Just Got MCAT Scores... School List Help Please

[rrxcrunner]

Hello,

I'll start with what I am looking for. My goal is to be accepted to an MD program, but I plan to also apply DO just in case things don't work out (unless I am advised otherwise). My top DO choice is Nova Southeastern by far. I am originally from Indiana, but I am in undergrad in Florida where I stay with my aunt who claims me as a dependent. I have done all I can to pass as a FL resident (driver's license, voter's registration, etc) and have marked FL as my state of residency even though I know not all schools will agree (USF specifically told me no).

Stats:

U/G: Florida Institute of Technology

GPA: 3.86

Science GPA: Not entirely sure, but lower maybe ~3.75 at lowest I think

Major: Biochemistry (chemistry focus)

MCAT: 30Q (PS:11 VR:10 BS:9)

ECs:

Most meaningful (First 2 only)

1. NCAA cross country and track and field athlete
All 4 years ~ 25 hours per week

2. Founder of drug awareness program
Since Jan 2011

Not listed as most meaningful:

3. Chemistry tutor
Since Jan 2010

4. Treasurer of Student Athletic Advisory Committee
Since 2010

5. Medical Office volunteer
5 months freshman year

6. Emergency Department volunteer
since August 2010 4 hours per week

7. Research Assistant at Florida Tech Chem Lab
Since Jan 2010 10 hours per week

8. Summer Research Internship at Naval Research Laboratories
Summer 2011 and Summer 2012 at 40 hours per week

9. Founding member of triathlon club
Since Jan 2012

10. Posters and presentations
Discussed one poster I was the first author and presenter of, one presentation I gave after my summer research, a paper that is in preparation for submission which I am listed as the 1st author of, and a second poster which I was listed as an author of

11. Physician shadowing
40 hours shadowing family medicine (DO)
16 hours shadowing orthopedic surgeon (MD)
8 hours shadowing general surgeon (MD)
8 hours shadowing anesthesiologist (MD)

12. Community service volunteer
Discussed different fund raising activities for charities and volunteer efforts for the community

13. Pre med club member
Pretty simple kind of just a filler

14. Pharmacy Technician
35 hours per week summer 2010. Not licensed, mostly ran the register and helped count/sort pills

15. Academic and athletic awards
Listed a bunch that came up. Nothing too great, but took all the characters


Personal statement:

I discussed how I developed a chronic pain when I was younger while pursuing my sport (running), Eventually my Dr. helped me overcome it, and I received a full athletic scholarship for my undergrad (first family member to get a degree).

Second part of the statement leads in to how my father recovered from drug addiction with the help of a great psychiatrist. Mentioned that I lost my brother from a drug overdose last November because he didn't have such a great physician to help him.

Tried to show that I have had some variety in experiences, and mentioned going from rural Indiana to summers in Washington DC. (Hoping mentioning both show a sort of tie to the area which may help with schools around there).

Overall, it was fairly written I think. Lots of editors, should not bring my app down at least.

LOR:

Can never tell for sure, but my writers surely all wrote great letters so I am hoping my pre med committee will do the same.

Schools:

All Florida Schools And....?

I hope to find schools near Indiana (only 1 school in IN, but maybe others in the Midwest especially near Chicago), DC, Philadelphia.

Definitely open to all suggestions of schools which I stand a decent chance at. Feel free to ask more about anything, I know I was very brief with ECs and everything else really.

I haven't submitted yet, but really hope to by the end of the week for sure.
Also, I am white and am choosing not to claim disadvantaged status.

Thanks so much for your time!

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[Catalystik]

Hello,

I'll start with what I am looking for. My goal is to be accepted to an MD program, but I plan to also apply DO just in case things don't work out (unless I am advised otherwise). My top DO choice is Nova Southeastern by far. I am originally from Indiana, but I am in undergrad in Florida where I stay with my aunt who claims me as a dependent. I have done all I can to pass as a FL resident (driver's license, voter's registration, etc) and have marked FL as my state of residency even though I know not all schools will agree (USF specifically told me no).

Stats:

U/G: Florida Institute of Technology

GPA: 3.86

Science GPA: Not entirely sure, but lower maybe ~3.75 at lowest I think

Major: Biochemistry (chemistry focus)

MCAT: 30Q (PS:11 VR:10 BS:9)

ECs:

Most meaningful (First 2 only)

1. NCAA cross country and track and field athlete
All 4 years ~ 25 hours per week

2. Founder of drug awareness program
Since Jan 2011

Not listed as most meaningful:

3. Chemistry tutor
Since Jan 2010

4. Treasurer of Student Athletic Advisory Committee
Since 2010

5. Medical Office volunteer
5 months freshman year

6. Emergency Department volunteer
since August 2010 4 hours per week

7. Research Assistant at Florida Tech Chem Lab
Since Jan 2010 10 hours per week

8. Summer Research Internship at Naval Research Laboratories
Summer 2011 and Summer 2012 at 40 hours per week

9. Founding member of triathlon club
Since Jan 2012

10. Posters and presentations
Discussed one poster I was the first author and presenter of, one presentation I gave after my summer research, a paper that is in preparation for submission which I am listed as the 1st author of, and a second poster which I was listed as an author of

11. Physician shadowing
40 hours shadowing family medicine (DO)
16 hours shadowing orthopedic surgeon (MD)
8 hours shadowing general surgeon (MD)
8 hours shadowing anesthesiologist (MD)

12. Community service volunteer
Discussed different fund raising activities for charities and volunteer efforts for the community

13. Pre med club member
Pretty simple kind of just a filler

14. Pharmacy Technician
35 hours per week summer 2010. Not licensed, mostly ran the register and helped count/sort pills

15. Academic and athletic awards
Listed a bunch that came up. Nothing too great, but took all the characters


Personal statement:

I discussed how I developed a chronic pain when I was younger while pursuing my sport (running), Eventually my Dr. helped me overcome it, and I received a full athletic scholarship for my undergrad (first family member to get a degree).

Second part of the statement leads in to how my father recovered from drug addiction with the help of a great psychiatrist. Mentioned that I lost my brother from a drug overdose last November because he didn't have such a great physician to help him.

Tried to show that I have had some variety in experiences, and mentioned going from rural Indiana to summers in Washington DC. (Hoping mentioning both show a sort of tie to the area which may help with schools around there).

Overall, it was fairly written I think. Lots of editors, should not bring my app down at least.

LOR:

Can never tell for sure, but my writers surely all wrote great letters so I am hoping my pre med committee will do the same.

Schools:

All Florida Schools And....?

I hope to find schools near Indiana (only 1 school in IN, but maybe others in the Midwest especially near Chicago), DC, Philadelphia.

Definitely open to all suggestions of schools which I stand a decent chance at. Feel free to ask more about anything, I know I was very brief with ECs and everything else really.

I haven't submitted yet, but really hope to by the end of the week for sure.
Also, I am white and am choosing not to claim disadvantaged status.

Thanks so much for your time!

Download this google.doc spreadsheet data (an SDN collaborative effort from 6/2011), so you can fill in your own stats (on the “Your Stats” sheet at the very bottom), and it will tell you for which US med schools you’re competitive.

Next look at the sheet's in-state matriculation data before you do further research on each school, removing any from your list that take more than 85% in-state students: https://spreadsheets.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AmKVGWwobG5GdEx2MjlBTDE0bXFXNGFZczZqYTZKb2c&hl=en_US#gid=0

Then look up the mission statement of each, and be sure your ECs are a "fit" for the school.

Once you have a list, check out other factors that you care about: curriculum type, grading policy, weather, safety of area, rural vs city, cost of living & cost of attending, jobs or schools for significant others, location of clinical sites, proximity to home, etc, and use those to prune the list to a manageable number.

 

[rrxcrunner]

Very helpful, Thanks! As a "borderline applicant" should I be looking at a school list of around 20 or more?

Another question I had dealt with my personal statement, I spent a fair amount of time talking about my experience shadowing a family practitioner. Would it be advantageous to hint that I am interested in primary care for those schools which specifically are looking to teach primary care providers? I could just add like one sentence I think... Or would that detract from the schools which are not looking for that?

Thanks!

 

[Catalystik]

1) As a "borderline applicant" should I be looking at a school list of around 20 or more?

2) Another question I had dealt with my personal statement, I spent a fair amount of time talking about my experience shadowing a family practitioner.
a) Would it be advantageous to hint that I am interested in primary care for those schools which specifically are looking to teach primary care providers? I could just add like one sentence I think...
b) Or would that detract from the schools which are not looking for that?

1) I was thinking 20ish would be wise.

2a) What would the sentence be?

2b) There are ways of framing the statement that wouldn't make this an issue.

 

[rrxcrunner]

I was thinking about just adding something like how this particular Dr. taught me a couple of things and then adding "and sparked an interest in family medicine" or something to that effect. I'm not sure what effect that may have.

This is the list that I have come up with so far, if anyone sees any schools which I clearly am not a good fit for or will likely reject me instantly please let me know! Also feel free to add schools which I have a good chance at or fit well with.

Last question: Would anyone advise I apply DO? It'll cost like another $200, but it would be well worth it if it is the difference between taking a gap year or not.

1. Albany Medical College

2. Albert Einstein College of Medicine

3. Baylor College of Medicine

4. Drexel University College of Medicine

5. Eastern Virginia Medical School

6. FIU Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine

7. Florida Atlantic University Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine

8. Florida State University

9. George Washington University Sch of Med & Hlth Sci

10. Georgetown University School of Medicine

11. Howard University

12. Indiana University School of Medicine

13. Jefferson Medical Coll. of Thomas Jefferson Univ.

14. Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine

15. New York Medical College

16. Pennsylvania State University College of Medicine

17. Rush Medical College

18. Stanford University School of Medicine

19. Temple University School of Medicine

20. The Commonwealth Medical College

21. The University of Miami School of Medicine

22. The University of Toledo College of Medicine

23. Tulane University School of Medicine

24. University of Central Florida COM

25. University of Cincinnati College of Medicine

26. University of Florida

27. USF Health Morsani College of Medicine

28. Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine

29. Wake Forest

30. West Virginia University School of Medicine

 

[Catalystik]

Rather, I suggest you state what it is about family medicine that attracts you.

You might want to take a look at the median acceptee MCAT for those schools, or the matriculant averages seen here to help you prune out some of those reachier schools, like Baylor, Einstein, and Stanford:
https://spreadsheets.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AmKVGWwobG5GdEx2MjlBTDE0bXFXNGFZczZqYTZKb2c&hl=en_US#gid=0

Howard is a Traditionally Black Medical College which will expect substantive hands-on service to the poor. Georgetown and Loyola are similar in that respect. WVirginia has a strong regional bias. GWU gets >13,000 applications per year. And of course, some of the Florida schools aren't OOS friendly, so be sure you qualify as in-state in their eyes.

 

[Catalystik]

Last question: Would anyone advise I apply DO? It'll cost like another $200, but it would be well worth it if it is the difference between taking a gap year or not.

Oops, I knew there was something I forgot to answer.

I think it would be worthwhile to apply to a few DO schools that really resonate with you, if it means that your 78% odds of an MD acceptance will be boosted to 90%+ that you go to a med school in the US somewhere.

 

[rrxcrunner]

VS of 8? Is VS verbal... Because my verbal was 10. Sorry, maybe VS is something else I should know

Ya I definitely saw those 3 as my "reach" schools, but thought it may be worth a shot. Einstein only averages 32 and I have a 30 with a higher than average gpa so I thought I stood a fair chance, but I would rather not waste my money and find schools I have a better shot at if I don't.

My interest in Georgetown, Howard, and Loyola were based primarily on location. I have spent a couple summers in DC which I mentioned in my PS, and Chicago is only a couple hours from my hometown in IN.

A fair amount of my PS is dedicated to the drug problems in my family, and I mentioned being the first member of my family to get a college degree which may suggest socio-economical background kind of thing? Although my volunteer experience in this is very limited unless you count my experience with our school's drug awareness program which was a "most meaningful" EC for me.

W. Virginia shows 58% in state but a low average MCAT, which attracted me, but they are gone if there is that strong of a regional bias.

So I guess I better get on my AACOMAS app. My list for DO is:

1. Nova
2. PCOM
3. LECOM (both campuses if I can)
4. Adrian (new DO in Indiana)

Thanks so much again for the help!

 

[Catalystik]

1) VS of 8? Is VS verbal... Because my verbal was 10. Sorry, maybe VS is something else I should know

Ya I definitely saw those 3 as my "reach" schools, but thought it may be worth a shot. Einstein only averages 32 and I have a 30 with a higher than average gpa so I thought I stood a fair chance, but I would rather not waste my money and find schools I have a better shot at if I don't.

My interest in Georgetown, Howard, and Loyola were based primarily on location. I have spent a couple summers in DC which I mentioned in my PS, and Chicago is only a couple hours from my hometown in IN.

A fair amount of my PS is dedicated to the drug problems in my family, and
2) I mentioned being the first member of my family to get a college degree which may suggest socio-economical background kind of thing? Although my volunteer experience in this is very limited unless you count my experience with our school's drug awareness program which was a "most meaningful" EC for me.

3) W. Virginia shows 58% in state but a low average MCAT, which attracted me, but they are gone if there is that strong of a regional bias.

4) So I guess I better get on my AACOMAS app. My list for DO is:

1. Nova
2. PCOM
3. LECOM (both campuses if I can)
4. Adrian (new DO in Indiana)

1) Please disregard, as I recalled incorrectly. I will edit.

2) First family member in college adds to your diversity at some schools.

3) WVirginiaU, per the MSAR, wants strong state ties.

4) Good list.