Hi, so I'm planning on applying to Meredith I took the MCAT, got a score above the cut off. I have a cGPA of 3.4, would that be a problem when applying to Meredith
I don't think so; and regardless apply anyways- what's the worst that can happen? I think I had a 3.0 or 3.1 or something when I applied. As you have read in the thread if you are absolutely sold on Meredith go down and talk to the program coordinator- meet people and shake hands and show them that you want a chance. This way you are not another GPA, MCAT, LOR, and Personal Statement, but a real person showing genuine interest.
I don't have any of the prerequisites. Would I be able to add on extra course work like calculus, bio-statistics and biochemistry. That would be like 8 courses all together.
Are these prerequisites for medical school? I am sure they would let you take them as long as you can find time in your schedule to fit them in... If you were to get into Meredith and they didn't have a class you needed you could always complete that one online somewhere- trust me, there is a way. Yes, that might cost extra, but forget about that, take the loans out and get your education and get into med school.
Right now I have admission into Lewis University at Illinois which would mean I have to move, plus its two times the cost and duration.
Do you think I should just move and start at Lewis or I should take my chances at Meredith.
This is totally your call. Twice the price and twice the time commitment is kinda steep and I personally would look into other options. If you are desperate and feel this is your only chance then take it, but if you are trying to stay put in NC and don't get into Meredith I think there are other great options available to you there in NC (though they might not be as structured as the Meredith post bacc).
Is the Meredith program really gonna take 1 year if I decide to do all these courses? or I should just register for courses now in like UNC's friday center while waiting for Meredith's to start?
Yes, it takes a full year. Look up Meredith's class offerings, I am sure a web search or dropping by their bookstore would get you a course catalog. If they don't offer you a course you need then take it elsewhere. I would not wait around for an acceptance though you sure could knock out a class or two AT LEAST prior to starting a post bacc where ever that post bacc is going to be.
Also, can I apply to medical schools before I get my prerequisites done. Say I want to enter in 2017, and I begin Meredith by 2016. I wont get my scores till spring of 2017, would I be considered.
For sure, I applied to medical schools in the Fall of my post bacc year with only 5 course grades in the book from Meredith with a full semester still to be complete and had interviews and acceptances. If you have already taken the MCAT then you are golden!
I am going to applying to Meredith's Career Changer program and I have a few questions for you. What was your daily schedule like while at Meredith? Did you have classes every day or where you able to stack your schedule onto a couple of days if you wanted? Is it just like any school where you pick from the available classes schedule or does a counselor pick all your classes for you? I live in Jacksonville, NC (about 2 1/2hrs east of Raleigh) and would like to stay here but I know I may have to get a room near campus.
The schedule was not horrible- it was a full time hard science course load though. M-F 8-5 with lots of library time in-between classes and they also had night courses. The counselor puts your course together with you. That would be a crazy drive, but I guess people do it... I would move into Raleigh and plan on school 5 days a week if you make it in.
Your medical school acceptance to UW-SOM single-handily convinced me to apply to Meredith (of course also taking in some of your other advice and applying to many other programs as well). Would you mind disclosing your MCAT and GPA at Meredith in order to put that acceptance into perspective. I understand my background story, volunteering and interview will also weigh heavily in any acceptance but I figure one's MCAT and GPA get you that interview.
MCAT was below a 30, none of that matters now since there is a new scoring system. My GPA... 3.0 or 3.1 something like that. I think what helped me get into UW was that I was a reapplicant. When I didn't get in the first year I call the head of admissions and asked to schedule a phone conversation with her. We met over the phone a couple of days later and I asked for specifics, what I could do specifically to my application to get into UW and what followed was not easy to hear, it hurt a lot, but it was my ticket to my dream school.
They told me that everything we were to talk about in the following conversation would be added to my application. This actually played in my favor as an opportunity to prove my commitment. I also picked up by the tone of her voice that she most likely, and frequently, gets indignant premeds on the phone who offer her excuses as to why they should be accepted or why their application already has what the admission committees are looking for. I didn't want to be one of these so I sat down with pen and paper, biting my tongue, and wrote out every single point she made. My list looked something like this:
- Better MCAT score
- Better GPA
- More upper division hard biology courses
- More shadowing
- More healthcare experiences
- More non-healthcare experiences
- 3 new letters of recommendation from new writers
- A brand new personal statement
After my initial application cycle of working so hard to complete all these things, it is so crushing to hear that you basically need to redo it all. In short, she basically asked me to be a different person and rightfully so, I didn't have the GPA/MCAT/track record that really proved I could take on multiple hard courses and concepts, master them and move on. I spent three days being down and then I decided I was going to spend a year doing exactly what she asked of me to do. Being that she wrote everything down in my application file, I knew that 1 year from that point I would be at an interview with folks who had access to her notes, notes from the HEAD OF ADMISSIONS who gave me advice on my application. If I didn't follow her advice to a tee, why did I even reapply. EVERYTHING she said I did and Meredith helped me tremendously with all those goals.
I have a bachelor in business (3.7 cumulative GPA) that I completed about 4 years ago but haven’t taken a science class in around 10 years so I'm starting from scratch.
Good luck! The hard sciences are hard, but they are needed and you are really respected for completing them prior getting into med school. Study hard!
Hey big study how is is going in medical school?
Awesome!!! Delivered a baby yesterday, have helped out in surgery, removed a ingrown toenail a couple weeks ago, did a joint aspiration, counseled folks on birth control and depression and a whole bunch of other things and I am only 8 weeks into my clinical training- I love this stuff!!! My learning has morphed from "I might see this on the test, I should know it" to "I might see this with a patient in clinic tomorrow, I better know it!" I absolutely love this life God has granted me.