Paramedic applying 2024 cycle with Biology B.S. (3.1), Physiology M.S. (3.7), MCAT 507

[mike_the_medic]

Applying 2024 cycle and I‘m concerned paramedic program academics would hinder my application. I complete the program in June 2023 and will be accredited an associates degree along with my paramedic ALS certification with a gpa approx 3.2. Though nowhere near as rigorous as my pervious schooling and could have easily achieved a 4.0, the absolutely ridiculous amount of hours spent towards clinical rotations (600hr+) and working as an EMT 44hr/week and volunteering 24hr/week significantly impacted my academics. I currently hold a bachelors of arts in biology from NYU and a masters of medical psychology from Case Western Reserve and was previously going to apply with these however I wanted to go ALS before medical school as I’ve spent 6+ years in EMS and want to pursue emergency medicine. So, given that I’ll have a lower overall grade would I expect there to be consequence to my application or would medical schools see my pursue of my paramedic certification as a positive.

I know this was kinda long but its stessing me out, thank you if you read it, would love to hear feedback.

NYU 2019 B.A. Biology (3.1 gpa)
CWRU 2021 M.S. Medical Physiology (3.7 gpa)
MCAT 507 (I know kinda low but cant change anything about that now)

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[Nontrad_FL_LGBT]

You should post this with WAMC format in that sub-forum.

 

[GoSpursGo]

Yes... if your most recent performance is a 3.2 in an associates degree level undergraduate course, that's very bad. It frankly almost undoes the good that you did with the MSMP.

Here is the cold truth--none of this ancillary stuff like getting paramedic certification matters. Your problem is that you have a 3.1/507 which will understandably lead to schools worrying that you will be able to handle the academic rigor of medical school. You redeemed yourself with the MSMP performance. Getting a 3.2 now, 2 years after completing the MSMP, may make schools worry that you have backslid. Getting a paramedic certification and/or doing a ridiculous amount of ECs does not address the question of whether you can handle a rigorous academic courseload, and in fact draws into question whether you are able to appropriately prioritize academics. Many applicants fall into this trap of thinking that they can compensate for low stats with "rockstar ECs," and unfortunately that just isn't how this process works--no matter how passionate you are about medicine and taking care of people, ultimately they are admitting you to a SCHOOL and need to know that you can keep up.

If it is possible to just withdraw from the program and not have any grades to report, that would be the best outcome, but it sounds like you probably already completed some of these credits. If that is the case, then you need to ace any remaining classes and minimize the damage. Then by far, your best shot is going to be applying to the DO school that MSMP has linkage with assuming that you meet the residency/URM/first gen college student criteria. I think you otherwise should mostly be looking at DO schools and possibly state MD programs. If you don't get in with a very broad DO school list, then you may need to consider the possibility of either repeating your GPA repair or moving on to another career.

 

[Angus Avagadro]

Definitely agree to target DO schools and maybe in state MD schools. Your stats and ECs should earn you some interest. Some general advice after you are accepted. Paramedic training is algorithmic and not necessarily how a physician scientist might act. In my experience, many students who were prior paramedics had difficulty with this. Keep an open mind in your medical training. Good luck and best wishes!

 

[Faha]

You could receive interviews at some DO schools with a MCAT of 507 and a GPA of 3.1 .
I suggest these schools:
BCOM
UIWSOM
ICOM
PCOM Georgia and South Georgia
LUCOM
WVSOM
UP-KYCOM
NYIT-AR
ARCOM
KHSC-COM
Noorda-COM
Touro-Montana
RVU-Montana
Orlando (when it opens)
ACOM