A Post for the Pre-Meds: Low GPA? Low MCAT? There’s Still Hope!

A couple of people recently contacted me freaking out about the new AACOM Repeat Policy Coursework change that was recently announced, and it prompted me to write this post. I’ve always been transparent about the fact that I had extremely low undergraduate GPA and MCAT scores when applying to medical school, but outside of the MCAT, I never actually revealed how low my actual GPA was. I think now would probably be a good time to reveal those scores and explain why I think this new policy change is something that really shouldn’t be stressed about in the grand scheme of everything, especially when it comes to applying to osteopathic medical schools.

My AACOM GPA

My AAMC GPA

I graduated from my undergraduate institution with a 2.2 GPA and over 150 hours. No amount of retakes was going to raise my GPA above the 3-point-whatever GPA that everyone thinks you absolutely need to have when applying to medical school. Additionally, my school had a rule that you could not retake a course that you received a C or higher in, and the main reason for my low GPA was the fact that I made a lot of C’s in my courses. It was an absolute requirement to retake any course with a grade of a D or lower, and I will admit that I did have a few retakes in there. Additionally, I entered into college with a low GPA to start because I attended a full-time joint enrollment honors program at a university during my senior year of high school, didn’t take it seriously, and later found out that any and all college coursework would be included in my application. As you can see above, I barely scored above a 2.5 on my AACOMAS application with the retakes included, and my AMCAS GPA was absolutely abysmal! My graduate GPA was a huge saving grace for me (my GPA was higher when I graduated, but at the point of my application it was as listed), but even with that included, my AACOMAS GPA only went as high as a 2.7.

With that being said, I was still able to gain an acceptance into medical school, so it just goes to show that some schools really do more than just screen based on numbers. There are both MD and DO schools that will look at the last 30 or so hours of your coursework and only focus on that as your cumulative GPA which will still give an advantage to students taking post-bacc or graduate coursework. If you have been retaking courses and were counting on the DO grade replacement policy to help you get an acceptance, I wouldn’t give up hope. As stated on the AACOM website: “Osteopathic medical schools may continue recalculating and weighing applicant GPAs per their established admissions practices. The scope of this policy change is limited to the AACOMAS verified GPA calculation.” To me, this pretty much means schools will continue to look at applications in the same way as before, although now they might have to make a few adjustments. Just focus on continuing to improve both your GPA and overall application, and everything will work out the way it should in the end. Also, if you are applying to DO schools, keep in mind that the majority of them tend to focus on the entire applicant and not just the stats, which is a major reason why I applied. If every other part of your application is stellar, but your GPA and MCAT scores are lacking, just be able to explain it and prove that you would be able to excel in medical school despite your shortcomings.

My MCAT Scores

Speaking of the MCAT, this post wouldn’t be complete if I didn’t throw that in here as well. I know there is a new MCAT with a completely different scoring system than there was when I took it, but as you can see (and also as I previously mentioned HERE) my scores were even low with that! I was seriously a true underdog when it came to applying to medical school, but my passion wouldn’t let that stop me from pursuing my dreams.

To those of you applying to medical school, I think it is extremely important to avoid the negativity and continue to push hard and work towards achieving your dreams. I remember reading posts on SDN that said someone with my stats (and especially a single mother) would never make it through the first year of medical school or pass their board exams, and now I am sitting here as a third year medical student who not only made it through my first two years without any major issues, but managed to pass the first part of both my MD and DO board exams, and to date, I have not received less than an honors evaluation (with some final grades as high passes after the shelf exams LOL) on any of my clinical rotations. I say this not to brag, but to be a source of encouragement and inspiration for those of you who have the dream of becoming a physician, but do not think it’s possible. I still have another year and a half to go, along with more upcoming board exams (please pray for me!), but even I have the faith that if I continue to do my best, keep the faith, and push through, everything will fall into place as it should. I’ll end here, but I truly hope this post helped motivate, inspire, and put some of you at ease.

"Go confidently in the direction of your dream and live the life you've imagined" - Henry David Thoreau

Don’t Wait on Success; Make it Happen!

I was going through my old e-mails earlier today and came across this gem that was sent to me a few months ago. For those of you who don’t know me, I am a HUGE procrastinator! I have so many ideas and a list of things that I want to do in all areas of life, but I always find a way to put them off. For me, it has always been easier to say that I will have better luck with something if I wait until a better time, but in reality, now is the best time to do anything. Tomorrow is not promised for anyone and I really do want to live my life with no regrets.

So what does this have to do with medical school? Well, as a non-traditional student, I know how easy it is to put off things like completing pre-requisites, submitting an application, or taking the MCAT. Life doesn’t stop when you apply to or enter medical school, so it’s best to just jump right in and do what needs to be done. You’ll never know if you can be successful at something if you never even begin to do it. Risk-taking is a part of the game, and the results can be pleasantly surprising.

With that being said, both the AMCAS and AACOMAS applications are now open for the entering class of 2015. If you have been putting off applying, but you think you might have a solid chance of being successful, then go for it! If you have been studying for months on end for the MCAT but you want to push the date back because you are nervous that you won’t do well, take it anyway. If you don’t feel adequately prepared to apply or take the MCAT, then register for classes, get started on those EC activities, or do whatever you need to succeed. Like the above says, success starts now, so what are you waiting for? 

Encouragement for the Pre-Meds: The Best is Yet to Come!

Wow, time really does fly! This time last year, I was busy getting my medical school applications ready and praying that the third time really would be a charm. Now, I am about to move to a new state and finally begin my medical school journey. The entire process was both exhausting and an emotional roller coaster. From taking the MCAT multiple times, to trying to remember every single extracurricular activity I’ve had for over almost a decade, to feeling completely naked and exposed in the writing and sharing of my personal statement (just to name a few), I am so glad it’s over!

To all my readers who are now in the process of getting ready to apply to medical school and/or take the MCAT, I wish you the absolute best of luck. I’ve been told the hardest part is getting in, and after over five years of trying to do just that, I am starting to think it just might be true. Please don’t get discouraged and try to remember that the whole process is a marathon and not a sprint. Also try to be patient and not too hard on yourself. There were many times over the past year where I felt completely hopeless and thought my dream would never come to fruition. Looking back now, I can truly say that every time I thought a door was closing, it was really just God preparing me to be that much better. So please stay strong, and remember that the best is yet to come. 

MCAT Giveaway Winners!!!!

Congrats to readers Chelley K and Monquin in the Free MCAT Stuff Giveaway!!!!

Chelley K will be receiving Package A which consists of two brand new Examkrackers 1001 Biology and Physics books, along with The Official Guide to the MCAT Exam 3^rd edition by AAMC.

Monquin will be receiving Package B which consists of the Examkrackers Complete Study Package 6^th edition (books only and in used condition), and The Official Guide to the MCAT Exam 3^rd edition by AAMC as well.

Please send me an e-mail with your contact details so that I can get everything out to you guys as soon as possible. I already contacted Monquin with the e-mail that was listed, and I have no idea how to e-mail people through their google+ profile so Chelley K just send me a quick message. Good luck to you both in all of your endeavors!!!!

Free MCAT Stuff!!!!

This giveaway has ended and the winners have been announced. Stay tuned for future opportunities!

On the Left: Package A                                          On the Right: Package B

I had the pleasure of staying home yesterday due to freezing rain and it gave me a chance to do a little cleaning. I no longer have any need for my MCAT prep materials, so I figured I would give them away to a couple of my readers. Most of the people who have contacted me seem to have already purchased their MCAT materials, so I’m not sure if there is a need for them. If only one or two people want them, then that is who I will send it to. Apparently there are rules to giving away things on blogs, and there may be more than a couple of people interested, so I have decided to create a sweepstakes of sorts.

There are two items up for grabs:

- Package A consists of two brand new Examkrackers 1001 Biology and Physics books, along with The Official Guide to the MCAT Exam 3^rd edition by AAMC. I purchased all the Examkrackers items myself, and the AAMC book was sent to me for free with my final MCAT re-take this year. There is no highlighting or marks in any of the books, and the estimated value is $90.  

- Package B consists of the Examkrackers Complete Study Package 6^th edition (books only), and The Official Guide to the MCAT Exam 3^rd edition by AAMC as well. All of these items were purchased by me. The Examkrackers study package was purchased used from Ebay a long time ago, and it came to me heavily highlighted and written in. Some pages are filled with my daughter’s artwork as well. I would just throw these away, but the text is visible underneath the highlighting so somebody may find them useful. The AAMC book is in “like new” condition. The value in new condition for everything would be $230, but since the Examkrackers books are used, I will put the value at $50.

How to Enter:

There are two ways to enter: 1) go through all of my posts and leave a comment under your favorite one telling me why you like it, OR 2) you can leave a question/idea below that can be used for a future blog post. Please do this only ONCE, and make sure to include which package you are interested in (A or B) along with a unique code name that can be used to identify you. All three things must be done to be considered. The start date is 1/26/14 at 12am EST and final date will be this Friday, January 31^st by 11:59pm EST. I (or my daughter) will choose the two winners at random. Good luck!

Other Necessary information:

- NO PURCHASE NECESSARY

- Open to 18 and older, US residents only, and void where prohibited by law

- One entry per person

- The number of eligible entries received determines the odds of winning

- Winners will be notified through blog within 3 days of sweepstakes closing, and asked to e-mail contact information directly

- Packages will be shipped within one week of sweepstakes closing

Money Matters

Looking at my checking account today made me realize one thing: applying to medical school is a super expensive process! I sent a $250 deposit to hold my seat when I first got my acceptance letter, and now I am getting ready to send a final deposit of $1500. That’s vacation money! LOL I know it will all be worth it though, so I’m not too upset. I know quite a few of my readers will be applying to medical school soon though, so I wanted to make this post to give you an idea of the expenses that you will be incurring during the application process. This way you can properly budget for everything. I’ve split everything up in categories, and I hope it helps. Good luck to all those who will be applying this year!

MCAT:

 $275 - $325 (Apparently the test is now in zones. The earlier you register, the cheaper the price)

Letters of Recommendation:

For my LORs, I used interfolio. It’s completely free for your letter writers, but the cost is around $19 per year and there is a fee of $6 every time you submit the letters to each school. Fortunately, they do not charge you for multiple submissions to the same schools, and this comes in handy when you have to get updated letters because of a lack of signature or letterhead (yes, this did happen to me).

Transcripts:

The school that I attended for undergrad sends transcripts for free, but the other schools on my record had fees of $5-$10, so keep this in mind. You will need to send them to the application services and to the school that you eventually become accepted to.

AACOM application fees:

First school: $195

Each additional school: $35

Secondary Fees: $50 - $200

AMCAS application fees:

First school: $160

Each additional school: $35

Secondary fees: $50-$200 per school

Interviews:

This is really specific to the school and the distance of the school from where you live. This number could easily get into the thousands, so keep that in mind. I won’t give the individual costs, but here are the things you should budget for:

- Hotel

- Rental car

- flights and baggage fees

- food

- gas

- business suit and shoes

Once Accepted:

The fees don’t stop after you get accepted, so make sure you budget for the following:

- Class Deposit (For GA-PCOM this was $250 within 30 days and then $1500 before April 1^st)

- Background check fee

- Costs for immunizations and physical exam

- Moving expenses

- One to two months of rent, groceries, and personal expenses while you wait for financial aid to kick in (typically in the middle of the month when classes start)

- School supplies

I believe that’s everything, although I may have missed a thing or two. I also want to add that making sure your credit score is top notch will help you out so much when it comes to school. I am sure that I will need to apply for some loans that require a credit check, so I have been very careful to make sure that I maintain a good credit score and history. It can also come in handy in emergency situations, so it’s good to be on the safe side.

The MCAT

One of the questions I get asked a lot is what I did to prepare for the MCAT. I realize that I am probably not the best person to ask about this, but I figured it would still be useful to write about my experience with this dreaded test. I have taken it four times, and have tried my best to remove it from my mind, but I will do my best to remember everything. I’ll also break it down into different sections to make it easier to read.

What resources did I use to prepare for the MCAT?

I first took the MCAT in 2008, and I only used Examkrackers at the time. I studied for it during the spring semester and I only took 14 hours of classes (one of my lightest semesters) which included microbiology, cell biology, physical biochemistry, a literature course, and physics lab. Looking back, it probably would have been better to wait until the semester was over and take an August exam, but I thought May was when everyone took it. I did the 10-week at-home study program which you can find on their site, but with my course load and other obligations, I was not able to finish the program. I ended up with a score of 21M (9VR, 6PS, 6BS).

When I re-took the exam in 2011, I combined the examkrackers with the Berkeley Review. I will say that the TBR material was very in-depth and was great preparation. I also took the AAMC free practice test along with practice test 11 (and 2 others that I don’t remember). I took the exam the first week of August and ended up with a 22Q (8VR 6PS 8BS). I was very disappointed with this score, but I’ll get into why I think I scored this despite all my studying in a bit.

For my 2013 exams, I used examkrackers, the Berkeley Review, AAMC practice tests/assessments, and the Princeton Review Hyperlearning Science workbook. For the first exam I took in July, I literally only used the Princeton Review Hyperlearning science workbook (my focus was on increasing my PS score). For the one I took in September, I would say that I relied mostly on the EK material, TPRH, and AAMC assessments. I do not think I practiced any verbal for either of the exams (I didn’t practice in 2008, so I thought over-practicing was decreasing my score). For the July exam my score was 20 (6VR 7PS 7BS), and for the September exam my score was a 21 (7VR 6PS 8BS).

Thoughts on each resource

I think examkrackers is pretty good if you have a firm understanding of the content. A major problem I had in undergrad was that I would just learn what I needed for the upcoming exams and then forget the material. I don’t think I really developed a firm understanding of the material in undergrad to a point where I was able to connect and tie together all the different subject matter I learned.

I thought the Berkeley Review was pretty awesome, but you really do need to take the time to go through it. Unfortunately, this was time I did not have. I do remember taking the MCAT after using TBR, and I could have sworn that I saw some of the exact same material and passages. This is why I would recommend it. A suggestion for biology would be to only do the passages and use Examkrackers for content review though.

The Princeton Review Hyperlearning science workbook was extremely helpful too. I was so focused on content review that I did not work out a lot of problems. Had I had bought this book from the start, I probably would have scored a lot higher. I received it two weeks before my exam, and since my focus was only on physics, that is what I used it for. I increased my score by a point in that short timeframe, so I would definitely say that everyone should have this resource.

I think it goes without saying that the AAMC practice tests and assessments are extremely useful because they are made by the people who create the MCAT. Nothing beats true simulated testing conditions.

Why I think I did so poorly

I would say that having too many other obligations and not focusing my energy on the test was a major part in some of my low scores. I also tended to over-study for the exams. For the MCAT that I took in 2011, I devoted 3 months to studying for the test and was doing at least 8-10 hours a day. I would come to work and study for most of the day in between doing research, and then I would come home and study until I couldn’t take it anymore. It got to a point where I couldn’t even think about the exam without becoming sick (literally). I also think that taking advanced science classes may have hurt me as well. The MCAT tests just the basics, and I think it is really easy to overthink things when you have learned more than what an introductory course teaches. I also could have benefitted from doing more practice problems instead of trying to re-learn the material. I was too busy trying to learn the material that I never really learned the test.

Final Thoughts

Overall, I am so glad that I never have to worry about the MCAT ever again! I was prepared to do a January re-take when I got my scores back a week before I received an interview, and now I have one less thing to worry about. I have met other great physicians who admit to scoring poorly on the MCAT and scoring high on the boards. This makes me wonder how indicative the MCAT is of one’s success in medical school. Only time will tell if it has a negative impact on my time in medical school though. I really wish the MCAT would not be as regarded as highly as it is, but I guess that’s life.