, would they frown upon me taking the pre-reqs at a local community college to save money?
Thanks
Dear Cliff128,
Thanks for your inquiry. It’s a big leap from where you are to medical school admission. You can get there but I wouldn’t focus on doing it so quickly. It may take a while. I would first get some practical experience with patients and make sure you are sure you are cut out to be a care giver. Then you will need to get into a good school to complete your premed requirements-I would go to the best school academically that I could get in. I would probably avoid doing them at a community college. After that you will need to take the MCAT exam. This all will take you at least a couple of years in all likelihood.
Hope this helps.Dr. Shelton
Senior Consultant
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703.242.5885Keep up with us on:
quote:
Originally posted by jimina14Hello,
I am a senior at an international high school (MICS) and I was wondering about what colleges I should apply to. My goal is to go into Pre-med and go to med school in order to become a doctor. And according to my guidance counselor, i should look for undergraduate universities that have record of sending their student to med school (in other words, universities with high acceptance rates for student getting into med school). So I was wondering if you have any suggestion on what colleges are known/prestigious for sending their students to med school. My SAT is not too high so I would like to kind of cross out IVYs…thank you
Dear Jimina14,
Thanks for contacting us. The good news is that there are many, many colleges and universities you could attend where you could get the background you need to get into medical school. I would just apply to the range of schools with good academic standards and where you would be competitive for admission. Go to the one where it feels right and be prepared to work hard and make a lot of A’s.
Hope this helps.Dr. Shelton
Senior Consultant
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703.242.5885Keep up with us on:
quote:
Originally posted by jenesaisquoiHi! I just got my mcat scores yesterday (11 bs, 9vr, 11ps, Writing:S) and need some advice. I have yet to compile a complete list of schools that I’d like to apply to/attend… But I already know off the bat that I’d love to go to either UVA, vcu, or Georgetown. My cgpa is currently a 3.8, while my sgpa is probably around a 3.6. My main question is: should i retake the mcat? I won’t be applying until the next cycle, so I still have time to retake it. It’s just, I don’t know whether it would be a good decision to take the risk…
Also, since I’m taking a gap year after I graduate, what do you recommend that I do during this time in order to strengthen my application? (especially if I decide to stick with the 31S)
Thanks!
Dear Jenesaisquoi,
Thanks for your inquiry. If you are not apply until next summer, and you feel you can improve your score and you have the time to prepare, then perhaps it makes sense to retake the MCAT. In terms of how you spend your gap year, it depends on what kinds of things you have done thus far, but usually something related to patient care is a good bet.
If you would like a more thorough review of your situation, please contact our office and ask about a one hour consultation with one of our experts.
Best,Dr. Shelton
Senior Consultant
AdmissionsConsultants
703.242.5885Keep up with us on:
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