Anonymous wrote:OP here. PA school might work. I dread the day she realizes Med School is not an option. Have med schools always been this competitive?

There is no way that you are realizing this before her. Trust me, any biology major (my daughter is one) is surrounded by pre-health professional students who are very grade conscious. Most colleges (all?) have advisors who specialize in health admissions, so they would have talking to her all along.

I would not bring it up if I was you. She is likely grappling with her low likelihood of being admitted to med school, and contemplating various Plan B's. Some kids go into public health or research for example. There are LEGIONS of kids in her shoes. She is an adult and will deal with this disappointment. If she REALLY wants it, she may find a way to improve her GPA. But, it is not a problem you can solve for her. Or a fight you can fight for her. Her future is in her hands. Just support her. Let her know that you have faith in her ability to find a happy, fulfilling path forward.

(PS-ironically, she may have done better at a less prestigious school. Stood out more to her teachers or felt more confident. But that will never be known. Prestige of undergrad school is not that important for med school. GPA is king. At this point, you should just support her in her journey. )

Talk to MedEdits.com

They can tell her her honest chances.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, I'm not sure if you are still checking your thread, but I wanted to let you know that there is still hope for your daughter to get into a decent medical school with a 3.2 GPA as long as she scores very high score on the MCAT, has a good essay and good interview.

If you google images for 'MCAT GPA' and you will find several charts denoting the accepts rates with GPA/MCAT ratios.

Few examples below:
https://www.aamc.org/media/6091/download
https://www.reddit.com/r/Mcat/comments/6sedus/mcat_and_gpa_grid_for_acceptance_rate_to_us/

I am so surprised that no one provided you with this information. You are very fortunate your daughter knows exactly what she wants to do. Please continue to encourage your daughter to pursue her dream to go to medical school.

Thank you for posting these links! I'm not the OP but have a senior who has wanted to be a physician since he was 10. The last two years have been such a slog and now that he has been accepted at college, I'd love for him to actually have a life while also pursuing a pre-med path. My wish for him would be a college 3.5 gpa + FUN because the whole path is so long and arduous.

Make sure he has a backup plan. No snarks.

Anonymous wrote:OP, I'm not sure if you are still checking your thread, but I wanted to let you know that there is still hope for your daughter to get into a decent medical school with a 3.2 GPA as long as she scores very high score on the MCAT, has a good essay and good interview.

If you google images for 'MCAT GPA' and you will find several charts denoting the accepts rates with GPA/MCAT ratios.

Few examples below:
https://www.aamc.org/media/6091/download
https://www.reddit.com/r/Mcat/comments/6sedus/mcat_and_gpa_grid_for_acceptance_rate_to_us/

I am so surprised that no one provided you with this information. You are very fortunate your daughter knows exactly what she wants to do. Please continue to encourage your daughter to pursue her dream to go to medical school.

Thank you for posting these links! I'm not the OP but have a senior who has wanted to be a physician since he was 10. The last two years have been such a slog and now that he has been accepted at college, I'd love for him to actually have a life while also pursuing a pre-med path. My wish for him would be a college 3.5 gpa + FUN because the whole path is so long and arduous.

Anonymous wrote:OP, I'm not sure if you are still checking your thread, but I wanted to let you know that there is still hope for your daughter to get into a decent medical school with a 3.2 GPA as long as she scores very high score on the MCAT, has a good essay and good interview.

If you google images for 'MCAT GPA' and you will find several charts denoting the accepts rates with GPA/MCAT ratios.

Few examples below:
https://www.aamc.org/media/6091/download
https://www.reddit.com/r/Mcat/comments/6sedus/mcat_and_gpa_grid_for_acceptance_rate_to_us/

I am so surprised that no one provided you with this information. You are very fortunate your daughter knows exactly what she wants to do. Please continue to encourage your daughter to pursue her dream to go to medical school.

While technically correct, this is really a loooooooooooong shot even with "IF...." assumptions.

OP, I'm not sure if you are still checking your thread, but I wanted to let you know that there is still hope for your daughter to get into a decent medical school with a 3.2 GPA as long as she scores very high score on the MCAT, has a good essay and good interview.

If you google images for 'MCAT GPA' and you will find several charts denoting the accepts rates with GPA/MCAT ratios.

Few examples below:
https://www.aamc.org/media/6091/download
https://www.reddit.com/r/Mcat/comments/6sedus/mcat_and_gpa_grid_for_acceptance_rate_to_us/

I am so surprised that no one provided you with this information. You are very fortunate your daughter knows exactly what she wants to do. Please continue to encourage your daughter to pursue her dream to go to medical school.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would suggest posting more generally for what LACs are a good path to medical school. I have seen discussions on this subject on here in the past but the names of the schools escape me. There are some mid tier LACs that really excel at this. I also have read discussions re Elon being strong for pre med and it gives good merit aid to strong students.

Why does it have to be an LAC?

My kid is not interested in pre-med, but he is looking at Muhlenberg College and they claim a 87% admission rate to medical school.

In an earlier thread, I mentioned that some colleges decide who they will support in the med school application process. This protects the school’s success rate. If the school doesn’t think your GPA and MCAT and medical extra curriculars are strong enough, they won’t support your application. Professor’s recommendations are required for your application.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would suggest posting more generally for what LACs are a good path to medical school. I have seen discussions on this subject on here in the past but the names of the schools escape me. There are some mid tier LACs that really excel at this. I also have read discussions re Elon being strong for pre med and it gives good merit aid to strong students.

Elon has an excellent cadaver lab. My DD graduated from Elon, and during her med school anatomy classes, she felt that she had a great advantage from her previous exposure.
The science faculty is outstanding. Elon has a nursing school, PA school, and PT school, so the science resources are overall great.

DD is currently a second year surgery resident. She got in to several med schools during her first application cycle (no gap year).

Congrats on your DD! Is she seeing more women going into surgery?

She should get strong clinical experience. She could maybe get into D.O. school. People look down on it, but they are great schools.

Anonymous wrote:I would suggest posting more generally for what LACs are a good path to medical school. I have seen discussions on this subject on here in the past but the names of the schools escape me. There are some mid tier LACs that really excel at this. I also have read discussions re Elon being strong for pre med and it gives good merit aid to strong students.

Elon has an excellent cadaver lab. My DD graduated from Elon, and during her med school anatomy classes, she felt that she had a great advantage from her previous exposure.
The science faculty is outstanding. Elon has a nursing school, PA school, and PT school, so the science resources are overall great.

DD is currently a second year surgery resident. She got in to several med schools during her first application cycle (no gap year).

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would suggest posting more generally for what LACs are a good path to medical school. I have seen discussions on this subject on here in the past but the names of the schools escape me. There are some mid tier LACs that really excel at this. I also have read discussions re Elon being strong for pre med and it gives good merit aid to strong students.

Why does it have to be an LAC?

My kid is not interested in pre-med, but he is looking at Muhlenberg College and they claim a 87% admission rate to medical school.

And?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would suggest posting more generally for what LACs are a good path to medical school. I have seen discussions on this subject on here in the past but the names of the schools escape me. There are some mid tier LACs that really excel at this. I also have read discussions re Elon being strong for pre med and it gives good merit aid to strong students.

Why does it have to be an LAC?

My kid is not interested in pre-med, but he is looking at Muhlenberg College and they claim a 87% admission rate to medical school.

This entire thread is a joke, right?

Anonymous wrote:I would suggest posting more generally for what LACs are a good path to medical school. I have seen discussions on this subject on here in the past but the names of the schools escape me. There are some mid tier LACs that really excel at this. I also have read discussions re Elon being strong for pre med and it gives good merit aid to strong students.

Why does it have to be an LAC?

Anonymous wrote:You realize you still need to take bio x2, gen chem x2, organic chem, physics, and often calc to be able to apply to medical school, right? and that your science and pre-req gpa is HEAVILY considered in admissions?

Exactly, the kid can major in basket weaving but have to have the prerequisites to apply to med school which is why those courses “weed out” the people who will never get in. You need As in all the prerequisites to get in anywhere in the USA nowadays….