3.45 GPA 36 Mcat Anyone have any suggestions?

[BValenta1]

Hey everyone,

This is my first post even though I frequently browse the forums. I'll start off by saying this is an awesome community and has helped me get to where I am today so thanks to everyone who actively contributes!

I'm currently a junior so some of the stats I'll be assuming based on previous trends, but for the most part my application will be accurate.

cGPA: 3.45
sGPA: 3.7
MCAT: 36 (12,12,12)
Double Major in Biology and Philosophy

Work Experience:
-1.5 years as a pharmacy tech
-1 year as a patient care tech (probably 15-20 hours a week)
no research yet but hopefully I'll be getting into a lab pretty soon

ECs
-100 hours volunteering at local VA hospitals
-100 hours volunteering for Salvation Army
-200+ hours volunteering for a small church camp

Shadowing
-50-60 hours shadowing physicians (primary care, anesthesiology, cardiology)
-10-15 hours shadowing PAs (still tossing that idea around)

I would say I have pretty strong LORs (3) at the moment, I'll probably try to get a couple more just so I have the selection of which are the best ones.

I don't have many awards/accolades to my name other than sports things. I raced motocross for about 6 years, 2 years nationally, and won numerous awards. I was locally sponsored by a skate shop for a time in my life (skateboarding). I also like to run track at open events for fun. But all of this, I assume, would only be good for my personal statement and/or interviews, as what interests me and such.

EDIT
I forgot to mention the schools I'm interested in.
I'm from Texas so I'll probably be applying to Baylor, UTSW, and most of the UT branches.
I guess my reach schools would be Yale, UPenn, Baylor, and NYU.
Like I said all of the UT branches (those shouldn't be a huge stretch)
And I'm not opposed to considering DO schools, although MD is preferable.

I'm also contemplating taking a gap year. Using the summer to retake some courses I didn't do to well in (maybe 6-12 hours) and then taking the summer to continue my education with things that I enjoy. One option on the table would be going to the University of Oxford to study some more philosophy and maybe take some other courses that spark my interest. If I don't do that then I might work and just take classes that look interesting for another semester to a year. This of course all depends on whether or not I get in.

Any suggestions would be great, and of course I value all feedback on how to make my application stronger in any area!

Thanks alot

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[Katsu]

The 3.4 will hold you back a little, but your high MCAT will make up for it. (This is assuming your MCAT wasn't one of the stats you assumed from 'previous trends.' If it is, I'd buckle down and make a high MCAT score my priority, or else you'll have trouble getting into any MD program).

You're EC's aren't bad, but as you mentioned, you're lacking research. I would take a gap year and focus on working in a lab. Research would probably be more important and impressive than simply retaking a few courses. At the end of the day, adcoms only care about your GPA; very few take the time to individually look at your courses (even if they're from Oxford).

You have good clinical experience, a decent amount of non-clinical volunteering, and great interests with motocross. I'd try to find a leadership role/position if you're aiming for top schools

 

[Chir0nex]

Overall you have very solid stats. I think GPA is less of an issue since your sGPA is quite good. The one thing I would look into is if there is any EC you are doing where you can demonstrate some kind of leadership or increase in responsibility from year to year. I don't think research is essential, and I think something like a philosophy thesis or anything along those lines is just as good at showing a dedication to analytical thinking over the long term. Keep up the grades and make sure you have everything prepared to submit you application early when the time comes.

 

[orangeman25]

How do you go about making a school list with these stats? Since your gpa puts you at 10th percentile at many schools while mcat puts you at 90th? I'm very interested!

 

[QuinnTheEskimo]

you should definitely be good for the Texas schools. If you have the money, apply to as many out-of-state schools as you can, but if you are strapped for cash, I'd stick to the low-mid tiers.

 

[BValenta1]

Honestly, and I would love to be corrected if I'm misinformed, I think I can have a fairly strong application with a few additions. As far as making a school list I feel I'm at the mercy of the adcoms that can look past my earlier shortcomings and understand that I now take my schoolwork much more serious. My low cGPA is because my freshman and fall semester of sophomore year were horrible. But I've been on a steep upward trend and I plan on finishing out my degree plan (all of 50 something hours) with at least a 3.8 if not a 4.0.
It's my understanding that your MCAT and GPA are just a front to determine whether or not a school will even look at your application. After they get past that it's up to your EC's, shadowing, LORs, and interview to bring you home.
The only method of putting together a list of schools for myself was determining where I'd most like to go. Baylor is my instate dream and I've always contemplated going to Yale or UPenn. My list of "top" schools is just based on research of the schools and the cities they're located in. Like I said earlier, I'll be happy wherever I go. I'd be blown away if I got accepted to any of my top schools and I'd still be ecstatic to get an acceptance letter to any school I apply, really.
I'm honestly just going to apply to the places I'd love to go with the mentality of applying to some top schools, some mids, and some lows and hopefully I'll get accepted to more than one and have the chance to pick which one I'd rather go to.
I can't really say there's a method behind it. You can look at numbers all day long, but at the end of the day there will always be outliers right? Maybe I'll fall perfectly into the "stats" of one of my schools or maybe I'll be a GPA outlier haha, who knows?

 

[QuinnTheEskimo]

Honestly, and I would love to be corrected if I'm misinformed, I think I can have a fairly strong application with a few additions. As far as making a school list I feel I'm at the mercy of the adcoms that can look past my earlier shortcomings and understand that I now take my schoolwork much more serious. My low cGPA is because my freshman and fall semester of sophomore year were horrible. But I've been on a steep upward trend and I plan on finishing out my degree plan (all of 50 something hours) with at least a 3.8 if not a 4.0.

Yes, you can put together a strong application. But for every person who had a crappy freshman year, there are 2 people who did not screw up AND have a good mcat to boot. I have no doubt that you will get into a US allopathic school, but you need to get used to the fact that it will most likely not be Yale, statistically speaking. This is not the end of the world and will have little to no bearing on your future career.

It's my understanding that your MCAT and GPA are just a front to determine whether or not a school will even look at your application. After they get past that it's up to your EC's, shadowing, LORs, and interview to bring you home.

Not really. Even after the interview, your stats matter. Some schools use a simple scoring system, where you are awarded a certain number of "points" for your gpa, mcat, interview, ecs, etc. So you could end up having a good interview, but someone with a mediocre interview and a 4.0 gpa/40 MCAT might still come out ahead of you.

 

[BValenta1]

Thanks for the replies everyone! I love hearing as much input as I can.
Does anyone think it would be more beneficial to retake the MCAT? If I could (theoretically) score 38-40 would it be worth the time and effort to shoot for this? or would my time be better spent focusing on ECs and trying for something that shows more leadership?

 

[QuinnTheEskimo]

Thanks for the replies everyone! I love hearing as much input as I can.
Does anyone think it would be more beneficial to retake the MCAT? If I could (theoretically) score 38-40 would it be worth the time and effort to shoot for this? or would my time be better spent focusing on ECs and trying for something that shows more leadership?

You would be CRAZY to retake the MCAT. No. No. No. Work on your ECs. It sounds like you know what you need to do.

 

[BValenta1]

Awesome, I really appreciate the input!

 

[Catalystik]

One option on the table would be going to the University of Oxford to study some more philosophy and maybe take some other courses that spark my interest.

You might keep in mind that foreign coursework that doesn't appear as transfer credit on a US school transcript will not be included in the calculation of application GPAs by AMCAS or TMDSAS, but will be included by AACOMAS.