Can I get into Houston, Baylor or Southwestern?

[christy123]

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Hey guys!!!

My gpa is 3.98 (cumulative and science). My MCAT is 27P (P: 10, V: 7, B: 10). I want to go to the medical schools: Houston, Baylor or Southwestern. I know those are competitive schools but I don't know if my numbers are good enough to get in. Should I retake the MCAT? Or should I take my chances? Because I would like to be in the first round of interviews rather than postpone it a month. Please help me.

My EC is:

- Volunteered in Costa Rica for two weeks
- 2 summers shadowing
- Worked in pharmacy for 1 year
- 1 year research

Do those schools look at EC heavily? Is there anything I can do from now until my interview (if i get one) to increase my chances?

Thanks for the help in advance. =)

 

[Catalystik]

Your MCAT score is below the bottom tenth percentile for UTSW and Baylor (both 30), and at the bottom tenth percenntile for Houston. Your verbal is below the bottom tenth percentile for all three (9, 9, and 8).

If these three schools are your primary goal, I'd suggest a retake of the MCAT is in order.

All the schools look at EC heavily, and I'm sure you know that UTSW and Baylor love to see substantive research on your application. You might consider listing all your ECs and your timeframe of involvement if you want a critique.

 

[Doctor246853]

Your MCAT score is below the bottom tenth percentile for UTSW and Baylor (both 30), and at the bottom tenth percenntile for Houston. Your verbal is below the bottom tenth percentile for all three (9, 9, and 8).

If these three schools are your primary goal, I'd suggest a retake of the MCAT is in order.

All the schools look at EC heavily, and I'm sure you know that UTSW and Baylor love to see substantive research on your application. You might consider listing all your ECs and your timeframe of involvement if you want a critique.
👍 Please share

 

[christy123]

Whoops. Sorry guys. I didnt even think of that.

My EC is:

- Volunteered in Costa Rica for two weeks
- 2 summers shadowing
- Worked in pharmacy for 1 year
- 1 year research

I am afraid it isnt very impressive either. :/

 

[Catalystik]

My EC is:

- Volunteered in Costa Rica for two weeks
- 2 summers shadowing
- Worked in pharmacy for 1 year
- 1 year research

Besides retaking the MCAT, you have more work to do to have a viable application.

Most med schools and Texas schools in particular treasure solid clinical experience where you interact directly with patients. Experience with US patients and US clinical environments is essential. If you did a humanitarian medical mission in Costa Rica and helped with sick people, this helps you, but it cannot stand alone. Working in a pharmacy, if you counseled patients on their meds, adds a bit, but you really need regular, weekly involvement in a US clinical milieu, like a hospital, clinic, hospice, nursing home, rehab center, etc. You can work or volunteer to get this experience. Average seems to be about 1.5 years.

Shadowing is a passive observership where you focus on what the doctor does, rather than focusing on the patient as you do with clinical experience. How many hours do you have? How many physicians have you shadowed and is at least one of them a primary care doc? It sounds like you have a substantive experience from what you said. Perhaps with time you did actively help out, in which case you could recategorize some of the hours into clinical experience.

A year of research is great. That is about the average for those that list it. UTSW and Baylor seem to prefer a more lengthy involvement, like 2+ years though.

Do you have any leadership, teaching, or nonmedical, noncampus community service? These are other areas that strengthen an application. Strategize about how to get some or all of these activities on your application if you don't already have them.

It seems to me there is no reason to rush that MCAT retake, as you have more experiences to acquire before you should reasonably apply. So do some in-depth studying, perhaps taking a formal classroom prep course to get ready. And don't retake until you're repeatedly scoring in your target range on paractice tests.