With Multiple Dropped courses, could I still get interviews/into medical school.

[raf43]

Hey everyone,

I'm going to try and keep this a reasonable length. I have 5 drops and I'm very concerned about my upcoming application.

1st drop: taking 17 hours, dropped me to 14 hours

2nd drop: was working nearly full time, had just taken my first few science courses, dropped from 9 to 6 hours. why only 9 hours? Working full time, first time taking science courses, wasn't used to heavy workload --> wanted to "take it slow" (bad choice I knoww).

3rd, 4th, 5th drop: bad semester. bad relationship. depression. bad work ethic.. etc.

After this I cleaned up my act, got some therapy, and worked on my issues over the next year. Trended upward and got some good EC's under my belt (Cheer for my university, ochem TA, non-clinical volunteer experience, shadowing, research {no publications} ...etc).

I salvaged a decent GPA and will leave with a cumulative 3.66, and a Science GPA of 3.6. I had 3 semesters that really brought me down in the first half of my academic career, but managed to pick myself up.

Lets be super optimistic and say I get a 514+ on my mcat. Why 514? Because my toe itches, and we need a score to help me gauge my chances.

Additional info:

The big 4/5 drops occurred in my second year of college. I know I messed up with those rough semesters. It was a really tough time for me. Please don't go overboard about how bad of a pre-med I was haha, I understand... believe me!

I'm a pretty charismatic guy, and I have a lot of passion behind me. I think I will fare well if given the chance to explain my drops and struggle in an interview. I worry that a dropped classes screening may hurt me greatly prior to being given the chance to interview, or perturb my ability to gain the confidence of those reviewing my application.

First school: finance major
second school: chem/biochem double

I'll apply to 10 or so schools in my state, and a few out of state schools. I'm a white male and I plan to apply in mid-late June of this year.

I know I'm a bit optimistic. Please give me your experienced-based input on whether or not I can overcome the 5 drops in the screening/interview process. Thank you for your time!

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[candbgirl]

Well since over 60 people have viewed your two threads with no response i’ll just say that none of us can give any kind of advice without the MCAT and an explanation of all of your ECs. Your GPA is a bit below average for MD.

 

[raf43]

Well since over 60 people have viewed your two threads with no response i’ll just say that none of us can give any kind of advice without the MCAT and an explanation of all of your ECs. Your GPA is a bit below average for MD.

Not sure how I managed to post two of these xD. And yeah I'm aware that my GPA is a bit lower than the average. I realize that my situation is unusual. I guess I'll just have to give it my best shot lol.

as far as the ECs
6-7 months of research
1 year TA experience
50 hours shadowing
I worked a fair amount as a tutor.
200 hours of logged service... a lot of which pertained to helping to feed people on low incomes
over half a year of cheerleading

I have had involvement in a few orgs but held no officer positions.

Maybe that will help. I totally understand I'm not n ideal candidate, just trying to get an idea of where I'm at. I got inspired for med school a little late in the game. So I won't be surprised if I need more time to build up my application. I just wonder if the 5 drops will overpower anything I build up.

 

[candbgirl]

Not sure how I managed to post two of these xD. And yeah I'm aware that my GPA is a bit lower than the average. I realize that my situation is unusual. I guess I'll just have to give it my best shot lol.

as far as the ECs
6-7 months of research
1 year TA experience
50 hours shadowing
200 hours of logged service... a lot of which pertained to helping to feed people on low incomes
over half a year of cheerleading

I have had involvement in a few orgs but held no officer positions.

Maybe that will help. I totally understand I'm not n ideal candidate, just trying to get an idea of where I'm at. I got inspired for med school a little late in the game. So I won't be surprised if I need more time to build up my application. I just wonder if the 5 drops will overpower anything I build up.

Probably not. But admissions gets more competitive every cycle so that can change. Do you have any clinical experience? Not shadowing but actual patient contact hours? Shadowing is needed but it is different.

 

[raf43]

Probably not. But admissions gets more competitive every cycle so that can change. Do you have any clinical experience? Not shadowing but actual patient contact hours? Shadowing is needed but it is different.

Nope, unfortunately I do not. That's what I've set aside for my next focus, as well as studying for the MCAT.

 

[Goro]

Not sure how I managed to post two of these xD. And yeah I'm aware that my GPA is a bit lower than the average. I realize that my situation is unusual. I guess I'll just have to give it my best shot lol.

as far as the ECs
6-7 months of research
1 year TA experience
50 hours shadowing
I worked a fair amount as a tutor.
200 hours of logged service... a lot of which pertained to helping to feed people on low incomes
over half a year of cheerleading

I have had involvement in a few orgs but held no officer positions.

Maybe that will help. I totally understand I'm not n ideal candidate, just trying to get an idea of where I'm at. I got inspired for med school a little late in the game. So I won't be surprised if I need more time to build up my application. I just wonder if the 5 drops will overpower anything I build up.

WHAT is your GPA?
Five Ws won't be lethal.

 

[raf43]

WHAT is your GPA?
Five Ws won't be lethal.

Hey! It's a 3.66. I've had a steady upward trend, and knocked out some pretty tough upper div chem and biochem classes. So i'm hoping that it'll show that I am capable of taking on tough content. I'm really glad to hear it won't be lethal, it has been a really big concern for me. It's below average, but the last few semester have gone well so I'm hoping I'll be ok.

 

[Goro]

Hey! It's a 3.66. I've had a steady upward trend, and knocked out some pretty tough upper div chem and biochem classes. So i'm hoping that it'll show that I am capable of taking on tough content. I'm really glad to hear it won't be lethal, it has been a really big concern for me. It's below average, but the last few semester have gone well so I'm hoping I'll be ok.

Upward GPA trends are always good.

 

[HomeSkool]

Don't worry about the Ws. Keep the upward GPA trend going. Kill the MCAT. Apply broadly to both MD and DO. Ten schools is too few.

 

[raf43]

Don't worry about the Ws. Keep the upward GPA trend going. Kill the MCAT. Apply broadly to both MD and DO. Ten schools is too few.

Wow, I'm glad you told me this. Thank you! I will!