3.94cGPA, 3.92sGPA, 35R MCAT, very weak ECs!!! Please advise!

[deathcap]

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So my stats are relatively strong, but I'm concerned that I'm lacking in the EC department. I've already submitted my AMCAS but have not yet been verified. I'm starting to have second thoughts about applying now or gapping to improve my ECs. Maybe it's just nerves, haha. Basically looking for advice as to whether I should withdraw my app and gap, or just pull through? Also, if I gap, would you recommend retaking the MCAT? The overall score is high, but the break down is pretty unbalanced... Thank you all in advance!!

Major: Biology
Undergrad: Top 15
cGPA/sGPA: 3.94/3.92
MCAT: 35R (10/10/15)
CA resident

ECS:
EMT-certified
1 semester TAing for bio lab
1 week-long medical mission trip to Ecuador
200+ hours shadowing (obgyn, general surgery, neurologist, internal medicine, orthopedics, geriatrics)
1 year clinical research (one paper in review; ongoing)
2 years neuroscience research (ongoing)
3 years writer for school paper (1 semester and ongoing as Comics Editor)
Honors/Awards: biology honor society, dean's list

 

[Leonardo Noto]

So my stats are relatively strong, but I'm concerned that I'm lacking in the EC department. I've already submitted my AMCAS but have not yet been verified. I'm starting to have second thoughts about applying now or gapping to improve my ECs. Maybe it's just nerves, haha. Basically looking for advice as to whether I should withdraw my app and gap, or just pull through? Also, if I gap, would you recommend retaking the MCAT? The overall score is high, but the break down is pretty unbalanced... Thank you all in advance!!

Major: Biology
Undergrad: Top 15
cGPA/sGPA: 3.94/3.92
MCAT: 35R (10/10/15)
CA resident

ECS:
EMT-certified
1 semester TAing for bio lab
1 week-long medical mission trip to Ecuador
200+ hours shadowing (obgyn, general surgery, neurologist, internal medicine, orthopedics, geriatrics)
1 year clinical research (one paper in review; ongoing)
2 years neuroscience research (ongoing)
3 years writer for school paper (1 semester and ongoing as Comics Editor)
Honors/Awards: biology honor society, dean's list

If you're in California, you could join a Brazilian jiu jitsu gym and go a few times/week. Even if you're not very athletic it's a sport that you can learn and it's a great way to blow off stress during medical school and to feel a little bit safer when you're walking through the parking lot at LA County or Arrowhead in the middle of the night after you've been at the hospital for 24+ hours. Everything else is extremly strong and I'm sure that you will get accepted to a great school. Just remember not to be arrogant and to still apply to around 10 schools. All it takes is one interviewer to have had a marital dispute the night before or to not like you b/c of your political views or whatever to screw up your application to that particular school. The way you beat this is to apply to multiple schools. EDIT: I just saw that you're involved in your school newspaper and highly involved with you're church. That is plenty. Still, think about the jiu jitsu thing 'cause it's fun and will keep you in shape! Remember, exercise is proven to improve brain function and mood -- and it's a great way to blow off some applicant's paranoia, which is what you have b/c you're competitive at Harvard ;-)

Leonardo Noto
Physician turned Grumpy Old Writer

 

[gmcguitar4]

I am sure you could pull off a similar MCAT if you retook it. But you don't need to. Do you really want to study for that $h!t again??

 

[Ironmandoc]

Never retake an mcat of 35

 

[RHeff]

The ECs don't look that bad. What's missing?

 

[theamazingbil]

Your EC's are actually pretty awesome.

 

[Charles Darwin]

Everything looks fine, OP. Continue with your application cycle.

Good luck!

 

[MonkeyDRuffy]

The only thing is maybe you could do some volunteering at a hospital. However, I don't think you should withdraw your application. Your overall application is very strong. Also retaking MCAT? No, you have a 35. Don't risk it. It is a great score.

 

[deathcap]

Thank you so much guys! Yeah, I was just having a particularly bad night looking through MDApps of some of the schools I applied to. For ECs, I was mostly concerned that I'm too research-heavy with almost no volunteering. To top that off I'm applying MD only, not MD/PhD. I'm going to start volunteering in the ER in a few weeks, so hopefully I'll have something to say during interviews. And there's not much leadership/initiative either, especially considering where I applied, but too late for that, haha.

Maybe you guys can look through my list of schools? I'm thinking of replacing a couple of top tier ones with safeties, just to calm my nerves at least; the current list seems too top heavy. My CA residency doesn't help either. I have:

Johns Hopkins
University of Pittsburgh
Yale
Dartmouth
Cornell
University of Pennsylvania
USC
UCLA
UC Irvine
UCSF
UCSD
Stanford
Columbia
Harvard
NYU
Penn State
Boston U
Temple
Tufts
UMD

Thanks everyone!!

 

[sliceofbread136]

Thank you so much guys! Yeah, I was just having a particularly bad night looking through MDApps of some of the schools I applied to. For ECs, I was mostly concerned that I'm too research-heavy with almost no volunteering. To top that off I'm applying MD only, not MD/PhD. I'm going to start volunteering in the ER in a few weeks, so hopefully I'll have something to say during interviews. And there's not much leadership/initiative either, especially considering where I applied, but too late for that, haha.

Maybe you guys can look through my list of schools? I'm thinking of replacing a couple of top tier ones with safeties, just to calm my nerves at least; the current list seems too top heavy. My CA residency doesn't help either. I have:

Johns Hopkins
University of Pittsburgh
Yale
Dartmouth
Cornell
University of Pennsylvania
USC
UCLA
UC Irvine
UCSF
UCSD
Stanford
Columbia
Harvard
NYU
Penn State
Boston U
Temple
Tufts
UMD

Thanks everyone!!

Way too top heavy...

 

[Leonardo Noto]

Thank you so much guys! Yeah, I was just having a particularly bad night looking through MDApps of some of the schools I applied to. For ECs, I was mostly concerned that I'm too research-heavy with almost no volunteering. To top that off I'm applying MD only, not MD/PhD. I'm going to start volunteering in the ER in a few weeks, so hopefully I'll have something to say during interviews. And there's not much leadership/initiative either, especially considering where I applied, but too late for that, haha.

Maybe you guys can look through my list of schools? I'm thinking of replacing a couple of top tier ones with safeties, just to calm my nerves at least; the current list seems too top heavy. My CA residency doesn't help either. I have:

Johns Hopkins
University of Pittsburgh
Yale
Dartmouth
Cornell
University of Pennsylvania
USC
UCLA
UC Irvine
UCSF
UCSD
Stanford
Columbia
Harvard
NYU
Penn State
Boston U
Temple
Tufts
UMD

Thanks everyone!!

Add a few middle-range schools (UC Davis, etc.) just to be sure.

Leonardo Noto

www.leonardonoto.com or follow me on Twitter @DrLeonardoNoto

 

[MonkeyDRuffy]

Thank you so much guys! Yeah, I was just having a particularly bad night looking through MDApps of some of the schools I applied to. For ECs, I was mostly concerned that I'm too research-heavy with almost no volunteering. To top that off I'm applying MD only, not MD/PhD. I'm going to start volunteering in the ER in a few weeks, so hopefully I'll have something to say during interviews. And there's not much leadership/initiative either, especially considering where I applied, but too late for that, haha.

Maybe you guys can look through my list of schools? I'm thinking of replacing a couple of top tier ones with safeties, just to calm my nerves at least; the current list seems too top heavy. My CA residency doesn't help either. I have:

Johns Hopkins
University of Pittsburgh
Yale
Dartmouth
Cornell
University of Pennsylvania
USC
UCLA
UC Irvine
UCSF
UCSD
Stanford
Columbia
Harvard
NYU
Penn State
Boston U
Temple
Tufts
UMD

Thanks everyone!!

I'd say add some mid-tier schools as well. Those schools are tough for the best of us.

 

[deathcap]

Alright, so glad I posted this! I'm not exactly sure what schools are considered "mid-tier." How do I go about determining that? I'll definitely add UC Davis; any other recommendations? Also, which schools should I remove (that I definitely have no shot at)?

Thanks! This has been tremendously helpful!!

 

[Josh7]

Alright, so glad I posted this! I'm not exactly sure what schools are considered "mid-tier." How do I go about determining that? I'll definitely add UC Davis; any other recommendations? Also, which schools should I remove (that I definitely have no shot at)?

Thanks! This has been tremendously helpful!!

I don't think that you should remove any of the schools you have listed. I think you have the necessary stats to get into most of them although it may come down to LoR's and interviews. If you wanted to save money you could get rid of a few though.

 

[grapepopsicle]

Your ECs aren't bad; research schools will like you. Have you ever thought of MD-PhD? Those programs have lower expectations with regards to volunteering.

Also: unfortunately no school will care about the EMT certification if you haven't worked as one.

 

[Josh7]

Your ECs aren't bad; research schools will like you. Have you ever thought of MD-PhD? Those programs have lower expectations with regards to volunteering.

Also: unfortunately no school will care about the EMT certification if you haven't worked as one.

While MD/PhD schools have lower expectations for ECs outside of research the average MCAT scores also are WAY higher (we're talking the 38-42 range for top-tiers).

 

[Leonardo Noto]

Josh7: Love your avatar man! Great, great, great movie. A good heuristic (mental shortcut) for deciding how prestigious a school is to look at MCAT scores. Some of the schools you listed are probably mid-range, like U of Boston (upper mid-range) but most are very, very competitive. I have no doubt that you will get into one, if not several of those schools. However, just to be sure it would be wise to apply to a few less-competitive schools. When you are selecting your school after you have multiple acceptances, which you will, remember that your personal fit to a school is more important than how sexy a degree will look on your CV. If a school gives you a bad vibe during your interview you probably will be miserable once your spending most of your waking hours there. Make sure you spend some time with students (not the ones interviewing you) during your downtime before and after your interviews.

Leonardo Noto
www.leonardonoto.com or follow me on Twitter @DrLeonardoNoto

 

[deathcap]

I haven't really thought about MD/PhD programs. I love research, but the dual program is just too long for me. Thanks everyone for reassuring me 🙂 I should really stop looking at other people's ECs and comparing myself to everyone, haha. Any other school suggestions btw? Think I'll keep what I have, and add a couple more.

 

[Miss Terious]

.

 

[Josh7]

Josh7: Love your avatar man! Great, great, great movie. A good heuristic (mental shortcut) for deciding how prestigious a school is to look at MCAT scores. Some of the schools you listed are probably mid-range, like U of Boston (upper mid-range) but most are very, very competitive. I have no doubt that you will get into one, if not several of those schools. However, just to be sure it would be wise to apply to a few less-competitive schools. When you are selecting your school after you have multiple acceptances, which you will, remember that your personal fit to a school is more important than how sexy a degree will look on your CV. If a school gives you a bad vibe during your interview you probably will be miserable once your spending most of your waking hours there. Make sure you spend some time with students (not the ones interviewing you) during your downtime before and after your interviews.

Leonardo Noto
www.leonardonoto.com or follow me on Twitter @DrLeonardoNoto

Thanks for the advice Dr. Noto 🙂

 

[carnelian]

This is really top heavy, especially since OP has no long term volunteering... Am I missing something here? All the replies sound really positive.