MD Californian Dreaming

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medfmac

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So I'm feeling uneasy about my grades. I would like to stay in CA if possible but I am also aiming high, top 20, hoping that they don't zero in on the 4th semester as my grades were uncharacteristically low due to external stressors. If the school has an adversity prompt, this semester would be included.

Rising Senior
MCAT 513
I did a UC-UC transfer for a variety of reasons, and this meant I switched from semester system to quarter system this past year.
Semester/Quarter GPAs:
1st School: Semesters
1st: 3.83
2nd: 3.66
3rd: 3.83
4th: 3.34 (rough series of events, C- in Organic Chemistry 2, B in Physics II - downward trend in both classes)

2nd School: Quarters
5th: 4.00 (A in Biochemistry)
6th: 3.70
7th: 4.00 (one course; studying for MCAT)

EC:
Working with two non-profits that serve the Hispanic and Vietnamese community around my university, currently on a committee organizing a health fair in the inner city.
Shadowing my dad in the local ER in my small hometown so I had a good amount of freedom to explore and learn about other departments.
Research with two labs: spinal cord injury and hypoxia/diabetes
Worked as a medical assistant at the first aid tent for an extreme endurance high-altitude bicycle race in a wilderness area (Death Ride, might be interesting if you're a cyclist)
Tutored/peer mentored while at my first university for incoming students

LORs should be very good

Senior Year plans: Senior Thesis in spinal cord injury lab (would include at least 1 poster/1 publication)/clinic trips to Mexico/Vietnam with my non-profits/Considering an MCAT retake as I feel that my anxiety got the best of me in the weeks leading up to the exam (re-scheduled for later but ended up not really studying at all). Would only retake if my test prep full-lengths were equal to my real or higher.

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You have the equivalent of a 32+ MCAT. That means your best bet is OOS (not "top 20"). If you attend UCD, chances do go up a bit since they take a third of the class from their undergrad. Slightly less positive for UCSD, but still some undergrad effect.
Where is your list?
 
All CA Schools including Loma Linda (shadowing was at an Adventist Health hospital). I went to Merced (has a PRIME agreement with UCD but that won't help much) and San Diego.
Creighton
Emory
Georgetown
GWU
Geisel
NYMC
UofA
OSU
OHSU
Wake Forest
Alpert
More than my fair share of reaches.
 
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Delete Stanford, USC and UCR (unless you are from the IE).
Loma Linda expects no alcohol at all and no sex outside of marriage. They also want folks whose primary mission is to serve Christ. Shadowing alone won't cut it.
You deserve better than CN"U."
You may or may not make the OOS MCAT cutoff for OHSU.
Delete Brown.
The Georges are pretty low yield, but your call.
Creighton is a good choice, you may as well add the other Jesuits.
Not quirky enough for Dartmouth.
You should include both AZ schools.
If you include the other CA schools, you have enough "reaches."
You really need at least a dozen OOS schools where you have a fair to good chance at an interview. You need at least a half dozen more.
 
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You could add these private OOS schools where you have a chance for an interview with your stats:
Quinnipiac
Vermont
Oakland Beaumont
Western Michigan
Medical College Wisconsin
Rosalind Franklin
St. Louis
Tulane
Drexel
Temple
Jefferson
Eastern Virginia
Virginia Commonwealth
 
I agree with the above posters, it's fine if you have the money to plunk down on apps to all of the CA schools, but please don't shoot yourself in the foot by making ~half your list CA schools. I'd say you should add at least 10 OOS schools (you can take the ones from faha's list, those are decent suggestions to start).

To give you a personal story (which of course is n=1, is not meant to generalize to your situation, but is supposed to give you an idea of the risks involved):
I'm a CA resident, LizzyM 78 (balanced c/s GPA, as well as MCAT), with the rest of the works (ECs, recs, etc. etc.). Applied to ~5-6 CA schools and got 0 interviews. Had no shortage of top 10 interviews outside of CA, but that's just what can happen with luck of the draw.

If I took your list as it is, and had a similar result with CA schools, I would have been a nervewreck in the middle of my cycle.
 
Western
Touro-CA


So I'm feeling uneasy about my grades. I would like to stay in CA if possible but I am also aiming high, top 20, hoping that they don't zero in on the 4th semester as my grades were uncharacteristically low due to external stressors. If the school has an adversity prompt, this semester would be included.

Rising Senior
MCAT 513
I did a UC-UC transfer for a variety of reasons, and this meant I switched from semester system to quarter system this past year.
Semester/Quarter GPAs:
1st School: Semesters
1st: 3.83
2nd: 3.66
3rd: 3.83
4th: 3.34 (rough series of events, C- in Organic Chemistry 2, B in Physics II - downward trend in both classes)

2nd School: Quarters
5th: 4.00 (A in Biochemistry)
6th: 3.70
7th: 4.00 (one course; studying for MCAT)

EC:
Working with two non-profits that serve the Hispanic and Vietnamese community around my university, currently on a committee organizing a health fair in the inner city.
Shadowing my dad in the local ER in my small hometown so I had a good amount of freedom to explore and learn about other departments.
Research with two labs: spinal cord injury and hypoxia/diabetes
Worked as a medical assistant at the first aid tent for an extreme endurance high-altitude bicycle race in a wilderness area (Death Ride, might be interesting if you're a cyclist)
Tutored/peer mentored while at my first university for incoming students

LORs should be very good

Senior Year plans: Senior Thesis in spinal cord injury lab (would include at least 1 poster/1 publication)/clinic trips to Mexico/Vietnam with my non-profits/Considering an MCAT retake as I feel that my anxiety got the best of me in the weeks leading up to the exam (re-scheduled for later but ended up not really studying at all). Would only retake if my test prep full-lengths were equal to my real or higher.
 
My gawd i thought 513 is competitive for mid tier schools


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