Med school stats

[Pandamonium]

I basically slept through or skipped roughly half of my classes for the first three semesters of school. (I'm now going into my fifth semester) Anyway, it wasn't until the fourth semester that I was diagnosed as a hypersomniac. Basically, given the right conditions, you'd need to perform medical testing to differentiate between myself and a narcoleptic.

I've seen my GPA take hits every semester, up until my fourth semester. My cumulative is now sitting at a 3.21, and I don't believe my school weights GPAs by course level. (It does, however, weight GPAs by credit hours.)

The only thing I really have going for me is that I'm doing this at Washington University in St. Louis. I expect to perform fairly well on the MCATs just because I tend to rock standardized tests. In terms of extracurricular activity, I write for the school paper and play two sports (club fencing and club crew, although our crew team is more of an unsponsored varsity team than anything).

Should I drop pre-med or stick with it for now? I took the physics sequence as a freshman because I was straddling engineering and pre-med, so I still have the Organic sequence and 2/3 of the Bio sequence left. I realize "the higher the better" mentality is a safe bet, but at this point, it's going to be a struggle to bring it up much past a 3.4. Am I SOL or is there hope?

Heh, now I'm getting nervous.

 

[kami333]

MDApplicants

Everytime I go to that site I end up depressed

 

[glen]

Gender: Female
Ethnicity: African

MCAT Score: VR 7, PS 7, BS 7, P

Overall GPA: 2.95

Got an interview at Johns Hopkins University

 

[glen]

Age: 22
Gender: Male
Ethnicity: Caucasian
MCAT Score: VR 10, PS 6, BS 10, R

Overall GPA: 3.20

Not really any better.

 

[Schadenfroh]

Damn!, maybe i should reconsider premed

my dad got in and he had about a 3.2 GPA and a mcat in the lower 20s, but of course my grandpa had "connections" that no longer exist.

 

[UCDAggies2k4]

Originally posted by: glen

Gender: Female
Ethnicity: African

MCAT Score: VR 7, PS 7, BS 7, P

Overall GPA: 2.95

Got an interview at Johns Hopkins University

If she was white or asian she never would have had the interview. She got it because she is black.

 

[Siva]

Originally posted by: UCDAggies2k4

Originally posted by: glen

Gender: Female
Ethnicity: African

MCAT Score: VR 7, PS 7, BS 7, P

Overall GPA: 2.95

Got an interview at Johns Hopkins University

If she was white or asian she never would have had the interview. She got it because she is black.

I think that's why he pointed it out.

/captain obvious

 

[UCDAggies2k4]

Originally posted by: glen

Age: 22
Gender: Male
Ethnicity: Caucasian
MCAT Score: VR 10, PS 6, BS 10, R

Overall GPA: 3.20

Not really any better.

There is a big difference between a 26 on the MCAT and a 21. Also a 3.2 is much better than a 2.9 GPA.

 

[Pandamonium]

Maybe I'll just bite the bullet and take a chance w/ premed then... heh.

 

[Whisper]

Anything's possible, even med school with a 3.2. You most likely won't be going to Johns Hopkins or UCSF, but there's always a chance you'll get in somewhere. Just be sure to study your arse off for the MCATs...if your GPA isn't quite up to par, then something "numberwise" had better be. Many med schools have formulae that they run each application through (a sort of pre-screening), and if a minimum quota isn't reached, then there's a chance they won't even look at your application beyond that point. Sorta depends on how many people have applied to that particular school for that particular class/year.

That being said, try your best to also get a few kick-arse recommendations, and spend a lot of time working on your essays/personal statements. Apply to at LEAST a half-dozen different schools, though preferrably 8-12.

Also, if your grades tend to improve greatly in your last two years, that's always a plus. Med schools WILL look at grades for pre-med and science classes independent of all other coursework, so try your best to do well in those particular subjects. Organic can be a b!tch, but at least you've gotten physics out of the way.

Finally, I don't know what your major is, but don't think that you NEED to major in a science to be attractive to med schools. Many times, non-science majors are given preference in certain instances simply because med schools want a diverse entering class. Hell, you're going to learn enough science in your first two years of med school to last you through the rest of your life...no need to major in it in undergrad as well.

 

[UCDAggies2k4]

Originally posted by: Whisper
Anything's possible, even med school with a 3.2. You most likely won't be going to Johns Hopkins or UCSF, but there's always a chance you'll get in somewhere. Just be sure to study your arse off for the MCATs...if your GPA isn't quite up to par, then something "numberwise" had better be. Many med schools have formulae that they run each application through (a sort of pre-screening), and if a minimum quota isn't reached, then there's a chance they won't even look at your application beyond that point. Sorta depends on how many people have applied to that particular school for that particular class/year.

That being said, try your best to also get a few kick-arse recommendations, and spend a lot of time working on your essays/personal statements. Apply to at LEAST a half-dozen different schools, though preferrably 8-12.

Also, if your grades tend to improve greatly in your last two years, that's always a plus. Med schools WILL look at grades for pre-med and science classes independent of all other coursework, so try your best to do well in those particular subjects. Organic can be a b!tch, but at least you've gotten physics out of the way.

Finally, I don't know what your major is, but don't think that you NEED to major in a science to be attractive to med schools. Many times, non-science majors are given preference in certain instances simply because med schools want a diverse entering class. Hell, you're going to learn enough science in your first two years of med school to last you through the rest of your life...no need to major in it in undergrad as well.

The problem is medical schools requirments include things like O-Chem, and biological science majors are one of the few that meet the required classes for medical school well. If you do an English major you have to take a ton of extra science classes to go to medical school on top of your major. Those science classes are required to go to medical school.

 

[NoReMoRsE]

GL to all writing the MCAT in 6 days!

 

[cchen]

Sorry to break it to you, but you pretty much won't be getting in a top tier medical school. Why do you want to be a doctor? BTW you don't have to go to a top tier school to get a good education.

Anyway, you still have your core science and labs to take? That will help if you can get A's in them because med school admission committees break down your gpa into categories. And if you can get a high gpa in the science category, it will greatly help your chances of admission.

 

[Schadenfroh]

Originally posted by: cchen
Why do you want to be a doctor? .

help people, love for biology, etc.

 

[Topher]

Originally posted by: Whisper
Finally, I don't know what your major is, but don't think that you NEED to major in a science to be attractive to med schools. Many times, non-science majors are given preference in certain instances simply because med schools want a diverse entering class. Hell, you're going to learn enough science in your first two years of med school to last you through the rest of your life...no need to major in it in undergrad as well.

Music majors have the highest acceptance rate of medical school admissions. Take that all you pre-med majors!

 

[dethman]

medical college of puerto rico, anyone?

 

[User1001]

You could try a london or indian (actually harder course work than the U.S schools) med schools

 

[kami333]

Take a couple of years off, work as an EMT or something in the medical field. Go to grad school and get a masters, get published. Join the peace corps or similar, show that you are hard working and dedicated.