MD 3.25 cGPA, sGPA 3.35, upward trend, great EC's...Chances?

[neuroscience2016]

What are my chances for getting into an allopathic medical school? I plan to apply about one year from now (June, 2017) to both SMP's and medical schools as I plan on taking 2-3 years off. I've included all of the necessary info below, I believe. I identify as URM, as I am half Mexican half Pacific Islander.

Graduated with honors in neuroscience (BS) from a top 25 USNWR school
- GPA by year: 1st=2.4, 2nd=2.6, 3rd=3.8, 4th=3.9 (pre-req grade killers were C in chem II, C in orgo II)
- 3 semesters of research (2 semesters comprised of senior thesis) ~500 hrs, publications TBD
- Volunteered at hospice, habitat for humanity, literacy organization, AIDS clinic, mentored underprivileged (2/3 for underserved communities) ~300 hrs
- Shadowed 1 Doctor ~100 hrs (fellowship director)
- Confident in 4 individual LoR's and in committee letter from HPAC
- Personal statement a work in progress, but will be solid
- MCAT's scheduled for Sept/2016, Kaplan course, I started studying 6 hours a day this past Monday (Desire 512+)
- Captain of sports team, founded an organization, student government, fraternity, etc. very involved on campus
- honor societies, awards from school, many accolades from my sport
- trilingual

I understand that my GPA is very low, but I have secured a research assistantship at a prestigious institution for this upcoming fall and I plan to take upper level science classes while doing so. I am also willing to complete an SMP after that and therefore take up to 3 years off. What do you guys think? My GPA was so low to begin with because I was immaturely dealing with family problems at home by blowing off school and partying a lot but I have since matured.

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[neuroscience2016]

bump

 

[Dro133]

Hey,

So my thoughts may not be as useful as some of the more experienced vets on here, but I'll just share that I did get an acceptance at my state MD school this cycle with GPA almost identical to yours and a 33 MCAT. A lot of it is going to come down to your MCAT score, but depending on what state you're in I think you'll have a good shot. Your URM status can only help. Your EC's look good and your upward trend should be looked upon favorably. Assuming you get the MCAT score you hope for, I don't think your numbers will hold you back as long as you apply early and to the right schools. I think it will really come down to how well you can sell yourself in your PS, secondaries, and interview.

Good luck! If you want more details feel free to PM me.

 

[neuroscience2016]

Hey there- that's awesome, great job! I appreciate the advice and support; I guess the small problem is that I will probably be moving from PA to MA this coming fall and I know that the 4 medical schools there are very competitive. But yeah, I plan to apply June 1 of next year and I'm really hoping to get somewhere in the 512-515 range (forgot to mention I'll be volunteering/shadowing a bit more this summer too). You're right though, if I can do well on this test then I can focus on my PS and maybe get another LoR from my PI this upcoming year.

How much of a bearing does state residency have on admission?

Do you know if medical schools screen at the 3.3 level? Or is it usually just 3.0?

 

[Faha]

You will have a difficult time gaining an acceptance to any MA school with a GPA of 3.25. The 10% percentile for UMass, BU and Tufts is 3.5 so you are far below that. For PA the 10% percentile for Temple and Drexel is 3.4 and only 3.3 for Commonwealth. Your chances are better for PA assuming you do well on the MCAT. You should probably apply to DO schools also.

 

[Dro133]

Hey there- that's awesome, great job! I appreciate the advice and support; I guess the small problem is that I will probably be moving from PA to MA this coming fall and I know that the 4 medical schools there are very competitive. But yeah, I plan to apply June 1 of next year and I'm really hoping to get somewhere in the 512-515 range (forgot to mention I'll be volunteering/shadowing a bit more this summer too). You're right though, if I can do well on this test then I can focus on my PS and maybe get another LoR from my PI this upcoming year.

How much of a bearing does state residency have on admission?

Do you know if medical schools screen at the 3.3 level? Or is it usually just 3.0?

Like the other guy said, MA isn't the ideal state to be an applicant in. But, I'm convinced that if you do well on the MCAT (33+ on the old scale -- I still haven't wrapped my head around the new scale), you will have a good shot if you apply broadly and smartly. I can't overestimate the importance of your PS, secondaries, and LOR's. You can't really control your LOR's, but spend a lot of time on your written essays and make sure you have smart people that you trust to read over them for you and give you feedback.

I think that state residency has a very large bearing on admissions; in fact, I think it's one of the more underrated and under-utilized aspects of the admissions process. For example, during my first cycle I was a resident of a state with a low acceptance rate for in-state students, and I didn't even sniff an interview from either of my state schools. Prior to my second cycle, I moved to a state (for a job) with a much better track record of interviewing in-state applicants, and I ended up with an interview and eventually an acceptance. Now I understand that moving to a new state isn't always a feasible option for a lot of students, and that my circumstances may have been a little unique (I had a job in industry that allowed me to collaborate and network with professors at said institution), but I really think that a lot of med-school hopefuls should consider moving to a lenient state if there is the option of getting a job as a research assistant in a lab vs. doing an expensive and risky SMP. Pros of this vs. an SMP:

- MUCH cheaper (actually might even be able to save some money)
- gain research experience/possible publications
- possibility to network with professors at institution, get LOR's (HUGE if you can network with prominent faculty at the institution)
- gain residency to improve your chances
- much less risky than an SMP -- if a student performs poorly in an SMP, they are essentially blacklisted from applying MD and have nothing but debt to show for it

To answer your last question -- I wasn't screened out at any med schools with me sub-3.3 GPA. They are more than happy to take your money for secondaries.

 

[neuroscience2016]

Thanks for the info!

 

[neuroscience2016]

Right, yeah I really need to crush this test and apply to a lot of low tier schools. Thank you for the honest advice and support.
Yeah I didn't know state residency had THAT much of a bearing, but that is very interesting...I'll definitely have to weigh that in my decision making as to either just doing this research position for a few years or the SMP as you said. Great to know about the no screening! I'm sure the most competitive schools do screen at 3.3, but I'm hoping most do 3.0!