3.81 GPA, 511 MCAT

[neuroyale]

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[Save a life]

I was wondering about my possibility of getting into the following respective schools: Harvard, Hopkins, Yale, Columbia, Cornell, Brown, Dartmouth, Georgetown, BU, Tufts, Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine (My TOP, dream school), UCLA, UCSF, USC, Emory. Of course, I will be applying broadly to many other target and safety schools.

East Asian from the top 10 institution
cGPA: 3.81
sGPA: 3.85
MCAT: 511 (129/123/132/127) My CARS is low as I am international (English is my second language), but is a US citizen.

Since I have graduated last year, I have been working as a research assistant in a lab studying Alzheimer's and will continue to do so until matriculating into med school next year. Also, I am expecting to submit 1-2 manuscripts in high-impact journals. Nevertheless, the topic is really interesting and promising, as any physicians/ad coms will be interested to talk and hear more about. Besides, I have had about 4 years of research experiences since my freshman year. I have received two grants/fellowships for my undergraduate research and two poster sessions.

Participated in various sports clubs
>4-5 years of research ( independent projects)
>300hrs Shadowing in the OR and the outpatient clinic in the US and abroad.
Volunteering at a hospice, taking care of an elderly suffering from Parkinson's
Mentoring an immigrant high school student
Sunday School Bible Teacher in my local church

Overall, my strength seems to be in research as I have pursued a great deal of independent research. My TOP choice school is Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine. Any thoughts?

Thanks!

I can't say whether you're competitive to a top tier school but you definitely have the stats to get in somewhere. Even if you end up at a mid tier med school, you can always still match to a top residency if you do well in med school.

 

[neuroyale]

I can't say whether you're competitive to a top tier school but you definitely have the stats to get in somewhere. Even if you end up at a mid tier med school, you can always still match to a top residency if you do well in med school.

Thank you. Greatly appreciate it. What do you think about Cleveland Clinic Medical School which seems to mainly focus on research?

 

[Save a life]

Thank you. Greatly appreciate it. What do you think about Cleveland Clinic Medical School which seems to mainly focus on research?

Well I don't have access to the MSAR anymore but I was going to look at Case Western's MCAT/GPA and other factors. I would look at the MSAR and the program's website and see if you fit the gpa and MCAT, the research, and anything else they're looking for. If so then apply and you'll probably have a decent chance.

 

[gyngyn]

The stats for the College program (Cleveland Clinics) are not listed as a separate category from Case in the MSAR.
However, the 10th percentile for Case is 91st percentile. It seems unlikely that the College program would be lower.

 

[gyngyn]

So you think my MCAT will really hold me back at those schools?

With an MCAT well below the 10th percentile, your chances are higher at other fine schools.
What is your state of residence?
Are you a re-applicant?
Previous MCAT?

 

[gyngyn]

My state of residence is New Jersey. Yes I am a re-applicant. Was an MSTP/md-phd applicant with 3-4 interviews including one from the top 5 programs and one waitlist two cycles ago. Previous MCAT was 504. Fortunately, I was able to pull it up above 510. Applying MD only this time.

Your effective MCAT is then somewhat less than 511. If you apply to all your state schools and another dozen OOS privates where the MCAT median is around 30, you should have better luck.

 

[gyngyn]

Thank you for your input. Does that mean that they don't really look at GPA and make decisions mainly based on the MCAT score?? I thought my GPA is considered quite strong or competitive in those schools. I believe that medical school admission is holistic and has no GPA/MCAT cut-offs. Of course, as you have suggested, I will apply to many state schools and other safety ones, but what I am wondering is whether I will be automatically rejected from the schools mentioned above, and if so whether the MCAT will be the main factor for my rejection.

We look at everything. The only standardized metric is the MCAT, though. Relatively few are automatically rejected.
Our advice here is intended to give you the best possible chance of acceptance. Long shots are your own call.
State publics are usually the best bet for anyone (except in some states, like CA).

 

[gyngyn]

Thank you very much. Greatly appreciate your advice!

By state publics, I am referring your own (NJ) state public schools, not the public schools of other states where you are not a resident!

 

[Goro]

I suggest the following:

St. Louis
Albany
Rochester
Rush (note: very service/experience oriented with a 150hr service requirement. Avg student has 800 hours of community service, and >1800 hours of health care exposure.)
Rosy Franklin
NYMC
MCW
VCU
EVMS
Wake Forest
Jefferson
Temple
Drexel
Creighton
Tulane
Loyola
Uniformed Services University/Hebert (just be aware of the military service commitment)
Oakland B
Western MI

Any DO program. I can't recommend Touro-NY, LUCOM, for different reasons
Your state schools