3.48cGPA, 39MCAT school list?

[natasha77]

---

Members do not see this ad.

I am posting the situation of a close friend of mine seeking advice:

Major: Biochemistry
Freshman Year - done at c.c. : 3.428
Sophmore Year - done at a UC: 2.79 (92.3/33 units)
Summer - done at a UC: 4.0 (52/13)
Junior Year 2009-2010 - done at a UC (all UD science courses): 4.0 (144/36)
Projected Summer 2010 - done at a UC (all UD science courses) :4.0 (64/16)
Cumulative GPA: 3.485

She had a lot of AP credit and took on a large workload of semester units so was able to transfer after one year at a c.c. In addition, the transition to the UC was difficult and her first two quarters she really messed up- then got her act together and made up for her mistakes w/ the third quarter and summer school. Part of my question is: should she stay the extra year (what would be counted as fourth or "senior year")? or should she just graduate at the end of her junior year and start on the M.S.?

Projected Senior Year - done at a UC: 4.0 (144/36)
Cumulative GPA with senior year: 3.54
Projected MS GPA: 3.7-4.0
MCAT: 39

Research: 1 year of neurobiology lab research (so far), 1 publication.
Clinical Care Extender (200 + hours)
Shadowing : 100 hours total
non medical volunteering: none ... could someone please recommend a program? and would tutoring middle/high school kids count?
Undergrad Science Journal review board member

how do admissions officers view programs which allow students to travel to another country (like Honduras) and help out w/ medical supplies for a week there?

Can she offset her lower gpa with her MCAT score? are there any EC's that could help boost her chances? She would really like to go to a CA med school (like many CA residents) Is there any way to redeem herself? what can she do to possibly improve her chances? She would rather not do any SMP's or similar programs bc her financial resources are limited. What are some examples of "stellar" EC's?

Also, can someone recommend some M.D. "safety" schools (if there are any), and some reach schools? where would this applicant have a fair chance? (even if it's outside CA)

I apologize for the somewhat incoherent and scrambled organization of my post 🙂

Thank You in advance for any advice! Your help is greatly appreciated!

 

[ronaldo23]

I am posting the situation of a close friend of mine seeking advice:

Major: Biochemistry
Freshman Year - done at c.c. : 3.428
Sophmore Year - done at a UC: 2.79 (92.3/33 units)
Summer - done at a UC: 4.0 (52/13)
Junior Year 2009-2010 - done at a UC (all UD science courses): 4.0 (144/36)
Projected Summer 2010 - done at a UC (all UD science courses) :4.0 (64/16)
Cumulative GPA: 3.485

She had a lot of AP credit and took on a large workload of semester units so was able to transfer after one year at a c.c. In addition, the transition to the UC was difficult and her first two quarters she really messed up- then got her act together and made up for her mistakes w/ the third quarter and summer school. Part of my question is: should she stay the extra year (what would be counted as fourth or "senior year")? or should she just graduate at the end of her junior year and start on the M.S.?

Projected Senior Year - done at a UC: 4.0 (144/36)
Cumulative GPA with senior year: 3.54
Projected MS GPA: 3.7-4.0
MCAT: 39

Research: 1 year of neurobiology lab research (so far), 1 publication.
Clinical Care Extender (200 + hours)
Shadowing : 100 hours total
non medical volunteering: none ... could someone please recommend a program? and would tutoring middle/high school kids count?
Undergrad Science Journal review board member

how do admissions officers view programs which allow students to travel to another country (like Honduras) and help out w/ medical supplies for a week there?

Can she offset her lower gpa with her MCAT score? are there any EC's that could help boost her chances? She would really like to go to a CA med school (like many CA residents) Is there any way to redeem herself? what can she do to possibly improve her chances? She would rather not do any SMP's or similar programs bc her financial resources are limited. What are some examples of "stellar" EC's?

Also, can someone recommend some M.D. "safety" schools (if there are any), and some reach schools? where would this applicant have a fair chance? (even if it's outside CA)

I apologize for the somewhat incoherent and scrambled organization of my post 🙂

Thank You in advance for any advice! Your help is greatly appreciated!

I would say there are no safety schools with a 3.48, regardless of MCAT. Your chances are great, nonetheless for getting into some solid schools. Aside from the UCs, apply to NYMC, Albany, GWU, Gtown, Tulane, Toledo, SUNYs (they tend be friendly to OOS), BU, Tufts etc.. I don't really know too much about top tier schools, since I'm not applying to any, but I tend to think that Harvard/Yale/Stanford and even the UCs place a pretty big emphasis on having a high GPA. I would say stay the extra year because having a high undergrad GPA trumps a high masters GPA since that counts in a separate graduate GPA category.

 

[NotAsking4Much]

Yes you can get in with a low GPA. Mine was more or less around your friend's. That being said, she will need better ECs to balance it out.
That level of GPA won't automatically disqualify you but you need other ECs, Recs, etc that will push you back up to the top for Top 20 / Cali schools. It's all about how you package yourself and having a high GPA just means you excelled in college. That's only one facet of what adcoms look for.

 

[natasha77]

Thank You very much for your replies!

Can you suggest some EC's that would balance out the GPA?

 

[NotAsking4Much]

Whatever you're passionate in, so that whatever you do, you'll do it amazing well and impressively.

 

[Catalystik]

I'd also recommend that she stay in school another year to improve her chances of a California acceptance. With a 3.6+ and another year of research and regular weekly nonmedical community service, she'd be in a stronger position. A leadership role will help her as well; depending on what she does as a board member, that may qualify.

For nonmedical/noncampus community service, tutoring kids would be great, as would soup kitchen , homeless or womens shelter, Humane Society, Habitat for Humanity, etc. Most important is that she have a personal interest in the volunteer work. Doing this is viewed as better than 1-2 weeks of service internationally.

 

[frescoengano]

tutoring elementary kids is easy and fun.

btw...does she go to ucsb or uci? i was a cce too haha