MD & DO 3.52 cGPA, Low sGPA (?), 519 MCAT - School List Help Please!

[UreterIHardlyKnowHer]

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Hey guys,

So here is my situation:

-I am finishing up the last of my undergraduate work here at USC (also someone please tell me if I should make this more anonymous, everyone seems to do that here). I have 3.5 years of solid Alzheimer's research, 340 hours volunteering in the Cope "Clinical Care Extender" internship, and more pretty good - great EC's overall.

-Oregon resident.

-Strong upward trend after landing a 3.0 my freshman year. However, before I learned to study effectively I received a C+ in both GenBio 1 and 2 and a C in Ochem B.

-As a result, my sGPA is hindered. If I can include the courses taken before undergrad (as dual-credit in high school, I have the college transcript for them), my sGPA will be roughly 3.42 and my cGPA will be around 3.57. This is in large part because they were A's through Portland State University and Portland Community College, which are obviously much less difficult than my undergraduate institution. Any insight regarding the status of these Calculus and Bio courses?

-As a realist/pessimist I like to assume the worst - and without these courses my sGPA is (depending on if research for credit counts and how I do this semester) somewhere between 3.25-3.35 and my cGPA will be the 3.52 listed above!

So given this mass of info, if anyone could help me narrow down the following HUGE list to 35 schools, I would be greatly appreciative.

Wasting My Money:

Stanford
Harvard
UChicago
Mayo
UCSF

Needs Divine Intervention:

UCLA
Einstein
St. Louis
Duke
Loma Linda (at least it fits the header)
Emory
Case
Rochester
Brown
Dartmouth

May Actually Have a Chance Minus Some Crazy OOS Problems:

USC Keck
Drexel
MC Wisconsin
UConn
Creighton
UVermont
Penn State
Utah
UMissouri - Columbia
Ohio State
Temple
Boston U
Jeffeson
Tufts
GWU
Western Michigan
Indiana U
Rush
Florida International
OHSU (in state)
VCU
UMinnesota
Drexel
New York MC
Louisville
Quinnipiac
Rosalind Franklin (Accreditation problems?)
University of Kentucky
Loyola Chicago
Wake Forest
Albany
Georgetown
Tulane
Commonwealth
Virginia Tech
Eastern Virginia
Wright State

D.O.

Western - COMP Northwest (I'm goiiiing home, to the placeee that I beloooong)
Western - Pomona
Others? None?

PLEASE help me cut this monstrosity

 

[GrapesofRath]

The Community College classes will count. So you do have a 3.57/3.42. The upward trend will work in your favor.

You're a pretty solid candidate for your state school. Only 21% of Oregon applicants actually get to stay IS for medical school so pick your OOS choices carefully.

Right off the bat you can eliminate schools that are very low yield to OOS applicants like UCONN. Likewise, schools like Drexel, GW, Georgetown, NYMC etc amongst some other lower tiers do not interview many applicants with your type of MCAT which is above their 90th percentile. The yield on these type of applicants is just very low for them. In particular, the schools that get hoards of apps(GW, Drexel etc) are the ones most worth cutting.

With a good MD list I think youll be fine without DO schools.

So from your list the ones on the bottom are the ones remaining from your list I think are solid choices. Much shorter list. I would also give consideration to Stony Brook, U of Iowa, Cincinnati, Miami, Hofstra. Maybe perhaps throw in another top 20 school or two where you are closest to the 10th percentile GPA.

UCLA Einstein St. Louis Duke Emory Case Rochester Dartmouth USC Keck MC Wisconsin Ohio State Boston U VCU Jefferson Tufts OHSU (in state) Wake Forest Tulane Virginia Tech

 

[Faha]

Here is a reasonable list from the schools you have chosen
Oregon
Einstein
St. Louis
Loma Linda
Drexel
MC Wisconsin
Creighton
UVermont
Penn State
Temple
Jefferson
GWU
Western Michigan
Rush
VCU
Drexel
New York MC
Quinnipiac
Rosalind Franklin
Loyola Chicago
Wake Forest
Albany
Georgetown
Tulane
You should receive some interviews from these schools if you apply in June and submit all your secondaries by July.

 

[gyngyn]

Are you adventist?

 

[UreterIHardlyKnowHer]

Are you adventist?

I am a non-denominational Christian.

 

[gyngyn]

I am a non-denominational Christian.

Have you looked at the LL student handbook?
http://www.llu.edu/assets/central/handbook/documents/Student-Handbook.pdf

 

[UreterIHardlyKnowHer]

Have you looked at the LL student handbook?
http://www.llu.edu/assets/central/handbook/documents/Student-Handbook.pdf

A physician who I shadowed attended LL and told me that they typically select for Seventh Day Adventists first, but that they also select for protestants after that.
What part(s) of the handbook are you referring to? Do they have any wacky policies (apart from the admission targets)?

 

[gyngyn]

A physician who I shadowed attended LL and told me that they typically select for Seventh Day Adventists first, but that they also select for protestants after that.
What part(s) of the handbook are you referring to? Do they have any wacky policies (apart from the admission targets)?

No alcohol, no sex outside of marriage...

 

[UreterIHardlyKnowHer]

No alcohol, no sex outside of marriage...

Honestly, if that's what it takes I can live with those rules.

 

[gyngyn]

Honestly, if that's what it takes I can live with those rules.

It's not just living with it, it's embracing it.

 

[md-2020]

Honestly, if that's what it takes I can live with those rules.

It's not just living with it, it's embracing it.

A fine fine line

 

[gyngyn]

A fine fine line

If not crossed though, OP will find himself surrounded by folks whose central goal is to serve Christ (for which medicine is a tool to that end).
Medical school can feel pretty alienating as it is. Finding community is important. If these are his peeps, he'll be fine; if not, excessive pain.
The other reason is that LL is used to having CA applicants (and others) apply there with modest commitment to the mission. They have a lot of experience sniffing this out. They don't want students holding their nose through the whole experience. They want enthusiastic participants.

 

[UreterIHardlyKnowHer]

If not crossed though, OP will find himself surrounded by folks whose central goal is to serve Christ (for which medicine is a tool to that end).
Medical school can feel pretty alienating as it is. Finding community is important. If these are his peeps, he'll be fine; if not, excessive pain.
The other reason is that LL is used to having CA applicants (and others) apply there with modest commitment to the mission. They have a lot of experience sniffing this out. They don't want students holding their nose through the whole experience. They want enthusiastic participants.

Actually that describes a good portion of the community that I surround myself with at my undergrad. I have lived in my Christian fraternity since sophomore year, and our house is similar to the school in the sense that it doesn't allow sex or alcohol consumption. Their mission is similar to mine, although I'd say my overarching moral beliefs push me towards medicine a bit more than my specifically Christian beliefs. That being said, I value the role that medicine plays in evangelical outreach and I actually have some interesting experiences with this from the Adventist Hospital that I interned at (which come to think of it also serves as a affiliated hospital for LL).

On a related note, does Loma Linda typically have a secondary essay to describe an applicant's religious inclinations towards medicine, or do they want to see that in the personal statement?

 

[gyngyn]

On a related note, does Loma Linda typically have a secondary essay to describe an applicant's religious inclinations towards medicine, or do they want to see that in the personal statement?

They do.