3.5 GPA, high MCAT, URM

[neuros93]

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A friend asked me to post a thread for him. He will be applying next year.

School: top 20
URM: black male
Major: neuroscience

cGPA: 3.56
sGPA: 3.53
*2 W's (same class) and a C+ on transcript, but overall upward trend
MCAT: 518

ECs:

Clinical Volunteering
- Hospice (60 hours)
- Local hospital (150 hours)
- EMT (40 hours)
- Underserved clinic (110 hours)

Non-clinical Volunteering
- Habitat for Humanity (60 hours)
- Red cross (40 hours)
- Elementary school tutor (50 hours)

Research
- Neuroscience (2 years, 1 poster)

Shadowing
- 80 hours (various specialties)

Additional ECs:
- Clarinet in symphony orchestra (3 years)
- Intramural sports (2 years)
- Vice President of minority pre-med club (2 years)

Miscellaneous
- Speaks Spanish and French

What are his chances for the top schools (Stanford, Harvard)?

 

[TheBiologist]

out of curiosity what were your 2 W's in? and was theC+ also that class

 

[Goro]

Pick a medical school...any medical school....it's yours.

Start list with Stanford and Harvard.

 

[efle]

Odds are very very very very very good

 

[Chromium Surfer]

Smh this person makes a thread like this every month or two with varying numbers every time for his/her "friend".

 

[WedgeDawg]

Looks pretty solid to me.

I would apply

1) any/all top 20s (including UCLA-Charles Drew) except UCSD, Baylor, and University of Washington (~15 schools total)
2) a few mid tiers (Emory, Case Western, Hofstra) (2-5)
3) their undergrad's med school (0-1)
4) all state schools in their state of residence (whatever # exists)

Total list should be 20-25 schools.

Should be good to go.

 

[neuros93]

Pick a medical school...any medical school....it's yours.

Start list with Stanford and Harvard.

Really?? Even with the blemishes on the transcript?

 

[neuros93]

Pick a medical school...any medical school....it's yours.

Start list with Stanford and Harvard.

What if both of the GPAs were around 3.3-3.4?

 

[Goro]

What if both of the GPAs were around 3.3-3.4?

Still should be fine

 

[neuros93]

Still should be fine

By "fine" do you mean still a good chance at Harvard, Stanford, etc.?

 

[pioneer22]

geez how did he study for the mcat?

 

[NarutoMD]

There are two other threads with very similar contents as this one. All three are asking people to chance a "friend" at top schools. I sense something here.

 

[Goro]

Possibly, with a good MCAT score.

By "fine" do you mean still a good chance at Harvard, Stanford, etc.?

 

[neuros93]

Possibly, with a good MCAT score.

3.3-3.4 GPA with a 516 MCAT? Good shot at top 10s?

 

[Goro]

3.3-3.4 GPA with a 516 MCAT? Good shot at top 10s?

Yup. But start list with HBCs and state school.

 

[pioneer22]

Possibly, with a good MCAT score.

is this because of URM status to have a chance at top schools, or the MCAT alone (ie. white male would have same chance given 3.5 and 518)?

 

[Goro]

URM status. But a white kid with those stats would make into an MD school too. A 518 is nothing to sneeze at.

is this because of URM status to have a chance at top schools, or the MCAT alone (ie. white male would have same chance given 3.5 and 518)?

 

[efle]

3.3-3.4 GPA with a 516 MCAT? Good shot at top 10s?

yes a black/AA student with a top 5% MCAT is in very, very, very high demand. Even with a GPA ~.3 below average. Why is this so important to you

 

[deev04]

Just echoing above, but there is a real need in the US for AA physicians, particularly AA males and many schools are looking to to fulfill this gap in the US health system.

If you look at AAMC MCAT/GPA grid for black applicants, for the application cycles 2013-2017, there were a total of 85 black applicants with GPAs ≥3.5 and MCAT ≥36/518. 83/85 were accepted. Since 1.7x as many AA females vs males apply, it's likely women represent a higher percentage of those 85 applicants.

Also relevant: There Were Fewer Black Men In Medical School In 2014 Than In 1978