*^~*~^* The Official What Are My Chances/Where to Apply Thread

Discover Your Odds of Getting into Medical School
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lsk87

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wow nobody seems to want to reply....i guess this isn't a good sign
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lsk87 said:
hi guys, i'm REAAAAALLLLY freaking out here

i'm currently a sophomore with junior status, so i have one year to fix this..but i have:

overall GPA: 3.584
science gpa: 3.33

but i still have ochem 2, ochem lab, microbio, cell bio, physics 2, and 4 more biologies to finish before i graduate... i plan on taking my mcat next summer

i have a couple leadership positions, have done some volunteer work in the past, plan on doing some more next summer as well as shadowing, and also did clinical rotations in high school

do i even stand a chance in american medical schools?
or any texas schools? or should i just go for D.O.?
Click to expand...

I personally think you've still got a shot for sure, but I haven't actually been through the process yet, so please take that with a grain of salt. Best of luck... stay involved, and focus on doing well in those upcoming classes!

Here's my MDapps http://www.mdapplicants.com/viewprofile.php?myid=7159 I'd appreciate it very much if you'd check it out. Please note that the MCAT score is from my very first practice; I will be taking the real exam in April. My ranking of schools that I'd like to get into:

UCLA (dream!)
UCSF
Stanford
UCSD
USC
UCI
UT Southwestern
Mayo
etc...

I'm having difficulty figuring out where I stand and where I should be applying. Going by US News, I'm applying more heavily in the top 20 with some lower ones sprinkled in. What do you all think - should I be applying more broadly, or do I actually stand a chance where I'm applying? (Note: I'm a junior now and will be applying this summer. My GPA will go up a little more; I'm anticipating all A's or nearly that for the remainder of this year.)

Thank you all!
 
I'm a female URM with a Cum. GPA of 3.46 and SGPA of 3.33....i'm currently a junior planning on working hard this spring on bringing the GPA as close as possible to my freshman days ...set to shadow a doctor+do research+ volunteer at a hospital ....I'm aiming 30+ on Mcat....I know this is just a guess but WAMC...especially for NY med schools and other east coast schools
 
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silverlining1 said:
I personally think you've still got a shot for sure, but I haven't actually been through the process yet, so please take that with a grain of salt. Best of luck... stay involved, and focus on doing well in those upcoming classes!

Here's my MDapps http://www.mdapplicants.com/viewprofile.php?myid=7159 I'd appreciate it very much if you'd check it out. Please note that the MCAT score is from my very first practice; I will be taking the real exam in April. My ranking of schools that I'd like to get into:

UCLA (dream!)
UCSF
Stanford
UCSD
USC
UCI
UT Southwestern
Mayo
etc...

I'm having difficulty figuring out where I stand and where I should be applying. Going by US News, I'm applying more heavily in the top 20 with some lower ones sprinkled in. What do you all think - should I be applying more broadly, or do I actually stand a chance where I'm applying? (Note: I'm a junior now and will be applying this summer. My GPA will go up a little more; I'm anticipating all A's or nearly that for the remainder of this year.)

Thank you all!
Click to expand...

FOr UTSW, I have heard that to bypass initial cutoff, your MCAT+(GPA*10) needs to be higher than a 70.
 
Hi, need some urgent advice!

I still haven't submitted my UVA apps (deadline 22nd) and I have low MCAT score 26O (PS11/ BS9/ VR 6 ) and Out of state. Should I still bother to apply?

My GPA is 3.6 and I have great EC - lots of clinical and leadership experiences, community involvement, some research including one that is public-health/clinical, shadowing etcetc

Looking at the 3 essays I dread and wanted to see if it's worth even my time (I could work on my grad school apps and other school /extracurricular projects). Writing any secondaries usu takes me like a day at least... Please advice!
 
For those of you who are lost on what to do about your score and would like a "situational analysis", please post in this thread and those who are willing to advise will do so in this thread.

If you start your own thread it will be merged in with this compilation thread. So you might as well save our time and just post here ;)

PLEASE ONLY POST IN THIS THREAD AFTER SCORES HAVE BEEN RELEASED! All other posts will be deleted.


Thanks and good luck!

MollyMalone said:
Welcome to the "What Are My Chances" (WAMC) thread!

This is the place for you to ask all of your questions about your chances of success in this application cycle.

Of course, the short and easy answer to your question is that no one really knows for sure. But I know you want more, and so the thread is here for you.

Here's how this is going to work. If you post your WAMC question in this thread, you get good karma for your app. :D If you choose to post it elsewhere, it will be merged into this thread. Sorry, but whatever situation you feel makes you too unique to post in the WAMC really isn't that special.

On the flip side, people who like answering WAMC questions now have them all in one convenient place. Hurrah! And for people who don't like WAMC questions... the only thing more annoying that 20 WAMC threads on the front page is 20 posts whining about how WAMC threads are annoying. So you can joyfully stop complaining, because you never have to read a WAMC post again!

And so there was peace, hope, and understanding brought to SDN... at least in my pipe dream. :D
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Well I just got back scores from january mcat, and kind of bummed out...

MY GPA is 3.71 and science GPA is 3.73...(majoring in Economics and Biochemistry/Cell Biology)
I have 100hrs+ volunteer experience at ER
and also 1year of experience at oragnic chmiestry lab
but no work experience at all..but I am planning to take a year off and work at biotech company

here's the problem
In august MCAT I got 31M (9VR 10 PS 12 BS), so I decided to retake it january..and I got 33Q (8VR 13 PS 12BS) this time.

I am just worried about my VR score...can it potentially exclude me from being admitted into a medschool due to screening process? well it kind of lame excuse but I did come to the states when I was 8th grades...and english is my 2nd language (but admission commitee wouldn't care.. right?)

I want to apply to

Yale (my top choice)
USC (MD/MBA)
UCLA
UCSD
UCI
UCD
Stanford
University of Wasthington

If I get into any one of these I would be very content. what are my chances in these schools? or should I retake MCAT again?
 
eternalrage said:
FOr UTSW, I have heard that to bypass initial cutoff, your MCAT+(GPA*10) needs to be higher than a 70.
Click to expand...

Do you think it would need to be higher if you're applying OOS? Silverlining's mdapp's profile says she's from CA. I think that if you're competitive enough to get into UT Southwestern OOS, you can get into one of those many UCs as an in-state applicant - but maybe I'm just crazy.
 
37 combined Jan MCAT
3.7 GPA, 3.7 science
From top liberal arts school (not sure if this matters)
+200h Volunteering
Shadowing
2 summers of research
Some extracurricular
also for my GPA, i had a 3.2 first year and 3.85+ ever since. So trend...

What are my chances at the ivies?
 
Gospe1 said:
37 combined Jan MCAT
3.7 GPA, 3.7 science
From top liberal arts school (not sure if this matters)
+200h Volunteering
Shadowing
2 summers of research
Some extracurricular
also for my GPA, i had a 3.2 first year and 3.85+ ever since. So trend...

What are my chances at the ivies?
Click to expand...

hello posting twin! it's taken me 6 months to reach the number of posts you've reached in about 1 or 2 months. Anyways.... You've got all the right stuff and are a very competitive applicant for just about any medical school. When you're talking about the top 10 or top 5 med schools however, it's a crapshoot. Why? Because there are lots of other very competitive applicants so acceptance to the top tier can appear random and quite arbitrary. My only suggestion is to keep raising that GPA and maybe find something (if you haven't already) that sets you apart from other applicants - hopefully something you enjoy. Best of luck!

Or did you mean ivies in the true sense of the word? Not all ivies have the highest ranked medical schools...
 
Hello everyone!

I am a junior, and just got my Jan MCAT score back. Quite frankly, I need some advice on my chances at the top competitive med schools.

I have a 3.8 GPA (cumulative and science about the same), and a 34R MCAT. I am happy about the MCAT score, but it's not a score that i'm ecstatic about. I should have a first-author publication out by the time i apply for med school, and am heavily involved in various activities on campus.

What do you think, are my chances of say, acceptance into the top 10 med schools?
 
This is less of a what are my chances post than a where to apply post. I'm interested in academic medicine, but now thinking that I don't want to go the MD/PhD route. See MDApps for more info. Respond there if you have any input.

My stats are:
MCAT Apr 06: PS=08 VR=13 BS=12 WS=P Tot = 33P
Jan 07: PS=14 VR=11 BS=12 WS=O Tot = 37O

GPA=3.7 BCMP=3.6ish

Activities: research (pubs pending), lots of shadowing, long term volunteering

I'm also a Fulbright Scholar, which will probably help at research schools.

I'd love to get some input from people out there with research oriented extracurriculars. Which places seem supportive of these sorts of interests and might give me (from a small, obscure (outside of the midwest) LAC) a shot?

Thanks in advance!
 
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I took the MCAT Jan 27 and had the faulty MCAT passage:

PS: 10
VR: 9
BS: 11
WS: O

Composite: 30-O

And for the other parts of my application: I am a junior (well, senior credit wise) with a 3.95 GPA and a 4.00 in my major (biology). My minor is biochemistry and spanish (not that med schools care?). Oh, and I volunteer at a hospital for 4 hours once a week.

I know my score coupled with my GPA is good enough to get into many med schools, however, I'm wondering about my chances of getting in to a school like Johns Hopkins?

I guess another reason I'm debating a retake is that the verbal section was normally my best - I was scoring 12s on practice tests, so the 9 is kind of a bummer. I ran out of time and had to put guesses for all the questions on the last passage due to the faulty passage consuming time.

Also, I am in my second semester of physics now - so I took the MCAT without any second semester physics, and so I am quite happy with my 10 in the PS, but I bet that would go up too if I retook it. I guess I can see my score being raised a few points if I retook it, but is this necessary?
The up side of just sticking with my score is that I can apply right away to all med schools because I'm all set. Any thoughts/comments/suggestions would be much appreciated! Thanks!

edit: I wouldn't be able to retake until June probably

Also, I was only able to study exactly one month for the MCAT (but I didn't have class, so I studied pretty heavily everday for exactly 4 weeeks). So perhaps I could have prepared better. I started preparing for the Jan 27 MCAT on Jan 1.
 
j-weezy said:
hello posting twin! it's taken me 6 months to reach the number of posts you've reached in about 1 or 2 months. Anyways.... You've got all the right stuff and are a very competitive applicant for just about any medical school. When you're talking about the top 10 or top 5 med schools however, it's a crapshoot. Why? Because there are lots of other very competitive applicants so acceptance to the top tier can appear random and quite arbitrary. My only suggestion is to keep raising that GPA and maybe find something (if you haven't already) that sets you apart from other applicants - hopefully something you enjoy. Best of luck!

Or did you mean ivies in the true sense of the word? Not all ivies have the highest ranked medical schools...
Click to expand...


Unfortunately and I know this sounds ridiculous but prestige is worth a lot to me. Not in the sense that I want to feel better than everyone but I ultimately plan is start a recruiting service to get excellent doctors from the states to work in China, where an emerging middle class is going to need lots of healthcare soon. In China, prestige is everything so yes, I want the name. I think my general plan since its a crapshoot is to apply everywhere ;)
 
moreliator said:
I'll be the first I guess...

I took the MCAT Jan 27 and had the faulty MCAT passage:

PS: 10
VR: 9
BS: 11
WS: O

Composite: 30-O

My GPA is a 3.95, and I have a 4.00 in my major (biology). My minor is biochemistry and spanish (not that med schools care?).

I know my score coupled with my GPA is good enough to get into many med schools, however, I'm wondering about my chances of getting in to a school like Johns Hopkins?

I guess another reason I'm debating a retake is that the verbal section was normally my best - I was scoring 12s on practice tests, so the 9 is kind of a bummer. I ran out of time and had to put guesses for all the questions on the last passage due to the faulty passage consuming time.

Also, I am in my second semester of physics now - so I took the MCAT without any second semester physics, and so I am quite happy with my 10 in the PS, but I bet that would go up too if I retook it. I guess I can see my score being raised a few points if I retook it, but is this necessary? Oh, and I am a junior in college.

The up side of just sticking with my score is that I can apply right away to all med schools because I'm all set. Any thoughts/comments/suggestions would be much appreciated! Thanks!
Click to expand...

if you were going to retake when would it be?
 
j-weezy said:
if you were going to retake when would it be?
Click to expand...

probably not until June, especially since all the places are full in April. Also, even if I could register in april, the problem is that this is right in the middle of the tennis season, so studying will be tough.
 
moreliator said:
probably not until June, especially since all the places are full in April. Also, even if I could register in april, the problem is that this is right in the middle of the tennis season, so studying will be tough.
Click to expand...

people may disagree with my advice but here goes: you have an awesome GPA and a good MCAT score - what you need to do now is think of places where you'll most likely apply. If you have your heart set on med schools with high average MCAT scores, you'll probably have to retake. If not, you should be fine as is. Luckily the June MCAT will be scored by July - or sooner - so it shouldn't delay your application too much if you decide to retake. Good luck with whatever you decide!
 
MCAT: 31Q (PS 9, VR 10, BS 12)
GPA: 3.37 (increasing trend with a 3.5 and 3.7 for junior and senior years, respectively)
BCPM: 3.22

Neurochemistry research in undergrad ~2 years
Neuroimmunology research post-grad
Various community volunteer experiences
Biostatistics Grader ~ 1 year

Not a lot of clinicl experience and working on that now with hospital volunteering and physician shadowing.

I'm not looking to apply to the top 10 schools, but what are my chances for the other schools?
 
Alright guys, here are my stats

3.54 GPA (none upward trend, sorta just hung out around this area)
3.68 BCPM (but only because i took the required classes and then went into econ)
31p MCAT (13 ps, 8 vr, 10 bs)
Did some volunteer and shadowing but that was 2-3 years ago.
Non-stellar ECs
Didn't spend any time in Africa opening up my own AIDS clinic.
Resident of New York.

What are my chances for a SUNY school or perhaps like an AECOM?
 
MedSchoolOrBust said:
MCAT: 31Q (PS 9, VR 10, BS 12)
GPA: 3.37 (increasing trend with a 3.5 and 3.7 for junior and senior years, respectively)
BCPM: 3.22

Neurochemistry research in undergrad ~2 years
Neuroimmunology research post-grad
Various community volunteer experiences
Biostatistics Grader ~ 1 year

Not a lot of clinicl experience and working on that now with hospital volunteering and physician shadowing.

I'm not looking to apply to the top 10 schools, but what are my chances for the other schools?
Click to expand...

Apply early; the first day (ideally) or week (realistically) applications open. check my profile for my mdapps.
 
Shouldn't this thread be the Official 2007-2008 Chances thread? It's a bit late for the 2006-2007 cycle....and why are there two stickied "chances" threads? I'm all for this thread, but the stickies are getting out of control...
 
Hey all.. I'm wondering if anyone might have some perspective on what my chances are at staying somewhere in California.. I graduated in 2005 and just took the January administration of the MCAT. Here are my numbers:
BCPM GPA: 3.36
Overall: 3.38
MCAT: 36Q (13 PS, 10 VR, 13 BS)

I graduated from UCLA with a B.S. in Biochemistry, and admit that my GPA is lacking. My extracurricular isn't all that spectacular either, which is part of the reason that I've taken some time off after college. During college, I volunteered at the UCLA Brain Injury Research Center for 1 school year.. after college, I began working as an EMT for an ambulance company doing first response in Los Angeles. That lasted about 9 months, until I quit to study full-time for the MCAT. Now that the MCAT is over, I have been hired as an EMT in the ER of a major trauma receiving hospital in the county.

I'm hoping that my lack of EC and relatively low GPA can be made up for by my MCAT and patient care experience in an emergency setting. I've been told by people that I should be able to get in somewhere - but I'm still curious.. what do you all think my chances are at staying in California? Would I need to do more EC (since that's all I think I can change at this point) in order to stand a chance? Any opinions (especially honest ones, whether optimisitc or pessimistic) would be appreciated.
 
I'm in my last year of college, ill be graduating with a BS in Physics, a BS in Biochemistry, a minor in Math, and a minor in Chemistry.
I'm just wondering how much of a chance I have to get into med-school. All my friends that are Bio-Majors have GPA's in the 3.9-4.0 range, but I only have a gpa of 3.5ish. This is mainly because I generally took 6 courses a term and it killed my grades. I never really took any lower level courses to raise my gpa either, I put all my energy into taking upper level science courses to get more degrees.
Anyways the med schools I'm looking to get into all have average gpa's of 3.7+, so will they even give me a chance? Do they look at the courses you take to see if you have a bloated gpa by taking a bunch of easy A courses? Because I know all my friends would take like 1 or 2 upper level courses a term and the rest would be easy A courses to raise their gpa. But I never did that. I keep hearing that unless you have a 3.7+ gpa they won’t even look at your application.

I did 2 summer REU programs in medical physics, 2 years of research during the school year at my university. I was the president of the society of physics students for 2 years at my university. I also tutored math for 3 years at the math center, chemistry for 2 years at the chem center, and physics for 2 years at the physics center. But I only have 1 year of volunteer work at a hospital. Is that going to hurt my application?

I haven’t taken the MCAT yet. But I assume I will need to get a high score to counter my gpa.


I am hoping to get into UofM Ann Arbor med school

Thanks
 
stalebi said:
I'm in my last year of college, ill be graduating with a BS in Physics, a BS in Biochemistry, a minor in Math, and a minor in Chemistry.
I'm just wondering how much of a chance I have to get into med-school. All my friends that are Bio-Majors have GPA's in the 3.9-4.0 range, but I only have a gpa of 3.5ish. This is mainly because I generally took 6 courses a term and it killed my grades. I never really took any lower level courses to raise my gpa either, I put all my energy into taking upper level science courses to get more degrees.
Anyways the med schools I'm looking to get into all have average gpa's of 3.7+, so will they even give me a chance? Do they look at the courses you take to see if you have a bloated gpa by taking a bunch of easy A courses? Because I know all my friends would take like 1 or 2 upper level courses a term and the rest would be easy A courses to raise their gpa. But I never did that. I keep hearing that unless you have a 3.7+ gpa they won't even look at your application.

I did 2 summer REU programs in medical physics, 2 years of research during the school year at my university. I was the president of the society of physics students for 2 years at my university. I also tutored math for 3 years at the math center, chemistry for 2 years at the chem center, and physics for 2 years at the physics center. But I only have 1 year of volunteer work at a hospital. Is that going to hurt my application?

I haven't taken the MCAT yet. But I assume I will need to get a high score to counter my gpa.


I am hoping to get into UofM Ann Arbor med school

Thanks
Click to expand...
the truth is med schools don't care if you majored in 5 subject areas or...say, one. you have to demonstrate competency in what you choose to do. in my experience, i know people who took ridiculously hard classes (A/B student), consistently being passed over people who took average courses (A student). of course, if you took completely ridiculously easy courses, that'll bite you in the ass, too...
 
Should we adopt the rule that in order to post your own stats, you need to comment on someone else's? Otherwise this is just going to be a more cluttered version of mdapplicants.com
 
OncDoc19 said:
MCAT scores are in - but now where to apply? I would appreciate any thoughts on where I am competitive.
http://www.mdapplicants.com/viewprofile.php?myid=7596
Thanks!
Click to expand...

OncDoc, your numbers are definitely competitive but I think your strength will lie in your EC's. I think your selection of schools has a good mix of reach and safety schools. I think you'll definitely get into at least a couple of the MSTP programs that you're applying for, just don't get too overwhelmed with the application process and apply early!

PS, I'm jealous of your U Iowa program this summer. I didn't even know that program existed otherwise I'd apply in a heartbeat! I'm dreading hearing back from the REU programs I applied to since one of them is already a rejection :(

Now somebody rate my chances:

http://www.mdapplicants.com/viewprofile.php?myid=5832

Also unsure about whether or not I should do MSTP. Please advise!
 
Monarch Kong said:
OncDoc, your numbers are definitely competitive but I think your strength will lie in your EC's. I think your selection of schools has a good mix of reach and safety schools. I think you'll definitely get into at least a couple of the MSTP programs that you're applying for, just don't get too overwhelmed with the application process and apply early!

PS, I'm jealous of your U Iowa program this summer. I didn't even know that program existed otherwise I'd apply in a heartbeat! I'm dreading hearing back from the REU programs I applied to since one of them is already a rejection :(

Now somebody rate my chances:

http://www.mdapplicants.com/viewprofile.php?myid=5832

Also unsure about whether or not I should do MSTP. Please advise!
Click to expand...

Thanks for the comments. I definately appreciate the benefits of applying early, but I actually talked to the MSTP office at U Iowa today and they said that I should wait to submit my app untill after the summer program (ends 7/27) so that I can talk about my research experiances this summer as well. I am still weighing my options on this.
Also, pre-MD/PhD summer programs exist at lots of universities. Many are exclusively for under-represented minorities but some not (hence how I got in :)). Not sure on the application dates for other programs, I just know other schools have similar programs, so you might do some quick checking and see if any of them are still open for applications.
About your MDapps page - your stats look competitive. That sucks about the bad re-take score. Just wondering - first, why did you retake with a 36 and also why did you take the test in 2005 but haven't applied yet? Other than that, it doesn't look like you have a whole lot of clinical/shadowing experiance.
In regards to MSTP - no one can really tell you what you should do, you have to decide for yourself if you are interested in teaching/academic medicine. Its a long time commitment, especially if research isn't your passion.
 
OncDoc19 said:
Thanks for the comments. I definately appreciate the benefits of applying early, but I actually talked to the MSTP office at U Iowa today and they said that I should wait to submit my app untill after the summer program (ends 7/27) so that I can talk about my research experiances this summer as well. I am still weighing my options on this.
Click to expand...

DO NOT WAIT TO APPLY! There was recently a similar thread on this topic in the Physician-Scientist forum. You have enough research experience and ECs to fill probably 3 different AMCAS applications. Don't jeopardize your application by waiting 2 months before submitting. Perhaps you can briefly mention your summer plans somewhere on your AMCAS application and then in more depth on your secondaries or during interviews? Just my thoughts...
 
foofish said:
Shouldn't this thread be the Official 2007-2008 Chances thread? It's a bit late for the 2006-2007 cycle....and why are there two stickied "chances" threads? I'm all for this thread, but the stickies are getting out of control...
Click to expand...

i love your avatar! Santorini right?
 
I don't know if people are still looking at these, but if anyone can give me some guidance, I'd appreciate it.

My G.P.A. has been a big problem for me, overall it's 3.3, with a 3.0 science.
(I retook two classes)

My MCAT was a 32N (11P 10V 11B) at the end of my sophomore year, but I don't know if I should retake it or not.

I go to U of M, and so I was wondering from those that have applied, do schools look at where you did your undergrad and acknowledge that some schools are harder than others?

please give me any feedback you can.

Thanks
 
Umich08 said:
I don't know if people are still looking at these, but if anyone can give me some guidance, I'd appreciate it.

My G.P.A. has been a big problem for me, overall it's 3.3, with a 3.0 science.
(I retook two classes)

My MCAT was a 32N (11P 10V 11B) at the end of my sophomore year, but I don't know if I should retake it or not.

I go to U of M, and so I was wondering from those that have applied, do schools look at where you did your undergrad and acknowledge that some schools are harder than others?

please give me any feedback you can.

Thanks
Click to expand...

yes... a 3.3 GPA from UMich tends to weigh more than a 3.3 from western/central/eastern.... umich sends more people to med school than all the other universities in michigan combined :thumbup:

Do you have an upward trend? Schools like it when you finish strong
 
I would greatly appreciate it if people can give me some input on my chances of getting into med school.
I am a biochem major attending a state school and graduating this May. My GPA is 3.3 with a science GPA of 3.0. Have not taken the MCAT yet (will be taking it this summer), but I have a significant amount of leadership and community service that includes being an intern and interpreter at my local hospital (~400+ hours). I also won a pageant and did a tremendous amount of community service during my reign. I am in the Golden Key Honor Society, Tau Beta Pi (an engineering honor society that I was a part of before changing my major), and the Pre-Med club. I also do not have any research experience.
Please give me some input.
Would I stand a chance of getting into med school or should I do an SMP or a postbacc program?
Thanks!!!!
 
brianlh said:
Hey all.. I'm wondering if anyone might have some perspective on what my chances are at staying somewhere in California.. I graduated in 2005 and just took the January administration of the MCAT. Here are my numbers:
BCPM GPA: 3.36
Overall: 3.38
MCAT: 36Q (13 PS, 10 VR, 13 BS)

I graduated from UCLA with a B.S. in Biochemistry, and admit that my GPA is lacking. My extracurricular isn't all that spectacular either, which is part of the reason that I've taken some time off after college. During college, I volunteered at the UCLA Brain Injury Research Center for 1 school year.. after college, I began working as an EMT for an ambulance company doing first response in Los Angeles. That lasted about 9 months, until I quit to study full-time for the MCAT. Now that the MCAT is over, I have been hired as an EMT in the ER of a major trauma receiving hospital in the county.

I'm hoping that my lack of EC and relatively low GPA can be made up for by my MCAT and patient care experience in an emergency setting. I've been told by people that I should be able to get in somewhere - but I'm still curious.. what do you all think my chances are at staying in California? Would I need to do more EC (since that's all I think I can change at this point) in order to stand a chance? Any opinions (especially honest ones, whether optimisitc or pessimistic) would be appreciated.
Click to expand...

Any thoughts on California? Sorry to bring my message up again if everyone saw it.. just noticed it was about the only one not answered, so not sure if people don't know or missed it.
 
i'm positive many people on this thread will get into A medical school. but it doesn't help people trying to give feedback when they don't know what you're aiming or even hoping for...
 
OncDoc19 said:
Thanks for the comments. I definately appreciate the benefits of applying early, but I actually talked to the MSTP office at U Iowa today and they said that I should wait to submit my app untill after the summer program (ends 7/27) so that I can talk about my research experiances this summer as well. I am still weighing my options on this.
Also, pre-MD/PhD summer programs exist at lots of universities. Many are exclusively for under-represented minorities but some not (hence how I got in :)). Not sure on the application dates for other programs, I just know other schools have similar programs, so you might do some quick checking and see if any of them are still open for applications.
About your MDapps page - your stats look competitive. That sucks about the bad re-take score. Just wondering - first, why did you retake with a 36 and also why did you take the test in 2005 but haven't applied yet? Other than that, it doesn't look like you have a whole lot of clinical/shadowing experiance.
In regards to MSTP - no one can really tell you what you should do, you have to decide for yourself if you are interested in teaching/academic medicine. Its a long time commitment, especially if research isn't your passion.
Click to expand...

Ah I think my mdapps page is misleading...the 36T was my final retake and the score I most recently got and definitely keeping ;)

Thanks for the comments tho, so more clinical and shadowing experience is in order you think?
 
Monarch Kong said:
Ah I think my mdapps page is misleading...the 36T was my final retake and the score I most recently got and definitely keeping ;)

Thanks for the comments tho, so more clinical and shadowing experience is in order you think?
Click to expand...

Yes I do think you would benefit from more clinical and shadowing experiance. I'm not sure what you do at the hospital you volunteer at, but I know that hospital volunteering is generally viewed as routine unless you are doing something really unique there.
What do you think are some weak areas I could work on? Am I being realistic or delusional in my choices of schools/number of schools to apply to? I am ususally a confident person but this application process is really intimidating me! Thanks
 
j-weezy said:
i love your avatar! Santorini right?
Click to expand...

Thanks! Yup, definitely Santorini.....where I hopefully will be in a few months, assuming I survive waiting for March decisions.
 
Need some advice on which Allopathic schools might consider me for acceptance.
My stats:
GPA 3.53
Science GPA 3.4
Hoping to get a 30+ on MCAT
Volunteered at two hospitals, A+ at an elementary school, assistant basketball coach, and TA for Biology lab at my university. Plan to volunteer at a homeless shelter.

What do you guys think? Will I be able to get into any Allopathic schools? What else can I do to up my stats? Is this doable for Albany Medical School?

Thanks
 
Scooby-Doo said:
Need some advice on which Allopathic schools might consider me for acceptance.
My stats:
GPA 3.53
Science GPA 3.4
Hoping to get a 30+ on MCAT
Volunteered at two hospitals, A+ at an elementary school, assistant basketball coach, and TA for Biology lab at my university. Plan to volunteer at a homeless shelter.

What do you guys think? Will I be able to get into any Allopathic schools? What else can I do to up my stats? Is this doable for Albany Medical School?

Thanks
Click to expand...
your gpa is similar to mine. I'm sure if you do well on the MCAT you will have no problem going into Albany assuming that you don't have a catestrophic interview. What state are you from scooby-doo?
 
DocFunk said:
your gpa is similar to mine. I'm sure if you do well on the MCAT you will have no problem going into Albany assuming that you don't have a catestrophic interview. What state are you from scooby-doo?
Click to expand...

I'm from Hawaii. i was thinking of doing a post-bacc but wasn't too sure if it was worth it.
 
Scooby-Doo said:
I'm from Hawaii. i was thinking of doing a post-bacc but wasn't too sure if it was worth it.
Click to expand...
with your stats i dont think you need it. Post-Baccs benefit people with under 3.4 gpas. I don't see why you would have a problem with that GPA.

What I don't get is why you would leave the nice weather of hawaii for the cold northeastern weather. Why not apply to the state school? Your stats are comparable to the ones in the state school.
 
DocFunk said:
with your stats i dont think you need it. Post-Baccs benefit people with under 3.4 gpas. I don't see why you would have a problem with that GPA.

What I don't get is why you would leave the nice weather of hawaii for the cold northeastern weather. Why not apply to the state school? Your stats are comparable to the ones in the state school.
Click to expand...

I just need to get out from this tiny rock. I need some independence. But I do love Hawaii, with the beaches and the warm weather. I will miss it. Anyway, do you think that taking the MCAT in July is considered late for application admission. I don't think I'll be ready by June.
 
Scooby-Doo said:
I just need to get out from this tiny rock. I need some independence. But I do love Hawaii, with the beaches and the warm weather. I will miss it. Anyway, do you think that taking the MCAT in July is considered late for application admission. I don't think I'll be ready by June.
Click to expand...
I don't think it's that bad. When the amcas comes out in may, have everything ready - your personal statement, recommendations, transcript, etc. Do some of the secondaries also. That way when you find out your score in august you can just click submit for amcas and then send the secondaries in right away so you can get your app in asap.
 
DocFunk said:
I don't think it's that bad. When the amcas comes out in may, have everything ready - your personal statement, recommendations, transcript, etc. Do some of the secondaries also. That way when you find out your score in august you can just click submit for amcas and then send the secondaries in right away so you can get your app in asap.
Click to expand...

Thanks for your help. How do I get a hold of those secondary applications? I also have to complete a pre-req class which will end in August. I'll keep my fingers cross. I hope it won't be late.
 
Scooby-Doo said:
Thanks for your help. How do I get a hold of those secondary applications? I also have to complete a pre-req class which will end in August. I'll keep my fingers cross. I hope it won't be late.
Click to expand...
that could be a problem because it won't show up on your transcript until it's completed and amcas won't recognize it until after your transcript is confirmed. It may take you until the end of september to get amcas all finished. You'd be finishing with the august mcat people probably.

Secondary applications links are usually in the MSAR. I suggest you buy a copy of it because it has some very useful information in there.
 
I'm a Biology and Chemisty double Major.
GPA- 3.71
I've gotten a C+ in Calc II, and 2 B+ one in Human Phys and one in Advanced Visual Basic(Computer Science), every other grade has been above that.

EC-
I volunteer weekly at an institution for developmentally disabled adults
I have a lot of community involvement with soup kitches, cancer awareness, and volunteer work with rebuilding disabled people new homes during the summer.

MCAT- I've taken a couple of pre-tests and online exams, scoring around an average of 35-37. Taking the exam in May! Wish me luck!

Where should I apply/what should I do to make myself a better candidate?
 
UMP said:
yes... a 3.3 GPA from UMich tends to weigh more than a 3.3 from western/central/eastern.... umich sends more people to med school than all the other universities in michigan combined :thumbup:

Do you have an upward trend? Schools like it when you finish strong
Click to expand...


Yea, I have a somewhat consistent trend, sweet ever fall term, bomb every winter term and make it up in the spring.

I have a lot of extracirriculars though like
volunteering in a inner city after hours pediatric clinic for past 4 summers, competitive dance team for 3 years, research lab for 2 years, and a executive board position in a healthcare club for 2 years.

I'm just scared of getting interviews, I feel if they could hear me out, I could explain it all.

what do you think, any suggestions for where to apply or what to do? (I was thinking of volunteering aboard at a clinic for a summer)
 
moreliator said:
I took the MCAT Jan 27 and had the faulty MCAT passage:

PS: 10
VR: 9
BS: 11
WS: O

Composite: 30-O

And for the other parts of my application: I am a junior (well, senior credit wise) with a 3.95 GPA and a 4.00 in my major (biology). My minor is biochemistry and spanish (not that med schools care?). Oh, and I volunteer at a hospital for 4 hours once a week.

I know my score coupled with my GPA is good enough to get into many med schools, however, I'm wondering about my chances of getting in to a school like Johns Hopkins?

I guess another reason I'm debating a retake is that the verbal section was normally my best - I was scoring 12s on practice tests, so the 9 is kind of a bummer. I ran out of time and had to put guesses for all the questions on the last passage due to the faulty passage consuming time.

Also, I am in my second semester of physics now - so I took the MCAT without any second semester physics, and so I am quite happy with my 10 in the PS, but I bet that would go up too if I retook it. I guess I can see my score being raised a few points if I retook it, but is this necessary?
The up side of just sticking with my score is that I can apply right away to all med schools because I'm all set. Any thoughts/comments/suggestions would be much appreciated! Thanks!

edit: I wouldn't be able to retake until June probably

Also, I was only able to study exactly one month for the MCAT (but I didn't have class, so I studied pretty heavily everday for exactly 4 weeeks). So perhaps I could have prepared better. I started preparing for the Jan 27 MCAT on Jan 1.
Click to expand...

I have similar stats and I've been doing okay in the process. I didn't apply to Hopkins because I thought my MCAT would be screened out, but a friend of mine got an interview there with my same MCAT score. If you keep your score, my best advice to you is to apply as early as you can. That will give you the best chances at interviews. But if you have some dream schools that have a high average MCAT, you may have to take it again just to be considered. Having a higher MCAT will make things a little easier, but a 30 paired with a high GPA is very doable.
 
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