c3.59 s3.76 32?

[jlescher]

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Kind of bored and figured I would post one of these and see what people think. I'm not extremely worried, I would just like some input for reassurance and/or realistic perspective.

Background:
I began undergrad and wanted to get away from the sciences, I did that in high school and I wanted something new. I took classes like literature and philosophy but nothing stuck. To be honest, I was a lot more concerned with snowboarding. So I left school and moved to Colorado. Lived there for about a semester and decided the snowboard bum lifestyle wasn't for me so I moved back to Wisconsin to finish school. I realized how much I missed science and wanted to pursue a career that was challenging, rewarding, and utilized science. Growing up I went on a great deal of medical visits with family members so I decided to go for medicine. My family has been ravaged by cancer in the past and present. When I came back to school I fell in love with neuroscience and never looked back.

Due to my lack of freshman year (GPA ~3.0) motivation my GPA is a bit strange.
Sci GPA = 3.76
Cum GPA = 3.59

Double major: biology and psychology 160 credits. School required 120 to graduate.

My junior and senior year I took about 100 credits and my GPA in those years was:
Sci GPA = 3.8 Bio Major Honors 3.84
Cum GPA = 3.8 Psych Major Honors 3.74

A's in all pre requisites except Orgo which were Bs

Took the MCAT in April and my score was: PS 12 / VR 8 / BS 12 32N

EC

-Worked as a butcher for the first 3 years of school.

-Club Lacrosse team 2 years

-Competed in a handful of professional snowboard contests.

-Undergrad neuroscience lab 3 years using a calcium binding protein to attenuate ischemic cell death. 20-30 hr/wk year round.
-Won 1st place in our universities undergrad symposium (~200 posters presented)
-Research stipend
-Bio thesis/capstone project: Designed and conducted my own experiment to assess the mechanism of action of our calcium binding protein. We thought it was simply sequestering excess calcium, but I found that it was inducing an immune response as well.

-Worked as a teaching intern to analyze a novel self paced online class formate vs. traditional lecture format.

-Tutored Milwaukee high school students in math and science, mentored them, and helped them apply for college.

-Shadowed an orthopedic surgeon in the clinic and OR. ~25 hr

-Volunteered at an AIDS banquette

-I graduated Aug 2011 and immediately moved to D.C. to work at the NIH. I am working in a translation research lab studying traumatic brain injury. We use novel neurotherapeutic agents to alleviate TBI damage. We rely heavily on histology and MRI to assess damage and frequently conduct experiments with various stem cell lines.

Recently started shadow in the neurosurgery department at the NIH.

I realize that my MCAT verbal is low but it is not representative of my performance. I scored between a 9-13 on AAMC tests, the last two being AAMC 10 and 11 which I got an 11 and a 13 on respectively. If I had nothing better to do I would retake the MCAT, but given my opportunity at the NIH I think retaking would be anal retentive and insulting to those who do not have this opportunity. So a retake is out of the question, I already wasted enough of my time studying for that test.

UC San Diego-Interview 9-25
Johns Hopkins
Vanderbilt - Rejected
Madison
Case Western
CCLCM
OHSU
Vermont
Maryland
Indiana - Rejected
MCW
St. Louis
Minnesota
Rush

Thank you for readying this long post and whatever input you are willing to give.

 

[moneytree]

Considering your state schools are Madison and MCW, I think you'll be fine. Good luck with your UCSD interview (I hope you're ready to trade your snowboard for a surfboard).

 

[gyngyn]

I only count 3 schools where you have a good chance at an interview. That's a little low for my risk tolerance but I hope it works out for you!

 

[jlescher]

Considering your state schools are Madison and MCW, I think you'll be fine. Good luck with your UCSD interview (I hope you're ready to trade your snowboard for a surfboard).

Haha Thanks! I already started that transition. Big Bear and Mammoth aren't too far way though. I surfed for about 3 hours each day I was out there for my interview. Interview went well. Just waiting until the answer on Oct 16th. I also got an interview at Minneapolis last week.

 

[jlescher]

I only count 3 schools where you have a good chance at an interview. That's a little low for my risk tolerance but I hope it works out for you!

Thanks for the input. I only applied to schools I really want to attend. I have interviews at UCSD and Minneapolis so far, which I'm sure were not in the group of 3 you think I have a good shot at. That bumps the number up to 5. I'll take that.

My experiences listed also fail to reflect the fact that most of them were 500+ hours. My research experiences were 2000 and 3000 hours and I'm not done with one of them.