Hi all,
I am 24 years old and currently in a post-baccalaureate program. I am from California. I'm stuck right now on the best way to pursue MD programs. Here is my situation:
Undergraduate (Cumulative GPA: 2.95):
I had a serious roll-over car accident during my first year in college. I sustained several head injuries, including 2 subdural and 2 epidural hematomas. After the operations (double craniotomy, drug-induced coma, D.I.C. recovery) , I was bed-ridden for two months, forcing me to withdraw from classes. I worked hard during my rehab, and pushed myself to return to school the following school year. Although I thought I had fully recovered, I was still suffering from some uncontrollable traumatic symptoms (depression, flashbacks, random headaches, but no seizures) for the next 2 years, leading me to lose focus and struggle in academics.
Before this accident, I was a decent "pre-bio" student without a solid premed focus, and earned a 3.45 GPA through my first two quarters of school work. After I returned, my GPA fell drastically to a 2.83 as I finished my fourth year at school. That summer, I decided to pursue an opportunity to observe primary patient care in India, both in rural villages and in urban environments. It was this experience that made me want to focus on a medical career. I took a fifth year and attained a 3.49 GPA while volunteering with a non-profit, and graduated with 2.95. I went to a Post-Bacc program the next year.
Extracurriculars:
- One year in a research lab (Polycystic Kidney Disease)
- One summer abroad in India (Visited and observed patient care in a medical school, large city, and jungle. Also tested a stethoscope connected to a cellphone via a bluetooth connection in a phase 0 clinical trial)
- One year volunteering as a medical scribe for a non-profit (Program to give patient care to the homeless population in the city). Also acted as lead data statistician to compile data that could be presented to the non-profit's potential donors.
- Shadowed various doctors at Kaiser Permanente in different specialties (throughout my Post-Bacc career)
Post-Bacc (Cumulative GPA (so far): 3.92):
I have completed a year so far, and have just started one more semester. I am currently looking for a volunteer opportunity or internship that is clinically related.
I took the MCAT this past summer on July 26th. I received a score of 30.
Breakdown: PS 12/V 8/ BS 10.
I was disappointed with this score, since my AAMC practice tests were:
AAMC 4: 34
AAMC 5: 29 (I was interrupted twice during my test; I did not treat this as a true practice test)
AAMC 7: 32
AAMC 8: 36
AAMC 9: 32
AAMC 11: 34
AAMC 10: 31
(AAMC 3 I did open book)
So, I was expecting a score around a 32 or 33. I was especially disappointed on my Verbal score, since I was scoring 10s and 11s on nearly every test, with a 12 on AAMC 8 and a 9 on AAMC 5.
(*To all those prepping for the MCAT who happen to come across this, please learn from my mistakes:
I mistimed verbal, since I did not "pre-read" the verbal passages and decided to just do them in order. I ran out of time on the last passage, and was forced to guess randomly, unfortunately. I was still thinking about this mistake while starting the bio sciences section, so it took me a few minutes to reset and go through that last section. This may have led to a weaker Biological Sciences score as well)
So, that is my situation. Since I want to pursue an MD program, I am seriously considering retaking the MCAT because I know I can do better. Some people I have spoken to, however, say that, along with my personal story and experience, my high Post-Bacc GPA through two years should be enough to show medical schools that I am focused and intelligent enough to succeed. Also, there is no guarantee I will do better if I retake it. I am signed up to take a full load of classes this semester, but my future plans for the spring semester are undecided.
I am in pre-med (post-bacc?) limbo! :confused: Any help will be appreciated :thumbup:
I am 24 years old and currently in a post-baccalaureate program. I am from California. I'm stuck right now on the best way to pursue MD programs. Here is my situation:
Undergraduate (Cumulative GPA: 2.95):
I had a serious roll-over car accident during my first year in college. I sustained several head injuries, including 2 subdural and 2 epidural hematomas. After the operations (double craniotomy, drug-induced coma, D.I.C. recovery) , I was bed-ridden for two months, forcing me to withdraw from classes. I worked hard during my rehab, and pushed myself to return to school the following school year. Although I thought I had fully recovered, I was still suffering from some uncontrollable traumatic symptoms (depression, flashbacks, random headaches, but no seizures) for the next 2 years, leading me to lose focus and struggle in academics.
Before this accident, I was a decent "pre-bio" student without a solid premed focus, and earned a 3.45 GPA through my first two quarters of school work. After I returned, my GPA fell drastically to a 2.83 as I finished my fourth year at school. That summer, I decided to pursue an opportunity to observe primary patient care in India, both in rural villages and in urban environments. It was this experience that made me want to focus on a medical career. I took a fifth year and attained a 3.49 GPA while volunteering with a non-profit, and graduated with 2.95. I went to a Post-Bacc program the next year.
Extracurriculars:
- One year in a research lab (Polycystic Kidney Disease)
- One summer abroad in India (Visited and observed patient care in a medical school, large city, and jungle. Also tested a stethoscope connected to a cellphone via a bluetooth connection in a phase 0 clinical trial)
- One year volunteering as a medical scribe for a non-profit (Program to give patient care to the homeless population in the city). Also acted as lead data statistician to compile data that could be presented to the non-profit's potential donors.
- Shadowed various doctors at Kaiser Permanente in different specialties (throughout my Post-Bacc career)
Post-Bacc (Cumulative GPA (so far): 3.92):
I have completed a year so far, and have just started one more semester. I am currently looking for a volunteer opportunity or internship that is clinically related.
I took the MCAT this past summer on July 26th. I received a score of 30.
Breakdown: PS 12/V 8/ BS 10.
I was disappointed with this score, since my AAMC practice tests were:
AAMC 4: 34
AAMC 5: 29 (I was interrupted twice during my test; I did not treat this as a true practice test)
AAMC 7: 32
AAMC 8: 36
AAMC 9: 32
AAMC 11: 34
AAMC 10: 31
(AAMC 3 I did open book)
So, I was expecting a score around a 32 or 33. I was especially disappointed on my Verbal score, since I was scoring 10s and 11s on nearly every test, with a 12 on AAMC 8 and a 9 on AAMC 5.
(*To all those prepping for the MCAT who happen to come across this, please learn from my mistakes:
I mistimed verbal, since I did not "pre-read" the verbal passages and decided to just do them in order. I ran out of time on the last passage, and was forced to guess randomly, unfortunately. I was still thinking about this mistake while starting the bio sciences section, so it took me a few minutes to reset and go through that last section. This may have led to a weaker Biological Sciences score as well)
So, that is my situation. Since I want to pursue an MD program, I am seriously considering retaking the MCAT because I know I can do better. Some people I have spoken to, however, say that, along with my personal story and experience, my high Post-Bacc GPA through two years should be enough to show medical schools that I am focused and intelligent enough to succeed. Also, there is no guarantee I will do better if I retake it. I am signed up to take a full load of classes this semester, but my future plans for the spring semester are undecided.
I am in pre-med (post-bacc?) limbo! :confused: Any help will be appreciated :thumbup: