Ask Dr. Gray: Premed Q&A

This premed has transferred schools a couple of times. They want to know if that's going to reflect negatively on them.

This premed is experiencing some imposter syndrome. They want to make sure they haven't blown their chance!

This premed had a low freshman GPA, but since then they've been doing really well. They want to know if that low freshman GPA will have a negative effect on their application.

This Nurse Practitioner turned premed wants to know how to navigate secondaries as a NP.

This nontrad premed experienced a few unfortunate events that have made their path much more difficult. They want to know what path there is forward.

This student considers himself to be a horrible test taker. He wants to know what strategies to take with studying for the MCAT.

This student wants to know if he is going to need a postbac or not based on his current stats.

After graduating with a degree in English, this student realized that she wanted to be a doctor. Will community college be enough for her prereqs?

This student needs to prove her academic ability. At the same time, she's interested in pursuing a master's program focused on public health.

This student wants to know if working as a medical interpreter can be considered clinical experience.

This student is struggling to decide if they should include a health issue on their application because they aren't sure if adcoms will take it well.

This high school student is interested in exploring the BSMD route, she wants to know what steps she needs to take and if it's right for her.

These reapplicant has decided to apply to all three application services, they want to get some clarification on the requirements each of them have.

This student's GPA is all over the place. They're taking an SMP but they're worried that won't be enough to show med schools that they're academically capable. What should they do?

This student went to community college before they attended a four-year university. They want to know if they need to retake the prereqs they took in community college.

This student needs to reapply to med school and retake the MCAT. They already have a standing MCAT score. They want to know when it's too late for them to retake the test.

This student has taken the MCAT three times and hasn't done too well. They're worried that if they take it again it will be a red flag to medical schools.

This student is a junior with no extracurricular experience, can they catch up in time?

This student has had terrible luck with their MCAT scores. They are sure they will get rejected, but they want to apply anyways. What should they do?

This student had an okay score on the MCAT, but it wasn't amazing. They want to know if retaking could hurt their chances.

This student had to retake the MCAT multiple times, they want to know if it's something they should address in their application.

This student wants to go the MD/PhD route, but they're worried about their clinical experience not being in the same field as their research.

This student decided to hit pause after receiving a devastating MCAT score. They want to know if they made the right decision and what they should do now that they have a surprise gap year on their hands.

This student needs help navigating the fine line between bragging and showing what she's learned.

This student had some struggles and a gap year, and now they are worried that medical schools will think they aren't capable.

This dual-enrolled 9th grader wants to know if taking his premed classes at community college would potentially hurt his chances of getting into medical school.

This student is worried about being able to submit her application on time because she's going to an ROTC camp without internet access for most of July.

This premed wants to share their personal experience with their daughter's mental health crisis in their personal statement, but she isn't sure how medical schools will respond.

This non-traditional student wants to know if their personal statement and activities show the whole picture of who she is as an applicant.

This student has a history of bad grades but they've been able to turn it around. They want to know if their past will affect their application.

This young applicant wants to know how they can outweigh their age in their medical school application.

This student has an okay but not great GPA trend and MCAT score. They want to know if retaking the MCAT would improve their chances.

This student who has a history of struggling with school wants to know if it's okay to put extracurriculars off so they can focus on one thing at a time.

This student wants to know if research experience has to have a clear application in order to be useful when he applies to an amnesty program.

This student wants to know if her 300 hours of clinical experience is enough as a MD/PhD applicant.

This DACA student wants to know how to build a good school list that reflects their specific needs.

This nurse practitioner premed needs help with forming her personal statement and answering the question, why do you want to be a doctor?

This student struggled with getting the score they needed from the MCAT after taking it twice, and now they don't know where to go from there.

This international student wants to know if they can follow the traditional application timeline or if they won't be able to because of their international status.

This nontraditional student wants to know if it makes sense to stagger applications.

Walk through editing and reviewing a disadvantaged essay with Dr. Gray.

This nontraditional student wants to know how to navigate being a full time worker and student.

This nontraditional Canadian student's GPA wasn't great. He wants to know what he can do to improve his overall application.

This music major premed is very busy. They want to know what they can possibly do to squeeze in clinical hours during the school year.

This premed wants to know where he can find guidance as a nontraditional student.