cGPA 3.67 sGPA 3.55 MCAT 508

[BrainMindBody]

Hoping for some help with my chances on MD schools this cycle.

• CA resident
• 508 MCAT (Chem/Phys 128, CARS 126, B/B 125, Psych 129)
• Psych/Bio double major
• clinical volunteer abroad and locally
• non-clinical volunteer in various capacities
• interned then worked at psychiatric clinic in various roles, including independently managing caseload of patients and staff management position (4 years total by Aug 2016)
• Also work as a Lab Tech at my university
• was president of on campus club, members of others
• research in Alzheimer's, leading my own project (2 years by Aug 2016)
• Significant adversity growing up, particularly in last couple years of college (unfortunately affected my GPA that was previously 3.9/4.0 in sciences, but that's just freshman and sophomore year), but ended with 4.0 last two quarters
• Grew up in low SES home/neighborhoods, financially help to support my family by working two jobs (up to 5 jobs during college while volunteering)
• took a gap year working, doing research, volunteering and will continue

I am nervous about my B/B score on the MCAT. I was scoring high in practice, so focused more on Chem/Phys, which improved, but apparently Bio suffered

Any help would be great! Both in-state and OOS chances Thanks so much!!!

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[gyngyn]

You must have a list.
Is that your only MCAT?
Go for at least a dozen schools that might interview you with the equivalent of a 29 MCAT.

 

[BrainMindBody]

Yes, that is my only MCAT. I submitted my application before I received my scores and had felt more confident about them, so I am wondering if I should add to my school list. I qualified for the FAP, so I applied to 15 schools.

All six in-state public

• UCD
• UCSF
• UCI
• UCR
• UCLA
• UCSD

And the rest OOS

• U of Oregon
• U of Washington
• U of Colorado
• U of Arizona, Tucson
• U of Nevada, Reno
• George Washington
• Georgetown
• Albert Einstein
• Yale (have collaborators in research, but feel like I reached too far)

My AMCAS GPA was also lower than I had calculated using one of the excel sheets someone posted on SDN.

Any suggestions on a few schools I should add? I can't afford too many.

Thanks so much for your reply @gyngyn

 

[gyngyn]

If you did not attend UCR or are not from the IE, delete UCR.
Delete OHSU (stats).
Delete U WA ( not WWAMI).
Delete Yale.
Delete CO.
Apply to both AZ schools.
Consider:
VCU
TCMC
Eastern Virginia
Loyola
Creighton
SLU
WVU
Rush
Rosalind Franklin
Oakland
Quinnipac
Western Michigan
Drexel
Temple
Jefferson
Tufts
Albany
MCW
U of IL

 

[WedgeDawg]

Alright, well you definitely need to change your list around. You have essentially no chance at UCSF, Yale, and perhaps UCLA and UCSD. A 29 MCAT just won't cut it. If you don't live in the Inland Empire region of California, UCR will have no interest in you. U Wash only interviews people in its 5 "in-state" states, of which California is not one, so take that off too. George Washington and Georgetown have an exceptionally high volume of applicants, so you can't really count on an interview there. Albert Einstein is a reach for you, but if you really want to keep it, you might be within the 10th percentile MCAT (I'm not sure - check MSAR). That leaves UCD, UCI, Oregon, Colorado, Arizona, and Nevada. When you're applying with a 29 MCAT, UCD and UCI might be too far out of reach just because of the surplus of overqualified candidates from California. I don't know how much the other 4 are receptive to OOS applicants.

Maybe look into some of the NY/PA schools (Drexel, NYMC, Albany, etc) as well as most of the schools gyngyn listed above, and potentially consider applying DO as well.

 

[BrainMindBody]

Thank you both for your input! @gyngyn @WedgeDawg

I can probably afford to add about five more schools. I have access to the MSAR, so when deciding should I just go off of the lower end MCAT scores and where I could see myself excelling the most? My previous school list was based off of where I knew at least one person in the area as well.

 

[Nietzschelover]

Sorry to keep nagging about this. Where are you Rachiie? A 508 should be a solid 30, no? A 507 is between 29 and 30.

 

[BrainMindBody]

That's what I thought too, but regardless of what we think, it matters most how the adcoms are seeing it

 

[Gandyy]

Sorry to keep nagging about this. Where are you Rachiie? A 508 should be a solid 30, no? A 507 is between 29 and 30.

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/thr...centile-comparison-conversion-tables.1143689/

Its pretty much a 29. Its right below a 30. I guess its a 29.75? Idk

 

[Nietzschelover]

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/thr...centile-comparison-conversion-tables.1143689/

Its pretty much a 29. Its right below a 30. I guess its a 29.75? Idk

29 by the chart equates with the 73rd percentile. That's where 29 STARTS. 507 and 508 are above that. I can see conceding 507, but not 508. And how is 29.75 "pretty much a 29"?

 

[gyngyn]

29 by the chart equates with the 73rd percentile. That's where 29 STARTS. 507 and 508 are above that. I can see conceding 507, but not 508. And how is 29.75 "pretty much a 29"?

The confidence intervals for all of these scores overlap. Until we have all transitioned to new MCAT scores, some blurring at the margins is going to happen.

 

[Nietzschelover]

The confidence intervals for all of these scores overlap. Until we have all transitioned to new MCAT scores, some blurring at the margins is going to happen.

Understood....but judging by the trending on SDN the blurring consistently is skewing in a downward direction.

 

[gyngyn]

Understood....but judging by the trending on SDN the blurring consistently is skewing in a downward direction.

Conservative is usually a better strategy.

 

[Gandyy]

29 by the chart equates with the 73rd percentile. That's where 29 STARTS. 507 and 508 are above that. I can see conceding 507, but not 508. And how is 29.75 "pretty much a 29"?

I mean... ok The adcom himself is telling you they see it as a 29.

I guess if we are going to be exact and Efle's Chart is 100 percent accurate, then a 508 is 4 percent higher than a 29.

Again, gyngyn clarified this anyways.

Also when you make 4 percent higher or 4 percent lower on a test, is it really that big of a difference? Especially since there are no Letter Grades on the MCAT.

If we were to look at a 31 vs a 29, that is a 10 percent difference. Fairly considerable, but a 508 and a 29?

In the end it just depends on who is your looking at your application. Some people may see your 30 as really weak compared to a 32. Others may not care at all since its in about the same "confidence interval" as AAMC puts it.

 

[Nietzschelover]

I mean... ok The adcom himself is telling you they see it as a 29.

I guess if we are going to be exact and Efle's Chart is 100 percent accurate, then a 508 is 4 percent higher than a 29.

Again, gyngyn clarified this anyways.

Also when you make 4 percent higher or 4 percent lower on a test, is it really that big of a difference? Especially since there are no Letter Grades on the MCAT.

If we were to look at a 31 vs a 29, that is a 10 percent difference. Fairly considerable, but a 508 and a 29?

In the end it just depends on who is your looking at your application. Some people may see your 30 as really weak compared to a 32. Others may not care at all since its in about the same "confidence interval" as AAMC puts it.

Heisenberg's chart has 508 and 507 as 30s. Yes, some adcoms may view a 508 as a 29, and yes they are the ultimate judges who matter. But since the new scoring is so new, and everyone including AAMC and adcoms are in a period of flux regarding score interpretation, I am hoping that their initial interpretations of what scores equate to are open to adjustment. In other words, I'm hoping they will continue to consider score translation as opposed to this already being a done deal. And yes, 4% may be a big deal if that makes a difference in an adcom viewing a score as hitting the minimally acceptable target.

 

[Gandyy]

Heisenberg's chart has 508 and 507 as 30s. Yes, some adcoms may view a 508 as a 29, and yes they are the ultimate judges who matter. But since the new scoring is so new, and everyone including AAMC and adcoms are in a period of flux regarding score interpretation, I am hoping that their initial interpretations of what scores equate to are open to adjustment. In other words, I'm hoping they will continue to consider score translation as opposed to this already being a done deal. And yes, 4% may be a big deal if that makes a difference in an adcom viewing a score as hitting the minimally acceptable target.

Again, it comes to down to who is viewing your application.

 

[Nietzschelover]

Again, it comes to down to who is viewing your application.

True.....until the scores are sedimented with meaning in a way that is accepted across the industry analogous to what '30,' '32,' '34,' etc have meant up to this point.

 

[Gandyy]

True.....until the scores are sedimented with meaning in a way that is accepted across the industry analogous to what '30,' '32,' '34,' etc have meant up to this point.

That probably wont be for another 3 years or so I'd say. For OP, I believe their score will be looked at as a 30 or a 29.

 

[Nietzschelover]

That probably wont be for another 3 years or so I'd say. For OP, I believe their score will be looked at as a 30 or a 29.

Agreement reached.

And I can see on the other thread that you are very tuned in to the implications of scores that fall in borderline categories, and with potentially high stakes. You're getting some great feedback from Grapes over there.

 

[Gandyy]

Agreement reached.

And I can see on the other thread that you are very tuned in to the implications of scores that fall in borderline categories, and with potentially high stakes. You're getting some great feedback from Grapes over there.

I am tuned in to borderline categories indeed as I should be and you and anyone else on this forum would probably be in my situation.

However my argument here isnt affected by my situation.

I just dont see a large difference between small percentile ranges. That is all. Whats more, my interpretation of percentiles doesn't matter at all either. Its the people who view your application whose views actually matter.

As far as Grapes assessment of my situation goes, its good advice, But for my sake, I"m reserving myself to not getting into any medical school at all.

preparing for the worst possible scenario beforehand no matter how small the chances is the best way to not pain yourself when trouble comes knocking