3.4 GPA, 517 MCAT, Great GPA Trend; How to pick schools

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WhatAboutWho said:
Hey everybody,
I recently graduated with a 3.4 gpa (sGPA a little higher) including CC classes (low I know..), with my last 2 years at university being 3.7, 3.8, 3.95, 3.9 (upper div science heavy), and 6 CC classes spread during those summers and current gap year (with As); last 61 units of BCPM being 3.75
My MCAT is a 517 (130/128/130/129) ~95%

I understand how to use MSAR, looking at percentiles and IS/OOS trends when looking for schools to apply to, however...
Should I use my overall 3.4 GPA when assessing what schools to apply for (if I fit into the 10 percentile, or not even make the cut), or should I use something higher with my grade trend and recent performance.
Also, is there a MSAR type website for DO schools?

Thanks everyone for taking the time to read 🙂
Click to expand...
I would consider your strong most to balance with a low GPA and apply to mid-level schools. You won’t get great search results on msar like you said with your gpa but if you look at lower mcat scools that would maybe even out the gpa thing?
 
Thanks for the quick reply.
Any advice on what to look for specifically on the MSAR website?
I’d also love to hear what others think
 
I had a very similar GPA, strong upward trend, MCAT just over 520. I am a non-trad, though, so my experience will be slightly different. You will need to apply very broadly. Apply to schools where your MCAT is a bit too high, but GPA is within 10-90th percentile. Then apply to a few schools where your GPA may be too low, but MCAT is within 25-75th. I got lucky with one school that seems to focus on high stats, but most schools rejected me (I had unique ECs, but could have used a bit more recent volunteering). Apply to all of your state schools.


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I have almost the exact same stats as you (3.52 with upward trend/516), and I did not apply broadly enough this cycle, and am really regretting it. I really wish I had applied to more lower ranked/unranked schools.
 
Thanks everybody for getting back to me, with recent MCAT score releases i'd imagine this forum is popular atm.

CA, so my state schools are also my reaches.
 
Your stats are close to mine in terms of GPA. Still haven't taken my MCAT yet, but am aiming for a similar score. Let me know if you get in anywhere. Good luck!
 
You have many state public schools that accept very few non residents with your GPA and no connection to the state. I suggest these OOS schools with your stats:
Vermont
Quinnipiac
Albany
New York Medical College
Hofstra
Drexel
Temple
Jefferson
Penn State
George Washington
Georgetown
Eastern Virginia
West Virginia
Oakland Beaumont
Western Michigan
Medical College Wisconsin
Rosalind Franklin
St. Louis
Creighton
Tulane
NOVA MD
any new schools that open for 2019 (California University, Kaiser, Roseman, Seton Hall)
You are competitive for all DO schools so apply to any that appeal to you.
 
WhatAboutWho said:
I put together a little preliminary list using MSAR, that I'll be editing in the comings months but I would love everyones input.
A little background:

Volunteering: 250+ hours, multiple dept, multiple hospitals; 300+ coaching soccer for the local B&G club
Shadowing: 70 hours, multiple specialties
Research: 1.5 yr research at school; 100 hr helping clinical research dept; 100 hr helping peds unit collect data (presented at 2 conferences)
Leadership: manager at multiple jobs, which include scheduling, interviewing etc (idk this might count?)
Misc: A&P TA; EMT-B (tho not practicing); medical tourism trip

Morehouse
Central MI (Low OOS <25%)
U of AZ Phoenix
West Virginia
U of AZ
U of SC Columbia
Toledo (Low OOS <25%)
Wake Forest
Albany
Rowan-Cooper
U of SC Greenville
Loyola Chicago
Wright
Geisinger
NYMC
U of NV Reno
Washington
Oakland Beau
Tulane
Rutger RW (Low OOS <25%)
Drexel
Rush
Wayne (Low OOS <25%)
VTC
Quinnipiac
Rosalind-Franklin

State Schools (I know a majority of these are out of my league)
UC Riverside (Im from Northern CA, and not in the inland empire)
UC Irvine
UCLA
UCSD
UCSF
UC Davis

Reaches
USC Keck
Georgetown

Thanks again for everyone's help, I really appreciate it. I would suggestions if I should delete or add any, as well as any DO recommendations.
edit: I neglected to include any new schools that are opening, but rest assured I will take those into consideration as well.

@Taylor Swift where these around the same spread/tier that you applied?
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That looks like a much better list than mine. See this post for a list of my schools.

No acceptances yet. What went wrong/how do I improve my application for next year?
 
You might consider adding USF - Select- they take quite a few people from out of state and put a high priority on high MCAT scores.

Faha was very helpful with my school list. Unfortunately my best luck was with my state schools, and CA is not as forgiving as FL.
 
Thank you for your recommended school list @Faha and @DBC03

Is there a minimum number of DO schools you think I should apply to (besides those which do not require a DO letter, as I have an MD one)?
I was thinking Western and the Touro-CA to start, but I will add more as a safety net; I also am aware that some people have opinions on certain DO schools
 
WhatAboutWho said:
Thank you for your recommended school list @Faha and @DBC03

Is there a minimum number of DO schools you think I should apply to (besides those which do not require a DO letter, as I have an MD one)?
I was thinking Western and the Touro-CA to start, but I will add more as a safety net; I also am aware that some people have opinions on certain DO schools
Click to expand...
6 DO schools should be adequate.
 
WhatAboutWho said:
Thanks, do you have any recommendations for REACH schools?
I have read (on this forum actually), that top 20-30 schools like High MCAT/Rising GPA trends; however, on MSAR they always tend to have the 10% percentiles of GPAs around a 3.5-3.6 so I am sketchy about looking into them, but I would love to hear your opinion.
Click to expand...

I think a lot of this has to do with how those schools view your ECs. I was absolutely floored when I received an interview to NYU, but my MCAT was above the median. Even then, I almost called to see if it was some kind of mistake. I guess it wasn't a mistake and I feel very honored just to be on the waitlist as they rejected around 400 people after the interview. Even with a 520+ MCAT and a relatively interesting background, reach schools were just that - a reach. I have no regrets applying to them, but I'm grateful that I did not think I would be getting in.

The application process is very expensive, but if you have additional money, feel free to apply to a few reaches. Goro has a list of schools that reward reinvention and I would prioritize those when it comes to reach schools. The other issue with additional schools is that it will take significantly more time time to complete your secondary responses. In your case I would prioritize completing the secondaries for your state schools and the mid-tiers. Only after you have completed those should you consider working on reach schools.
 
DBC03 said:
I had a very similar GPA, strong upward trend, MCAT just over 520. I am a non-trad, though, so my experience will be slightly different. You will need to apply very broadly. Apply to schools where your MCAT is a bit too high, but GPA is within 10-90th percentile. Then apply to a few schools where your GPA may be too low, but MCAT is within 25-75th. I got lucky with one school that seems to focus on high stats, but most schools rejected me (I had unique ECs, but could have used a bit more recent volunteering). Apply to all of your state schools.


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Click to expand...

Do you think you would have gotten more bites with a different school list? Or did you not get any love from the usual reinvention-friendly schools mentioned here (NYMC, Albany, Philly Triplets, etc)?
 
@wildcherry he posted a link to his school list earlier in this thread.

@Faha I really appreciate your list, thank you! Would you recommend Wake-Forest, Loyola-Chicago, Rush, and/or VTC? (according to MSAR their OOS% are 67%, 59%, 53%, and 60%, respectively)


Thanks everybody for your replies! I don't have any close friends or family members in medicine so I really appreciate all your advice.
 
Last edited:
Rush favors applicants with a large number of volunteering hours. The majority of VTC OOS are probably from neighboring states. Wake Forest and Loyola would be fine to apply to.
 
wildcherry said:
Do you think you would have gotten more bites with a different school list? Or did you not get any love from the usual reinvention-friendly schools mentioned here (NYMC, Albany, Philly Triplets, etc)?
Click to expand...

I had a huge school list- but I would have gotten maybe a little more love if I wasn’t regionally limited. My husband will have to transfer, so I nixed entire regions (like St. Louis, all of Ohio and Michigan, anywhere north of NYC, etc.). I feel I might have had some luck with Brown, Dartmouth, Tulane, St Louis, Cleveland Clinic. I also didn’t get any love from the traditional reinvention-friendly schools. I also probably would have had more luck with one more year off, which would mean just over a 3.5, over 400 hours of clinical volunteering, and most likely a publication or two. But I’m also pushing 40, so I feel really good about my cycle. Six interviews was not bad with a 3.4 GPA.


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