Howdy,
I wanted to see if anyone here had any perspective on how medical schools view a situation like mine; personal experience would be valuable. In summary my early college years were plagued with a lack of direction, addiction, and failure. I took some time off, became focused, and was incredibly successful inside and outside of the classroom upon returning to school. I will list my experiences and concerns to make things easy. My experiences and overcoming challenges contribute to my desire to become an M.D. I will not get into everything in detail but a general outline would be physiological disease appears -> self medication and failure at first undergraduate attempt -> medical withdrawal, road leading myself to rehab, exit rehab, found treatment for said medical issue (finding treatment took years; almost all doctor gave me meds and blew me off) -> second attempt at undergraduate studies with great success
1. My first attempt at School: earned 51 hours over 3 years, 2.15 cGPA, no sGPA, suspension one semester, withdrawal final semester. Suspension due to conduct case involving Alcohol, Drugs schedule III-VI possession and use (marijuana), and weapons-non firearm (swiss army tinker and backpacking knife; tools in my opinion).
2. Between my the time of taking my medical withdrawal and rehab I was essentially homeless and was charged and convicted for misdemeanor shoplifting (6 years ago). This led to events that ultimately landed me in rehab for narcotic pain medication abuse and marijuana abuse.
3. After completing rehab and managing work and life expenses I enrolled in a different University. 42 of my previous credits transferred. My final GPA upon graduating at this university was listed as a 3.85. This GPA did not factor in my transfer GPA which was a 2.65. Counting my transfer GPA my cGPA is a 3.44 with a sGPA of 3.86. At this university I worked as a paid lab assistant for 2 years and was a member of multiple honors societies. I also worked ~30 hours a week as a restaurant server. This job allowed me to manage my school and work schedule and paid very well so I could manage finances. During one summer I attended a paid NSF REU internship focusing on plant pathology for 10 weeks. I feel like my extracurricular experiences are limited during this time. For one winter I volunteered with a homeless health clinic as well.
4. I graduated in May 2017. I quit the restaurant industry and have decided to devote all off my time to service and to find a job that would be more attractive for medical schools. I have not taken the MCAT. I want to have an extremely competitive resume that could counterbalance my faults before taking the MCAT and applying to schools. I would like to dedicate 1-2 years to this process. Here is what I am thinking/working on:
How many hours should I shoot for with shadowing?
Have I left anything out of my plan?
My main concern is my past hindering my future. Does anyone have experience with a similar situation? Where you overcame obstacles that had to be disclosed to admissions teams. What were your experiences? How are applicants of my standing considered?
I am currently 27, will age be an inhibiting factor with admissions?
thank you for the help!
-Chuck
I wanted to see if anyone here had any perspective on how medical schools view a situation like mine; personal experience would be valuable. In summary my early college years were plagued with a lack of direction, addiction, and failure. I took some time off, became focused, and was incredibly successful inside and outside of the classroom upon returning to school. I will list my experiences and concerns to make things easy. My experiences and overcoming challenges contribute to my desire to become an M.D. I will not get into everything in detail but a general outline would be physiological disease appears -> self medication and failure at first undergraduate attempt -> medical withdrawal, road leading myself to rehab, exit rehab, found treatment for said medical issue (finding treatment took years; almost all doctor gave me meds and blew me off) -> second attempt at undergraduate studies with great success
1. My first attempt at School: earned 51 hours over 3 years, 2.15 cGPA, no sGPA, suspension one semester, withdrawal final semester. Suspension due to conduct case involving Alcohol, Drugs schedule III-VI possession and use (marijuana), and weapons-non firearm (swiss army tinker and backpacking knife; tools in my opinion).
2. Between my the time of taking my medical withdrawal and rehab I was essentially homeless and was charged and convicted for misdemeanor shoplifting (6 years ago). This led to events that ultimately landed me in rehab for narcotic pain medication abuse and marijuana abuse.
3. After completing rehab and managing work and life expenses I enrolled in a different University. 42 of my previous credits transferred. My final GPA upon graduating at this university was listed as a 3.85. This GPA did not factor in my transfer GPA which was a 2.65. Counting my transfer GPA my cGPA is a 3.44 with a sGPA of 3.86. At this university I worked as a paid lab assistant for 2 years and was a member of multiple honors societies. I also worked ~30 hours a week as a restaurant server. This job allowed me to manage my school and work schedule and paid very well so I could manage finances. During one summer I attended a paid NSF REU internship focusing on plant pathology for 10 weeks. I feel like my extracurricular experiences are limited during this time. For one winter I volunteered with a homeless health clinic as well.
4. I graduated in May 2017. I quit the restaurant industry and have decided to devote all off my time to service and to find a job that would be more attractive for medical schools. I have not taken the MCAT. I want to have an extremely competitive resume that could counterbalance my faults before taking the MCAT and applying to schools. I would like to dedicate 1-2 years to this process. Here is what I am thinking/working on:
- I am currently volunteering at a no kill animal shelter. I plan on continuing this as I enjoy it. The kitties are adorable.
- I am in the process of becoming an assistant scout leader. I had a great experience scouting, am experienced, and want to give back.
- I will be shadowing a doctor starting in December at a a health center for the underserved.
- I am applying to volunteer at this health center (likely not clinical).
- I am going to be a compeer for a local mental health provider. I will hang out with patients 2-4 times a month.
- I will be involved with 1-2 overseas trips in the next two years with four doctors that diagnose patients that need priority surgeries. Due to differing laws I could have some hands on experience here.
- I want a paid job.
How many hours should I shoot for with shadowing?
Have I left anything out of my plan?
My main concern is my past hindering my future. Does anyone have experience with a similar situation? Where you overcame obstacles that had to be disclosed to admissions teams. What were your experiences? How are applicants of my standing considered?
I am currently 27, will age be an inhibiting factor with admissions?
thank you for the help!
-Chuck
