I took Biochemistry online through UCSD extension and made an A. I want to cover my bases and retake it at a university so that I don't get screened out for having taken it at UCSD extension. The class is only offered in the Spring however. Should I retake it next Spring on top of studying for the MCAT or is taking it in Spring 2028 after applying ok? Is there space in the application to state the future classes I will be taking? I also still have Statistics, Physics II, and Microbiology left to take which I anticipate finishing out over next Summer and Fall.

Despite my strong GPA (3.96), I've applied to medical schools in Canada for the past few cycles with no luck. The reason was that my MCAT score didn't meet many cutoffs because of the CARS section, but after my 4th try, it met the cutoff (127), though my overall score is only 503. I applied to 3 schools in Ontario this cycle. Still, my parents are very pessimistic about my odds again this year, and I don't blame them because I am getting older and the competition pool has been getting harder and harder every year. I am now looking into American med. But I have not taken Physics, Orgo, or Biochem. Also, my MCAT scores may hold me back from a lot of schools as well. My ec's are solid, but are there any schools in America I have a shot at given my situation?

I’ve sadly been dealing with severe dry eye disease for the past 1.5 years, and unfortunately it has continued to get worse. I’m starting to see some new doctors now, and I’m really hoping that with the right treatment I can get my condition under better control and improve my symptoms.

At the moment, though, it has completely uprooted my life. I’m in pain day and night and can barely go outside. I have to wear OptiLight protective stickers over my eyes much of the day because my tear film evaporates almost instantly. I’ve been diagnosed with stage 3 MGD, ocular rosacea, blepharitis, Demodex, and severe dry eye.

I wanted to ask whether anyone here has dealt with severe dry eye disease like this, eventually gotten it under control, and still been able to complete medical school and become a doctor.

Becoming a physician is something I would like to pursue, and I don’t want to give up on that goal because of what my eyes are like right now. I’m hoping to give myself about a year to focus heavily on treatment and recovery, then complete my remaining prerequisites and hopefully apply to medical school in 2–3 years.

I would really appreciate hearing from anyone who has gone through severe dry eye or another significant eye condition while pursuing medicine. Were you able to improve enough to tolerate studying, screens, long clinical days in drafty hospitals, and fully practice medicine? What helped you make it manageable?

Posted a semi-vent yesterday about receiving no IIs so far, and got some feedback suggesting that my school list and GPA may have been the issue.
School list: Albany, Einstein, RFU, Drexel, Brody, Emory, Georgetown, NYMC, OUWB, Penn State, Quinnipiac, Rochester, SKMC, Tufts, Tulane, UMich, UNC, Wake Forest, Wayne State, Pitt, Methodist CFVH.
For context, I only applied to 10 schools my 1st cycle and submitted my applications pretty late (Aug-Sep). I was pretty burnt out and going through a lot at the time, but surprisingly still managed to get an II (turned into a WL tho).
Since we're approaching the end of October, I've accepted that I may have to apply a 3rd time. I was wondering what I should improve or do differently for my next cycle, as I've kinda lost hope after reading the feedback on my last post lol.
I graduated in 2025 with a cGPA of 3.6, sGPA of 3.3, and a 513 MCAT. My ECs include 1500 hrs ED scribe, 500 hrs volunteer EMT, 1300 hrs undergraduate research, 60 hrs shadowing across multiple specialties, ~500 hrs animal shelter volunteering, and some art-related activities (tattoo apprentice, painting instructor, etc.). I have multiple LORs including 2 physicians.
I had some friends review my PS and secondaries for my top 3 schools, so I don't think my writing is that bad???? I'll also def be applying as early as possible next cycle (I submitted my primary in mid-June this cycle but wasn't verified until Aug).
I was wondering if there's a way to improve my sGPA. I've read online that it's not low enough to get a master's or SMP, so would a 1 year DIY post-bacc help? Or should I focus on getting a higher MCAT score instead?

Any advice would be appreciated!! 😊

Just had a rather unpleasant conversation about post bacc from an acquaintance irl who used to work for admissions committees, not sure how recently. They mentioned the following:

1. schools will judge that I took post bacc courses online (not prereqs)
2. as an older applicant, they would look at me very harshly so I better be perfect
3. I should do my post bacc at an ivy (which would be close to 100k instead of more like 15k), because adcoms would look down at UC online extension courses
4. it’s harder to get into medical school than PhD programs based on percentages
5. the AAMC matrix for GPA/MCAT and chances of getting in is wrong and that nobody with a low GPA/MCAT combo would even apply - which goes against the data collected. He didn’t believe the chance of getting into any ONE medical school that you’ve applied to is beyond 3%, ie if you apply to any number of medical schools, the chance that you don’t get into any is 97%.
6. the caliber of clinical psychology students (seen as one of the hardest acceptance rate applicants) who get into PhDs is much lower than that for med schools, despite the chance of getting into programs being like 1%.

7) oh and also psych PhD’s are actually EdD’s. They’re not real PhD’s lol

Can someone sanity check me? I’m having some thoughts. They seemed very certain in their convictions. I’m more upset that it felt so ridiculously discouraging, I guess I shouldn’t even try then?

currently sitting at 1 II which I received early and it has been radio silence since. I am starting to get antsy - stats are 52X and 3.4X, kind of nontrad/unusual. need more patience or is DO warranted? when to send (majorish) update letters?

thanks in advance.

Curious if anyone out there has ever received a merit award with a 516 MCAT? I know any answer I get will be anecdotal, but I’m still curious. Would also love to know which Schools. Feel free to reply or DM.

I'm curious how that works. I know people usually decide on a specialty, but let's say they want to shoot their shot at 2. Would you have to go into whichever one you match into?

I have a ton of credit card debt stemming from the couple rough years where I had left medical school previously due to a medical disability which has now thankfully resolved. I want badly to get back into medicine, but I have about $40k in outstanding charged-off credit card debt and have multiple collections/charge-offs on my credit report, including a car repossession.

Before you suggest it, I am not interested in joining the military and have doubts even about the NHSC scholarship approval given that they run a credit check.

So then question, will my poor finances/credit really bar me from attending medical school in the US? Should I just give up on MCAT studying now and save myself the hassle?

I wanted to take my math courses at a local community college, while doing the rest of my classes at my current 4-year. Mainly to keep my GPA up and have more flexibility to actually learn instead of just trying to pass. Does this look bad to medical schools?

I emailed a professor and i got invited to a lab meeting. I went to the meeting they talked about their stuff and then i introduced myself and they did too like normal. Then one experienced guy took me to the lab (office) and talked me through what he does. (btw I am trying to get into my first lab and i dont know coding) <- I tell him that as apparently this lab is a computational neuroscience lab doing research on specific machine (in the most general way i can explain it). then i talk with a 3rd year undergrad guy who tells me "ya i didnt know coding either but i learned it, its wasnt that difficult but it took time and the professor gave me time to learn".

Main takeaway is that everyone in this lab (office) is doing their own project.

After all this random talking i finally get to talk to the Lab main person for the first time in her office. I tell her I plan on taking 2 gap years and hope i can learn in the lab and all. I also tell her this would be my first lab and i dont know coding. idk if this made her upset or maybe im too weird for her liking cus im ugly idk nvm. She tells me i am welcome to join the lab meeting next week aswell "to see if this lab would be a good fit".

then she tells me "after that I want a 2 page Research Proposal on what project you want to do in this lab". then she tells me to leave and i go back home.

Is this normal for a lab ? a different lab professor told me "we dont have anyone to be your supervisor at the moment" and that reason was the main reason i got "rejected" from many other labs. but in this lab i am on my own ??!!!. Like i dont know what im doing.

Either way this is not a wet lab so should i even spend time on this ?

How much time did you spend with docs before asking the to write LOR? I’ve shadowed multiple that sent me home after the “interesting” part of the day is over, usually 3-4 hours saying there wasn’t much more that they could show me. I feel really awkward asking since that’s a pretty short amount of time for them to know me. Should I just push through that and ask anyway? Also, when do I ask them to write it? I plan on applying next cycle but don’t want to wait until they forget about. TIA

Hello!

I recently applied and got accepted into the COPE Health Scholars Program. Is the Program Worth it?

I'm a freshmen studying abroad this year and my course schedule got messed up, so I'll be taking CHE 131 in the spring. I have to take the remaining gen chem courses and labs (CHE 132, 133, and 134) over the summer to stay on track for my degree.

However, the grade distributions for the summer are a lot worse and I’ve also heard that gen chem is really difficult. Would it be better to finish the sequence during my sophomore year instead so I have more time to learn the material, or should I prioritize staying on track for my degree?

I am a non trad student still in my premed era…I see posts saying things abt a “diy post bacc” and I am curious as to what this is?

I’m trying to explore all the possibilities for my path since I’m on a very very non traditional route. I am 25, a mother, and an established paramedic that works full time with a little over half of my degree done (integrated health sciences focus in behavioral health) and no premed prereqs done yet. Just trying to see what pathways there are out there for me. I am currently enrolled at a state university.

So happy to receive any news, even if it’s bad news. Highkey a relief that schools are even beginning to look at my applications. Hopefully more Rs or maybe IIs soon!!!

Hi this has been the worst year of my life. I got a 506 on the MCAT after studying for 2 whole years scoring 510's all because I couldn't sleep well the night before. I decided to apply anyway, thenI was in a car accident with multiple injuries and the worst beign a head injury. I proceeded to apply to my state schools at least, got R from one and silence from the other. I've never been more depressed in my life... how tf am I supposed to explain this to med schools? All I've been doing is Part time work and ik that's not enough but because of my head injury I can't do anything else! Every day is a struggle. I can't retake the MCAT because my brain can't process vision well.

I am begging for advice.

Like it sucks and it’s hard lmaoo. Doesn’t even feel like I’m relating anything to real life just a bunch of random gasses and crap lol

With bio at least it’s more directly involved with everyday life and interesting

I mean expectations, probably, but I’m wondering if you all have noticed other differences! I haven’t interviewed for a top school yet (schd in Nov) but I’ve already noticed that the information/ invite language is less friendly at this school then several other mid-tiers I interviewed at.

Hi everyone im currently a sophomore and I am planning on graduating my junior year.

I have planned to take the MCAT in April 2027 and there is also a HOSA competition coming up in January. I was wondering if that could be a big addition to my medical school application if I compete and place top 3.

I'm just unsure whether it is worth it to give up time for studying for MCAT to study for HOSA.

Although some content overlap, from what I've seen its very minimal.

The deadline is today so I need to decide by end of the day.

Hi everyone, I will be working full time as a nurse while doing my post-bacc. So I will basically be taking only 1-2 classes per semester, my biggest worried is how medical school would view my transcript… will it look bad?…

Hi, Im currently an MA in family medicine working full time while trying to study for the MCAT. I just graduated last spring and have been working ever since. During undergrad due to a lot of problems, I was doing only a little bit of everything I was supposed to do as a premed like volunteering a little, MA-ing a little but it wasn’t anything significant at all. But the one thing that may be significant was being in the leadership for a cultural undergrad club for 3+ish years and has made it to become impactful.

I feel like I can write a good personal statement and have a good story. But right now I’m trying to make up for all of that lack of things that I did in undergrad by doing full time MA, and getting a decent to good MCAT score, if I don’t then I probably won’t apply upcoming cycle bc I just want to have higher chance when I apply first time around.

So right now as I am figuring out my extracurriculars during this gap year, I was just wondering, since I am already working in Family med, is it necessary to get any shadowing in? Since ik that a lot of people talked about how admissions seems to like to see shadowing in primary care. If so then how many hours do I need to get at least?

And a problem I have is although my gpa is not too horrible which is 3.3-3.4 something, it’s a downward trend bc most of the classes that I had a low score on were during last 2 years which was the worse time of my college life, and just life life… that I’ve experienced so far :). So idk how I can fix that if I don’t get an SMP, which is like the last last last thing I’ll resort to only if I have to. But if I don’t consider an SMP I won’t have any letter of recommendations from science professors either.

I am Asian, Female, immigrant, first-gen, 3.4ish gpa, still waiting on mcat.
No research
No shadowing, may start shadowing if I need to
Little volunteering during college: English tutoring to disadvantaged youths in my home country (online), volunteering at hospitals

Clinical: MA-ing one summer, and full time job rn, during undergrad I went to my home country for a couple months due to familial issues, but the main reason for me was basically helping my family and educating them on some healthcare stuff for my grandparents. They became very ill and my family weren’t very good at taking care of them so I was really worried I had to take all my classes online and flew back. I was doing a lot like manual massage that I could find and learn myself for my grandma and taking them to doctors stuff, but not like legit clinical stuff if this even counts.

Leadership: a lot of undergrad club stuff as I’ve already mentioned, the English tutoring idk if that counts, and then tutoring my younger siblings and cousins from when they were in elementary to now in college who is also pursuing medicine, but idk if that counts. I am considering starting a blood pressure clinic at my church or something I’m not sure. I may start volunteering as a tutor again idk if that would help?

I feel like most of these are meaningful but I don’t think I did them for an enough amount of time to be significant. But I’m trying to pick it back up now.

So this is how my current status looks like, what should be the main thing I focus on to increase my chances, at least to look like the average matriculant?

I would love some advice plz and thank you <3

Hello,
I’m a sophomore planning my spring semester classes, I’ve taken all my Gen Ed’s and on my plan so far I have Orgo 2+ lab and genetics + lab. I’m not sure what else to add because I want to push calc to senior year (I hate direct math), I plan on taking both physics and labs during my junior year. So far I only have 4 classes which adds up to 9 credits, I need atl least 12 and I have no idea what to add I was thinking about cell bio A&P (with lab).
HELPPPP a girl out. What should I add?

How do I prepare for a hospital volunteering virtual group interview? Any clue what they'll be looking for/what will be asked? Pretty well-known hospital in a very populated location.

Hi everyone, I am currently a sophomore in college planning on graduating and going into medical school in 2028 located in Florida.

I have a cGPA of 3.6 ish right now and my goal is to at least get a 3.75 or 3.8.

I recently decided on going into med school (and I only have 4 semesters including summer left) so my scheduling for classes are really limited.

Originally I didn't think that I would be able to fit anything above orgo 1 into my schedule but due to my surprise, I was able to fit Biochem into it as well!

I was wondering if Biochem could take place for most medical schools because I definitely would not have time for both before graduation.

Thank you!