Brief Profile:
I have several years of work behind me in medicine in clinical research. Low GPA was caused by illness noted in LOR's. Also dragged down a little bit b/c I wasn't originally a pre-med, and took a lot of the hardest science/math courses offered. Brown doesn't have +/- grades, just A/B/C, so I rode the B+/A- edge and often ended up with the B. Keep in mind if you've got my GPA but didn't go to an Ivy league school, and/or didn't major in Engineering, you might not turn out the same...I had a really hard time getting interviews (I feel), and feel extremely lucky to have gotten into USC in the end. I think the extra cookies they give for 'good school' and 'hard major' were what saved me.
My application list is a pretty comprehensive list for those of you with low GPA's. The only schools you might want to re-consider are the NY schools (replace the public ones with your own in-state schools, and obviously take off MSSM, and look at the other private schools on a case by case basis). I didn't know about Lizzy M's spreadsheet when I came up with my application list, and it actually matches up pretty well for lowish GPA, ok/good MCAT. I didn't screen out schools based on their avg accepted MCAT. I didn't apply to schools that didn't take OOS applicants.
I didn't apply to D.O. schools that required a D.O. LOR.
I didn't apply particularly early, honestly (maybe complete in late August?). You'd probably do better than I if you submitted earlier.
// Applications //
Application Cycle One: 2008
Undergraduate college: Brown University
Undergraduate Area of study: Engineering/Technology
Institution: postbaccalaureate
Area of Study: Premedical Studies
Total MCAT SCORE: 516
MCAT Section Scores:
B/B 129,
C/P 128,
CARS 130
Overall GPA: 3.45
Science GPA: 3.21
Summary of Application Experience
How do you summarize a process that gets me an USC interview offer in the same week I get rejected from Chicago College of Osteopathic Medicine?
I am really opposed to using committee letters. I used my committee letter from my post-bacc program last year and got one interview and obviously no acceptances. They had no reason to write anything bad. In a post interview analysis of my application, the dean of admissions at the med school where I interview told me not to use my committee letter as a post-bacc...wish I had known that earlier.
Indeed, look how much better it's turned out. Wish I could read that stinkin' letter.
I hope I end up at an M.D. program, but I'll be fine at a D.O. program. I just want to be a physician. My biggest reason for wanting the former is simply that I don't want to focus the extra time on OMM during this already busy/stressful education since I might never use it.
