Hey all,
Thanks in advance for taking time to look over my post. I wanted your advice on my school list and whether to take a gap year to retake my MCAT etc.
Stats:
Virginia resident, Neuroscience major, attending a top 10 public institution
3.8 cGPA / 3.73 sGPA / 31 MCAT (11/9/11)
ECs:
50 hours biology tutoring
300 hours clinical volunteering
~40 hours shadowing (Neurosurgery and neurology)
~350+ hours judicial committee
1300+ hours research in microbiology lab and neuroimmunolgy lab
-Research grant for year long project and also poster presentation
-Poster presentation at neuroscience symposium
Leadership:
-Recently selected for leadership position in medical volunteering organization for next year
-Founding father of fraternity
-Leadership position of judicial committee for two years
Personal statement was about my passion for languages, what I learned from research and shadowing, and difficulties minorities encounter in modern medicine due to cultural and language barriers.
School list:
Reaches:
UVA
Vanderbilt
Duke
Columbia
Cornell
UPitt
Northwestern
Mayo
Einstein
NYU
Boston University
University of Virginia (instate)
"Targets":
VCU
Eastern Virginia Medical School (EVMS)
V Tech
Tufts
Dartmouth
U Maryland
Georgetown
Loyola
Drexel
Temple
Tulane
Emory
George Washington
Frankly, I was expecting a 34 or 35 on my MCAT which explains why this list has a lot of reaches. But that raises another question if I should take a gap year and retake with the hopes of getting around a 34 and 35 to apply to the higher schools.
Thanks for your feedback