Hey all,
So this is my first official post on SDN but I've lurked quite a bit, so here's to hoping you guys won't be too brutal!
So I'm a recent Columbia grad coming out of undergrad with a major in English & Comparative Literature (3.4 cgpa/3.0 sgpa) and 34R MCAT. I have about 300 hours volunteering for non-profits, ~150 volunteering in clinics; I shadowed for a good 2 months (incidentally, the doc was a DO), and I have a good handful of ECs (mostly literary/poetry clubs, but also quite a few related to the African diaspora). A note on the non-profits: both were heavily invested in either raising awareness of global health issues abroad or addressing the social determinants of health in underserved communities. Just thought that was pertinent.
I know my sgpa is concerningly low, but I went through a rough patch junior year after losing a close family member and really my hero to cancer and just lost all motivation to excel or even care about life for a while. I bounced back with a fairly strong upward trend senior year (3.67 both semesters) but I know that a good deal of damage was done to my gpa.
Considering the fact that I'm male and a black Caribbean-American, do you think I have a shot anywhere? I know Howard, Meharry, and Morehouse are my best bet and I can't afford to be picky, but as an Agnostic I *really* dislike Meharry for it's strong religious feel and was just wondering what schools I should add to my list once I begin applying for the 2014-2015 cycle. (Apply broadly, after all!) I wouldn't mind DO in the slightest, btw.
Any advice would be super appreciated!
So this is my first official post on SDN but I've lurked quite a bit, so here's to hoping you guys won't be too brutal!
So I'm a recent Columbia grad coming out of undergrad with a major in English & Comparative Literature (3.4 cgpa/3.0 sgpa) and 34R MCAT. I have about 300 hours volunteering for non-profits, ~150 volunteering in clinics; I shadowed for a good 2 months (incidentally, the doc was a DO), and I have a good handful of ECs (mostly literary/poetry clubs, but also quite a few related to the African diaspora). A note on the non-profits: both were heavily invested in either raising awareness of global health issues abroad or addressing the social determinants of health in underserved communities. Just thought that was pertinent.
I know my sgpa is concerningly low, but I went through a rough patch junior year after losing a close family member and really my hero to cancer and just lost all motivation to excel or even care about life for a while. I bounced back with a fairly strong upward trend senior year (3.67 both semesters) but I know that a good deal of damage was done to my gpa.
Considering the fact that I'm male and a black Caribbean-American, do you think I have a shot anywhere? I know Howard, Meharry, and Morehouse are my best bet and I can't afford to be picky, but as an Agnostic I *really* dislike Meharry for it's strong religious feel and was just wondering what schools I should add to my list once I begin applying for the 2014-2015 cycle. (Apply broadly, after all!) I wouldn't mind DO in the slightest, btw.
Any advice would be super appreciated!