40Q, 3.3 but from an Ivy - any chance, and if so, where should I apply?

[lrendowi]

Hi Everyone,

I come from an Ivy but have a 3.3 GPA, partly due to my intention to pursue a Ph.D. until midway through my Senior year, but mostly due to some problems with long-term chronic depression which was only diagnosed in my Senior year, at which point I started medication and therapy and got some As. I took the MCAT about six months after graduating and got a 40Q.

I'm working on secondaries now, having applied to 31 schools, which range from Loma Linda and Temple (not that they're not good schools) to
Tufts and UVA. Can anyone give me a feeling on whether or not I have a chance of getting in, and if so, where, so I can maybe not send back all the secondaries I get? (I didn't know before I applied that secondaries are sent out to pretty much all applicants, even before AMCAS verification.)

Thanks!
Lila

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[dreams]

Hi Everyone,

I come from an Ivy but have a 3.3 GPA, partly due to my intention to pursue a Ph.D. until midway through my Senior year, but mostly due to some problems with long-term chronic depression which was only diagnosed in my Senior year, at which point I started medication and therapy and got some As. I took the MCAT about six months after graduating and got a 40Q.

I'm working on secondaries now, having applied to 31 schools, which range from Loma Linda and Temple (not that they're not good schools) to
Tufts and UVA. Can anyone give me a feeling on whether or not I have a chance of getting in, and if so, where, so I can maybe not send back all the secondaries I get? (I didn't know before I applied that secondaries are sent out to pretty much all applicants, even before AMCAS verification.)

Thanks!
Lila

just on a basic note you should not beat yourself up about your stats, I mean you went to an ivy school, give yourself a break... just think that you are going to get into a good school and your going to be a doctor...now smile ok about your school choices I have no clue, sorry but I just thought I would give ya a little upbeat thought

 

[lmcener2]

With stats like yours, it's important to apply broadly. I'm sure with an MCAT like this, you will get some attention. You didn't mention your ECs, which will have an impact on predictions about the success of your application process. Can you tell us more about yourself?

 

[lrendowi]

I've done only a little shadowing, but have volunteered in a clinical lab and a clinical children's education program. I worked one day a week for a little under a year as a personal care assistant for a disabled person. I also wrote for a science publication at my college for a year.

But I probably spent the most time in labs, though I switched around a lot, due to leaving labs after summers were up. I haven't been an author yet, though, but I will have been 2nd or 3rd author on three or so submitted papers by interview time.

Thanks for the cheering words, dreams, and the helpful advice, lmcener2!

Edit: Whoops, I also should mention I've worked every summer in a lab and every school year in a regular paying job, while also doing lab, since Sophomore year.

 

[RSAgator]

I think you're in pretty good shape to get an acceptance as long as you apply to the right places. Obviously the MCAT is great and the GPA isn't, so I would forget about applying to those really top top schools. Hopefully you don't have an "i'm from an ivy so I deserve to go to an ivy" mentality. Apply broadly (meaning to a few good schools but a lot of schools further down the list) and you should be fine. You have 31 schools so I'm guessing you've got quite a few more forgiving ones on the list

 

[scarletgirl777]

'

I think you're in pretty good shape to get an acceptance as long as you apply to the right places. Obviously the MCAT is great and the GPA isn't, so I would forget about applying to those really top top schools. Hopefully you don't have an "i'm from an ivy so I deserve to go to an ivy" mentality. Apply broadly (meaning to a few good schools but a lot of schools further down the list) and you should be fine. You have 31 schools so I'm guessing you've got quite a few more forgiving ones on the list

Realism is important, but there are people who get into "top top" med schools with a 3.3...so I don't see why someone like you with a strong research background and a phenomenal MCAT is any worse than those other people with a 3.3ish GPA who get in.

 

[Mobius1985]

Other than working as a personal care assistant, you didn't mention other clinical exposure (with sick people). If your jobs didn't entail that type of work, it might be good to get something started by volunteering in a hospital, clinic, hospice, etc. This will give you something to talk about in interviews and update letters that will be very important to most adcomms. Your level of research involvement is great though. What did you list under leadership?

 

[lrendowi]

I'm currently volunteering with an asthma education program which works with urban underprivileged children with asthma, but it's only been going on for a few months. Other than that, being a PCA, and the clinical lab, I don't really have anything else.

I didn't know you had to put something down under leadership - do you have to? I was an editor for that undergrad science publication, and I managed a dorm food establishment (one of my jobs for money that I wanted to let the adcoms know I worked at least one job during the term throughout school) - will these do?

 

[Mobius1985]

Excellent! Those are definitely leadership. And it's best to put something, if possible, under all the pre-selectable categories. If not there, did mention those experiences somewhere on your Primary application? If not mentioned, they are always possible fodder for update letters in the future.

 

[lrendowi]

Darn it, I've already submitted my primary . How often, and how early, can I submit these update letters, without annoying the adcoms? Also, would you suggest writing in my secondaries about activities they've already read about in the Work/Activities section of my primary, or about other aspects they haven't heard about?

 

[ballerstatus666]

don't worry man. with your gpa, i'd be chronically depressed too. it's perfectly normal!

 

[Mobius1985]

Update letters can be sent anytime, but in my opinion it's best to wait until after the interview so you can also express your enthusiasm for the school, why it's a perfect fit for you, ongoing or new pertinent activities, and what unique aspects you have to bring to the class they are selecting. After the fall +/or spring grades are released is another logical time for an update, as you can mention your updated GPA, classes you took that might impact your success in med school, and all the other stuff I mentioned above. But be succinct, so they'll actually read it.

One does not always have a choice of topic, but if possible, use the essays to show some new facet of yourself that has not yet been demonstrated.

 

[ej37]

First of all, MCAT seems to mater a whole lot more than GPA these days, so I don't think you have anything to worry about. YOU WILL GET IN. I would say the sky is the limit, apply broadly, and there should be nothing stopping you from applying to top 25 schools. Apply where you want, you have a shot everywhere.

For low GPAers like us, the MCAT becomes even more important because it puts the GPA in perspective, especially if you are from a tough school. You mentioned you go to an Ivy, although I don't think this will significantly help your application unless you are from Cornell, Dartmouth, or Penn, because all of the other Ivy's are notorious for grade inflation amd I think adcoms are aware of this (Cornell has always had the benefit of grade DEFLATION but even this is starting to change). Then again, the name recognition of Harvard can in some ways overcome this, even though the mean graduating GPA is a 3.7. Also, the difficulty of your curriculum might mater, i.e. a 3.3 english major is a lot different from a 3.3 physics or even chemistry major.

Then again, all of this is a moot point for you because your MCAT pretty much superceeds any of those concerns anyway, and a 40 should trump all doubts about not being able to suceed in their program. Get cranking on those secondaries and if you want to (which you seem to), you WILL get in to medical school somewhere. You should be at least competative at every school in the country, and very competative at schools out of the top 10. Just leave a spot for me, ok? good luck!

Just my 2 cents.

 

[cavalier329]

"3.3 english major is a lot different from a 3.3 physics or even chemistry major."


how can you even justify a comment like that? Have YOU ever taken upper level english, philosophy, or history courses?

Im pretty sure they arent "easy". That comment has no basis.


For the record...i LOVE reading papers of a heavy science major. Sometimes it can be the most horrific site in the world. I wonder whether some of them know what a thesis actually is or what passive voice means.

Im a chemistry, history double major by the way. I think Im in a position to speak about that.

 

[RSAgator]

'

Realism is important, but there are people who get into "top top" med schools with a 3.3...so I don't see why someone like you with a strong research background and a phenomenal MCAT is any worse than those other people with a 3.3ish GPA who get in.

I mean I'd venture to guess there are more people with 3.3's that don't get in than that do =). Regardless, I think it's a moot point. With those stats and 31 schools he could probably pick the top 31 that are friendly to oos (or that he's is for) and he'd get into a ton of them.

 

[lrendowi]

Thanks for the positive advice, everyone! I really appreciate it, and am raring to go on these secondaries because of your kind words!

 

[Lukkie]

I mean I'd venture to guess there are more people with 3.3's that don't get in than that do =). Regardless, I think it's a moot point. With those stats and 31 schools he could probably pick the top 31 that are friendly to oos (or that he's is for) and he'd get into a ton of them.

Most people with 3.3 dont have 40 MCAT either

 

[ButImLETired]

"3.3 english major is a lot different from a 3.3 physics or even chemistry major."


how can you even justify a comment like that? Have YOU ever taken upper level english, philosophy, or history courses?

Im pretty sure they arent "easy". That comment has no basis.


For the record...i LOVE reading papers of a heavy science major. Sometimes it can be the most horrific site in the world. I wonder whether some of them know what a thesis actually is or what passive voice means.

Im a chemistry, history double major by the way. I think Im in a position to speak about that.

"sight", not site.

Hate to be a stickler, but if you're going to call into question the writing ability of most pre-meds, you might want to double-check your spelling as you do so.

 

[ButImLETired]

Oh, and OP: Unless you went to one of the SHYP schools (Stanford, Harvard, Yale, Princeton) that are extremely well-known for grade inflation and in which average gpa is a 3.7 and above, your 3.3/40 will take you farther than you think. And if you did go to one of those 4 (I'm endlessly envious if you did by the way, that's really the smart way to go about things), the name-dropping will help, and the 40 will really make up for anything. You'll be fine. Add a reach or two to the list and you'll definitely get in SOMEWHERE.