4.0 GPA | 516 MCAT | Okay ECs...?

[premed5371]

I was looking to get some advice on where I stand which schools I would be competitive at and such. (NYS Resident)

4.0 GPA (Biology/Chemistry Double Major)

MCAT total: 516 (95%)
Chem/Phys: 129 (93%)
CARS: 127 (81%)
Bio/Biochem: 130 (97%)
Psych/Soc: 130 (97%)

Volunteering:
Hospital Volunteer (120 hr)
ER volunteer (80 hr)
Volunteer with underprivileged children (60 hr)

Athletic:
Captain Division I Swim Team (HUGE time commitment: 2500+ hrs)
4 school records
NCAA SAAC (Student Athlete Advisory Committee) representative (60 hr)

Academic:
Tutoring science and physics classes 2 years (75 hr)
Various Academic awards (Top Organic Chem + Physics Student, Three honor societies, etc.)'

Work:
40+ hours a week in the summer (3 jobs)
2 life guarding jobs in the summer
15 hours a week working retail year round

Shadowing:
Shadow General Surgeon (60 hrs)

Research:
Microbiology Research: no pubs (100 hrs)

I'm worried my ECs might be a little light compared to other applicants. Thanks!

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[WedgeDawg]

Highly competitive for anything outside the top 20. Slightly below average competitiveness for many schools within the top 20. A little worried about your dearth of research for those schools, but not enough to discourage you from applying.

 

[Banco]

Your activities are great, not light at all. Have some confidence.

Highly competitive for anything outside the top 20. Slightly below average competitiveness for many schools within the top 20. A little worried about your dearth of research for those schools, but not enough to discourage you from applying.

I think that D1 athlete factor makes up for the relatively low amount of research for top schools. At least he got his feet wet, right?

 

[WedgeDawg]

Your activities are great, not light at all. Have some confidence.



I think that D1 athlete factor makes up for the relatively low amount of research for top schools. At least he got his feet wet, right?

I think different schools will look at it differently, so it definitely won't hurt to apply to some of them just as long as OP has a good list of mids in there as well.

 

[Banco]

I think different schools will look at it differently, so it definitely won't hurt to apply to some of them just as long as OP has a good list of mids in there as well.

Yeah I agree.

Target mid-tiers, but have a healthy amount of back ups and reaches. As a NYS resident that shouldn't be hard.

Though you should get to submitting ASAP if you haven't already.

 

[Caffein3]

Major props to being a D1 CAPTAIN and still having a 4.0 AND an amazing MCAT! At least you have some of everything. Very impressive IMO

 

[Goro]

I suggest the following.


U VM
U Toledo
Miami
St. Louis
Albany
Albert Einstein (maybe)
Rochester
Rush
Rosy Franklin
NYMC
EVMS
Wake Forest
Jefferson
Temple
Drexel
Creighton
Tulane
USC/Keck
Loyola
USF Morsani
Emory
BU
Mayo

Any new MD school, especially Hofstra. Skip Central MI and the three new FL schools.

ALL SUNYs!

EDIT: Being a NYer, give a try to one or two of the Manhattan titans, or Einstein

I was looking to get some advice on where I stand which schools I would be competitive at and such. (NYS Resident)

4.0 GPA (Biology/Chemistry Double Major)

MCAT total: 516 (95%)
Chem/Phys: 129 (93%)
CARS: 127 (81%)
Bio/Biochem: 130 (97%)
Psych/Soc: 130 (97%)

Volunteering:
Hospital Volunteer (120 hr)
ER volunteer (80 hr)
Volunteer with underprivileged children (60 hr)

Athletic:
Captain Division I Swim Team (HUGE time commitment: 2500+ hrs)
4 school records
NCAA SAAC (Student Athlete Advisory Committee) representative (60 hr)

Academic:
Tutoring science and physics classes 2 years (75 hr)
Various Academic awards (Top Organic Chem + Physics Student, Three honor societies, etc.)'

Work:
40+ hours a week in the summer (3 jobs)
2 life guarding jobs in the summer
15 hours a week working retail year round

Shadowing:
Shadow General Surgeon (60 hrs)

Research:
Microbiology Research: no pubs (100 hrs)

I'm worried my ECs might be a little light compared to other applicants. Thanks!

 

[premed5371]

My list of schools right now is:
Columbia
Georgetown
Hopkins
OSU
Brown
Rochester
Miami
Buffalo
Stony Brook
SUNY upstate
New york Medical
Albany
Hofstra
UCF

And yeah I waited to see my MCAT scores (took june 19th) and had to finish up my PS...

 

[Goro]

For get brown; they favor their own grads.

UCF is hard to get into for OOSers. Trade out for Temple, Jefferson or U VM. And why not Downstate???

 

[Banco]

My list of schools right now is:
Columbia
Georgetown
Hopkins
OSU
Brown
Rochester
Miami
Buffalo
Stony Brook
SUNY upstate
New york Medical
Albany
Hofstra
UCF

And yeah I waited to see my MCAT scores (took june 19th) and had to finish up my PS...

Seems pretty good. I'd replace Brown and UCF though.

I would definitely add Downstate and Einstein. And possibly take a stab at Cornell, NYU, Sinai.

 

[BaeDreaming]

New to student doctor but your stats are damn near perfect. I think you should apply to any school you want, but thats just me.

 

[nRomaleos]

seeing these stats & posts makes me really want to stop coming here sometimes...

 

[ZedsDed]

I think that D1 athlete factor makes up for the relatively low amount of research for top schools. At least he got his feet wet, right?

I've heard a few AdCom members on here comment that athletics tend to not carry as much weight as people think, they're just a cool EC.

 

[Meeehai]

I was looking to get some advice on where I stand which schools I would be competitive at and such. (NYS Resident)

4.0 GPA (Biology/Chemistry Double Major)

MCAT total: 516 (95%)
Chem/Phys: 129 (93%)
CARS: 127 (81%)
Bio/Biochem: 130 (97%)
Psych/Soc: 130 (97%)

Volunteering:
Hospital Volunteer (120 hr)
ER volunteer (80 hr)
Volunteer with underprivileged children (60 hr)

Athletic:
Captain Division I Swim Team (HUGE time commitment: 2500+ hrs)
4 school records
NCAA SAAC (Student Athlete Advisory Committee) representative (60 hr)

Academic:
Tutoring science and physics classes 2 years (75 hr)
Various Academic awards (Top Organic Chem + Physics Student, Three honor societies, etc.)'

Work:
40+ hours a week in the summer (3 jobs)
2 life guarding jobs in the summer
15 hours a week working retail year round

Shadowing:
Shadow General Surgeon (60 hrs)

Research:
Microbiology Research: no pubs (100 hrs)

I'm worried my ECs might be a little light compared to other applicants. Thanks!

Terrible stats, you won't get in anywhere. Maybe if you had FIVE school records, then we could talk...

 

[Poit]

Out of curiosity, why do you discourage an application to CMU? I interviewed there and wasn't particularly impressed..

I suggest the following.


U VM
U Toledo
Miami
St. Louis
Albany
Albert Einstein (maybe)
Rochester
Rush
Rosy Franklin
NYMC
EVMS
Wake Forest
Jefferson
Temple
Drexel
Creighton
Tulane
USC/Keck
Loyola
USF Morsani
Emory
BU
Mayo

Any new MD school, especially Hofstra. Skip Central MI and the three new FL schools.

ALL SUNYs!

EDIT: Being a NYer, give a try to one or two of the Manhattan titans, or Einstein

 

[ZedsDed]

Terrible stats, you won't get in anywhere. Maybe if you had FIVE school records, then we could talk...

Wow I missed that. Very impressive OP, I think that will definitely help you stand out.

 

[steelersfan1243]

My list of schools right now is:
Columbia
Georgetown
Hopkins
OSU
Brown
Rochester
Miami
Buffalo
Stony Brook
SUNY upstate
New york Medical
Albany
Hofstra
UCF

And yeah I waited to see my MCAT scores (took june 19th) and had to finish up my PS...

I don't understand why people discount D1. Was this D1 at a major conference however (Big 10, SEC, ACC) or are we talking DI-AA? IF the former I think you should add more reaches to your list, USC in a past thread has shown favoritism to DI athletes. I will see if I can dig that thread up to get a full list from that applicant who had a highly successful cycle

 

[premed5371]

It was at a smaller private university in a smaller conference. I haven't seen many other threads about Division 1 athletics and most tend to qualify them as just another EC. I would hope that being a captain for two years and being quite successful would hold some weight though.

 

[heebeejeebies]

seeing these stats & posts makes me really want to stop coming here sometimes...

Yep. As soon as my secondaries are done it's bon voyage for me.

 

[sliceofbread136]

I think you have a chance anywhere, but aim for mid tiers. The list you posted looks good

 

[steelersfan1243]

It was at a smaller private university in a smaller conference. I haven't seen many other threads about Division 1 athletics and most tend to qualify them as just another EC. I would hope that being a captain for two years and being quite successful would hold some weight though.

In that case I still think you have a solid chance in getting to medical school, but its not really a wow factor that will bludgeon your way into top schools. I know of a professional soccer player (MLS) that goes to Rochester and a similar diver, swimmer with records at a DI-AA that goes to Tulane. It really is just another EC at this point, but will definitely get you somewhere with a wisely chosen list.

 

[Gandyy]

OH thank god this wasnt a "I have a 516 MCAT, 4.0 GPA, Will I ever make it into a MD school?" thread. Those are beyond annoying.

 

[mikil100]

You look very competitive. You are lucky- there are 4 SUNY schools to apply to, a few low/mid tier choices all in NY. I also think you should add a few reaches. Your research experience is minimal, but at least you have some- I'd say apply to a top ten or two just to see what happens.

 

[Banco]

I've heard a few AdCom members on here comment that athletics tend to not carry as much weight as people think, they're just a cool EC.

Depends on the adcom. Most would agree its quite the accomplishment as long as other areas of the application aren't lacking.

I think the distinction is that some people post on here and say that they don't have much research, clinical, or volunteering because they devoted all their time to athletics - that's when things get dicey, because an athletic activity is not a good substitute for critical parts of the application.

 

[ZedsDed]

Depends on the adcom. Most would agree its quite the accomplishment as long as other areas of the application aren't lacking.

I think the distinction is that some people post on here and say that they don't have much research, clinical, or volunteering because they devoted all their time to athletics - that's when things get dicey, because an athletic activity is not a good substitute for critical parts of the application.

I agree

 

[GrapesofRath]

Goro has a good list.

Ill say a couple things

1) I totally believe a strong applicant who was a D1 athletic should be looked upon very favorably. The problem is as gyngyn has said many times before is many ADCOMs just don't realize the value and commitment of D1 athletics. In a number of there minds there really isn't that much difference between intramural competition you do casually with your buddies and D1. Many don't actually realize how draining weekly trips across the country and practicing 20 hours a week can be. Obviously very flawed but it is what it is. To truly realize how impressive a D1 athlete with a 4.o really is you have to have an understanding of D1 athletics. Many ADCOMs don't and see little difference between being able to be a member at Duke Basketball and D3 practice at Carnegie Mellon University.

2) This is nonetheless a very strong application. Really all that holds it back from top 20 schools is research experience that is on the light side. But I would still say it might be a good idea to still give it a go at a few. Pitt, Mt Sinai, Northwestern, Vanderbilt and Duke initially come to mind as potential options.

3) This is the type of application that might also be a good bet for state schools that favor in staters but like big stats OOS. Just a consideration. If you want more reaches to add from Goro's list UVA, Case Western, Rochester and Hofstra aren't bad bets.

 

[LLCoolK]

Goro has a good list.

Ill say a couple things

1) I totally believe a strong applicant who was a D1 athletic should be looked upon very favorably. The problem is as gyngyn has said many times before is many ADCOMs just don't realize the value and commitment of D1 athletics. In a number of there minds there really isn't that much difference between intramural competition you do casually with your buddies and D1. Many don't actually realize how draining weekly trips across the country and practicing 20 hours a week can be. Obviously very flawed but it is what it is. To truly realize how impressive a D1 athlete with a 4.o really is you have to have an understanding of D1 athletics. Many ADCOMs don't and see little difference between being able to be a member at Duke Basketball and D3 practice at Carnegie Mellon University.

2) This is nonetheless a very strong application. Really all that holds it back from top 20 schools is research experience that is on the light side. But I would still say it might be a good idea to still give it a go at a few. Pitt, Mt Sinai, Northwestern, Vanderbilt and Duke initially come to mind as potential options.

3) This is the type of application that might also be a good bet for state schools that favor in staters but like big stats OOS. Just a consideration. If you want more reaches to add from Goro's list UVA, Case Western, Rochester and Hofstra aren't bad bets.

Completely agree with above. The problem is, ADCOMS don't really understand what goes into the sport/time commitment/mental commitment. BUT I do think it is something that will definitely set you off from other candidates and greatly help with interviews. I can speak from experience, as I was on a USA national team once upon a time. It was a big topic of interest for a lot of my interviews. The schools that did ask me about it during my interviews, I was accepted, but one school put me on waitlist (they told me their class was completely full at the time during my interview).

 

[Doug Underhill]

Apply to programs with a 33-35 MCAT average and all your state schools. You are above the 90th percentile for GPA with programs like Drexel and Rosy Franklin, and your MCAT is also above their average. These programs get a huge number of applications and are more likely to choose someone with a lower GPA than you because they'll be more likely to matriculate there.

All the state schools for NY
Boston
Tufts
Rochester
Hofstra
Saint Louis
Penn State
Ohio State
Miami
Emory
Your favorite reach schools