My chances...?

[ukae]

Hi everyone!

I'm hoping to apply this upcoming cycle. I'm not that stellar of an applicant but any feedback would be appreciated. Thank you!

Currently a 4th year
Major: Bio
GPA: 3.9
MCAT: 30 (will retake in April.. hopefully can raise it to 32-33?)
ECs:
- Volunteer at hospital (100 hours)
- Medical brigade for one week (Ecuador)
- Research (2 years, will be doing poster presentation + thesis soon)
- TA for bio (1 semester)
- Taught SAT class
- Random volunteering activities like after school science programs, nurse's clinic ...
- Shadowed a surgeon once, hoping to shadow at least one more doctor
LORs: I think they are just average

ahh......

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[Goro]

Chances are excellent. Suggest NOT re-taking unless you're 100% confident you can do better. Keep in mind that knowledge decay is real,a nd you CAN do worse. You're fine for a lot of schools...you don't need to go to Wash U or the Ivies

Hi everyone!

I'm hoping to apply this upcoming cycle. I'm not that stellar of an applicant but any feedback would be appreciated. Thank you!

Currently a 4th year
Major: Bio
GPA: 3.9
MCAT: 30 (will retake in April.. hopefully can raise it to 32-33?)
ECs:
- Volunteer at hospital (100 hours)
- Medical brigade for one week (Ecuador)
- Research (2 years, will be doing poster presentation + thesis soon)
- TA for bio (1 semester)
- Taught SAT class
- Random volunteering activities like after school science programs, nurse's clinic ...
- Shadowed a surgeon once, hoping to shadow at least one more doctor
LORs: I think they are just average

ahh......

 

[October88]

Chances are excellent. Suggest NOT re-taking unless you're 100% confident you can do better. Keep in mind that knowledge decay is real,a nd you CAN do worse. You're fine for a lot of schools...you don't need to go to Wash U or the Ivies

What you wrote looks exactly what an average medical school applicant should look like. You will be fine if you apply to mid-tier schools.

 

[Acetabulous]

I agree with Goro. Getting a 30 on the MCAT closes many doors, but getting lower than that on a retake will close a lot more. I retook a 33 and it paid off, but I only retook it because I was consistently scoring much higher on practice tests. If your average was right around 30, I wouldn't take the chance.

 

[ukae]

Thank you so much for the feedback! I'll work hard for the MCAT but if I'm not scoring well consistently I'll cancel. I still think it's worth a try and I just hope it pays off....

 

[red doctober]

Given your attitude toward retaking the MCAT (only improving by 2-3 points), I would highly recommend that you do not retake unless one section was 7 or lower. Getting a worse score the second time around would be a potential app-killer. Also, get in and shadow more, as in more than just one more doc. Try to shadow a primary-care physician.

 

[ukae]

What you wrote looks exactly what an average medical school applicant should look like. You will be fine if you apply to mid-tier schools.

I am in CA. Which CA schools are considered mid-tier? Would schools like UCI or UC Davis be a reach for me?
And could someone suggest some OOS-friendly schools? Thank you!!!!

 

[SOMBound13]

I am in CA. Which CA schools are considered mid-tier? Would schools like UCI or UC Davis be a reach for me?
And could someone suggest some OOS-friendly schools? Thank you!!!!

All Calif SOMs would be a reach simply because they're very difficult to get into. A Calif's SOM's particularly lower ranking won't matter. They all get a boat-load of apps.

With a MCAT 30 getting into a Calif SOM may be impossible without URM status or hook.

You need to look at the mid-ranked/unranked privates in the middle of the country. SLU, Loyola-Chi, Creighton, MCW, Temple, etc.

If you're a female, then apply to U South Alabama (this is a MD school)...it wants more females and encorages those with your stats to apply.

While the below doesn't specify wanting more females, the gender gap of matriculation is an indicator that females will have an edge....even if they're not from a bordering state.

University of South Alabama College of Medicine.
Out of State Students - Although our primary obligation is to residents of the state of Alabama, we encourage applicants from neighboring states who have the following credentials:

Baccalaureate degree from an accredited four-year college
GPA of 3.6 or higher
MCAT score of 30 or higher