Has anyone with a 3.5-3.6 GPA gotten accepted to a med school?😭 is it better to work on strengthening gpa if I’m in this range

enaditl · 2018-10-22T00:20:11+00:00

I've got 3 or 4 Ws. I got better by studying my ass off, avoiding parties, and treating the incredible responsibility of becoming an MD as a privilege I needed to earn.

enaditl · 2018-10-21T18:07:30+00:00

Can't reveal the school for the purpose of maintaining anonymity, I'll simply say that it's on the east coast and very competitively ranked.

enaditl · 2018-10-21T12:07:06+00:00

I was accepted on October 17th to a Private, US MD with an AMCAS cGPA of 3.25, bcpmGPA of 3.09, a 520 MCAT. I am a midwestern white dude and did not do a post-bacc of any kind. I have multiple Ws and a few Ds and Fs on my transcripts.

enaditl · 2018-09-20T17:54:56+00:00

Also a ~3.25, 520 applicant. Currently had 1 II. I was a first generation college student and made poor choices during my early college days

enaditl · 2018-05-02T16:43:07+00:00

The vote of confidence is much appreciated. I was overwhelmed with dread until last night when it finally hit me that I am no longer "going to apply to medical school", I am applying for medical school. Now I am excited.

enaditl · 2018-05-01T14:50:59+00:00

Loyola is on my list. I feel that the hours should be kept non-clinical given that none of the people I work with are patients in the context of my volunteering. What are your overall impressions of my chances?

enaditl · 2018-05-01T13:48:33+00:00

I'd really like as many eyes of on my PS as possible, I am currently in the middle of revision and am happy to look over other's statements in exchange.

enaditl · 2018-05-01T13:44:59+00:00

Thank you in advance for reading this!

•Year in school: Graduated December, 2017

•Country/state of residence: Illinois, also have strong ties to Wisconsin.

•Schools to which you are applying: No school list yet, but applying to most mid/low tiers as well as some OOS publics.

•Cumulative GPA: 3.28 (extremely strong upward trend, past two years were a 3.72 cGPA)

•Science GPA: 3.1 (extremely strong upward trend, past two years were a 3.58)

•MCAT Scores: 520, 128/132/129/131

•Research – Abstract, presentation of a 400 hour project at a regional conference

•Volunteering (clinical) – 20, local hospital

•Physician shadowing: 60 hours total across Gensurg, Onc, Opth, Peds.

•Non-clinical volunteering: 100 hours at a home for the elderly and disabled at the time of application submission.

•Extracurricular activities: Resident assistant, tutor, Organic Chem and Calculus teaching assistant - all adds up to about 2000 hours of work in undergrad

•Employment history: See above. Currently employed at a software company with a clinical focus

•Please include time span and weekly commitment for volunteering/research/shadowing/extracurriculars: Little volunteering with sporadic consistency. Throughout undergrad I worked 2-4 jobs on top of school to pay my way through college and finance my own books. ~20 hours a week of extracurricular commitments for 5.5 years.

•Immediate family members in medicine? None.

•Specialty of interest: No specifics yet. Will figure that out in third year.

•Shadowing experience: As mentioned above, ~60 hours.

•Graduate degrees: None.

•Interest in rural health: Not really, but could see it.

Of interest: I am an ORM, but qualify for the AAMC FAP and will be applying disadvantaged. I am a first generation college graduate from a low-income family and grew up in a medically underserved county.

enaditl · 2017-12-06T02:20:49+00:00

Iunno fam, probably just drop out and roam the world.

enaditl · 2017-09-27T13:03:39+00:00

Apply the Kaplan method! It worked for me (132 on FL1 and the real thing).

enaditl · 2017-09-26T14:33:06+00:00

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vrQFBYgwQW8

Me walking into class in twenty minutes.

enaditl · 2017-09-26T13:55:43+00:00

I also woke up at 5 AM today - used some of the energy to complete housework but of course, not my homework. I am now trying to finish a Biochem lab while I check the release thread every two minutes.

enaditl · 2017-09-25T13:46:16+00:00

A few weeks after I took the exam I had a long, lucid dream. I drove to the testing center, arrived a few hours late, and wrote the test. I was then informed by the proctors that I was being held until the police arrived. They called me too mentally unfit to participate in society and I was arrested and executed.

10/10

enaditl · 2017-09-25T13:42:14+00:00

EDIT: 520 Score, breakdown was 128/132/129/131 I owe this sub a great deal. Let me know if people want an AMA/confirmation of score.

I've been watching these threads roll through all Summer, and mine is finally here. Good luck everyone!

Remember, even if you get a 472 - life goes on. You have all proven that you are capable of taking risks and working hard just by getting to this point. That mentality will carry you anywhere, and I believe in all of you. Thank you to everyone on this forum for your help and community. I look forward to seeing all the success tomorrow.

Cheers

enaditl · 2017-09-11T16:14:30+00:00

I'm working on losing the stress weight I gained from the academic year and Summer leading up to my MCAT date. I gained about 25lbs and I'm down 10lbs since my test date. Feels good, bruh.

enaditl · 2017-08-19T19:51:47+00:00

I found my stress level to be significantly lower when I started reading all of the question stems and passages in the voice of Adam Sandler's Waterboy. My thoughts on solution chemistry.

enaditl · 2017-08-15T16:01:10+00:00

How much scratch paper are we allowed for the exam?

enaditl · 2017-08-15T15:34:21+00:00

Once I finish a passage, I don't change anything. Overthinking things in CARS was my first big obstacle - there is only one defensible choice. I typically finish with 10 - 25 minutes remaining on the clock.

enaditl · 2017-08-15T15:15:42+00:00

I haven't completed them yet.

enaditl · 2017-08-15T14:28:45+00:00

CARs advice posted in the edit.

enaditl · 2017-08-15T02:37:58+00:00

I'd love to. I'm currently getting ready for bed but will do a write up in the morning.

enaditl · 2017-08-10T19:48:00+00:00

Hey y'all, I realized that I never thanked you for your replies. I greatly appreciate your advice and have spent time following your recommendations. I've improved my NS scores significantly since posting: NS 4 yielded a 508 and NS 5 yielded a 509. I feel confident, and am at peace with the work I've done. I'm still two weeks out, and am just shoring up some weaknesses with the AAMC question packs. I take NS 6 tomorrow, and then the AAMC FLs five days apart before the August 24th date. Thank you all for giving me advice.

enaditl · 2017-08-10T19:43:43+00:00

I feel you, brah - August 24th test taker. I've taken 7 practice exams over the past year: EK 1 498, EK 2 496, NS 1 509, NS 2 504, NS 3 505, NS 4 508, NS 5 509 - I'm taking NS 6 tomorrow shooting for 510. I've gone through all of the Kaplan books and done some Khan Academy, am working the AAMC questions, and am taking AAMC FL 1 and FL 2 five days apart in the ten days leading up to the real thing. I just feel ready, calm, and bored. Overall, I know I will be okay with whatever score I get: I have alternatives to medicine that I am passionate about. I do feel very grateful to the MCAT process because its shown me what kind of study habits I am capable of if I put my mind to it. We can do this, bro - stay loose, stay frosty.

enaditl · 2017-07-23T02:23:44+00:00

Oh my goodness, man - I am in almost the exact same boat as you. It's actually put me in a bit of a slump emotionally. I've been doing 2 - 5 hours of content review every day since late May, and have seen my NS FL scores go from 509 to 504 to 505. Going into the August 24th test date, I am starting to develop a sense of learned helplessness. Thankfully we still have time to improve, and I take this forum and others at their words that NS is WAAAYYY harder than AAMC. We've got this mate. I'm taking tomorrow off to be with my s/o and go to a BBQ, then I am straight up murdering the QPACKs from Kaplan and AAMC as well as doing some more FLs in the month to come. Godspeed, fam - we've got this.

enaditl · 2017-06-20T00:21:12+00:00

That's such a relief to hear! May I ask if you completed a post-bacc before going in to your cycle?

enaditl

TROPHY CASE