3.83 cGPA, 3.86sGPA, 34 MCAT. WAMC brah?

[sghos]

I am a senior at a non-HYP Ivy. Applying next cycle. (June 2014)

cGPA: 3.83
sGPA: 3.86

MCAT: 12ps/11vr/11bs

Bio major
NJ resident- Asian Indian

(Activity length of time reflects how much I'll have done by the time the cycle opens up)

4 semesters of research, 6th author on a PLoS pub (nothin impressive i know)
-enjoyed some of the moments in the lab but in the end felt i had exposure to research and it wasnt the thing for me. Stopped after fall semester junior year.

Volunteer in Oncology wing of area hospital -2.5 years when in school -200 hours or so
Volunteer with a suicide crisisline - 2 years - 200 hrs
Volunteer with college ems squad -2.5 years - 250 hrs
Little bit of shadowing - only 15 hours or so, a rad onc + an opthalmologist

Hospital volunteering over two summers back home - about a 100 hours on a cardiology floor wheeling around/talking to patients/helping with menial tasks

TA for 3000 level physiology - 2 semesters
TA for biochem - 3 semesters
TA for intro physics - 4 semesters
TA for into bio for non majors - 1 semester

TA for a prison education program where we go to a nearby prison and teach community college style courses - 2 semesters

Bio student advisor for 1 year - Meet with freshman bio majors, tutor a bit, help out with course planning, etc

LORs: probably a mix from the profs I have TA'd with and 1-2 from from humanities courses + volunteering (probably the suicide crisisline). Will ask my former PI for LoR later but I think he doesn't think real highly of me. We'll see how that convo goes.



Tentative reasonable school list:


UMDNJ- NJMS
UMDNJ - RWJ
Cooper Med

Tufts

Drexel
Jefferson
Temple
Penn State-Hershey

Albany
Hofstra
SUNY-Downstate
U of Rochester


GWU
Georgetown

Tulane
UMiami-Miller
Wake Forest

Rush
Loyola Stritch
Rosalind Franklin

Reach schools that I may waste money on

NYU
Dartmouth
Mt. Sinai/Icahn
Weill
Columbia
Vandy
Baylor
Duke
UMich
Northwestern
Emory
UVA
Mayo
UMich


Overall thoughts: I'm realistic that I have little chances at those dream reaches. Of the schools on the reach list, I will probably apply to half or so of them, those are the ones I just threw up for now.

I'm just hoping to get in somewhere when I apply. I could beef up the shadowing over the coming year I guess. I don't have anything killer as a hook. Hopefully for the realistic schools it isn't the end of the world. My only regret was I couldn't boost that mcat by a point or two. Would have been over the moon with a 35 or 36 and a bit disappointed with the 11 in bs considering I have a decently strong bio background but I have no right to complain about the score in general.

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[Person0715]

You have great volunteer experiences! Overall list looks good, but it would probably be best to whittle down your reaches a bit. Applying to 35 schools sounds like torture!

 

[dsg92]

Yea. Unfortunately I'm in that no mans land area. I know my app is not killer to waltz into a top 20 and its likely I won't get into one but I think its reasonable to apply to a bunch (ie I think I pass the laugh test; correct me if I'm Wrong lol). As I said in the original post I'll definitely whittle the reaches down. On a normal day I probably won't get into one of those reaches. On a really good day maybe I've got a small shot (hence the hope lol). But I appreciate the feedback. more thoughts welcome.

dsg92 and sghos = same. Forgot my password one day a year or two back and made another account out of frustration. Then realized like an idiot I should have just used the forgot password function. Fail.

 

[sghos]

bueller? bueller?

 

[sghos]

Goro? Agent 8?

 

[thegypsyqueen]

Yea. Unfortunately I'm in that no mans land area. I know my app is not killer to waltz into a top 20 and its likely I won't get into one but I think its reasonable to apply to a bunch (ie I think I pass the laugh test; correct me if I'm Wrong lol). As I said in the original post I'll definitely whittle the reaches down. On a normal day I probably won't get into one of those reaches. On a really good day maybe I've got a small shot (hence the hope lol). But I appreciate the feedback. more thoughts welcome.

dsg92 and sghos = same. Forgot my password one day a year or two back and made another account out of frustration. Then realized like an idiot I should have just used the forgot password function. Fail.

Definitely apply to a handful of top 20s. You have the stats to get at least a couple of II in that tier. With that said, keep your match school list long. Personally, I would apply ~5-10 (depending on how set you are at going to one) reaches (top 20s) and 10-15 matches. Your app looks really strong and I would be surprised if you didn't get some acceptances.

 

[sghos]

any other match schools to add that I might be missing?

 

[sghos]

One thing I am worried about? Not having a LoR from my PI. I just don't think he would write me a real strong one based on my conversations with him. For better schools I know this may be a big hit, I am more worried about this at my "reasonable" school list. Does eat at me occasionally.

 

[487806]

Already saw this thread before but forgot to reply to it. My apologies.

any other match schools to add that I might be missing?

Your overall LizzyM score is 72 and you have good ECs. There's no need to add more match schools. You optimized your chances in a well-balanced list.

One thing I am worried about? Not having a LoR from my PI. I just don't think he would write me a real strong one based on my conversations with him. For better schools I know this may be a big hit, I am more worried about this at my "reasonable" school list. Does eat at me occasionally.

You're right that it could be worrisome for the research-heavy schools, but it's not a requirement for the "safety" schools in your list.

 

[Omppu27]

No love for gyngyn, brahski??

Anyway, I think you'll be starting medical school fall 2015. You have a great stats and a great list of ECs. It looks like you found some great opportunities and stuck with them from the start of college which is always a plus.

Also, what is a non-HYP ivy? perhaps non-Harvard/Yale/Princeton?

 

[jeghaber]

No love for gyngyn, brahski??

Anyway, I think you'll be starting medical school fall 2015. You have a great stats and a great list of ECs. It looks like you found some great opportunities and stuck with them from the start of college which is always a plus.

Also, what is a non-HYP ivy? perhaps non-Harvard/Yale/Princeton?

Yup

 

[sghos]

Thanks for the responses. We'll see what happens in a year.

 

[ToKingdomCome]

you're numbers are swag.

 

[sghos]

you're numbers are swag.

Eh the GPA is good, MCAT is OK. Gyngyn, McLoaf, Goro may care to comment? Thanks to those who responded, gives me a feel for my list.

 

[sghos]

and big bad bumpity bump.