cGPA - 3.63; sGPA - 3.67, MCAT - 31Q, URM, CO-Res

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churrytree

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The fact that you are considered URM (Latino), with your stats you have an 85% of acceptance. On top of that, you are disadvantaged. You may think some of those schools are laughable, but with a great application, good interview skills, and applying early, you could get love from every school out there, including Harvard.

Source: https://www.aamc.org/download/157948/data/table25-h-mcatgpa-grid-hisp.pdf

Looking at MSAR and Lizzy M score are great sources, but they are not telling you about your specific chances as a URM.
 
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That's a lot of reach schools. Think hard about that.
 
:laugh: Haha, okay?? I'll think hard about it.

I'll just go to medical community college, then.They have those, right? Associate degrees in medicine? I'm gonna be an M.As. :xf:
 
Just curious, but to my understanding you do have to select just one state for residency purpose on your AMCAS I believe. Granted, you'll probably be able to explain to the other state's schools how you're a state resident on secondary applications, but it's some food for thought.
 
Hi Clive,

At University of Hawaii, they base the residency on a list of six criteria that are stated on their website. If a candidate has at least three of them, they are considered to be a resident for admissions purposes. Since I graduated from high school there, was born there and my parents still live there, I would still be considered a resident, according to that list. Of course, this may be the only exception to that rule, so thanks for the reminder.
 
If I, for whatever reason, decided to take the MCAT again, say in August, would medical schools wait to review my application until after they receive my new scores? What if I didn't tell them I was retaking it? My prehealth advisor told me some surprising things, and I was wondering if this gelled with what you all know to be true. Thanks!
 
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churrytree said:
Here is what I have on AMCAS currently:


  • Boston U
  • Columbia
  • Creighton
  • Drexel
  • Duke
  • Dartmouth
  • USC
  • Mayo
  • Northwestern
  • OHSU
  • Rosalind Franklin
  • Temple
  • U of NM
  • Tufts
  • U of CO
  • U of HI
  • U of WA
  • Vanderbilt
  • Brown
  • Cornell
  • Yale
I know that some of these are laughable, so please give me some help! Thanks!
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I would apply to at least a couple more mid-tier schools. Look into NYMC, Arizona Phoenix, Albany, St. Louis, Nebraska, Rosalind Franklin, Toledo and Wake Forest. I was a CO applicant this last cycle and people from my undergrad got into these schools so they seem to be fairly OOS friendly.
 
Thanks so much for the help! Really appreciate it. I was thinking about NYMC and Albany before. As someone originally from Hawaii, I never expected I could end up studying in New York. But if that's what it takes, so be it!:xf:
 
One more thing, I was reading about how many medical schools I should apply to. I read that anything over 20 and it implies that you don't really know what you're doing or haven't put that much thought into it. But I wasn't sure who would think that. Do medical schools know/take into consideration how many schools an applicant applied to when evaluating them? That hardly seems fair. Thanks!
 
churrytree said:
One more thing, I was reading about how many medical schools I should apply to. I read that anything over 20 and it implies that you don't really know what you're doing or haven't put that much thought into it. But I wasn't sure who would think that. Do medical schools know/take into consideration how many schools an applicant applied to when evaluating them? That hardly seems fair. Thanks!
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I don't know if schools can see how many other schools you applied to, but I doubt any would care if you applied to more than 20 schools. A lot of successful applicants end up applying to 20+ schools. It would be worse to not apply to enough schools and end up not being accepted than to apply to too many schools, especially with several top tier schools. The downside of applying to lots of schools is that it can be expensive and you will be writing lots of essays for secondaries.
 
Okay, great. Thanks for the advice.

Also, when do medical schools begin to take your letters of recommendation into account? After you submit your secondary? I'm asking because I think that I'll have all my recommendations in to the committee by the end of this month, and I don't want to be too far behind. Thanks.
 
churrytree said:
Okay, great. Thanks for the advice.

Also, when do medical schools begin to take your letters of recommendation into account? After you submit your secondary? I'm asking because I think that I'll have all my recommendations in to the committee by the end of this month, and I don't want to be too far behind. Thanks.
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It depends on the school. I believe that most look at them post-secondary pre-interview and they use them as one factor when deciding who to interview. My committee letter wasn't finished until mid-August but that had no real impact on my application.
 
Many people I've read on SDN are stressed about submitting their application tomorrow. If I don't submit my application until the end of this week (ish), will I be at a significant disadvantage? I think I remember reading somewhere about how the waiting time to get verified increases dramatically, and I understand that. But I'm trying to make my personal statement and activities sections perfect, so I'm taking my time. Also, my recommendations won't be in for another couple of weeks anyway. SDN is helpful mostly, but I feel like this neuroticism is rubbing off on me. Thanks!
 
It's fine... it is definitely worth waiting a few extra days if you're still tweaking your PS..
 
Hey people, does anyone have any more ideas about what schools I should apply to? Does my list look good? Getting ready to submit! :xf:

Also, I don't have FIFTEEN different activities because all of my experiences have been for a long duration (at least more than a year). Are you people just crazily involved in everything? How will I ever manage? :eek:
 
Okay, so I'll just apply to Harvard then? Early decision? :laugh:

Please I would LOVE your input...
 
Why has this post been viewed over a 1,000 times, yet no one wants to pitch me their advice? I can't help but feel sorry for myself...All y'all be cray!

:confused::thumbdown::)mad:
 
churrytree said:
Due to residency criteria, I am both a CO and HI resident for admissions purposes.
I graduated in May 2011 with a degree in Biochemistry. My cGPA is 3.63 and my BCPM GPA is 3.67.

I identify as Puerto Rican and Native Hawaiian and have indicated disadvantaged status and am a FAP-recipient.

I have 200 hours of ED volunteering and 40 hours of shadowing a primary care physician. I know that I should shadow a breadth of specialties, but I keep getting a lot of push-back due to HIPAA, etc. I aspire to become a primary care provider.

My April MCAT score was 10P/11V/10B, 31Q. I know that's on the low-end, so you don't have to remind me.

I have been working full-time as a research analyst at a health care policy non-profit and have contributed to their publications and given presentations (even one at CU-Denver Medical School).My experience has helped me understand what the future of health care delivery may look like due to state and federal health reform. My research has also focused on health disparities.

I was heavily involved in community service in college. I have about 500 nonclinical volunteer hours over a two-year tenure as president of my school's diversity and multi-cultural student group.We won my university's top award for our work.

During college, I conducted research over the course of two years in my department, though I don't have any publications. I am told my PI wrote a stellar recommendation on my behalf.
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URM, 3.6+, 31. Shadowing, volunteering, clinical exposure, research. Looks good.

Your school list might look something like this:

-All CO schools
-3-4 bottom-tier MD schools
-3-4 middle-tier MD schools
-2-3 top-tier MD schools (your "reach" schools).
-maybe 2-3 established DO schools (KCUMB, KCOM, DMU)

For teh most part, don't bother applying OOS. You should be a lock at your state school(s).
 
Thanks, Fed, for responding to my PM! I really appreciate it!

There is only one medical school in Colorado, i.e. CU-Denver. I would be very happy there since they have a very good primary care program.

I haven't really looked into DO schools, mostly because I've read that many of them require a DO recommendation. Is this true for the schools you recommended? I have to admit I haven't researched this very much.

Thanks for your help. And do you have any idea why no one wants to comment on this thread? I have to twist people's arms! :wtf:

It sounds like you recommend applying to about 10 schools. Why is that? I feel that the average neurotic person on this thing apply to 20+. Talk about selection bias.

Have a good night!
 
Fed said:
URM, 3.6+, 31. Shadowing, volunteering, clinical exposure, research. Looks good.

Your school list might look something like this:

-All CO schools
-3-4 bottom-tier MD schools
-3-4 middle-tier MD schools
-2-3 top-tier MD schools (your "reach" schools).
-maybe 2-3 established DO schools (KCUMB, KCOM, DMU)

For teh most part, don't bother applying OOS. You should be a lock at your state school(s).
Click to expand...

The bolded statement is not true and would be a very bad idea. As you pointed, the only state school in Colorado is CU-Denver, and it is getting more and more competitive and OOS friendly every year. I am also a CO resident and am currently sitting on the waitlist with a 3.8/33, and there are plenty of other equally qualified CO applicants who have also been waitlisted or rejected, so being IS doesn't make you a lock for CU-Denver. CU seems to put a large emphasis on clinical experience, and is very non-trad/career-changer friendly. Based on this, I would highly recommend applying to several OOS schools (probably in the 15-20 school range). I'm sure you would be very happy at CU-Denver as it is a very good school with an excellent primary care program. However, it would be better to apply to more schools than you needed and end up with multiple acceptances than to not apply to enough schools and have to go through this all again next year. If you apply broadly you will get in somewhere, I just wouldn't completely bank on CU.
 
Thanks, Boshtrich. I've heard that CU-Denver has become more OOS-friendly, which I hardly think is fair, since that's our only in-state option. Also, if I "only" have 200 hours of ED volunteering and 40 hours of shadowing, is that not enough? What's funny about this is that I spoke to Dimple Patel, and she said that this was a myth, and there is no official minimum requirement for volunteer hours. Also, am I a nontraditional student if I graduated a year ago? I've had a full-time job for a year and hope that experience helps me out. Haha.

In other news, what are your plans since you are wait-listed? Have you already accepted an offer, or do you plan to reapply? Did you apply during college, or did you take some time off beforehand?

Take care.
 
churrytree said:
Thanks, Boshtrich. I've heard that CU-Denver has become more OOS-friendly, which I hardly think is fair, since that's our only in-state option. Also, if I "only" have 200 hours of ED volunteering and 40 hours of shadowing, is that not enough? What's funny about this is that I spoke to Dimple Patel, and she said that this was a myth, and there is no official minimum requirement for volunteer hours. Also, am I a nontraditional student if I graduated a year ago? I've had a full-time job for a year and hope that experience helps me out. Haha.

In other news, what are your plans since you are wait-listed? Have you already accepted an offer, or do you plan to reapply? Did you apply during college, or did you take some time off beforehand?

Take care.
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I highly doubt there is an actual cut off where if you don't have x number of hours you won't be considered. I think they just like to see applicants with a lot of clinical experience. 250 hours might be below average but definitely isn't going to break your application. I don't think they would view you as non-traditional, but a full year of working will only help you. Being a URM also probably helps as CU has put an emphasis on making a very diverse class. I do think you have a pretty good chance of getting into CU, but given the randomness of applying and the overall competition, I would recommend applying to several other schools.

As for me, I had some other acceptances so I've accepted a different offer but remain on CU's waitlist as it would still probably be my top choice. I applied during college and am more or less a cookie cutter applicant, so that probably didn't help with CU. To give you an idea, I applied to 17 schools, mostly mid-tier, and got three acceptances, so be sure to apply broadly. As I said before, better to give up acceptances than to have to reapply.
 
boshtrich said:
The bolded statement is not true and would be a very bad idea. As you pointed, the only state school in Colorado is CU-Denver, and it is getting more and more competitive and OOS friendly every year. I am also a CO resident and am currently sitting on the waitlist with a 3.8/33, and there are plenty of other equally qualified CO applicants who have also been waitlisted or rejected, so being IS doesn't make you a lock for CU-Denver. CU seems to put a large emphasis on clinical experience, and is very non-trad/career-changer friendly. Based on this, I would highly recommend applying to several OOS schools (probably in the 15-20 school range). I'm sure you would be very happy at CU-Denver as it is a very good school with an excellent primary care program. However, it would be better to apply to more schools than you needed and end up with multiple acceptances than to not apply to enough schools and have to go through this all again next year. If you apply broadly you will get in somewhere, I just wouldn't completely bank on CU.
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Maybe. OP, take a gander at the OOS acceptance rates at state schools and decide if it's worth applying.

Also, you're clearly not Hispanic, so your advice must be taken with a grain of salt. There just aren't that many Hispanics with an application like the OP's. I think he'll have a very successful cycle, assuming he's not obese, ugly, or awkward.
 
I'm easy on the eyes! :D:laugh::xf:

At first I thought you were trying to say that I'm not Hispanic! Jajaja...
 
Fed said:
Maybe. OP, take a gander at the OOS acceptance rates at state schools and decide if it's worth applying.

Also, you're clearly not Hispanic, so your advice must be taken with a grain of salt. There just aren't that many Hispanics with an application like the OP's. I think he'll have a very successful cycle, assuming he's not obese, ugly, or awkward.
Click to expand...

Regardless of the applicant, it would still be foolish to only apply to one school. One person I met at a second look day was Hispanic/Native American and waitlisted at CU-Denver, so just being URM doesn't guarantee anything. If the OP was a NY resident, then they could only apply to state schools and be fine, but CO only has the one school and they have very specific qualities they want in their students. Therefore, I would recommend applying to some private schools (where being OOS doesn't matter).
 
Ahhh! Why did that person get waitlisted?

So you can accept an offer for a medical school, but ditch if a better school accepts you off the waitlist? Do you forfeit your deposit in that case?
 
Also, I'm going to take full advantage of my FAP award. I'll apply to about 20 schools.
 
churrytree said:
Ahhh! Why did that person get waitlisted?

So you can accept an offer for a medical school, but ditch if a better school accepts you off the waitlist? Do you forfeit your deposit in that case?
Click to expand...

You can accept as many offers as you get and hold them until May 15 (but if you know you aren't going to attend a school you should withdraw sooner). After May 15 you can only hold one acceptance but you can stay on any waitlists. If you are accepted off of a waitlist, you then must choose which school you want to keep. Most schools seem to give one to two weeks to decide. At most schools you lose your deposit if you withdraw after May 15. Overall, I think applying to about 20 schools would be a good plan. This would allow you to apply to several mid-tier schools where you have a good shot along with a couple reach schools. If you end up getting lots of interviews, you can then be more picky as to which ones to attend and save some money. I know it's a stressful time, but you have a strong application and should get into several schools.
 
Thank you for your help and congratulations on beginning your journey to become a physician!
 
Jesus how many times is this thread going to get bumped? o_O
 
Jaja. I have no idea why that guy bumped this thread. Just ignore this thread if you don't wanna read it. Blessings!
 
OMG, I just read that Creighton and Drexel require a nonscience faculty member. Because I switched my major from neuroscience to biochemistry, I didn't have very many spare credits and my humanities classes were all taken in my freshman/sophomore years. I don't really have the time to ask for a nonscience faculty letter. Which sucks because both of those were kinda like safety schools for me.

What should I do? Also, are there other schools out there I should know about that EXPLICITLY require a nonscience faculty letter? I have a prehealth committee, so usually it's exempted, but now I'm learning that may not always be the case. I don't even think that my prehealth advisor knew about this, since she's the one who helped me pick out who to ask for letters in the first place.

THOUGHTS??
 
I do not know if this applies for the committee letter, but i would assume it does...the vast majority of schools require 2 science letters and 1 non-science letter.
 
Hey folks, just wanted to say that I got into CU. Thanks for the support and never forget that you is kind, you is special and you is important. I got interviews at all my top choices, including Harvard, Johns Hopkins and UChicago, so now I'm waiting to hear back. We'll see. I know I'd be very happy at CU. Lucky I live Colorado!!
 
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