MD Canadian - 3.88 cGPA, 514 MCAT

[dunnowhattoput]

Please do not quote my thread!

Hello,

I am a Canadian student hoping to apply to some American schools this cycle. Please find the (semi-vague) details to my application below. I'm a bit worried of my MCAT, but I feel I improved significantly (92nd percentile) on my write of the new version compared to the old ones (73-83rd). Please let me know what you think, what I could improve on and which schools would be my best shot.

cGPA: 3.88
sGPA: ~3.7
- There is a strong upward trend with my GPA each year:
1st year - 3.64
2nd year - 3.92
3rd year - 3.97
4th year - 4.0

MCAT: 514 (132/127/128/127); third write (wrote the old one twice: 31 and 29, with just verbal fluctuating).

Country: Canada
Ethnicity: South Asian


*Most of my experiences are done 3rd year onwards and have lasted about 1-2 years.
Clinical experience: 40 hours shadowing specialist & family physician, 120+ hours hospital volunteering
Research experience: All dry lab/library research. 2 paid positions with over 1000 hours at one (1.5 years) and 500 at the other (summer), during academic year and summer, no publications (will be submitted later in the year); senior thesis work and poster presentation, publication in progress; 2 research volunteer positions with publications in progress.
Non-clinical volunteering: 40 hours mentoring children, ~80 hours helping elderly at retirement home and exercise programs
ECs: 3 executive positions (co-founded 2 clubs) with about 100 hours each, 150+ hours tutoring/mentoring first year students, 30 hours as a contributing author for online health information, 100 hours in a leadership program
Awards: Scholar award for perfect GPA in a year (4.0)

Schools I have on my list and need to cut down:

• Boston U
• Case Western Reserve
• U Kentucky
• UVA
• Wayne State
• Virginia Commonwealth
• Loma Linda
• UNC-Chapel Hill
• Oakland
• Geisel Dartmouth
• Saint Lous
• Central Michigan
• U Hawaii
• Meharry
• Howard
• G Washinton
• Columbia U
• T Jefferson
• NYU
• PennState Hershey
• SUNY Upstate
• Albert Einstein
• Georgetown
• WIsconsin
• Mayo

• UC Davis
• U Texas
• Tulane U
• Chicago Franklin
• New York
• Emory U
• Warren Alpert
• U Louisville
• Michigan State

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[gyngyn]

Delete the mission based schools (HBCU's, Loma Linda...).
Delete the schools that accepted 3 or fewer internationals (UCD, TX schools).
Delete the schools where the median MCAT is above 33 (Case).
Delete schools where internationals are likely to be part of a special program (Brown).
Come back and we'll be glad to edit.

 

[dunnowhattoput]

Delete the mission based schools (HBCU's, Loma Linda...).
Delete the schools that accepted 3 or fewer internationals (UCD, TX schools).
Delete the schools where the median MCAT is above 33 (Case).
Delete schools where internationals are likely to be part of a special program (Brown).
Come back and we'll be glad to edit.

Thank you for the direction - I'm still a bit unsure about some of the deletions. Is this list better? Also, do you think I do not stand a chance for any school above a 33 median?

- Albert Einstein
- Wayne State
- Virginia Commonwealth U
- Oakland U
- Central Michigan U
- Meharry
- Howard U
- G Washington
- SUNY Upstate
- PennState Hershey
- Chicago Franklin U
- New York
- Georgetown U

 

[nonamesleft]

Please do not quote my thread!
I'm a bit worried of my MCAT, but I feel I improved significantly (92nd percentile) on my write of the new version compared to the old ones (73-83rd). Please let me know what you think, what I could improve on and which schools would be my best shot.
MCAT: 514 (132/127/128/127); third write (wrote the old one twice: 31 and 29, with just verbal fluctuating).

Have you applied in previous cycles? (Why did you take the MCAT so many times?)

 

[dunnowhattoput]

Have you applied in previous cycles? (Why did you take the MCAT so many times?)

This is my first cycle for American schools, I have only applied to Canadian.

I took it again to bring my verbal score up because it was too low for Canadian schools.

 

[nonamesleft]

Thank you for the direction - I'm still a bit unsure about some of the deletions. Is this list better? Also, do you think I do not stand a chance for any school above a 33 median?

- Albert Einstein
- Wayne State
- Virginia Commonwealth U
- Oakland U
- Central Michigan U
- Meharry
- Howard U
- G Washington
- SUNY Upstate
- PennState Hershey
- Chicago Franklin U
- New York
- Georgetown U

Howard and Meharry are HBCU's that @gyngyn mentioned above. Which New York school is "New York"? NYMC or NYU? Either way, unless you're banking on a Canadian acceptance, I think you need a longer US schools list.
Your newest MCAT score (514) is approximately 33. You have two older MCATs that adcoms will also see. If they only consider your newest score, then you're looking at the 33 median. If they consider your older scores as well, then you don't have a 33. Your GPA is strong, but not strong enough to be above a school's 90th percentile. Therefore, you should try to balance both the MCAT with your GPA for your "optimal" list.
You could try this: http://forums.studentdoctor.net/threads/wedgedawgs-applicant-rating-system.1131149/
Compile a list of schools and then eliminate the ones that don't accept Canadians or haven't accepted more than 3 in a while.

 

[gyngyn]

Thank you for the direction - I'm still a bit unsure about some of the deletions. Is this list better? Also, do you think I do not stand a chance for any school above a 33 median?

- Albert Einstein
- Wayne State
- Virginia Commonwealth U
- Oakland U
- Central Michigan U
- Meharry
- Howard U
- G Washington
- SUNY Upstate
- PennState Hershey
- Chicago Franklin U
- New York
- Georgetown U

Much better.
Delete the HBCU's as noted above.
If you don't have interviews by November, a pre-prepared DO application is a consideration.