Any success stories of top-tier admission + mediocre gpa/mcat

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Jumoke

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Or is it pretty much hopeless to try?
Anyone or know anyone with 3.4 gpa / 34 mcat (or below) - getting into JH, Havard, etc.?
With Clinicals
Strong LORs etc.

Just curious.
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I'm sure there are stories of people getting into those schools with experiences such as military service, peace corps, 1st author Nature paper, etc. If you have average stats, average ECs, and a PS typical of most applicants, you can probably count those schools out.
 
While people with these stats may get into top-tiers, they usually have something very impressive about their resume that makes up for their lackluster stats.

Those are still very good stats, and will likely get you accepted somewhere, as long as you have realistic expectations and apply broadly.
 
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A 3.4 will be troublesome. A 34 may work depending on what else you can bring to the table.
 
While everyone can dream, and it's not a crime to have high goals. PLEASE PLEASE apply broadly. There are people with 3.9's/40+s who only apply to top tier. We got a name for them here on sdn: reapplicants.
 
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kuntash said:
A 3.4 will be troublesome. A 34 may work depending on what else you can bring to the table.
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I agree. A 34 is possible, but a 3.4 is likely exceedingly rare for top 10 schools.
 
supafly0 said:
While everyone can dream, and it's not a crime to have high goals. PLEASE PLEASE apply broadly. There are people with 3.9's/40+s who only apply to top tier. We got a name for them here on sdn: reapplicants.
Click to expand...

Considering only a very small fraction of the applicants actually get those scores that are around/above the median for the top-tiers, I wouldn't rush to consider them as reapplicants. Most applicants with those stats also have decent/strong EC's. Contrary to what you see on SDN, you are essentially on the top 0.1% of the applicant pool with those stats.

Applying to lower-tier schools with those high stats will essentially lead to rejections due to the schools' perception that the students are viewing them as safeties.
 
Thank you all. Great insights, yea I'll be realistic & will apply broadly.

If only my wish will come true...
 
I've seen 32-34 get in top 10. But more often than not their gpa's are 3.9/4.0.
 
I know someone who came out of a prestigious undergrad with a 34 and a GPA of around 3.4. Strong extracurriculars, research experience, etc.

He's now a reapplicant.

So I'd definitely take the advice of applying broadly. Maybe you can get into a top tier-school, but apply to a lot of mid/lower ranked schools to give yourself the best chance.
 
3.4 knocks you out of the running at top schools unless you have a very unique and impressive story to your life. And by "impressive life story" I mean something worthy of writing a biography about.
 
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I'm applying to some top tier schools with similar stats.

I will let you know how it goes after the application cycle is over. From my friends results, however, I will probably end up at a state school (which I would be more than happy with).
 
darkjedi said:
While people with these stats may get into top-tiers, they usually have something very impressive about their resume that makes up for their lackluster stats.

Those are still very good stats, and will likely get you accepted somewhere, as long as you have realistic expectations and apply broadly.
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are you saying that a 3.4 GPA and 34 MCAT (or below) is "very good"?

i know SDN is very biased...but i know many 3.8/36 scavenging for waitlists, 3.3/38 applying to masters after a failed cycle, and 3.6/30 not getting a single interview out of 20+ schools.

i've decided to be open to DOs at this point.
 
aspiring20 said:
are you saying that a 3.4 GPA and 34 MCAT (or below) is "very good"?

i know SDN is very biased...but i know many 3.8/36 scavenging for waitlists, 3.3/38 applying to masters after a failed cycle, and 3.6/30 not getting a single interview out of 20+ schools.

i've decided to be open to DOs at this point.
Click to expand...

:eek: :scared:
 
Dbate said:
I'm applying to some top tier schools with similar stats.

I will let you know how it goes after the application cycle is over. From my friends results, however, I will probably end up at a state school (which I would be more than happy with).
Click to expand...

Thank you
 
If you look at the chat posted for ethnicity and acceptance rate, RUM have a higher % off acceptance than ORM.

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I consider my school to be "top-tier". It was at the top of the list of schools I wanted to go to. SDN and their "tiers" is still funny to me; this isn't law school. As for the schools people are talking about in this thread, a rich family member that donates money can often help in some situations.
 
mimelim said:
I interviewed at HMS, Hopkins, Wash U, Yale etc. With a 3.4. Accepted to more than one. Then my wife got stuck in St. Louis school/job wise and that dictated where I went. It helped to have a strong MCAT, but more so my research and background.
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Wow! Lucky you! :love: Mind if i ask what your mcat was?
 
jr93 said:
I consider my school to be "top-tier". It was at the top of the list of schools I wanted to go to. SDN and their "tiers" is still funny to me; this isn't law school. As for the schools people are talking about in this thread, a rich family member that donates money can often help in some situations.
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what is your school?

also, what happens when you have only poor family that would rather take your money (the little you have to add to theirs)
 
I fit your criteria OP. Even worse numbers than those actually, currently at a Top 20 and getting ready to take Step 1. It can be done, but you better be great in other ways.
 
The "top schools" are the top research schools. They want people heavy in research. So if your gpa isn't the greatest..beef up the research.
 
Jumoke said:
what is your school?

also, what happens when you have only poor family that would rather take your money (the little you have to add to theirs)
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I prefer to stay semi-anonymous but if you go by the silly ranking system people use, it is somewhere between 50-75 I think. If you're poor or low middle class then you just have to do your best. While there are plenty of kids on here who probably have parents that can spend thousands of dollars to prep their kids for med school, there probably aren't that many on here that have enough money to donate to a school to sway an admissions staff. I was mostly making a silly comment although it is true that extremely wealthy parents can get you into most schools.
 
Jumoke said:
I don't understand. This person was accepted at Yale and Harvard with those stats?
And why do they have full scholarships to Uof Chicago and Michigan?
Does being URM (African) have anything to do with it?
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http://mdapplicants.com/profile.php?id=22901

http://mdapplicants.com/profile.php?id=19847

http://mdapplicants.com/profile.php?id=16779

http://mdapplicants.com/profile.php?id=1148

It's not just URMs. GPA doesn't mean everything.

Neither does MCAT:

http://www.mdapplicants.com/profile.php?id=27095

http://www.mdapplicants.com/profile.php?id=21943

http://www.mdapplicants.com/profile.php?id=19041

http://www.mdapplicants.com/profile.php?id=17581

http://www.mdapplicants.com/profile.php?id=17957

http://www.mdapplicants.com/profile.php?id=16393

http://www.mdapplicants.com/profile.php?id=9903
 
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U Wot M8 said:
My friend had a 23 on the mcat and he was accepted to Harvard medical school. He cured cancer though so I think that partially offset his mcat
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your friend cured cancer? :rolleyes:
 
AdrianVeidt said:
http://mdapplicants.com/profile.php?id=22901

http://mdapplicants.com/profile.php?id=19847

http://mdapplicants.com/profile.php?id=16779

http://mdapplicants.com/profile.php?id=1148

It's not just URMs. GPA doesn't mean everything.

Neither does MCAT:

http://www.mdapplicants.com/profile.php?id=27095

http://www.mdapplicants.com/profile.php?id=21943

http://www.mdapplicants.com/profile.php?id=19041

http://www.mdapplicants.com/profile.php?id=17581

http://www.mdapplicants.com/profile.php?id=17957

http://www.mdapplicants.com/profile.php?id=16393

http://www.mdapplicants.com/profile.php?id=9903
Click to expand...
Thank you so much for posting this.
It's def empowering. I'm working on improving my stats, looking for a clinical research opportunity and volunteering.

I think by time im ready to apply early next year - i'll have gotten myself together to be more competitive.

I know i have a compelling story to tell, coming from a past life of failure and mediocrity and I just needed to know if i could possibly have a chance into any of those top-tiers. I WILL apply broadly and i am very open-minded to go anywhere - i just need to be somewhere but it will make me very happy to finally graduate from my failure and mediocrity, join the winners and stop being a loser :soexcited: tho i know the journey will just be beginning
 
Jumoke said:
Thank you so much for posting this.
It's def empowering. I'm working on improving my stats, looking for a clinical research opportunity and volunteering.

I think by time im ready to apply early next year - i'll have gotten myself together to be more competitive.

I know i have a compelling story to tell, coming from a past life of failure and mediocrity and I just needed to know if i could possibly have a chance into any of those top-tiers. I WILL apply broadly and i am very open-minded to go anywhere - i just need to be somewhere but it will make me very happy to finally graduate from my failure and mediocrity, join the winners and stop being a loser :soexcited: tho i know the journey will just be beginning
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Getting into any US medical school is a great accomplishment. I don't see why you're all "top medical school or bust."
 
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circulus vitios said:
Getting into any US medical school is a great accomplishment. I don't see why you're all "top medical school or bust."
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You just called the word! "TOP" :D wouldn't that be nice?! to get the best opportunity at whatever you are doing?

What's worth doing at all, is worth doing very well and doing it at the top :idea:
 
Jumoke said:
You just called the word! "TOP" :D wouldn't that be nice?! to get the best opportunity at whatever you are doing?

What's worth doing at all, is worth doing very well and doing it at the top :idea:
Click to expand...

The opportunities you will have at a lower-ranked US MD school and a top-ranked US MD school are similar unless you want to match into a top-ranked residency program and work as an academic physician. The majority of practicing physicians are not academic physicians, although the obvious exceptions are the minority of physicians who are trained in specialties relegated to the world of academia.

You're also coming at this all wrong. You said you come from mediocrity and failure. What makes you think a top-ranking medical school would even look at your application if this is true? The type of people who get into top schools with severely deficient GPAs (a 3.4 is probably 10th percentile or less) all have extraordinary MCAT scores AND extraordinary extracurricular accomplishments.
 
Jumoke said:
You just called the word! "TOP" :D wouldn't that be nice?! to get the best opportunity at whatever you are doing?

What's worth doing at all, is worth doing very well and doing it at the top :idea:
Click to expand...

Doing well doesn't mean getting good grades at a "prestigious" school. I'm sure there are numerous cases where the best doctors in the hospital are from some school in Kansas or Oklahoma or North Dakota and they may not have even been in the top 25% of their class. TBH, there are a number of hospitals that have former nurses as VP's. No one will care about your med school the moment you enter residency.
 
circulus vitios said:
The opportunities you will have at a lower-ranked US MD school and a top-ranked US MD school are similar unless you want to match into a top-ranked residency program and work as an academic physician. The majority of practicing physicians are not academic physicians, although the obvious exceptions are the minority of physicians who are trained in specialties relegated to the world of academia.

You're also coming at this all wrong. You said you come from mediocrity and failure. What makes you think a top-ranking medical school would even look at your application if this is true? The type of people who get into top schools with severely deficient GPAs (a 3.4 is probably 10th percentile or less) all have extraordinary MCAT scores AND extraordinary extracurricular accomplishments.
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So you are saying im pretty much hopeless and shouldn't bother trying?
I think you are wrong. From what i see on this thread, it wouldn't hurt me to try.
 
jr93 said:
Doing well doesn't mean getting good grades at a "prestigious" school. I'm sure there are numerous cases where the best doctors in the hospital are from some school in Kansas or Oklahoma or North Dakota and they may not have even been in the top 25% of their class. TBH, there are a number of hospitals that have former nurses as VP's. No one will care about your med school the moment you enter residency.
Click to expand...
But i will care, it will make some type of difference to me that i got into the school that i wished for (that i barely had a chance in)
 
Jumoke said:
But i will care, it will make some type of difference to me that i got into the school that i wished for (that i barely had a chance in)
Click to expand...

You are setting yourself up for a lifetime of disappointment if you look for personal validation in things like getting admitted to a top 15 med school.

You give the impression that you care more about where you get your degree than being a physician.
 
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mcloaf said:
You are setting yourself up for a lifetime of disappointment if you look for personal validation in things like getting admitted to a top 15 med school.

You give the impression that you care more about where you get your degree than being a physician.
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If anyone knows me on the forum - there was a time i didn't care about going to the Carribean, the option is still open as a last resort (if all else fails - tho quite unlikely). I MUST get in somewhere (within the states) - perhaps u missed that.
But it will make me even happier to make it to the top-tier school of my choice. What's the harm in trying?

No i won't be disappointed. I'd be just happier to get in where i want to go, so please don't hate ;)
 
Jumoke said:
If anyone knows me on the forum - there was a time i didn't care about going to the Carribean, the option is still open as a last resort (if all else fails - tho quite unlikely). I MUST get in somewhere (within the states) - perhaps u missed that.
But it will make me even happier to make it to the top-tier school of my choice. What's the harm in trying?

No i won't be disappointed. I'd be just happier to get in where i want to go, so please don't hate ;)
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We aren't hating. Just wondering why you feel a certain "rank" of school is important especially since many would agree that the ranks are bogus anyway. How many schools have you visited to know that you want these schools? I hope you get a lot of interviews so you can see what schools have to offer. I'm predicting that you will be surprised which school you end up prefering if you have the chance to interview at enough of them. After interviews, I decided that the least likely school that I would go to was actually the one that "ranked" the highest. You gotta go with what you feel, not which one looks cool at a high school reunion. Or, like mcloaf said, your life is going to suck if prestige/names/titles is what controls your satisfaction.
 
jr93 said:
We aren't hating. Just wondering why you feel a certain "rank" of school is important especially since many would agree that the ranks are bogus anyway. How many schools have you visited to know that you want these schools? I hope you get a lot of interviews so you can see what schools have to offer. I'm predicting that you will be surprised which school you end up prefering if you have the chance to interview at enough of them. After interviews, I decided that the least likely school that I would go to was actually the one that "ranked" the highest. You gotta go with what you feel, not which one looks cool at a high school reunion. Or, like mcloaf said, your life is going to suck if prestige/names/titles is what controls your satisfaction.
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:eek:
While i totally understand where you are coming from but how can you determine that my life will suck because of this? To each their own. What makes me happy does not have to make you happy. What you consider a sucky life may be heaven to me and vice versa :D

jr93 said:
You gotta go with what you feel
Click to expand...
What i feel is a top-tier school :idea:
 
Jumoke said:
:eek:
While i totally understand where you are coming from but how can you determine that my life will suck because of this? To each their own. What makes me happy does not have to make you happy. What you consider a sucky life may be heaven to me and vice versa :D


What i feel is a top-tier school :idea:
Click to expand...

As a doctor, your hapiness in medicine should come from how you treat your patients and not the name on your diploma. With your current mindset, will you really be the best doctor for your patients?
 
U Wot M8 said:
As a doctor, your hapiness in medicine should come from how you treat your patients and not the name on your diploma. With your current mindset, will you really be the best doctor for your patients?
Click to expand...

Is harassing other potential doctors about choices they may make about medical schools they haven't yet applied to going to make you a better doctor?
 
tantacles said:
Is harassing other potential doctors about choices they may make about medical schools they haven't yet applied to going to make you a better doctor?
Click to expand...

This. I feel some should get off the high horses. Not everyone enter the medical field is Ghandi-reborn. Sure, having the ability to help those in distress, and to enable individuals to reach their potential in life without having it cut short by diseases/illnesses are nice and all, but it's hardly the whole picture. Some are in it for an interest in the craft, some for financial stability (notice I say stability here, not prosperity though its not uncommon at all, so hold your debate horses), interest in research on the newest treatment and the ability to be the one to implement treatments found...etc. Respect others for whatever reason they may wish to enter the profession, even if it conflicts with your own.

That being said, I apologize for calling those on high horses. I wanted to use this phrase for a long itme now. :p

who knows, OP may want to go to top tier school for its better research resources, better connections, harder competitions, etc etc. He could just want to go because he thinks the schools are tough and it'd be a life achievement to get in, who's to say to challenge yourself is not worthwhile?
 
JackyLin said:
This. I feel some should get off the high horses. Not everyone enter the medical field is Ghandi-reborn. Sure, having the ability to help those in distress, and to enable individuals to reach their potential in life without having it cut short by diseases/illnesses are nice and all, but it's hardly the whole picture. Some are in it for an interest in the craft, some for financial stability (notice I say stability here, not prosperity though its not uncommon at all, so hold your debate horses), interest in research on the newest treatment and the ability to be the one to implement treatments found...etc. Respect others for whatever reason they may wish to enter the profession, even if it conflicts with your own.

That being said, I apologize for calling those on high horses. I wanted to use this phrase for a long itme now. :p

who knows, OP may want to go to top tier school for its better research resources, better connections, harder competitions, etc etc. He could just want to go because he thinks the schools are tough and it'd be a life achievement to get in, who's to say to challenge yourself is not worthwhile?
Click to expand...

because OP in all likelihood won't accomplish those goals and people are trying to get him/her to be more open to less reputable schools. I mean, how many people do we all know with exceptional numbers that don't get into top 20 schools?
 
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