3.9, 30, CA resident. Help with School List!

[OBIEWONKANOBE]

thanks everyone!

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[gyngyn]

Have you demonstrated a commitment to serve the inland empire?
Delete U of W and OHSU.
CO is a long shot with EC's (lack thereof) listed.
I know that you realize that UCLA, USC, UCSF and UCSD are also very long shots.
If WI is MCW, that leaves you maybe five or six schools where you have a fair to good chance at an interview.
That's not usually enough for a CA applicant with your stats.

 

[OBIEWONKANOBE]

I'm from northern cali, so UCRiv could be a stretch too...

EC's: 2 summers of clinical work experience, volunteer at clinic, 1 summer research + pub, some work during school as athletic trainer assistant, speak Spanish decent, studied abroad.



Any advice on schools I should add to the list?

 

[gyngyn]

Any advice on schools I should add to the list?

Time to get the MSAR and come back with a list. Focus on OOS privates with a median MCAT near 30.

 

[rfvbnmju]

Add Loyola Chicago and St. Louis since they are somewhat more CA friendly.

Sent from my phone.

 

[Goro]

NEOMED is region specific, so scratch that.

Are you aware that Uniformed Health Services requires a military commitment upon graduation?

Heed gyngyn's sage advice.

MCAT: 30 = 11 7 12 (Just received, I was expecting to do much better)
GPA: 3.9
D3 Athlete
Decent EC
CA Resident
Interest: Primary Care

Current List of Schools:
Uniformed Health Services
Creighton
Wisconsin
New York MC
Chicago Rosalind
Arizona Tucson
NEOMED
USC KECK
UC Davis
UC Irvine
UC Riverside
UCSF
UCSD
Oregon Health Sci
Univ Washington
Univ Colorado

Obviously a lot of these are long shots now...

I just added 5 DO's.

Should I add any MD's?

 

[OBIEWONKANOBE]

thanks everyone

 

[OBIEWONKANOBE]

Does anyone think that my 7 in verbal is just too low of a score? Will they evaluate my application holistically or just toss it aside because I have a 7?

 

[gyngyn]

Does anyone think that my 7 in verbal is just too low of a score? Will they evaluate my application holistically or just toss it aside because I have a 7?

Not with the right list. Every school interprets holism differently. It rarely means what the applicants seem to infer.

 

[OBIEWONKANOBE]

thanks everyone

 

[gyngyn]

My advisor seems to think I should retake it. I am not sure what to do.

I averaged a 32.5 on my last 6 AAMC practice exams and I scored a 34 on my last three. Still, my very last practice exam was a 12 8 14, so the reality is that I never found consistency in the verbal section.

Do you think I should retake it or apply to a broader range of schools and just see what happens? I feel like I would definitely improve my 7, but I am not sure if it will be the drastic improvement that most people think is necessary on a retake.

I am also interested in osteopathic medicine, but all of my clinical experience has been with MDs. I know a DO from my previous work experience and I could probably find time to shadow him if it would help.

We would all prefer that our students get the best possible score on the MCAT. It is the single most important metric in an application. Having seen the damage done by re-takes, I can only tell you that with a good list and a strong application your odds of being accepted are good. Admittedly, you are more likely to go OOS, but so are all CA applicants. I cannot explain your advisor's reasoning but he/she may be interpreting the observation that her students with similar scores have gone OOS as a failure when it is actually a victory.

 

[OBIEWONKANOBE]

Thank you gyngyn, that was encouraging. I personally have no problems going OOS - a new place to explore is always exciting. I am just scared that a 7 is going to hurt my application too much.

What sort of re-take score would you consider damaging? I probably wouldn't re-take it until late August, which would also hold my application quite awhile.

 

[gyngyn]

Thank you gyngyn, that was encouraging. I personally have no problems going OOS - a new place to explore is always exciting. I am just scared that a 7 is going to hurt my application too much.

What sort of re-take score would you consider damaging? I probably wouldn't re-take it until late August, which would also hold my application quite awhile.

There are very few avoidable things that are more damaging than a late application. Either study sufficiently to raise your score to 34+ and apply early (some other cycle) or apply stat with the 30. A re-test score of 31 or 32 won't help much and 30 or below will hurt.

 

[OBIEWONKANOBE]

So, after thinking about it, I don't think I am going to retake it. Hoping schools can look past the 7 and believe that it isn't reflective of my ability.

What are your thoughts about adding:

Albany
Quinnipiac
Commonwealth - PA
Drexel
George Washington

 

[gyngyn]

So, after thinking about it, I don't think I am going to retake it. Hoping schools can look past the 7 and believe that it isn't reflective of my ability.

What are your thoughts about adding:

Albany
Quinnipiac
Commonwealth - PA
Drexel
George Washington

You need about 6 more like these.