3.07 gpa and 33L. Advice?

[GOMPLAYER]

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3.07 cGPA
3.07 sGPA
33L MCAT (13 PS, 8 VR, 12 PS) [1st time 27L (12 PS, 6 VR, 9 BS)]
undergrad at Washington University in St. Louis
Oklahoma resident
EC: high school shadowing and volunteering
lab work for 1 year
shadowing at barnes jewish

so i understand my MCAT scores are decent but im worried about my GPA.. im already applying to post-bacc programs in case i don't get into any schools this upcoming cycle.. this way i'll have a more competitive gpa when i apply the next cycle.. which makes me question, how strong do you guys think my application is and how many schools should i apply to? i know my ECs are extremely weak compared to most people which is why i plan on volunteering and shadowing this whole summer at the same place i did during high school.. my advisor tells me that its better to wait and apply stronger the following year then to apply this year and (in case i dont get in anywhere) the next year.. i will definitely apply to univ. of oklahoma this cycle which has a high in-state acceptance rate but to be honest i would rather go to either a cali school or texas school but i dont think i'll be as competitive at theses schools.. do you guys think that i should take my chances and apply to cali or texas schools or wait next year with a higher and more competitive gpa.. since im not sure if im going to be applying to alot of schools i have a short list

univ. oklahoma (my state school)
univ. s. california (private school)
UCLA (born in cali, i dont think that matters lol)
UT southwestern (worked for a PI there and good letter of rec)
WashU (graduated there.. too much of a reach?😕)

any advice is helpful but please refrain from bashing..

 

[TriagePreMed]

Yes, here's a suggestion: don't apply. You have near 0% chance at all those schools. You need an SMP with a 3.7 before you begin considering applying.

Nothing from high school should go on your application.

 

[GOMPLAYER]

😵? even at OU?? 93% percent of their class is in-state and their avg MCAT is a 29

 

[V5RED]

If you retake any classes you got a C or lower in, you could probably get into a DO school after a year.(assuming you beef up your EC's)

I would be shocked if you got into any medical school as you are currently.

You are well below the 10th percentile for Oklahoma's GPA (and slightly below the 10th percentile for the writing sample portion of your MCAT), and there is nothing about your application that really makes up for that.

Being a resident doesn't mean anything with regard to them allowing for lower numbers. I have no inside information to tell me this aside from what I glean from the MSAR. This is based on simple logic.

Pretty much every person who went there is from Oklahoma. Because of this, their statistics for acceptance have almost no influence from out of state students. This means that the average MCAT and GPA for people they accept are almost exactly the same as the average MCAT and GPA of in state applicants that were accepted.

I am not trying to be mean. I am just saying you should save the money and only apply when you have a real shot.

There are many success stories of people with low GPA's like yours. It takes a lot of work, but it can be done.

 

[TriagePreMed]

😵? even at OU?? 93% percent of their class is in-state and their avg MCAT is a 29

The median is 30 there, but you are way underneath their GPA.

 

[Whatyousay]

univ. oklahoma (my state school)
univ. s. california (private school)
UCLA (born in cali, i dont think that matters lol)
UT southwestern (worked for a PI there and good letter of rec)
WashU (graduated there.. too much of a reach?😕)

I don't think you have much hope for UCLA, USC, UTSW (despite your research there, you don't have Texas residency, and they're a pretty big "numbers" school, so chances are you'll be screened out), and WashU (one of the most competitive schools in the country in terms of numbers, and unfortunately, you are nowhere near their averages).

I wouldn't apply to Texas schools with your numbers unless you have some truly compelling tie to Texas (major IS favoritism, so your numbers won't help). Cali schools are probably the most competitive state schools in the country - hundreds of qualified Cali applicants are forced to go elsewhere for their medical education, so coming from OOS with less-than-stellar numbers won't help your cause there either.

I think you're better off applying next cycle, or considering DO. Your ECs aren't anything that immediately jump out to me.

 

[sector9]

I'll have to agree with other posters. You're over 0.3 below the 10th %ile even at your state school Oklahoma, so you would be better off saving your money on MD application costs

 

[GOMPLAYER]

thank you every for all your advice.. i think i will apply next cycle

 

[235788]

How did you get an L twice? Did you not read the directions or something. Your GPA is low...

 

[Moebius]

Your HS EC can go there. The worst thing is someone ignores it, most likely, they won't. DO schools seems to be a good shot if you replace some of the Cs (ideally upper level classes)

From what I been reading from the adoms who post here, they want at least a 3.1 with a 35+ MCAT for lower level MD schools. With a 38+, you will have a better shot. I know its hard, but their recommendation seem to be replace as many classes as possible. My friend got into one of the best DO schools with a 3.4 GPA 2.9 Sci GPA and 35 MCAT while he submitted it very late. Sept. He is an overall amazing guy and his natural kindness shows through. Although it won't make that much difference, the adoms know your college is not a cc or a very crappy school. It won't make much difference since they don't focus too much on it, but it will help if you can get good grades from your state school.

I wouldn't even risk a SMP, its too expensive and too much risk for failure. At least do well and take a few more courses before applying. If you do better, you have more options. Don't risk everything and fall flat.

 

[GOMPLAYER]

How did you get an L twice? Did you not read the directions or something. Your GPA is low...

im not really a good timed writer.. plus i hear many people say its not that important so i didn't really waste time to go back.. didnt want to wear my self out for the bio..

Your HS EC can go there. The worst thing is someone ignores it, most likely, they won't. DO schools seems to be a good shot if you replace some of the Cs (ideally upper level classes)

I wouldn't even risk a SMP, its too expensive and too much risk for failure. At least do well and take a few more courses before applying. If you do better, you have more options. Don't risk everything and fall flat.

well most of my C's are from freshman year and i have an upward gpa trend. my advisor told me that retaking alot of classes doesn't look good as well..

as far as SMP, im actually thinking of doing post-bacc work.. like taking more classes.. not like doing a masters and paying for expensive tuition..

 

[STAT EKG]

I want to preface this by saying that it isn't meant to be mean.

I'm trying to be as honest as possible.

Despite what you may have heard... VR is THE MOST IMPORTANT PART OF THE MCAT.

You got a 6 VR and now you have an 8 VR ... and that L definitely isn't helping your case.

Those who disagree... What exponentially increases in med school? Reading!!!! So, reading and comprehending stuff is sort of a big deal to keep afloat. There are some people who read things and just kinda... remember what they read. Others need to re-read the same thing over and over and over just to get it, then use flash cards over and over to keep it fresh.

From what I understand, med schools like people who just kinda... read stuff once and remember it. Maybe that's unfair, but there's a lot of reading in med school.

That's great that you scored well on the other sections, the verbal is where you need to focus your efforts though. 6 to 8 is progress.... pull that VR to a 10, write a simple, logical, grammatically-correct paragraph, and, suddenly, you're actually in pretty good shape, even w/ the GPA, but I'd still apply to SMPs.

 

[miketour]

I want to preface this by saying that it isn't meant to be mean.

I'm trying to be as honest as possible.

Despite what you may have heard... VR is THE MOST IMPORTANT PART OF THE MCAT.

You got a 6 VR and now you have an 8 VR ... and that L definitely isn't helping your case.

Those who disagree... What exponentially increases in med school? Reading!!!! So, reading and comprehending stuff is sort of a big deal to keep afloat. There are some people who read things and just kinda... remember what they read. Others need to re-read the same thing over and over and over just to get it, then use flash cards over and over to keep it fresh.

From what I understand, med schools like people who just kinda... read stuff once and remember it. Maybe that's unfair, but there's a lot of reading in med school.

That's great that you scored well on the other sections, the verbal is where you need to focus your efforts though. 6 to 8 is progress.... pull that VR to a 10, write a simple, logical, grammatically-correct paragraph, and, suddenly, you're actually in pretty good shape, even w/ the GPA, but I'd still apply to SMPs.

I agree with what everyone says on here except that VR is the most important section on the MCAT. Fasle The Biological Sciences is the one section that NEEDS to be 10 or above. Having an 8 on VR is in the 10% for a lot of the schools in the country, but by no means do you need to get a 10.

Pull up your GPA and you will be fine