Low BCPM, High MCAT, need honest opinion

[swimmergalpal1996]

x

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[mimelim]

Hi everyone. I'm relatively new to SDN (I didn't have an account, mainly read threads if I had a quick question). I just finished my junior year at the University of Pittsburgh, and am currently preparing for the MCATs. I've been reading a lot of posts on SDN, and have been starting to feel really confused and doubtful about myself as an applicant. I figure that everyone here will be pretty honest, and honesty is something that I need right now. I would really appreciate anyone taking just a few minutes to read and offer some insight.

I'm a dual-degree student at Pitt, meaning I'll be receiving a BS in Biology and a BA in English Literature. This is one of my most strongest selling points as an applicant, due to this being interdisciplinary work (on which I have presented at a local conference about) and being able to finish 2 degrees in 4 years. However, my main issue is of my GPA. My cGPA is a 3.35, and my sGPA is a 3.0 (assuming that I have done the math for this correctly). Both GPAs have seen an upward trend, but nothing amazing (freshman year- cGPA: 2.9, sGPA: 2.7, current- cGPA: 3.5, sGPA: 3.2). I have extracurriculars (club swimming, english honors society, colleges against cancer, chamber music, etc), leadership positions (marketing for pre med organization), shadowing hours (~150 hrs), clinical experience (~200 hrs), volunteering hours (~120 hours), and research (3 yrs, writing paper now). I have letters of recommendation already as well (2 science, 1 honors program, 2 english, 1 research mentor).

Like I said, I am prepping for the MCATs, and my practice exams are currently scoring me between a 512-515. I've been studying hard for them, and still have about a month until I take them. Despite my low GPA, I still would like to apply for this cycle. I was going to apply to a range of schools both MD (currently thinking Georgetown, Loyola, Tufts, Penn State Hershey, TCMC, VCU, IU, etc) and DO (LECOM, PCOM, etc).

Give these statistics:
1. Would it be wise to apply this cycle, or to wait until next?
2. If I wait until next, what would be the best gap year options?
3. If not wait, which schools would I have the best chances?

Thank you so much.

3.35 cGPA with a strong sGPA is one thing, but a 3.0 sGPA is going to kill interest in you. I highlighted a worrying line. This is a cherry on the top of an application, not a selling point. The biggest concern is that you are going to struggle with medical training. The majority of people with <3.4 GPA applicants that get into medical school fall into one of two categories. #1 The numbers fail to grasp who they are as a student now. ie. grades from 5+ years ago make the 3.9+ student look like a 3.4 student. So, really old grades, huge upward trend, etc. #2 They are "high risk/high reward" ie they have something that schools say, "We gotta get this guy because he has something that is incredibly rare in the medical applicant field."

First, you need to get your MCAT score. But, it is hard to imagine that applying this cycle as being a good idea. The last thing you want with a weak application is to be applying as a re-applicant. As to SMP vs. post-bacc etc, I will defer to people who know the options better than I. But, I would consider that the best recommendation may be to take even up to 2 years to get your application into much better shape.

 

[PiggyPug6]

Hi everyone. I'm relatively new to SDN (I didn't have an account, mainly read threads if I had a quick question). I just finished my junior year at the University of Pittsburgh, and am currently preparing for the MCATs. I've been reading a lot of posts on SDN, and have been starting to feel really confused and doubtful about myself as an applicant. I figure that everyone here will be pretty honest, and honesty is something that I need right now. I would really appreciate anyone taking just a few minutes to read and offer some insight.

I'm a dual-degree student at Pitt, meaning I'll be receiving a BS in Biology and a BA in English Literature. This is one of my most strongest selling points as an applicant, due to this being interdisciplinary work (on which I have presented at a local conference about) and being able to finish 2 degrees in 4 years. However, my main issue is of my GPA. My cGPA is a 3.35, and my sGPA is a 3.0 (assuming that I have done the math for this correctly). Both GPAs have seen an upward trend, but nothing amazing (freshman year- cGPA: 2.9, sGPA: 2.7, current- cGPA: 3.5, sGPA: 3.2). I have extracurriculars (club swimming, english honors society, colleges against cancer, chamber music, etc), leadership positions (marketing for pre med organization), shadowing hours (~150 hrs), clinical experience (~200 hrs), volunteering hours (~120 hours), and research (3 yrs, writing paper now). I have letters of recommendation already as well (2 science, 1 honors program, 2 english, 1 research mentor).

Like I said, I am prepping for the MCATs, and my practice exams are currently scoring me between a 512-515. I've been studying hard for them, and still have about a month until I take them. Despite my low GPA, I still would like to apply for this cycle. I was going to apply to a range of schools both MD (currently thinking Georgetown, Loyola, Tufts, Penn State Hershey, TCMC, VCU, IU, etc) and DO (LECOM, PCOM, etc).

Give these statistics:
1. Would it be wise to apply this cycle, or to wait until next?
2. If I wait until next, what would be the best gap year options?
3. If not wait, which schools would I have the best chances?

Thank you so much.

Girl, you are literally me. Same undergrad and everything. Do you happen to be a URM or disadvantaged?
Honestly, a little time off couldn't hurt. There's no rush, trust me. I would wait at least a year (I took two due to a family emergency). If you kill the MCAT and then (I'm assuming you're taking your upper level bio courses next year) use your senior year GPA to boost your overall sGPA, it could help. If you've already selected your classes, maybe take time to calculate out how much the classes you're planning on taking in the fall could effect your GPA. It's best to go into this process on top, so you hopefully only have to do it once. The rest of your app looks pretty strong though.

 

[The Knife & Gun Club]

Don't apply this cycle. Take the MCAT, get a score, and come back for more pointed advice. Your grades will not prevent you from attending medical school, but you may need to do a year of remedial work and apply mostly DO.

My sGPA was low, but not that low (3.19) and I was able to get in fine with a gap year and a little remediation + more ECs.

 

[AnatomyGrey12]

Do not apply, you have a very low GPA and your dual degree doesn't mean what you think it does. You need to rock this next year of classes, rock the MCAT, and get your ECs up. After that you will probably need to apply only DO or to SMPs if you are boning for the MD