(semi) non-trad. 3.34 cGPA, 3.39 sGPA with a whole lot of experiences

[BPMED]

Hi guys. I applied last cycle right after undergraduate and received no interviews. Rather than reapply immediately, I decided to take stock of my life and really do things the 'right' way. I feel like I've done that. Without further adieu, here are my numbers:

California resident (Filipino)

Undergraduate in Bioengineering
-sGPA 3.22, cGPA3.44

Masters in Biology* (expecting to finish by Spring 2014)
- sGPA/cGPA 4.0 (pretty heavy course load)
- by the time I apply, my cGPA should be 3.48 and sGPA 3.45

MCAT: 28 (10/8/10), 27 (10/6/11), retaking a third time (will explain below)

Work/Activities
- research assistant (2 years)
- research scholarship for independent research
- research publication*
- emergency room volunteer (100+ hours)
- checked patients for high blood sugar in Tijuana, Mexico on several occasions
- camp counselor for TIDM children (two summers)*
- retail job at Apple during interim year*
- english tutor for children with reading difficulties (20+ hours)*
- taught senior citizens preparing for their US citizenship test english (~40 hours)*
- shadowing a family care physician (200+ hours)*
- shadowed physicians in India where I got to see surgeries, etc. (20+ hours)*
- english teacher in India (8+ hours)*
- designed and implemented a program to screen for kidney disease in India*
- honors society member (invite-only for grad students with a 4.0)*

LORs should be very solid. One of them is from a professor who can vouch for me during a 'cheating scandal' that happened in our class. I was the only student of 13 (or so) to refuse a leaked final that was offered to some students for money.

* indicates things I have done since applying the first time.

After applying last year, one of the medical schools advised I take more undergraduate classes to bolster my undergraduate GPA. I found a masters program that lets me take undergraduate classes in addition to my masters courses. By the time I apply, I will have taken 21 semester units. I made sure to do this rather than take a bunch of graduate classes because the hours from those classes will not 'count' as much as hours from undergraduate courses.

I prepared adequately for my second MCAT, testing in the mid to low 30s. I was actually doing best in verbal, scoring around 11-13. However, an incident happened between the physical and verbal portion, and I lost my composure. Though I would not like to get into the specifics of what happened, I believe this incident is why I got a 6 in verbal. I will be rewriting the exam in May, and I will be taking my first practice test (again) on Saturday.

I have done a lot of stuff in India, but I am not Indian myself. How I even had the opportunity to go to India is a crazy story in itself. Definitely great interview material, if I ever get that far.

I feel like I've really matured during my time off, and I hope my application reflects that. My personal statement will be about what I did during my gap year and things I learned about myself (and why I want to go into medicine) during that time.

Here are the schools I plan on applying to:

Dream
-Stanford
-Dartmouth
-Brown
-UCSF

Reach
-Keck
-UCLA
-Emory
-UCI

Competitive (If I can even use that term)
-UC Davis
-George Washington
-Georgetown
-Loyola Stritch
-Rosalind Franklin
-Rush
-Tulane
-Tufts
-Albany
-SUNY Downstate
-Stony Brook
-Buffalo
-U. Cincinatti
-U. Toledo
-Drexel
-Jefferson
-Temple
-VCU
-UC Riverside
-UNC
-Wake Forest
-U. Wisconsin

I'm open to all criticisms and suggestions. Thanks for giving me a read!

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[BABSstudent]

The low GPA and 28 hurt you the first time. Nice job on the master's GPA though. It will help balance the low uGPA. The publication will also help you out at all schools.

As for the MCAT, study hard. You will want a low-mid 30s to show that you are ready for the rigors of medical school. I suggest doing more practice tests under game day conditions to not have a second freak out. Remain calm and focus on breathing exercises. Taking a moment to look away from the test and take a deep breath will help more than rushing to finish while you are stressed.

 

[SixStringPsych]

Just so you know your graduate classes won't factor into your cumulative GPA. That's just undergrad classes

 

[BPMED]

Just so you know your graduate classes won't factor into your cumulative GPA. That's just undergrad classes

Thanks for the reply. Yeah, that's what UC Davis told me, too. The masters program I got into was really awesome. It allows me to get a masters degree while creating my own curriculum, so long as I complete a few graduate classes and a 'culminating experience'. I was actually considering doing an informal post-bacc through open university at first, but going through the masters program allows me to get financial aid. The GPA I included was ONLY from upper-division undergraduate classes I've taken.

 

[cest la vie]

I'm kinda confused...what do you mean by your cGPA will be 3.48 by the time you finish your masters? You currently have a 4.0 GPA in your masters so are you expecting it to drop? Or are you saying your total gGPA factored into your uGPA will be 3.48? If so, it doesn't work that way b/c masters and undergrad are separate numbers. AMCAS will not combine them

Disregarding the above, if you work hard and finish off your Masters strong (3.9+ I'm hoping) and do well on your MCAT (32+) then you should have a decent shot at low-mid tier schools given your nontrad background a fairly good experiences. However, if you struggle to improve from a 28, then it's going to be a huge uphill battle for MD. It helps to apply very broadly since you're from CA and very early as well.

I was in a similar situation as you with a masters. My LizzyM was <66 and I received 9 interviews out of about 25 schools applied this cycle if that gives you an idea. Good luck.

Also, before you apply I would edit your school list. Drop some of the upper tiers (e.g. Brown) b/c of ridiculously low acceptance rates and UNC is definitely not a school you're competitive for being a CA resident. Also add in some obvious OOS choices (i.e. EVMS, MCW, PSU, Wayne, maybe others I'm forgetting). If you're passionate about your research maybe add CWRU.

 

[BPMED]

I'm kinda confused...what do you mean by your cGPA will be 3.48 by the time you finish your masters? You currently have a 4.0 GPA in your masters so are you expecting it to drop? Or are you saying your total gGPA factored into your uGPA will be 3.48? If so, it doesn't work that way b/c masters and undergrad are separate numbers. AMCAS will not combine them

Disregarding the above, if you work hard and finish off your Masters strong (3.9+ I'm hoping) and do well on your MCAT (32+) then you should have a decent shot at low-mid tier schools given your nontrad background a fairly good experiences. However, if you struggle to improve from a 28, then it's going to be a huge uphill battle for MD. It helps to apply very broadly since you're from CA and very early as well.

I was in a similar situation as you with a masters. My LizzyM was <66 and I received 9 interviews out of about 25 schools applied this cycle if that gives you an idea. Good luck.

Also, before you apply I would edit your school list. Drop some of the upper tiers (e.g. Brown) b/c of ridiculously low acceptance rates and UNC is definitely not a school you're competitive for being a CA resident. Also add in some obvious OOS choices (i.e. EVMS, MCW, PSU, Wayne, maybe others I'm forgetting). If you're passionate about your research maybe add CWRU.

Yeah, I was calculating my masters GPA in my cGPA. Thanks for the school suggestions. Do you mind PMing me the numbers you applied with?

 

[cest la vie]

Yeah, I was calculating my masters GPA in my cGPA. Thanks for the school suggestions. Do you mind PMing me the numbers you applied with?

PM'd you.

 

[Goro]

Waste if money. the three MCATs will hurt you. Your chances of going down on the MCAT are just as likely as going up. But if you insist, you miust score well above 30.

You're fine for any DO as is.



Here are the schools I plan on applying to:

Dream
-Stanford
-Dartmouth
-Brown
-UCSF


UCI, no. UCLA, possibly. Emory likes 3.7 and 33 MCAT.

-Keck
-UCLA
-Emory
-UCI

Stay away from out-of-stae public schools. Their prefernece of in-staters, or neighboring staters make you uncompetetive. If you're from CA, try U NV or U OR

Competitive (If I can even use that term)
add NYMC-
UC Davis absolutely since you're doing your MS there
-George Washington
-Georgetown
-Loyola Stritch
-Rosalind Franklin
-Rush
-Tulane
-Tufts
-Albany

U. Toledo
-Drexel
-Jefferson
-Temple
-Wake Forest

 

[BPMED]

Waste if money. the three MCATs will hurt you. Your chances of going down on the MCAT are just as likely as going up. But if you insist, you miust score well above 30.

You're fine for any DO as is.



Here are the schools I plan on applying to:

Dream
-Stanford
-Dartmouth
-Brown
-UCSF


UCI, no. UCLA, possibly. Emory likes 3.7 and 33 MCAT.

-Keck
-UCLA
-Emory
-UCI

Stay away from out-of-stae public schools. Their prefernece of in-staters, or neighboring staters make you uncompetetive. If you're from CA, try U NV or U OR

Competitive (If I can even use that term)
add NYMC-
UC Davis absolutely since you're doing your MS there
-George Washington
-Georgetown
-Loyola Stritch
-Rosalind Franklin
-Rush
-Tulane
-Tufts
-Albany

U. Toledo
-Drexel
-Jefferson
-Temple
-Wake Forest

Are you referring to applying as a waste of money or my MCAT retake? What happened during my second retake was kind of a freak occurrence. It was all documented, and I can explain it if I am ever asked about it. My masters is not at Davis, I only spoke to the admissions guy for advice. Thanks for the school list suggestions.

 

[gyngyn]

I guess you have gleaned that your master's gpa has no effect on your gpa (science or otherwise). Everyone expects a very high gpa from a master's program (justifiably or not). As re-applicant and a three time MCAT taker from the golden state, your chances anywhere but Loma Linda (if you are congruent with their mission) are very small. If you have a validated commitment to a target group of any prime program, go ahead and apply. The rest of the CA schools are a huge reach even if you get 34 on this MCAT. Sorry.

Your best bets by far are in your OOS list. Add another handful and you should be fine if you can interview!

 

[BPMED]

I guess you have gleaned that your master's gpa has no effect on your gpa (science or otherwise). Everyone expects a very high gpa from a master's program (justifiably or not). As re-applicant and a three time MCAT taker from the golden state, your chances anywhere but Loma Linda (if you are congruent with their mission) are very small. If you have a validated commitment to a target group of any prime program, go ahead and apply. The rest of the CA schools are a huge reach even if you get 34 on this MCAT. Sorry.

Your best bets by far are in your OOS list. Add another handful and you should be fine if you can interview!

The masters program I did was predominantly undergraduate upper division classes. I was under the impression that this would be more meaningful than taking graduate classes. Is this not the case?

I understand staying in California will be extremely difficult. Though staying in California would be preferred, I would be happy getting in anywhere.

 

[gyngyn]

The masters program I did was predominantly undergraduate upper division classes. I was under the impression that this would be more meaningful than taking graduate classes. Is this not the case?

I understand staying in California will be extremely difficult. Though staying in California would be preferred, I would be happy getting in anywhere.

Sadly, the variable rigor of the enormous number of master's programs makes it impossible to know which ones are challenging (or remotely comparable to a med school curriculum). Thus, they are all painted with the same broad brush.

You are already a good candidate for DO programs (even in CA). You are a fair candidate for many OOS MD schools.