Gaining Admission to Medical School: Factors & Credentials

[xeno_fc]

Please list the relevant factors needed. Or those of you who already got in maybe you should show off your credentials?

I'm coming from an engineering (electrical) so it appears the work has been cut out:

GPA : 2.5 Cumulative GPA in 3rd year college engineering (it was 4.0 in first year)
Bio course: Planning on taking one or two biology courses
MCAT: MCAT hasn't been taken yet
Extra curric.: 6-month shift work at a hospital

 

[206PiruBlood]

GPA is a critical aspect of your medical school application.

 

[Moonbear]

The requirements for getting into med school are generally pretty straightforward, and the same for pretty much all of them. A full year of general biology with lab, a full year of general chemistry with lab, a full year of physics with lab, a full year of organic chemistry with lab, English composition of some sort I think, and I think genetics or biochemistry. The more additional biology courses, the easier it will be. And, you also need to show you can do more than just study for classes. You'll need extracurricular activities (preferably in a health or service oriented organization), and strong letters of reference.

With such a low GPA, you're going to need an absolutely outstanding MCAT score. Med schools rarely look at people with GPAs below a 3.0, and even those under about 3.3 don't get much consideration without really strong letters of recommendation or super-high MCAT scores to make them think there was something in the grades that wasn't representative of your abilities. And of course you need to be able to handle the interviews well.

 

[Medwell]

The others are right, you are going to have some trouble with that GPA. What you could consider doing is a post-bac program; I've heard of many people doing this to enhance their application. Many schools offer something like a non-research, 1-year master's degree in microbiology or public health, for example. Although the undergraduate GPA will always remain, it kind of gives you a "new" GPA for them to go by.

 

[wobblebase]

A friend of mine recently got accepted to UT Southwestern Medical School. As far as the credentials he had:

4.0 GPA with Summa Cum Laude Honors
Undergraduate Research/Thesis
Physician Shadowing Every Summer
MCAT score of 36(don't remember the writing sample grade)
Letters from 2 Physicians and Undergraduate Advisor

He was exceptionally qualified in my opinion; I know of classmates that have gotten in with considerably less impressive accomplishments. Your application is going to factor in all of these variables. A deficiency in one will not rule you out, but a deficiency in more than one will really hurt your chances.

As others have said, your GPA is going to hurt you a great deal. You need to really try to boost it as much as possible. The prereqs Moonbear listed are essential and all med schools require them. You need to do your best to get an A in all of them. You also need to take as many science courses as you possibly can. The better foundation you have going in the more success you will have while there. Your MCAT score will most likely make or break you in your current situation. When preparing you will have to spend enormous amounts of time. The friend I just talked about spent 6 hours a day all summer long preparing and still felt like he could have done more.

Don't be discouraged. While you do have your work cut out for you, it certainly isn't impossible. Medwell gave some very good advice. If your UG GPA is still low, enter a Master's program. Two students at my school did just that after getting rejected from Med School and later got in after having a very good Graduate GPA. You have a long way to go, but it's something that can be accomplished. Good luck.