MD sGPA <3.5, cGPA <3.6, MCAT 38Q

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Hi everyone,

Not exactly sure what my AMCAS GPA will be (waiting for verification), but it should come out to just under 3.6. There is an upward trend in my grades but it hasn't been exactly linear. I've been out of school for a few years working in a health-related field, but I lack some of the more traditional ECs (e.g. research, shadowing). Looking at major metropolitan areas due to my partner's work. I'll already be applying to a ton of schools due to my split (e.g. Georgetown, Tufts, USC), and I'm wondering if the schools below are just a little too ambitious. I would be an out-of-state applicant for all of the following:

1) Chicago (Pritzker)
2) Harvard
3) Johns Hopkins
4) Columbia
5) UCLA
6) UCSF
7) Cornell
8) Stanford
9) Northwestern
10) NYU
11) Mount Sinai
12) Yeshiva
13) Baylor
14) Texas - Southwestern
15) Texas - Galveston
16) Loma Linda

Which do you think I have a serious shot at, and which would you cut? Thanks in advance.

X

With your GPA some of them are def ambitious. Your state residency will also affect some of them. You should definitely add some safeties.

I had moderately similar stats. Provided you have kickass EC's you still have a shot at some of the top tier schools. I still had trouble getting interviews, but wound up at my top choice institution anyway.

I applied with comparable stats and I'm attending a top 20, but that will be pretty difficult without any research at all. The list you put in your OP is very top heavy. The Cali and Texas schools are not good bets for OOS and are easy to cut. Read Loma Linda's lifestyle agreement and be okay with it before applying. If you don't have extensive volunteering, drop Georgetown. If you still need to drop more, start cutting schools where your cGPA and/or sGPA is below the 10th percentile listed in the MSAR -- it definitely will be for some of the Ivys. You can also look up in the MSAR how many matriculants at a given school had research experience and drop schools where the percentage is very high (Stanford and UCSF both have percentages near 100%, I believe). Make sure you include some mid and low tier schools.

A more detailed list of your ECs would help with chances. Depending on what all you lack (such as clinical experience), you might have serious problems. If the rest of your app is interesting, given your excellent MCAT, your GPA won't hold you back too much.

Hi everyone,

Thanks for the replies. Very helpful. Changed my list based on your suggestions (took into account percentage of accepted applicants with research experience, 10th percentile GPA, etc.). Aside from research I believe I do have decent ECs and significant clinical experience.

Here is my updated list:

- Brown
- Cornell
- Columbia
- Emory
- Georgetown
- George Washington
- Hofstra North Shore
- Mount Sinai
- NYU
- Tufts
- UCSF
- USC
- UT - San Antonio
- UT - Southwestern
- Yeshiva

Also applying to schools in my state where I should be competitive (OOS for all of the above), and considering adding to the list Boston, Duke, Miami, Northwestern, Rush.

Thanks again for your help.