3.3GPA and 32M MCAT

[GoAbroad]

I graduated in 3 years from Binghamton University with a BA in Biology, a certificate in Evolutionary Studies, and a minor in Latin American and Caribbean Area Studies. I don't have many extra-curricular's, but I did start an alternative spring break trip to Nicaragua that focused on service learning which also gave students 2 credits. I also did a 1 month Spanish language program in Costa Rica and have shadowed an Orthopedist, Pediatrician, PA, and a general practitioner. I am currently doing Americorps at Health Care for the Homeless doing street outreach and HIV testing, so I will have 10 months of working in a clinical setting when I apply. Other than that, my GPA is a 3.3 and I took my MCAT twice, the first time getting a 25M and the second time getting a 32M (11VR, 9PS, 12 BS).
This is thread is both a "what are my chances" and "what schools should I apply to" thread. My goal is to do international medicine, so schools with programs that focus on that would be my preference. I am also thinking of doing a dual MD/MPH.
Schools I am considering as of now:
University of Miami
University of Florida
Loyola University
Boston University
University of Maryland
WakeForest
University of NM
AlbertEinstein College
NY Medical College
SUNY Downstate
SUNY Stony Brook
Oregon Health and Science University

This ended up being a long topic so I appreciate those who read through it!

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[tallandshort]

I graduated in 3 years from Binghamton University with a BA in Biology, a certificate in Evolutionary Studies, and a minor in Latin American and Caribbean Area Studies. I don't have many extra-curricular's, but I did start an alternative spring break trip to Nicaragua that focused on service learning which also gave students 2 credits. I also did a 1 month Spanish language program in Costa Rica and have shadowed an Orthopedist, Pediatrician, PA, and a general practitioner. I am currently doing Americorps at Health Care for the Homeless doing street outreach and HIV testing, so I will have 10 months of working in a clinical setting when I apply. Other than that, my GPA is a 3.3 and I took my MCAT twice, the first time getting a 25M and the second time getting a 32M (11VR, 9PS, 12 BS).
This is thread is both a "what are my chances" and "what schools should I apply to" thread. My goal is to do international medicine, so schools with programs that focus on that would be my preference. I am also thinking of doing a dual MD/MPH.
Schools I am considering as of now:
University of Miami
University of Florida
Loyola University
Boston University
University of Maryland
WakeForest
University of NM
AlbertEinstein College
NY Medical College
SUNY Downstate
SUNY Stony Brook
Oregon Health and Science University

This ended up being a long topic so I appreciate those who read through it!

Well I don't really know about which schools you should apply to except that if you're not a Maryland resident you might want to rethink U of Maryland. It's a great school but it highly favors instate residents and OOS applicants that get interviews there are almost always from states right next to Maryland. Since they're the only med school in Maryland they want the doctors they train to practice there, so that may be something in general with the whole international medicine thing you may not want to overtly mention.

As far as improving your app, you are in desperate need of ECs. It's great that you have already planned to get involved with clinical volunteering and that will certainly help, but you may also want to do some non-medical volunteering as well. It's great that you've shadowed several physicians, were they in-depth experiences or did you only spend 1 day with each one? Your GPA could use some improving but your MCAT score is solid. How about LORs? Overall, you definitely have a shot at getting accepted but should work on improving your application before you apply. And you should make sure to apply early and broadly (12 schools is probably not enough with your GPA). Banging out an excellent personal statement will be key for getting interviews and your clinical volunteering sounds very interesting so at least you have some good things to get you started. I would be a little worried about talking about how you want to do international medicine, not at all a bad thing but like I said some schools may not be jumping to educate you if you're going to practice outside the country. Just something to think about and research about the particular schools you're interested in. Good luck!

 

[J ROD]

What is your instate?

 

[Catalystik]

Another year of GPA repair before applying would help you. You don't mention your BCPM GPA; it would be important for this to be a strength, with a recent upward grade trend, considering the cGPA. Adcomms need reassurance that you can produce great grades in an intense science environment like med school.

Americorps is a great EC to have, but ten months of clinical experience is on the sparse side for applicants. You might get by if you have a lot of other nonmedical community service, though. Hopefully it was US physicians that you shadowed.

With your interst in an international focus, consider adding Tulane.

 

[amine2086]

I graduated in 3 years from Binghamton University with a BA in Biology, a certificate in Evolutionary Studies, and a minor in Latin American and Caribbean Area Studies. I don't have many extra-curricular's, but I did start an alternative spring break trip to Nicaragua that focused on service learning which also gave students 2 credits. I also did a 1 month Spanish language program in Costa Rica and have shadowed an Orthopedist, Pediatrician, PA, and a general practitioner. I am currently doing Americorps at Health Care for the Homeless doing street outreach and HIV testing, so I will have 10 months of working in a clinical setting when I apply. Other than that, my GPA is a 3.3 and I took my MCAT twice, the first time getting a 25M and the second time getting a 32M (11VR, 9PS, 12 BS).
This is thread is both a "what are my chances" and "what schools should I apply to" thread. My goal is to do international medicine, so schools with programs that focus on that would be my preference. I am also thinking of doing a dual MD/MPH.
Schools I am considering as of now:
University of Miami
University of Florida
Loyola University
Boston University
University of Maryland
WakeForest
University of NM
AlbertEinstein College
NY Medical College
SUNY Downstate
SUNY Stony Brook
Oregon Health and Science University

This ended up being a long topic so I appreciate those who read through it!

As it stands, I think it is really a tossup. I would recommend taking a year off to beef up your ECs. Even with more diverse extracurriculars you may have a tough time getting an acceptance at an MD school with that GPA. Definitely apply to both MD and DO schools.

 

[GiladJaffe]

Cat i have a question for you if you coud PM me

 

[GoAbroad]

Thanks guys. Yeah, I never really recovered from my freshman GPA of 2.7, and I graduated early to do Americorps instead of boosting my GPA. My hope is that comes through in the application.
My instate schools would be NY or NM.

 

[CarlATHF]

Unless you have strong ties to the state of FL, cross UF off your list. They are almost exclusively instate. In addition, Miami has a strong bias for FL residents, though they've been going away from that trend in recent years. And yes, Tulane is a great place to go if you're interested in international health or a dual MD/MPH.

Why not add some of the other SUNY's if your residency is NY?