MD 523 MCAT, 3.45cGPA, MO Resident

[XxNOSCOPE69xX]

Hi everyone,
Just got my score back today and it was a lot higher than I'd thought it'd be so I could def use some help. Can't believe I'm finally making one of these posts. Thanks for the help!

1. 3.45cGPA, 3.3ish sGPA (not yet verified so let's just say) slight upward trend over the years
2. 523 (132 CP/128 CARS/132 BB/131 PS
3. Missouri resident
4. Asian (ORM)
5. USNWR Top 20 Non-Ivy
6. Clinical: ~100 shadowing hours multiple specialties
7. Research: Summer + semester in same research lab
8. I think my nonnlincal volunteering is good but don't want to get into too much detail here. Service is something I am emphasizing in my app tho
9. Leadership: Fraternity comm service chairman, Red Cross VP and board positions
10. Employment: Lab tech for 2 years during the school year (10 hours a week)
11. Hobbies: Lifting weights, running, reading

I think most of my ECs are decent if not cookie cutter, and I know my clinical experience isn't the best.
My list I started making before I got my score today which I picked mostly by lowest 10th% GPA. I'm not entirely sure how high to reach. I've read on here the move is to try and go b/w the 10-90th% of GPA and MCAT, but my GPA just seems a little too low for a lot of schools.
Here was my prelim list:

1. University of Missouri (state school)
2. Albany
3. Rosalind Franklin
4. Creighton
5. Drexel
6. Quinnipiac
7. Tufts
8. GW
9. Georgetown
10. Hofstra
11. USC Keck
12. Temple
13. Loyola
14. MCW
15. NYMC
16. Penn State
17. SLU
18. Thomas Jefferson
19. TCMC
20. Tulane
21. U Miami
22. Rochester
23. VA Tech
24. Wake Forest
25. Western Michigan
26. Boston University
27. EVMS
28. OSU
29. VCU
30. U Vermont
31. Cincy
32. Oakland Beaumont

I am considering removing TCMC, BU, Drexel, Vermont, and Oakland.
I am considering adding Emory, Case Western (they might be research heavy tho?), Pitt, Sinai, and UCLA bc my stats seem to match somewhat closely in that profile, but even still not completely. Any help is appreciated! Thank you all!

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[EEtoPre-Med]

This is an interesting case. Your MCAT should balance out the GPA at some schools (although I am far from an expert). The list looks good for the most part if you meet all the pre-reqs for all of those schools. How will you answer the question about your GPA being low in an interview? That I think will be important, but I would guess that you would get some II's.

 

[GrapesofRath]

Finding the right balance of how high to aim is always tricky in spots like this.

What's important to realize is lowest stat schools are not the ones most likely to interview you in your case even if it sounds counter intuitive. You arent the type of person the NYMC's of the world target with a score that above their 90th.
MSAR 10-90th stats are rough guidelines at best. You are a rare situation with this asymmetry, you have to use different sets of rules than generic SDN guidelines.
Me personally in this case I would go through MSAR and find schools that are OOS friendly with an MCAT median between roughly 33-35 that get <11k apps. That's where youll likely find a number of the ones probably most likely to interview you which is all you should be hoping to identify making a list.
Keck Miami Cincinnati Emory Tufts etc from your list are good examples of what to target. RFU Penn St Drexel NYMC Quinnipac etc are not.
You do seem to be light on clinical experience which can be another thing that complicates your outlook

 

[XxNOSCOPE69xX]

@EEtoPre-Med I would say its due to a rough adjustment period and first couple of semesters, but now I've been doing better even though I'm more involved and in higher level classes. And thanks, I hope so!

@GrapesofRath I appreciate the input here. That's definitely counter-intuitive; I wanna increase my chances by staying conservative but it seems I can't do that too much.
So to narrow this down to 30 (which seems like a more reasonable number while still applying broadly), I would remove 7. Trying to remove the lowest yield here based on # of apps and low median MCAT, does removing RFU, Drexel, GW, Georgetown, NYMC, Temple, and TCMC (bc it seems like they're biases towards PA and nearby people anyway) sound good? Then adding Emory, Case, Einstein, UVA, and Pitt. Would taking away OOS public schools like Vermont or Oakland be better than removing any of those private schools I mentioned? Thanks again

 

[GrapesofRath]

@EEtoPre-Med I would say its due to a rough adjustment period and first couple of semesters, but now I've been doing better even though I'm more involved and in higher level classes. And thanks, I hope so!

@GrapesofRath I appreciate the input here. That's definitely counter-intuitive; I wanna increase my chances by staying conservative but it seems I can't do that too much.
So to narrow this down to 30 (which seems like a more reasonable number while still applying broadly), I would remove 7. Trying to remove the lowest yield here based on # of apps and low median MCAT, does removing RFU, Drexel, GW, Georgetown, NYMC, Temple, and TCMC (bc it seems like they're biases towards PA and nearby people anyway) sound good? Then adding Emory, Case, Einstein, UVA, and Pitt. Would taking away OOS public schools like Vermont or Oakland be better than removing any of those private schools I mentioned? Thanks again

Yes I would remove those schools you mentioned and others such as Penn St etc.
Might as well give CWRU a shot even with lighter research exp. Emory and Einstein are good choices. I dont know enough about the specifics of how UVA does admission to feel comfortable being definitite but I'd lean towards including.
I would find more schools like that: that rough guideline I gave for what to look for in MSAR should help in identifying such schools(ie Ohio St, Cincinnati etc)
Oakland is not a public. Vermont isnt a typical public, theyre mostly OOS and their IS vs OOS class stats arent really different.

 

[precisiongraphic]

I have seen/experienced that applicants with low gpa/high MCAT of 99th percentile (relatively speaking), applicants do better if they avoid mid- to lower-tier schools with low MCAT medians and instead apply strategically to higher MCAT median schools. (This would be in addition to their respective state schools and neighboring state schools and some lower tier where they fit the mission.) I would especially recommend Ohio State as they took quite a few MCAT heavy 72-74 LizzyM peeps this year.

Here's a quote from a post by efle: http://forums.studentdoctor.net/threads/schools-that-like-high-mcat-low-gpa.1135455/#post-17105448

Quote: Among schools with 35+ median mcats, there are only six with 10th percentile cGPA's below 3.50 (lowest being 3.40) and they are:

Keck School of Med at Uni Southern California
UC Los Angeles Geffen School of Medicine
Ohio State University College of Medicine
Emory University School of Med
Boston University School of Medicine
Duke University School of Med

With 10th percentiles 3.50-3.60:

University of Virginia School of Medicine
Case Western Reserve School of Med
UC San Diego School of Medicine
University of Pittsburgh School of Med
UC San Francisco School of Medicine
Columbia University College of Physicians
University of Michigan Medical School

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/threads/schools-that-like-high-mcat-low-gpa.1135455/#post-17105448

On this thread Knife and Gun Club says that he was accepted to both Tulane and Virginia Tech with a 3.4/3.2/35.

I would also encourage you not to apply late - if you're complete past Labor Day, apply next year instead and work on your app in the meantime.

 

[XxNOSCOPE69xX]

Thanks a lot for the help everyone. I already submitted my primary last week with one school and submitted to the rest of my schools today, and I'll be sure to post updates.

 

[hubbsbubbs]

Thanks a lot for the help everyone. I already submitted my primary last week with one school and submitted to the rest of my schools today, and I'll be sure to post updates.

How did things go for you?

 

[XxNOSCOPE69xX]

I ended up changing my school list quite a bit, and got myself 4 interviews and 2 acceptances! Thank you for your help everyone! PM me for specifics

 

[precisiongraphic]

I ended up changing my school list quite a bit, and got myself 4 interviews and 2 acceptances! Thank you for your help everyone! PM me for specifics

Congratulations!