MD 3.72 cGPA/3.60 sGPA/35 MCAT

[HillyFromTheSouth]

Hi y'all,

I just submitted my AMCAS this past week, and earlier today it was verified. I want to get an idea of what my chances are from adcoms (like @Goro, @LizzyM) and just anyone who thinks they might be able to assess my odds, as my app is a bit different.

I graduated in 2014, and am applying for admission to the Class of 2016, meaning I'll have (2) gap years.

• cGPA: 3.72
• sGPA: 3.60
• MCAT: 35 (12/11/12), BUT this is my third attempt. First two MCATs were taken during my Junior year of college in 2013, and I scored a 22, and a 25. My 35 MCAT score is from January, 2015 and was taken during my post-bacc year.
• Degree: Biological Education
• Gap Year #1: Taught as a Biology Teacher at a High School in Northern Virginia. Also took 30 credits of coursework at the University of the District of Columbia, with a 4.0 Average. I am not a URM, but this is an HBCU, and I chose it because it's just really cheap. I also privately tutored Banjo.
• Gap Year #2: Through a Full Scholarship, I will be pursuing my master's in Biomedical Engineering at Yale
• Research: 1 Educ pub during undergrad, 3 Biochemical Engineering pubs during gap year, worked in a GW Med School Lab. 3 years research experience.
• Volunteering: HIV/AIDS Counselor in DC, 400+ Hrs at hospital as PEDS attendant, Soup Kitchen Volunteer, Big Sisters of America, Medical Mission trips to Ghana and Indonesia
• Shadowing: 100 Hrs Urologist, 100 Hrs Ophthalmologist, 50 Hrs GP
• EC's: Pretty normal, columnist for school newspaper, president of bio club, president of math teachers of tomorrow
• Hobbies: Banjo, leisure running, travel
• Honors: Awarded Fulbright ETA to Germany, but decided to go with NSF, Awarded Critical Language Scholarship

I applied to (25) Schools

1. UVA (IS)
2. VCU (IS)
3. EVMS (IS)
4. VTech (IS, but private)
5. GW
6. Georgetown
7. Yale
8. Columbia (DREAM, any chance?)
9. Vanderbilt
10. Duke
11. Wake Forest
12. Tulane
13. MUSC
14. NYMC
15. Rochester
16. Albert Einstein
17. Pitt
18. Loyola
19. UT Austin (Long shot, I know. Sigoth moving to Austin next year)
20. Vermont
21. University of Chicago
22. Oakland Beaumont
23. Quinnipiac
24. Howard University (close ties to administration)
25. UMD
26. Extra: U Wash MD/PhD Program...still considering.

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[Banco]

Your activities are excellent, and I think top school quality. Your latest MCAT is good enough for top schools but its hard to say how they will interpret 3 attempts. Your GPA, though on the lower end is still in range as well. I think you have an overall good list.

UWash is very state/region biased, so I say forget it.

I think the 3 MCATs are what make it difficult to say how your chances will be. If schools focus on your most recent one, you have a great shot. If they average, then its hard to say.

I know Case Western is another school that is more understanding of non-trads and atypical applicants.

 

[The Cheat]

You have a well balanced list, but I also wonder how schools will look at your 3 MCAT tries. Do you see yourself doing academic medicine or working in a more clinical role?

 

[Goro]

Aim high! The GPAs are a tad low (o.3 pponts below the median), some of them are worth shooting for.

1. UVA (IS)
2. VCU (IS)
3. EVMS (IS)
4. VTech (IS, but private)
5. Yale OR Columbia OR Cornell
6. Vanderbilt OR Duke
7. Wake Forest
8. Tulane
9. USC
10. any of the Philly Triplets
11. Rochester OR Hofstra
12. Albert Einstein
13. Pitt OR Northwestern
14. Loyola
15. Vermont
16. U Miami
17. Quinnipiac OR TCMC
18. Creighton
19. BU
20. U Rochester
21. NYU OR Mt Sinai

 

[HillyFromTheSouth]

@Banco Thank you for your reply. Yes, I too am concerned over how 3 MCATs will look. Some schools say they look at most recent, but in the end I think it's up to the interpretation of the adcom reading my app. Hopefully I have some reviewers that will want to take a shot on me and gave me an II!

@The Cheat I am not sure, but a 50/50 mix between the two sounds idyllic as of now...what my opinion will be after 4 years of Medical School, who knows?!

@Goro Thank you for your recommendation for Boston. I somehow totally overlooked both Boston and Tufts! I will add them today.

 

[qkrwndo]

unless you interview poorly, I can't see you being rejected from the VA schools.
I took my MCATs 3 times, they only truly considered my last one.

 

[HillyFromTheSouth]

unless you interview poorly, I can't see you being rejected from the VA schools.
I took my MCATs 3 times, they only truly considered my last one.

UVA as well?

Congrats btw, this is encouraging news

 

[ChrisMack390]

If I were you, I would look up/call a crap load of schools and find out which ones accept the most recent or the best MCAT. Among those, you can get in anywhere.

Among other schools, you can still get into a lot of them.

 

[qkrwndo]

UVA as well?

Congrats btw, this is encouraging news

Nope. VCU. I'm a nontrad, finished their post bacc and liked the school. But I do have friends who went to UVA with multiple MCAT attempts

 

[HillyFromTheSouth]

If I were you, I would look up/call a crap load of schools and find out which ones accept the most recent or the best MCAT. Among those, you can get in anywhere.

Among other schools, you can still get into a lot of them.

Hi Chris, I did exactly that. However, I am still nervous that some interpretations might be idiosyncratic on the part of the actual interviewer.

 

[HillyFromTheSouth]

Nope. VCU. I'm a nontrad, finished their post bacc and liked the school. But I do have friends who went to UVA with multiple MCAT attempts

Hey thumbs up, I hope I can get into UVA. VCU would be a dream too.

 

[qkrwndo]

Hey thumbs up, I hope I can get into UVA. VCU would be a dream too.

haha trust me, I don't think you'll have any problem getting into either.