MD 3.55 cGPA/514 MCAT

[dcmorgan96]

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Hi all

I have a 3.55 cGPA, 3.52 sGPA, 514 MCAT

ECs:
Former VP of Community Service and current President of an honors society
~300 hours of community volunteering as a group leader with the honors society
~150 hours as a paid tennis coach
Pre-med association shadowing committee member (interviewed undergrads for shadowing positions, corresponded with physicians, etc)
~100 hours of physician shadowing
~80 hours of clinical volunteering in an ED
~35 hours of clinical volunteering at a RMH
~400 hours of genetics research

I'm trying to narrow down my list of schools. Jefferson is my dream school and despite my GPA I feel like I have a decent shot. Should I focus on schools around that ranking?

Thanks!

 

[Goro]

I suggest that you invest in MSAR Online, and target schools whose 10th%ile GPAs are closest to your own. Pay very careful attention to the Acceptance Information tabs, especial IS/ vs OOS success rates.

Did you have a rising GPA trend? Jefferson is in striking distance, BTW. Also have some DO schools on your list.

Chances will be best with your state schools.

 

[dcmorgan96]

I suggest that you invest in MSAR Online, and target schools whose 10th%ile GPAs are closest to your own. Pay very careful attention to the Acceptance Information tabs, especial IS/ vs OOS success rates.

Did you have a rising GPA trend? Jefferson is in striking distance, BTW. Also have some DO schools on your list.

Chances will be best with your state schools.

@Goro Thanks for the advice. I have gone through most schools on MSAR and have a preliminary list down. My first semester was good and then the next two really hurt my GPA, as I earned ~3.2 over those two semesters. I learned my lesson and trended up over these last 3 (3.6->3.7->3.9). I'll also look through your previous replies on threads who have similar numbers to myself. Would you recommend not applying to any schools that have a 10th %ile less than my GPA?

 

[Goro]

@Goro I'll also look through your previous replies on threads who have similar numbers to myself. Would you recommend not applying to any schools that have a 10th %ile less than my GPA?

Your story is very common. I suggest the following:

U VM
Duke
Pitt
Mayo
Miami
St. Louis
Albany
Rush
Rosy Franklin
BU
MCW
Hofstra
NYMC
VCU
EVMS
Wake Forest
Jefferson
Temple
Drexel
Creighton
George Washington
Georgetown
Tulane
Dartmouth
Loyola
Netter
Oakland-B
Your state school(s).
Uniformed Services University/Hebert (just be aware of the military service commitment)
Any DO program. I can't recommend Touro-NY, or LUCOM, for different reasons

 

[dcmorgan96]

Your story is very common. I suggest the following:

U VM
Duke
Pitt
Mayo
Miami
St. Louis
Albany
Rush
Rosy Franklin
BU
MCW
Hofstra
NYMC
VCU
EVMS
Wake Forest
Jefferson
Temple
Drexel
Creighton
George Washington
Georgetown
Tulane
Dartmouth
Loyola
Netter
Oakland-B
Your state school(s).
Uniformed Services University/Hebert (just be aware of the military service commitment)
Any DO program. I can't recommend Touro-NY, or LUCOM, for different reasons

@Goro Thanks so much!!

 

[mwsapphire]

Just to make you feel good, Jefferson is totally doable.
You're at about 25th for GPA and 75th for MCAT, that's right on the money.

 

[dcmorgan96]

Just to make you feel good, Jefferson is totally doable.
You're at about 25th for GPA and 75th for MCAT, that's right on the money.

@mwsapphire Thanks! Fingers crossed

 

[dcmorgan96]

Your story is very common. I suggest the following:

U VM
Duke
Pitt
Mayo
Miami
St. Louis
Albany
Rush
Rosy Franklin
BU
MCW
Hofstra
NYMC
VCU
EVMS
Wake Forest
Jefferson
Temple
Drexel
Creighton
George Washington
Georgetown
Tulane
Dartmouth
Loyola
Netter
Oakland-B
Your state school(s).
Uniformed Services University/Hebert (just be aware of the military service commitment)
Any DO program. I can't recommend Touro-NY, or LUCOM, for different reasons

@Goro First of all thanks for your list and I will definitely be considering each of those schools. I have a few questions about some others (mostly state schools). I am a North Carolina resident.

I would like to apply to Rush, but have seen other people say their matriculants usually have 1200+ volunteering/clinical hours, which I do not have. Still worth it to apply?

I was also interested in Oregon and some of the California schools, but after looking at the acceptance data it doesn't sound worth it at all. I definitely ruled out USC, UCSF, and UCSD because of both OOS acceptance rate and MCAT/GPA. I was thinking Davis/Irvine/Riverside but it looks like those schools accept 0-5 OOS per year so no chance there. It looks like UCLA has a 3:1 OOS ratio like the other big ones but my stats seem to be much more competitive there. This confused me because they seem to be ranked even higher than UCSD and USC. Are UCLA/Orgeon not worth a shot either? I was also wondering about Colorado and South Carolina.

I also had questions about some reach schools (I am realistic about my chances but figured it can't hurt to try a few of these). It looks like UVA and Washington don't give as much in-state preference. I was also interested in Brown, Tufts, Stony Brook, and Einstein. Also I know there's no shot and it'll likely be a donation, but I might include Icahn and Penn for the hell of it.

 

[Goro]

The only CA schools you have a shot at are Western and Touro-CA. Don't even think about OR.

For OOS state schools, you need to be >avg.

 

[dcmorgan96]

The only CA schools you have a shot at are Western and Touro-CA. Don't even think about OR.

For OOS state schools, you need to be >avg.

@Goro Hi Goro I had a question. I am finalizing my list and went through WedgeDawg's rating system thread. I noticed that a majority of the schools that I'm applying to are "low yield." I'm only applying to five of the tier 4 schools. Would you advise adding more tier 4 and less tier 6?

 

[Goro]

@Goro Hi Goro I had a question. I am finalizing my list and went through WedgeDawg's rating system thread. I noticed that a majority of the schools that I'm applying to are "low yield." I'm only applying to five of the tier 4 schools. Would you advise adding more tier 4 and less tier 6?

I stand by my list.