I started college in 2001 and am graduating in 2008 with a degree in Chemistry. In 2004, something bad happened to me on campus so I had to get academic withdrawal from all my classes. I became really depressed afterwards, because no matter what, I could not salvage my GPA. I couldn't think of any other goal besides medicine and felt hopeless without it. My senior year got dragged out from 2005-2008. In this time, I was working full-time as a pharmacy tech. Since I had to pay my own tuition, I took a semester off to work full-time. WOrst decision ever...I lost my insurance because I was not a full time student...meanwhile a dentist accidentally damaged my gum with a drill and I ended up paying the entire bill from my savings. Had no money for the next semester's tuition, and had to take off another semester. Obviously I'm not going to say all this to the adcom because it sounds like complaining.
MY PROFILE -2.7 GPA -1360 GRE (730 V, 630 Q). Rewriting in Dec, anticipating at least 1500. -4 years experience as Pharmacy Tech -1 year experience at a Chinese restaurant -1 year experience as full time substitute, anticipating getting a position as a teacher in Janurary. -Extracurricular experience as Student Government Senator, Secretary of an ethnic org., and more than 300 hours at a local hospital.
MY PLAN -teach for 1 year. -35+ MCAT -get a Master's in Nutrition. -Improve my Spanish by spending at least a month in a Spanish speaking country. -Visit India. -If I have extra money, get my private pilot's license.
MY ADVICE TO UNDERGRADS.
Medical school admissions definitely favors wealthy people. It is financially difficult for a poor person to give up potential income hours for 'free' activities like volunteering and research. And some activities I see people doing, like travelling to remote countries for a week, end up costing thousands of dollars. Also, MCAT preparation courses and med school applications will also add up to a few thousand dollars.
--In most cases, going to a state school with a full scholarship will be a lot less stressful than being at a big name with no spending money.
--Before you start college, save money for a car. I had a bike all through college, and while it was eco-friendly, I think it does put a person at a disadvantage because you are competing with people who have an extra hour in their day and also they have a greater selection of extracurricular activities since they are not constrained by distance.
--Get a credit card in college. Credit card companies love students, and will give you a card without any credit history. I never got a credit card and now that I've graduated with no credit history, I am finding it very difficult to get a card. You will need one when it comes to paying for Kaplan, app fees, interviews, etc.
--If you do work during college, work the absolute minimum amount of hours necessary. Sometimes I worked 2 weeks straight trying to save a little extra money. It's not worth it, because once you damage your GPA, it is going to cost a lot more to fix it than the few hundred dollars you'll get from working overtime.
--Save money on textbooks by downloading the texts on Limewire or Bittorrent. Also resell all your texts online (half.com) before a new edition comes out.
--Once you have money matters organized, enjoy college. Despite my experience, I still think it's the best time of one's life and one should really take advantage of all the opportunities available.
// Applications //
Application Cycle One: 2009
Undergraduate college: Florida Atlantic University
Undergraduate Area of study: Physical Sciences
Total MCAT SCORE: 472
MCAT Section Scores:
B/B 118,
C/P 118,
CARS 118
Overall GPA: 2.70
Science GPA: 2.70
Summary of Application Experience
None yet.
No applications have been submitted yet during this cycle.
