4.0 GPA, 508 MCAT, help with school list

[gophs21]

Hello,

I've been a lurker on SDN for a while and wanted to get some feedback on my school list. Some facts about me:

Senior, bio major, white hispanic (Peruvian) male, will be applying June 2016
cGPA/sGPA 4.0 from a large public university in the Midwest (my username is not a hint)
MCAT 508

By the time I apply, I expect to have:
- 100+ volunteer hours in my community, mainly helping to organize and run health fairs
- ~100 hours shadowing (FM, Cards, OR)
- 200+ volunteer hours in a hospital, mainly in the ER
- 300+ hours doing clinical research. I hope to have two papers submitted for publication (one first author, one second author) by May. I've been a co-author on 4 abstracts presented at conferences internationally.
- 70+ hours in leadership position at pre-med org, mainly mentoring and tutoring younger pre-meds
- No hobbies besides the typical exercising, watching sports, and reading
- fluent in Spanish

I would say my MCAT score is my limiting reagent, so to say, but I'm not sure. This is my tentative list so far:

-Minnesota (IS)
-MCW
-SLU
-Creighton
-Rush
-Loyola
-Miami
-Wisconsin
-Einstein
-Emory
-Case Western
-Northwestern

I realize the majority of these schools are in the Midwest, but that doesn't mean I'm set on staying in the region; these are just the schools I've looked at on MSAR so far. On a personal note, Northwestern is my dream school, so I would like to know how realistic this dream is/should I retake the MCAT?

Thank you for any feedback!

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[Faha]

Emory, Case Western and Northwestern are unrealistic with your MCAT but you can apply to them as reaches. Consider adding schools such as:
Oakland Beaumont
Western Michigan
Rosalind Franklin
Tulane
Quinnipiac
Albany
New York Medical
Drexel
Temple
Jefferson
GW
Georgetown
Tulane

 

[gophs21]

Emory, Case Western and Northwestern are unrealistic with your MCAT but you can apply to them as reaches. Consider adding schools such as:
Oakland Beaumont
Western Michigan
Rosalind Franklin
Tulane
Quinnipiac
Albany
New York Medical
Drexel
Temple
Jefferson
GW
Georgetown
Tulane

Thank you!

 

[Mwooster]

Emory, Case Western and Northwestern are unrealistic with your MCAT but you can apply to them as reaches.

Not so sure about the above, OP. As a Spanish-speaking URM, a 4.0 and a 508 might get you IIs from them.

 

[Goro]

I suggest:

Rush
NYMC
Creighton
Albany
Rosy Franklin
Drexel
Temple
Loma Linda (but read their list of don'ts)
MCW
St. Louis U
WVU
Jefferson
Tulane
Loyola
Miami
Wake Forest
EVMS
VCU
Oakland-B
Western MI
Any DO program, starting with CCOM and DMU
Your state school(s)

Hello,

I've been a lurker on SDN for a while and wanted to get some feedback on my school list. Some facts about me:

Senior, bio major, white hispanic (Peruvian) male, will be applying June 2016
cGPA/sGPA 4.0 from a large public university in the Midwest (my username is not a hint)
MCAT 508

By the time I apply, I expect to have:
- 100+ volunteer hours in my community, mainly helping to organize and run health fairs
- ~100 hours shadowing (FM, Cards, OR)
- 200+ volunteer hours in a hospital, mainly in the ER
- 300+ hours doing clinical research. I hope to have two papers submitted for publication (one first author, one second author) by May. I've been a co-author on 4 abstracts presented at conferences internationally.
- 70+ hours in leadership position at pre-med org, mainly mentoring and tutoring younger pre-meds
- No hobbies besides the typical exercising, watching sports, and reading
- fluent in Spanish

I would say my MCAT score is my limiting reagent, so to say, but I'm not sure. This is my tentative list so far:

-Minnesota (IS)
-MCW
-SLU
-Creighton
-Rush
-Loyola
-Miami
-Wisconsin
-Einstein
-Emory
-Case Western
-Northwestern

I realize the majority of these schools are in the Midwest, but that doesn't mean I'm set on staying in the region; these are just the schools I've looked at on MSAR so far. On a personal note, Northwestern is my dream school, so I would like to know how realistic this dream is/should I retake the MCAT?

Thank you for any feedback!

 

[candbgirl]

Not so sure about the above, OP. As a Spanish-speaking URM, a 4.0 and a 508 might get you IIs from them.

Not sure he is UIM. He's Peruvian and I'm not sure that qualifies for UIM. OP your MCAT is low for NU. Your GPA is great but... Fluency in a foreign language is always good.

 

[gyngyn]

Not so sure about the above, OP. As a Spanish-speaking URM, a 4.0 and a 508 might get you IIs from them.

South Americans are not generally considered UIM. Language skills are always appreciated, though.

 

[gophs21]

Thank you all for your feedback. If I were to retake the MCAT and score, say, a 510, would my chances at NU improve at all? I ask because I was consistently scoring 509-510 on practice exams, and I guess the real thing may have freaked me out.

Not sure he is UIM. He's Peruvian and I'm not sure that qualifies for UIM. OP your MCAT is low for NU. Your GPA is great but... Fluency in a foreign language is always good.

South Americans are not generally considered UIM. Language skills are always appreciated, though.

I imagine this is because there are few South American (specifically Peruvians) in the U.S.? Just for my knowledge, what groups are considered UIM? Thanks!

 

[gophs21]

I suggest:

Rush
NYMC
Creighton
Albany
Rosy Franklin
Drexel
Temple
Loma Linda (but read their list of don'ts)
MCW
St. Louis U
WVU
Jefferson
Tulane
Loyola
Miami
Wake Forest
EVMS
VCU
Oakland-B
Western MI
Any DO program, starting with CCOM and DMU
Your state school(s)

Thank you! I forgot about Rosy Franklin

 

[gyngyn]

Thank you all for your feedback. If I were to retake the MCAT and score, say, a 510, would my chances at NU improve at all? I ask because I was consistently scoring 509-510 on practice exams, and I guess the real thing may have freaked me out.






I imagine this is because there are few South American (specifically Peruvians) in the U.S.? Just for my knowledge, what groups are considered UIM? Thanks!

A re-take that could only result in such a small incremental improvement is not advisable. Even if you got a 32 equivalent (512/513), that would barely touch Northwestern's 10th %. It's not worth the risk.

Just about everyone considers African Americans, Mexican Americans, mainland Puerto Ricans and Native Americans UIM. https://www.aamc.org/initiatives/urm/
Each school determines which communities are under-served in their area, thus Central Americans and some Asians (Hmong, Cambodian, Samoan) also qualify in CA.