Absolutely 100% yes! In this post, I share tips on how to strengthen your medical school application despite having a lower GPA and MCAT score. However, this does not mean that it is easy. With lower stats, you will have to work much harder than your peers. Every other aspect of your application has to be perfected as much as possible. You will have to take extra steps that others don’t have to take just because of their scores. Yes, it isn’t fair. But unfortunately, that is the nature of the beast!
My Overall GPA: 3.51
My MCAT score: 507
Before applying, I consulted with an admissions counselor about how to maximize my chances with medical school. He literally only asked about my SAT, MCAT, and GPA, then said I probably have a 20% chance of getting in. Then he because I’m from California, my chances I’d have to cut that into half. He said I had a 10% chance.
Well, what premed advisers seem to fail to understand is that there’s more to it than just scores.
Pre-meds with disadvantaged backgrounds, scroll to bottom for more tips 🙂
1. Apply early. Submit your app ASAP.
- THIS IS CRUCIAL because the admissions process is on a ROLLING basis! I can’t speak to how important this is for this cycle in light of COVID, but it probably wouldn’t hurt to submit your app early (if it is ready).
- As time passes, there will be less spots for interviews (although I’ve heard this varies by school).
- I literally (I mean literally) submitted my app the first day it opened. The app portal will open about a month before you can submit, which means you have plenty of time to prepare it for submission. Take advantage!
2. Apply broadly to both MD and DO schools, but research the mission of the school.
- I wanted to go into primary care (still do), so I applied to almost as many D.O. schools as M.D. schools. Total: 44 programs, 20 DO and 24 MD.
- If you are not interested in primary care, you CAN STILL apply to DO schools! I have heard from residency directors that they find that the most compassionate surgeons have D.O. backgrounds. Having a DO degree doesn’t mean you can’t pursue competitive surgical specialties.
- DO schools have lower GPA and MCAT requirements, but that doesn’t mean you can’t be a good physician. It’s still a good route to take if you are truly passionate about medicine. Many students enjoy learning about OMM (osteopathic manipulative medicine) and the holistic approach.
- For the M.D. schools that I did apply to, I wanted to make sure their mission aligned with mine. Most schools look for certain students.
- Example: UC Riverside’s focus is primary care. Other schools are PhD/research driven.
- To maximize your chances, you should only invest your time into schools that you can see yourself going to.
- Likewise, schools will highly consider your application if your application’s theme matches their mission.
3. Be intentional about your work & activities.
- To strengthen your application, you will need genuine clinical and extracurricular experiences that you deeply care about.
- Try to find your niche! For me it was geriatrics, so I worked as a scribe/MA for geriatric clinic and volunteered in senior homes.
- The length and quality of your extracurricular involvements is more important than the quantity. Schools like to see your commitment! SO important! Do not spread yourself too thin.
- I strongly believe that my extracurriculars carried my entire application. I mean, just look at my scores! There is no right answer to “what experiences should I seek?” because it’s different for everyone, since we all have different passions and interests! I encourage you to find that and then stick with it. Make something your niche and that will help you stand out tremendously.
- The work/activities section is sort of like a resume, but you should start each bullet/sentence with an active verb that is more engaging than a resume (e.g. engaged in, pitched, facilitated instead of simply “worked”)
- EXTREMELY IMPORTANT: Choose your 3 most meaningful activities WISELY! Then treat it like a mini personal statement.
- Everything that applies in writing your PS applies here, only it is much harder because you have less space to work with. The PS is already hard enough to shorten, so I struggled with this.
- Show, don’t tell. Example: instead of just saying “I enjoyed chatting with lonely seniors”, I briefly described an interaction I had with a specific senior. “Ron had lost more than his vision and memory. He lost his dog and wife several years ago. Being able to partially fill that void gave me a sense of warmth and purpose”.
- I would recommend one of your activities be non-clinical because I think it helps you stand out.
4. Avoid the tsunami of secondary essays by pre-writing them and submit early.
- Pre-write them by looking up the prompts from previous years (I used SDN I think)
- I kid you not, I pre-wrote almost ALL of my secondaries before they even came in and submitted them back within 1-2 days.
- Submit early because most schools are rolling admissions!
- Don’t forget to adjust your essay if the prompt has changed.
- Apply the same strategies you would for your PS and Most Meaningful essays (such as the show, don’t tell).
5. Perfect that personal statement as best as you can.
- Not gonna lie, but I think my personal statement was one of the reasons why I got into medical school as well, same as what got me into college (my SAT score was below average as well. I am not good at standardized tests)
- A strong personal statement is the best way to stand out! See my guide on writing these.
- I received a TON of help on my PS. To pay it forward, I’d be happy to help you with yours. Message me on my Instagram account and we can chat!
- In brief:
- Show, don’t tell.
- Have a theme and a book-ending, something that ties each paragraph together.
- Personal statement should be PERSONAL and make a STATEMENT!
- It is not a resume.
- Do not use these words/phrases: empathy, superhero, “I want to help people”, passion, sparked.
- Active, not passive voice.
5. Upward GPA trend.
- Grades don’t make or break you, but it’s important that your grades are trending up (improving consistently each semester/quarter). The admissions committee will view your application more positively and note that you have the potential to learn, improve, and grow.
- Due to poor stress management and my background as a first-gen, I struggled during my first two years. I was working 25 hours a week to pay for tuition and I had zero mentors to help me through the college experience, much less the journey to medical school.
- But joining a pre-health/pre-med fraternity helped me out of that.
- My GPA average during my freshman and sophomore years hovered about 3.0-3.2, but during my junior and senior years, even while taking upper level courses, my GPA was consistently above 3.7-3.8.
- If your grades are trending down, unfortunately you may have to consider boosting your academic record by enrolling in a post-baccalaureate program or master’s.
- There is NOTHING wrong with this! I know many people who did this. It will just take you a little longer, but if you know medicine is what you want and you cannot imagine yourself in any other field, it is worth it. Many of my classmates are in their late 20s and early 30s with kids!
- Completing a post bacc program is a great idea because it will not only demonstrate your maturity and knowledge, but it will show schools that your undergraduate grades aren’t reflective of your true potential and you can handle the rigor of medical school.
- With that said, you do have to perform well in the program for it to be worth it!
6. Take gap years if you need to!
- Don’t be afraid to take gap years to strengthen your app. Believe it or not, most people have taken 1-3 gap years before med school! It is not too late! The average age of medical school matriculants is between 24 – 26 now.
- If you don’t get in the first time, then you can reapply, but you have to ask yourself if you want to go through the entire application process again. It’s time consuming, expensive, and emotionally draining!
- For me, money was tight so I couldn’t afford to retake the MCAT or reapply, which is why I made sure to give it my all the first time around – I think it paid off!
Tips specifically for students with disadvantaged backgrounds (low-income, first-generation college graduate, minority, homeless background, foster, etc.)
- Submit everything as early as possible! This may not be as important for other students who have perfect GPAs and MCAT scores or those who come from different backgrounds than ours, but controlling the timeline was what helped me the most.
- Apply for AAMC’s Fee Assistance Program to help with the financial costs of applying.
- Most people spend about $3000-4000, but I ended up spending about half of that because of the FAP.
- The FAP also allows you free access to the MSAR (medical school admissions requirements) which you can use to research missions and requirements of each school.
- Take the time to tell your story in the disadvantaged section! It’s okay to be vulnerable here, but don’t overdo it.
- Consider D.O. schools, especially if you want to go into primary care. But regardless of specialty, if the holistic philosophy resonates with you, you will definitely fit in!
- Researching the missions is so important! You want to apply to schools that are looking for students like YOU!
- Example: Howard University seeks students who want to work with underserved communities and health disparities.
As always, feel free to contact me if you have any questions! Here to help. I’m more active on Instagram, email works too!
With lobe,
Kelly
Thank you for all your helpful posts! They help so many premeds that are fighting for this dream. You’re amazing!
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No problem I’m so happy you found my blog!