3.27 cGPA, 3.1 sGPA, 525 MCAT ... where do I begin?

[greenwebbed]

I've had a rough four years but am gearing up to apply in June. I have NO idea where to begin.

Should I even be applying this cycle?
MD or DO?
What tier of medical schools should I be looking at?

1. MCAT: 132/129/132/132
2. GPA: upward trend (2.67 freshman year, 3.2 sophomore, 3.6 junior, 3.8 senior)
3. State of residence: WA
4. White / Asian
5. Top 10 Undergrad, engineering major
6. Clinical experience: 1.5 years as an ER tech, 2 years volunteering at an EMS organization as a teacher, EMT, and board member.
7. Research: One summer research internship, some work-study jobs in research. No pubs, no posters.
8. No shadowing experience
9. No non-clinical volunteering
10. Non-clinical volunteering: Gap year doing clinical research, teaching EMS skills to EMT students.
11. No relevant honors or awards
12. First-generation, low-income

Doubting myself as always and would appreciate some outside input

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[ScottyDogs]

Great upward trend with tons of clinical experience and good research experience.
Shadowing isn't necessary IMO because of the ER tech experience.
My only suggestion is finding some more non-clinical volunteering activities to bolster the app for service-oriented schools, if you intend to apply to those.

As far as tier goes, I think you should be targeting mid/high tier MD as well as a few reaches. Your MCAT and upward GPA trend make up for the low GPA in the first few years.

 

[Faha]

There are few applicants each year that have marked discordance in their GPA and MCAT (very high MCAT with a low GPA). Your chances are greater than 50% for a MD acceptance. You will need to apply broadly and I suggest these schools:
U Washington
Washington State
Carle Illinois
Vermont
Quinnipiac
Tufts
Albany
New York Medical College
Seton Hall
Drexel
Temple
Jefferson
Penn State
George Washington
Georgetown
Virginia Commonwealth
Eastern Virginia
Wake Forest
NOVA MD
Florida Atlantic
Florida International
Tulane
TCU-UNT
Creighton
Loyola
Rosalind Franklin
Medical College Wisconsin
Western Michigan
Oakland Beaumont
Wayne State
California University
For DO schools I suggest these:
PNWU-COM
WESTERN
TUCOM-CA
TUNCOM
AZCOM
DMU-COM
ATSU-KCOM
KCU-COM
PCOM
MU-COM
Touro-NY

 

[candbgirl]

Despite what @ScottyDogs say, you do need shadowing. Especially with a primary care doc. And you definitely need nonclinical volunteering focusing on the unserved/underserved in your community. You want to give yourself the best chance possible and applying without any shadowing and no nonclinical volunteering is a mistake. It will be interesting to see how the discordance in your MCAT/GPA plays out. But in order to be successful you need to fill the holes in your application. Are you open to putting off applying for a year?

 

[LeaveNoTrace]

Your complete lack of nonclinical volunteering and to a lesser extent shadowing is a red flag. That having been said, your sky-high MCAT, upward trend, and disadvantaged background can cover up some sins. Ask @Goro for a list of schools that might bite on you...if you fixed those problems, you would have solid chances at mid-tier MD schools and might even get lucky with top tier schools like Columbia that like reinvention.

 

[Goro]

Despite what @ScottyDogs say, you do need shadowing. Especially with a primary care doc. And you definitely need nonclinical volunteering focusing on the unserved/underserved in your community. You want to give yourself the best chance possible and applying without any shadowing and no nonclinical volunteering is a mistake. It will be interesting to see how the discordance in your MCAT/GPA plays out. But in order to be successful you need to fill the holes in your application. Are you open to putting off applying for a year?

Agree 109900%

 

[greenwebbed]

Bumping for a cycle update! Just to give current applicants who are in my boat some perspective. I applied anyway despite the above advice and ended up okay. Your narrative and story really do matter. Mine is nothing crazy, but I think my careful attention to crafting a theme and weaving it throughout my personal statement and activities is really what pulled me through.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

View attachment 354741

Bumping for a cycle update! Just to give current applicants who are in my boat some perspective. I applied anyway despite the above advice and ended up okay. Your narrative and story really do matter. Mine is nothing crazy, but I think my careful attention to crafting a theme and weaving it throughout my personal statement and activities is really what pulled me through.

Congratulations! Did you get any shadowing or additional clinical experience in since this was posted? How about non-clinical community service?

Of course in the WAMC you failed to mention any sort of theme whatsoever, and that would have been helpful to determine your fit.

 

[Sunny Waffles]

Congrats and adding on to @Mr.Smile12 's question, why did you skip out on applying to UWashington? Aren't you instate for them? They have a "higher" ranking than a good chunk of the schools on your list so it would seem like a no-brainer to apply there too.

 

[danielthemaniel]

Saving this for hope