32 MCAT/3.65 cGPA/3.55 sGPA

[deleted643455]

Hello,

Looking for some help in terms of a list. Will be applying next fall. Alaskan resident from a top 20 university on the East Coast. From a small rural town and looking to return to a rural area.

Statistics:

cGPA: 3.67 w/ upward trend
sGPA: 3.55
MCAT(s): 25 (8/27/14); 32 (1/15/15)

LOR:

Great letters of recommendation from three professors, one of which I TA'd for. One LOR from my volunteer coordinator, and one from my summer job for the past 5 years.

Experiences:

Shadowing:

• 60+ hours of physician shadowing, including: urologist, cardiothoracic surgeon, GP.
• 10 hours of PA-C shadowing of a urologist specialist.

Work experience:

• 1 semester as an undergraduate lab teaching assistant for my school's Anatomy of Limbs and Back class. Taught 10-20 students at a time using cadaver prosections. (1 semester, 4 hours/week).
• 5 years as commercial fishing captain in rural Alaska -- in charge of a set-net skiff, fishing for Sockeye Salmon 1 month every summer. Very long work hours (12+ hour days, 30 days straight).
• 2 years running business that I built from ground up with another partner. A food truck in my town with homemade recipes and business plan. Ran at low operating costs and increased revenue by 30% from first summer to second. To cut costs, worked most of the man-hours (4 months/summer, 60-80 hours/week).
• 2 years as a river rafting guide in my hometown (4 months/summer, 40 hours/week).
• Currently working on a new medical/rehabilitation-related website/app that should be done by application time.

Volunteering:

• 250+ hours as a first responder for my campus's Emergency Response Team. Two responders on 12-hour shifts every night, patrolling campus and responding to all sorts of calls. First responder and first aid trained (100+ hours training total).
• ~60 hours as a health promotion student educator for my school. Planned and organized on-campus health promotion events, focusing especially on increasing student physical activity.
• 1 year of self-defense lessons for women and children at a local martial arts school (1-2 hours/week).

Other:

• High level competitor at Brazilian Jiu-jitsu, winning several tournaments over the last couple years around N. America.
• Ice hockey player on travel teams since a young age, numerous captaincies and championships.
• Took a year off after high school to travel the world before going to university.

List of potential schools:

• University of Washington (I am an Alaska resident, which has WWAMI priority here)
• George Washington
• Oregon Health and Science University
• University of Colorado
• Connecticut University
• University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill
• Brown University
• UC-Davis
• Georgetown University
• University of Minnesota
• University of Vermont
• Tufts
• Dartmouth
• USC Keck
• UCLA
• UCSD
• Mayo
• UC-Irvine
• Boston University

The italics are all reach schools. Looking to add some realistic schools and remove some unrealistic schools, with hopes to have a final list of ~25 total schools (pref. 18-20 within reach and 5 "reach" schools).

Appreciate all of the help.

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[Komorebi2]

Hi! I have the exact same stats as you and I am in the WWAMI region! So nice to meet you! Congrats on your most recent MCAT

I am applying this year (so keep that in mind!) but I have a few thoughts for you:

1. Oregon, Colorado, Connecticut, UNC, UC-Davis (and all the other UC schools), Minnesota are all OOS schools that won't give you as much consideration as IS applicants unless you have a very compelling reasons to attend (like a connection to the state). Brown also has a very low acceptance rate and favors their own undergrads. So although, numbers-wise, there schools are more "within reach" they might not be your best bet. Since you want to apply to 18-20 schools, you should consider paring down the number of OOS public schools on your list.

2. Other schools to consider:
Albany, Drexel, Temple, Jefferson, Loyola, EVMS, NYMC, SLU, Wake Forest, Tulane

 

[gyngyn]

Delete: UNC, OHSU and all your reaches except maybe UCI.
Have you looked at the MSAR yet?
The suggestions above are a good place to start.
Look at OOS privates that have a median MCAT around 30.

 

[Goro]

You need some volunteer patient contact experience of you're dead meat. You need to show us that you know what you're getting into, and that you really want to be around sick people for the next 30-40 years.
I suggest:

• University of Washington
• George Washington
• Georgetown University
• University of Vermont
• Tufts
• Boston University
• Tulane
• U Miami
• Wake Forest
• Creighton
• Lome Linda (but read their list of don'ts)
• EVMS
• Albany
• NYMC
• Any new MD school
• The Philly Triplets
• Rush
• MCW
• Rosy Franklin
• SLU
• Creighton
• VCU
• ANY DO school. Start with PacNW and Western-OR