Should I be worried? 35 mcat, 3.99 post-bacc, 3.36 gpa, CA resident

[burntheblobs]

I posted in a thread a few months ago with my stats and ECs but without a school list (now listed below). Now that the cycle is underway I'm getting pretty nervous as my friends are stacking up their interview invites, while I have gotten only one for late January. I was complete at most of these schools by August 1st. Is this just how it is for non-trads with low GPAs? Should I stop expecting that one of these schools will grant me an early interview?

California resident. I am a non-trad career changer. I enrolled in a post-bacc a few years after undergrad and after I had already been working in an unrelated field. My post-bacc consisted of 30+ units and all of my science pre-requisites. My undergrad performance was a 3.2, but I had a strong upward trend as I moved through (2.4 my first two semesters, and a 3.8 my final semester).

Volunteering:
-Pediatric clinic at a well known research hospital (2 years, once a month for 4 hours/shift)
-Med-Surg floor of a level-1 trauma center hospital with a very diverse and under-served population (1 year, 1-2x/week for 4 hours/shift
-Dog companion at a local humane society (2 years, weekly 2 hours/shift)

Shadowing:
-I have shadowed the physicians at the clinic I volunteered at for a few hours

ECs:
-I am an amateur boxer (I have actually had a sanctioned fight, in addition to sparring)
-I support myself with an internet business that I founded and a non-internet business that I founded
-I tutor the basic sciences to high school kids

Creighton
Drexel
Eastern Virginia
Dartmouth
Jefferson Medical College
Loyola Chicago
Virginia Commonwealth
Mayo
Med. College of Wisconsin
Oregon
Rosalind Franklin
Rush
St. Louis U
Temple
Univ of Toledo
Tufts
Tulane
UC Davis
UC Irvine
Univ of Cincinnati
Univ of Colorado
Univ of Iowa
Univ of Minnesota
Brown
Wayne State
Vermont
UCSF
Penn State
UCLA
Univ of AZ - Phoenix
West Virginia U
Indiana U
Univ of Missouri

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[gyngyn]

There is still plenty of time.

 

[burntheblobs]

What about adding a few schools? Do you think it's too late at this point?

 

[EliottReid]

There is an excel sheet here that will calculate your GPA. Do that and see if the GPA is good enough for schools like mayo. These are schools with a 3.8median and a 35+ MCAT.
Check the range for both and decide. Use the MSAR.

 

[Goro]

I count over 15 schools where I believe your chances will be very good. Patience is a virtue.

I posted in a thread a few months ago with my stats and ECs but without a school list (now listed below). Now that the cycle is underway I'm getting pretty nervous as my friends are stacking up their interview invites, while I have gotten only one for late January. I was complete at most of these schools by August 1st. Is this just how it is for non-trads with low GPAs? Should I stop expecting that one of these schools will grant me an early interview?

California resident. I am a non-trad career changer. I enrolled in a post-bacc a few years after undergrad and after I had already been working in an unrelated field. My post-bacc consisted of 30+ units and all of my science pre-requisites. My undergrad performance was a 3.2, but I had a strong upward trend as I moved through (2.4 my first two semesters, and a 3.8 my final semester).

Volunteering:
-Pediatric clinic at a well known research hospital (2 years, once a month for 4 hours/shift)
-Med-Surg floor of a level-1 trauma center hospital with a very diverse and under-served population (1 year, 1-2x/week for 4 hours/shift
-Dog companion at a local humane society (2 years, weekly 2 hours/shift)

Shadowing:
-I have shadowed the physicians at the clinic I volunteered at for a few hours

ECs:
-I am an amateur boxer (I have actually had a sanctioned fight, in addition to sparring)
-I support myself with an internet business that I founded and a non-internet business that I founded
-I tutor the basic sciences to high school kids

Creighton
Drexel
Eastern Virginia
Dartmouth
Jefferson Medical College
Loyola Chicago
Virginia Commonwealth
Mayo
Med. College of Wisconsin
Oregon
Rosalind Franklin
Rush
St. Louis U
Temple
Univ of Toledo
Tufts
Tulane
UC Davis
UC Irvine
Univ of Cincinnati
Univ of Colorado
Univ of Iowa
Univ of Minnesota
Brown
Wayne State
Vermont
UCSF
Penn State
UCLA
Univ of AZ - Phoenix
West Virginia U
Indiana U
Univ of Missouri

 

[gyngyn]

What about adding a few schools? Do you think it's too late at this point?

There is no need.

 

[Sirphillup]

As someone who is 25 and applying a bit late in the game, I can understand your worry. Despite your 3.2 GPA in undergrad, you have a very solid application: you improved your GPA considerably as a post-bacc, you have plenty of clinical experience, and great extracurriculars. You just need to make sure you tell your schools WHY all of that relates to medicine. Tell them how some of the skills you learned throughout the way are similarly employed as a physician (patience, open-mindedness, ability to deal with failure, etc.) I think medical schools, in addition to excellence in science, want to see someone who is well-rounded, mature, driven and disciplined. It seems like you are that person.

From my experience, I can tell you that I had the same concerns. I had a great GPA, but a lower-than-expected MCAT. I was an English major who decided to change her career before graduation. I, as such, have nowhere near the clinical experience you have (just physician shadowing with an internist, 300 hours), but also have great extracurriculars (volunteering at an animal shelter, math/reading tutor, board member of different organizations at my school, hobbies: guitar, freshwater fish-keeping, photography, etc).

I applied early this cycle and have three interviews so far--one of them at my top choice, which I attended yesterday. I was among the first pick for this cycle. You are going to read a lot of stuff here on SDN. Some of it is true, some of it isn't. A lot of people here will make you feel like your chances at making it are not that great. Don't listen to the hype.Write spectacular secondaries and, when you interview, be prepared. Remember that you have one thing to your advantage that other people don't: experience, maturity, and a different kind of drive!

Good luck!