Chance me please thanks!

Stats:

cGPA: 0.00 (Just transferred to UCLA biochemistry, but was 3.96 at CC)
sGPA: 0.00 (see above, was 4.00 at CC)
MCAT: 28M: 10 VR, 11 PS, 7 BS (First take)

ECs:
-Peer Mentor for Calc, PreCalc, Trig, Physics, and Chem: 4 hrs/week, ~ 2.5 years
-100+ hrs of volunteering in ER for first two years (4-8 hrs/week)
-Volunteered at AIDS Service Center (4 hrs/week for 6 months, handed out food to needy and reception)
-Got accepted and worked on NASA's Reduce Flight Program (Propose, Design, Test, and Evaluate own experiment in microgravity/ covered everything from writing a proposal, research, fundraising, and outreach)
-Paid Internship with Foundation of California Community College about sustainability
-Speaker at first sustainability forum for CC
-Started second USGBC (U.S. Green Building Chapter, non-profit group sustainable building practices) chapter at a community college

Background:
Asian, 21, CA resident, went and stayed extra year at CC because of money issues

Any MD or DO school is fine, just want to make it in. I am also going to be shadowing a DO in the next week or so. Any feed back is appreciated as well as what I could improve on. Honest is best. Also, I prefer not retaking MCAT as I think it is my peak, got 24-26s on practice tests. Finally, thank you for your time (seriously)!! 🙂

That 7 in bio for a 4.00 biochem major doesn't look so good... Your GPA is great though I don't know how they treat CC.

Concur. Retake the MCAT and shoot for >29, and defintely improve that bio score. If you maintain that GPA, you're good to go anywhere.

AshPreMed said:

That 7 in bio for a 4.00 biochem major doesn't look so good... Your GPA is great though I don't know how they treat CC.

Click to expand...

Thanks for your replies. I am fine retaking it but I was hoping I didn't have to. Is the 7 really that bad? I don't know if I can score a 10 in VR again but I know I can on PS. Would DO schools frown on the 7 as well? Thanks

Plenty of applicants get into MD schools with your stats (just not in CA). Do your homework (quickly!) if you plan on applying this cycle . The MSAR is your friend.

Its pretty rare to see CC students with a solid EC history. You are in decent shape, but have a lot of ground to make up academically.

Do better on your MCATs and do well for at UCLA and you will be fine.

As a UCLA alumni, I know a LOT of transfers that came from CC's. Almost ALL of them had difficulty adjusting to the competitiveness of UCLA so you need to get start the quarter running. UCLA or any top college is going to be much more difficult than CC, so you need to start off strong. With very little time remaining in college, you need to prove you can handle a tough course load so each quarter is going to mean more for you than other applicants.

Just curious, what courses will you be taking?

To gyngyn, thanks I will keep that in mind and invest in one. I don't mind going to a school out of state.

To PingPongPro, I will be taking Life Sci 3, Chem 153A, and an elective.
I have already gotten my books for both classes and will start on the first few chapters soon. I am still finishing up my Ochem book because my class at the CC didnt finish all the way and I still feel there is a lot to learn (only 3 chapters left).

Thanks for the motivation and feedback. I was just curious about that 7 and if it is worth it to retake it as I did well on the other sections. I will definitely start studying harder.

The 7 would be okay if you did amazing on other sections, but 10-11s are average at most schools, so the 28 is gonna really handicap you as an applicant. 28 is below most MD median scores, so unless you are an URM or something unique, you should probably consider retaking.

LS 3 and chem153a are both pretty competitive classes. Be prepared to do a lot of studying. If you study well, I'm sure you will be able to adjust to the rigor of UCLA. If i were you, I'd get involved in any tutoring (covel, aap, etc) you can get access to and make sure to utilize the test bank at SRC to study with past tests for your classes. These two things will help a lot.

Check out this graph with acceptance %s. http://i41.tinypic.com/k21yzn.jpg

You can see there is an exponential increase in % for every point between 27-32 for all GPAs. Even getting few points higher will make a world of difference. You might feel like you peaked, but there is still tons of room for improvement my friend.

Thanks again PingPongPro.

Well it looks like I will have to start studying and preparing for a retake. I will take your advice