cGPA: 3.4, sGPA: 3.5, MCAT: 512

[DemonDeacon16]

Hey guys,

So far in the application process I've tried to stay away from forums and such and instead just wait to hear back from the schools I applied to, but I'm starting to get more and more nervous about it and would love some feedback on my chances.

I'm currently a senior biology major and chemistry/neuroscience double minor at Wake Forest University, and in addition to my GPA/MCAT which I listed in the thread title, I have strong leadership experience, research experience, good extracurricular involvement, and (from what I can presume) good letters of recommendation (3 from professors in the form of a committee letter, 1 from head of lab where I did research, and 1 from a faculty member who I have worked with for two years on a philanthropy event).

I'd say the strengths of my application are definitely my research experience and leadership roles. This past summer and this semester I have worked in the Physiology and Pharmacology Department of Wake Forest's medical school on my own cocaine self-administration study in rats. After I was trained, I basically ran the entire project myself, which was an unbelievable experience as I got to preform jugular catheterization surgeries on the rats in my study. I received a research fellowship stipend from the school for my work this summer and I was basically in the lab 45+ hours a week so it was a pretty intensive experience.

In terms of leadership/service roles, for the past two years I have been in charge of one of the biggest philanthropy events on campus that raises money for cancer research at Wake Forest's medical school. In my first year organizing the event, we had 90 student/faculty teams register to participate and raised $33,000 for cancer research (both those numbers are records for the event). This year, the event took place on October 1st and we were able to get 100 teams registered and raise $42,000 for cancer research, breaking the records set in my first year running the event. I have also been a student advisor and held minor leadership roles in other organizations.

The biggest weakness of my application is definitely a lack of clinical experience. I have volunteered at a few places, but for only around 20 hours of experience. I have also not done any shadowing, although I plan to do some back home over winter break.

Sorry for the long post, but I'm trying to give y'all as much information as I can to get a realistic view of my chances at the schools I applied to. The only school I have heard back from is Pittsburgh where I was not invited to interview (wasn't really expecting to get an interview invite there anyway). My top choice is definitely Georgetown so any insight on my chances there would definitely be appreciated. Here is the list of schools I applied to:

Drexel
Emory
Georgetown
Medical University of South Carolina
UPenn (I know I have a very low shot here, only applied cause my sister is getting her PhD there)
Temple
Tulane
Maryland
UNC
Pitt (Not invited for an interview)
Virginia
Virginia Tech
Wake Forest

Sorry again for the long post and thanks for any feedback you can give!

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[AnatomyGrey12]

So you might be a victim of a poor school list. Are you from South Carolina? I'm pretty sure they have had no OOS matticulants ever... A lot of your other schools are low yield. GT gets about 13,000 apps every year. If you have to reapply next cycle have a more broad school list and have it looked over by the people on this site. It is still the middle of the cycle so my lose hope and Goodluck! Just be prepared to look long and hard at your app to fix any perceived shortcomings.

 

[GrapesofRath]

You didn't list your state of residence: if you are from NC why didn't you apply to Brody and UNC? Also, whats your recent grade trend over the last 3-4 semesters, an upward trend would be important here.

As is, without knowing your state of residence I count 6 schools you have a shot at an interview if you aren't IS: Wake, Va Tech, Tulane, Temple, Georgetown, and Drexel. Drexel gets over 14 k apps and takes 1/3 of their class IS. Not a high yield option. Georgetown is also low yield. Tulane is rather competitive and also gets hoards of apps. Va Tech is low yield because of how small their class size(think 42 matriculants). And then unfortunately, the last of the realistic schools on your list is Temple which is also rather low yield; 11+k apps a year for a school that fills 70% of its class IS.

You have a shot at Wake; you would know better than I whether going to Wake for undergrad is an advantage applying to their med school. Unfortunately like I said you don't have a ton of options on your list that you have a realistic shot at. Might be a good idea to strongly consider adding DO schools; you would be a good candidate for any of them. If are against that route, I would do things to prep in case you have to be a re-applicant. Boosting your GPA would help. As always doing volunteer and service work with the less fortunate would also really help.

Historically, about 50% of 3.4/3.5/32 applicants or so who apply have gotten an MD acceptance, so you aren't really a bad candidate but if you have to become a re-applicant next year you need a broader and more realistic list. I would give consideration to looking into applying to Temple ACMS program and if you end up getting a waitlist somewhere Tulane's ACP as well. Both are very competitive but you have the stats that could generate interest and 90+% of their students who get in end up being accepted to their med school.

 

[DemonDeacon16]

Unfortunately, I am out of state for all the schools I listed (did not apply to one instate medical school for personal reasons, would definitely apply there next year if I have to take a gap year). However, I have had an upward grade trend over the last four semesters: 3.11 --> 3.26 --> 3.67 --> 3.61. So far this semester I am on track for about a 3.6. Thank you all for the responses!

 

[goldy490]

Check the Acceptance information on MSAR next time if you have to re-app! MUSC has abysmal OOS acceptance by comparison to the other SC schools (esp greenville).

 

[TheAppleJuice]

Hey Deamondeacon16 sorry to bump your thread but did you get into any schools first time around?