3.4 cGPA, 30 MCAT

[Botan]

3.35-3.4 cGPA
3.3ish sGPA (have a reason for low GPAs...jumped from mid 2.0s to last two yrs with solid, consistent 3.5-3.9s)
Biochem undergrad
(8 PS, 10 BS, 12 V, Q) MCAT
Resident of that little known state between Washington and California.

120 hrs at nonprofit, 250+ hours at foreign hospital w/ lots of clinical experience, 60+ hours of shadowing, 60+ hours of CKI volunteer work, Boren, speak Chinese fluently (have test scores to prove native proficiency), study abroad, 2 summers of lab work at med. school w/ publication, 1 summer of internship work at undergrad univ., leadership positions in about 6 student organizations on campus, employed part time (~10 hrs/wk) doing chem tutoring @ undergrad.

Letters of rec from ochem prof, bio class prof, doctor I shadowed, a language program director, and lab PI.

Applying to state school, but unsure what else to apply to. Any suggestions? Limit about 10 schools, would prefer not midwest but willing to deal.

Thanks in advance. I'm scared no medical school wants me

P.S. sexual minority, would like to find schools that are relatively friendly? :X I might be asking for a lot here...

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[robertch8]

Contrary to what I know others are going to say, I think you can be successful. That being said, I'd recommend figuring out a specific theme in your application and highlight it very heavily so that you can stand out instead of sounding like a generic applicant because if you do that, you won't get in since they can take generic sounding applicants with higher stats than yours. However, you're going to have to apply to way more than 10 schools (looking at more like about 30) and get going on applying now. I'd also recommend sometime during this year in the event you don't get in 1) re-taking the MCAT, 2) applying for a high linkage SMP, 3) likely add on some significant activity to add on to your number of hours doing clinical stuff (250+ doesn't stand out enough).

 

[Botan]

Hey - thanks for the kind words.

To better explain why I am only looking to apply to about 10 schools...I don't have the financial means to apply to more. The secondaries cost way too much and, in the off chance I get an interview, there is no way that I would be able to apply to 30 school and pay for plane tickets.

I turn to SDN in my darkest hour!

 

[Goro]

Stick to the low-tier schools like NYMC and Rosy Franklin, and perhaps Hofstra, and you should be OK. Do NOT try Loyola or Creighton if you're a sexual minority!

3.35-3.4 cGPA
3.3ish sGPA (have a reason for low GPAs...jumped from mid 2.0s to last two yrs with solid, consistent 3.5-3.9s)
Biochem undergrad
(8 PS, 10 BS, 12 V, Q) MCAT
Resident of that little known state between Washington and California.

120 hrs at nonprofit, 250+ hours at foreign hospital w/ lots of clinical experience, 60+ hours of shadowing, 60+ hours of CKI volunteer work, Boren, speak Chinese fluently (have test scores to prove native proficiency), study abroad, 2 summers of lab work at med. school w/ publication, 1 summer of internship work at undergrad univ., leadership positions in about 6 student organizations on campus, employed part time (~10 hrs/wk) doing chem tutoring @ undergrad.

Letters of rec from ochem prof, bio class prof, doctor I shadowed, a language program director, and lab PI.

Applying to state school, but unsure what else to apply to. Any suggestions? Limit about 10 schools, would prefer not midwest but willing to deal.

Thanks in advance. I'm scared no medical school wants me

P.S. sexual minority, would like to find schools that are relatively friendly? :X I might be asking for a lot here...

 

[Botan]

Mmm. I actually did cross Creighton off because of the Jesuit affiliation but Loyola too?

Here's the running list:
- OHSU
- The Commonwealth Medical College (Is this low-tier? It seems like the rate of interviews for out of state people is horrendously low...)
- NYMC
- Rosalind Franklin
- Medical College of Wisconsin
- Albany Medical College
- Drexel
- Hofstra (they seem to have a high median/average GPA...is this a reach?)

Should I add rush? Georgetown (I really wanted to go here )? I was going to apply to Leonard, but they have a super low interview rate for OOS applicants. I also considered Loma Linda but am worried about the Christian affiliation.Tulane (low GPA averages, but high MCAT averages)?

Is there a consolidated list of lower-tier med schools that exists on SDN? :X

 

[bigloley]

Did you apply for fee assistance program?

You get 14 schools for free on AMCAS and almost every single school will waive your secondary fee if you have FAP.

It saved me a lot of money and even though interviews/plane tickets etc. cost a lot of money, I was glad that I applied to 30+ schools and I got in somewhere. My stats were similar to yours and to be honest we are right around average or even below average of average matriculant. Even if you have to go into a small amount of debt to apply for more schools, then do it. In extra 2000-3000 is definitely worth it to not have to reapply. (Even with FAP i had to put a lot on my credit cards and I'm taking out the full COA to make sure I pay off my credit card. it sucks, but im just happy i was able to get accepted and not have to reapply, which would have been much more expensive)

 

[Botan]

Hey - Thanks for the great advice. Unfortunately, just realized that I probably qualify for FAP but it's so late and it would take a while to gather all the paperwork from my parents. I just want to get my primary in and send in my secondaries as soon as I finish them. This is actually holding me up and it's getting super late in the application cycle (some would say don't even apply at this point but...) If I was to wait for FAP...I don't think I have a shot at anything. I'll definitely keep that in mind for next year though...but fingers crossed that someone accepts me? :S

I'm so scared. I've read multiple posts on SDN of people saying that it's so late that you shouldn't even apply if you're not done with most of the secondaries. What do you think?

I guess if I don't get into any of the 10 that I'm looking at now, I'll just study and retake the MCAT, increase my clinical hours, and find a job. I'll reapply next year to a million schools when I have my own financial means to or when I actually start the application super early and apply to FAP.

 

[aarastoo]

You have a thing for Catholic schools. Georgetown (at least the undergrad) is a pretty big Catholic school. Can't say how much religion plays into anything, but my alma mater was Catholic and stuff was HELL for the LGBT community.

 

[Lucky Louie]

^Agree. Since you're a sexual minority, stay away from religious?Catholic-affiliated schools. Besides, Gtown is hard to get into.