35 MCAT, 3.5 BCPM/3.67 overall

[dr zaius]

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I am curious as to how I stand with my current stats. I've wanted to post one of these for quite some time to obtain feedback and constructive criticism from the oh so wise contributors to this forum subset (ie Mobius). I created this profile to remain anonymous.

I majored in biomedical engineering as an undergraduate. My freshman year of college was great. I managed all As and one B (in gen chem I lab). My sophomore year I lost focus (partied WAY too much and thought college was much like high school where I barely had to study) and ended up with a handful of Bs and a C in calculus II and calculus III. This severely dropped my GPA (~3.2 overall). I realized after that spring semester that I was headed in a bad direction, and I turned things around. From that time onward (6 semesters) I made all As and 3 Bs bringing my GPA up from the abyss. So in short, I had 2 rough semesters followed by mostly As.

I did not begin to consider applying to medical school until the summer before my last semester as an undergraduate, when I had a great deal of clinical exposure. I then took the 3 classes I lacked for pre-reqs, organic I/II and bio II, making As in lectures and labs. I also began MCAT prep, took the MCAT, and scored a 35 (12 PS 12VR 11BS).

As for my ECs, I am currently working on a masters in biomedical engineering. I volunteer at the ER (>300 hours so far). Various other usual stuff. I participated in 2 summer internships, with heavy focus on translational research and clinical exposure (~200 hours shadowing from both summers combined).

I would like to know what else I can do to strengthen my application. I am afraid that my low science GPA will come back to haunt me. Will my MCAT score and grades trend help to overshadow the lower science GPA? I am grateful for any comments. I was confident prior to finding these forums, but after reading I've turned myself into a neurotic pre-med 🙁.

 

[GoSpursGo]

It depends where you want to go to school. If you've got your heart set on a "top 10 school," then your sGPA will probably hurt you, since their applicants pretty much have everything covered. But even then, your cGPA of 3.7ish is pretty strong and not too far below the mean for those schools, so with your strong ECs, you should still have some shot at some of those schools. If you absolutely feel you HAVE to go to a Top 10, I guess you could take a few classes online or at night with a community college to bump the GPA a little, but I really don't think it's necessary. If you want to go to simply your state school, then unless you're from CA you should be in great shape with that excellent MCAT and solid GPA plus your ECs.

In reality, your application is very strong all around. Maybe the only thing I could possibly suggest would be finding some sort of leadership position, but that's fairly nitpicky. You should be in good shape.

 

[mmmcdowe]

I am curious as to how I stand with my current stats. I've wanted to post one of these for quite some time to obtain feedback and constructive criticism from the oh so wise contributors to this forum subset (ie Mobius). I created this profile to remain anonymous.

I majored in biomedical engineering as an undergraduate. My freshman year of college was great. I managed all As and one B (in gen chem I lab). My sophomore year I lost focus (partied WAY too much and thought college was much like high school where I barely had to study) and ended up with a handful of Bs and a C in calculus II and calculus III. This severely dropped my GPA (~3.2 overall). I realized after that spring semester that I was headed in a bad direction, and I turned things around. From that time onward (6 semesters) I made all As and 3 Bs bringing my GPA up from the abyss. So in short, I had 2 rough semesters followed by mostly As.

I did not begin to consider applying to medical school until the summer before my last semester as an undergraduate, when I had a great deal of clinical exposure. I then took the 3 classes I lacked for pre-reqs, organic I/II and bio II, making As in lectures and labs. I also began MCAT prep, took the MCAT, and scored a 35 (12 PS 12VR 11BS).

As for my ECs, I am currently working on a masters in biomedical engineering. I volunteer at the ER (>300 hours so far). Various other usual stuff. I participated in 2 summer internships, with heavy focus on translational research and clinical exposure (~200 hours shadowing from both summers combined).

I would like to know what else I can do to strengthen my application. I am afraid that my low science GPA will come back to haunt me. Will my MCAT score and grades trend help to overshadow the lower science GPA? I am grateful for any comments. I was confident prior to finding these forums, but after reading I've turned myself into a neurotic pre-med 🙁.

You will get in somewhere, because you have a strong MCAT. Maybe not your first choice, but if you apply to some schools with median MCAT scores that are 30-32, you'll be fine. You do have a shot at a top 20 school though, like Case or Pittsburgh, or maybe even some of the Ivy leages (you hit right on their median), just don't get over confident and apply to the top ten schools. You might get in, but it would be such a waste if you didn't get in somewhere. You're a good candidate.

 

[monkeygirl09]

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Hey Dr Zaius,

I wouldn't worry too much if you apply early (like submit AMCAS in June) and apply to a broad range of schools. Schools will look at all of your grades, not just your overall GPA so your improvement in later semesters will look good. In many cases you may have a chance to explain the two semesters of lower grades.

We have a pretty similar backgrounds (BS BME, non-trad applicant, GPA and MCAT) although I'm not working on a masters and I think you have more clinical experience. I think you will do well with what you have. I am happy with how this cycle is going for me, PM me if you want.

Good luck!

 

[dr zaius]

Thank you all so much for the comments. I feel better already.

I plan to apply broadly, with one or two schools in the top tier, and the rest ranging from mid to low tier. I'm mainly shooting for an acceptance, so I'm not picky (or deluded). I should have mentioned that in my original post, but forgot.

In reality, your application is very strong all around. Maybe the only thing I could possibly suggest would be finding some sort of leadership position, but that's fairly nitpicky. You should be in good shape.

I have a few leadership positions from undergrad that I also failed to mention (BMES president, etc), so hopefully that will help.

Monkeygirl09, I will definitely be PMing you after seeing your stats. We are indeed quite similar, and I'd love to follow your progression through the application process 🙂.

Thank you all again for the comments. I was very worried about the GPA aspect of my application, but you all have eased my mind.

 

[Mobius1985]

I'd agree with the generally positive comments from the above posters, if the posted GPAs do not include your grad school performance. If so, please post undergrad and grad school GPAs separately, or add whatever your current grad school performance is, and I will post additional comments if needed.

Your balanced 35 MCAT is very strong. Your (assumed to be undergrad-only) cGPA is average. Your slightly low BCPM is trumped by the MCAT subscores that prove you "got it," and by your recent upward grade trend (hopefully meaning junior and senior year, as well as grad school). I don't think the schools you apply to will doubt you can do the work needed to succeed in their curriculums.

Your ECs are very strong. I, too, noted you hadn't listed leadership. Hopefully, your narrative describing your leadership will suggest a substantive experience.

I'd appreciate more info about the grad school experience.

 

[dr zaius]

I'd agree with the generally positive comments from the above posters, if the posted GPAs do not include your grad school performance. If so, please post undergrad and grad school GPAs separately, or add whatever your current grad school performance is, and I will post additional comments if needed.

Your balanced 35 MCAT is very strong. Your (assumed to be undergrad-only) cGPA is average. Your slightly low BCPM is trumped by the MCAT subscores that prove you "got it," and by your recent upward grade trend (hopefully meaning junior and senior year, as well as grad school). I don't think the schools you apply to will doubt you can do the work needed to succeed in their curriculums.

Your ECs are very strong. I, too, noted you hadn't listed leadership. Hopefully, your narrative describing your leadership will suggest a substantive experience.

I'd appreciate more info about the grad school experience.

Thank you for the feedback! The GPAs I posted were undergraduate only. My sophomore year was the only slump. My junior and senior year are As with 3 Bs. In graduate school I have a 4.0 with 3 classes left to take. My research is nearly complete, thanks to undergraduate honors research, so I plan on proposing soon and defending in May. I'd love to talk about my project, but for the sake of anonymity I'll spare you the details. I presented some of the preliminary results at a national conference this year, though.

I held a number of leadership positions as an undergrad, so hopefully that will be convincing enough of my ability to lead.

Thank you again for the comments!

 

[Mobius1985]

In graduate school I have a 4.0 with 3 classes left to take.

I think you'll do very well in your application cycle, despite the somewhat low sGPA. You may have some explaining to do during interviews, as grades are listed by academic year in college, so have a good answer ready which includes taking responsibility for the slump, what you learned from it, and how you made sure it didn't happen again. Good Luck.