Hi there!
(I apologize up front for being such a longwinded writer...!)
STATS:
TX Applicant
Top Tier University
Overall GPA- 2.8
Science GPA- 3.78
Upward trend- Upper Division GPA 3.8
MCAT not yet taken
LOTS of unique clinical experience (see below)
Med school has been my dream since I was quite young but my first two years of college were absolutely devastating to my GPA because I was going through a really bad family situation and school simply was not my priority (death in the family, sibling put in drug rehab, family member diagnosed with chronic illness...really bad time). My GPA during those years was so rotten that I really felt that I had no hope of ever getting into medical school. :(
So, I shifted my focus elsewhere, became licensed as an EMT and through a variety of avenues found myself working at an extremely high volume, out of hospital birth center as an assistant to Certified Nurse Midwives. I have always been passionate about obstetrics and really loved working with the midwives, so I decided to pursue midwifery. (All this time I am still taking college courses, mind you). Anyways, I worked for two years at the birth center and attended well over 200 births, then spent the next year as an apprentice midwife with a home birth practice where I was, under supervision, functioning as a primary caregiver during prenatal and postpartum exams as well as managing labors and deliveries.
There, I attended 22 births and delivered 12 babies independently. I also learned a variety of skills such as physical exam, delivery of the vertex newborn, pap smear, perineal suturing, etc. and I picked up certifications in CPR/ALS, NRP (neonatal resuscitation), ALSO (Advanced Life Support-Obstetrics). After a year with the homebirth practice, I realized that I really do want to pursue medicine and not midwifery and I am willing to do whatever it takes to get there. So, I started taking pre-reqs and I am, fortunately, doing quite well in my pre-reqs but my overall GPA is still an absolute joke. Also, I have left the midwifery practice and have been shadowing an OB/GYN and have over 500 hours with him. I have very strong LOR's from everyone I have worked with, Certified Nurse Midwives, OB/GYNs, Professors and even patients whose babies I delivered!
I have not yet taken the MCAT but am historically a very good test taker and I have high hopes that I will score well. I'm just so afraid that my GPA is so devastatingly low that my application will not even be looked at. I will graduate this December from a top tier university with a degree in Women's Studies (took me 4.5 years) with a research focus in Women's Health.
I am open to MD or DO schools (would really prefer MD) and am also open to the more reputable schools in the Caribbean. I just want to know if you all think that I even have a shot? Or, does anyone have any suggestions for improving my chances?
Thanks! :)
(I apologize up front for being such a longwinded writer...!)
STATS:
TX Applicant
Top Tier University
Overall GPA- 2.8
Science GPA- 3.78
Upward trend- Upper Division GPA 3.8
MCAT not yet taken
LOTS of unique clinical experience (see below)
Med school has been my dream since I was quite young but my first two years of college were absolutely devastating to my GPA because I was going through a really bad family situation and school simply was not my priority (death in the family, sibling put in drug rehab, family member diagnosed with chronic illness...really bad time). My GPA during those years was so rotten that I really felt that I had no hope of ever getting into medical school. :(
So, I shifted my focus elsewhere, became licensed as an EMT and through a variety of avenues found myself working at an extremely high volume, out of hospital birth center as an assistant to Certified Nurse Midwives. I have always been passionate about obstetrics and really loved working with the midwives, so I decided to pursue midwifery. (All this time I am still taking college courses, mind you). Anyways, I worked for two years at the birth center and attended well over 200 births, then spent the next year as an apprentice midwife with a home birth practice where I was, under supervision, functioning as a primary caregiver during prenatal and postpartum exams as well as managing labors and deliveries.
There, I attended 22 births and delivered 12 babies independently. I also learned a variety of skills such as physical exam, delivery of the vertex newborn, pap smear, perineal suturing, etc. and I picked up certifications in CPR/ALS, NRP (neonatal resuscitation), ALSO (Advanced Life Support-Obstetrics). After a year with the homebirth practice, I realized that I really do want to pursue medicine and not midwifery and I am willing to do whatever it takes to get there. So, I started taking pre-reqs and I am, fortunately, doing quite well in my pre-reqs but my overall GPA is still an absolute joke. Also, I have left the midwifery practice and have been shadowing an OB/GYN and have over 500 hours with him. I have very strong LOR's from everyone I have worked with, Certified Nurse Midwives, OB/GYNs, Professors and even patients whose babies I delivered!
I have not yet taken the MCAT but am historically a very good test taker and I have high hopes that I will score well. I'm just so afraid that my GPA is so devastatingly low that my application will not even be looked at. I will graduate this December from a top tier university with a degree in Women's Studies (took me 4.5 years) with a research focus in Women's Health.
I am open to MD or DO schools (would really prefer MD) and am also open to the more reputable schools in the Caribbean. I just want to know if you all think that I even have a shot? Or, does anyone have any suggestions for improving my chances?
Thanks! :)