cGPA 3.7+, sGPA 3.6+, Non-Trad Military

[MyDogIsRiley]

FINAL EDIT (3/4/14): Accepted to Harvard today! Only applied for NP. Also accepted to Yale, UChicago, Dartmouth, and USUHS. Rejected from Columbia, GW, and Tufts. Withdrew from the vast majority of schools after the Oct 15 Chicago acceptance. Applied to 27 schools in total. Just wanted to give this thread some closure, in case someone similar does a search and stumbles upon it.

EDIT: Got a 37! I'm over the moon...

ORIGINAL POST: I plan to apply early and broadly across the spectrum, including all my state schools (reach and safety) as well as USUHS. I'd appreciate anyone's opinion on what schools might especially like my profile and which would likely turn up their nose.

"Med School Old" (Not very old, but I played Duck Hunt on the NES)
Not URM, but 1st person in family to go to college (only one parent graduated high school)
cGPA 3.7 from a Service Academy (top 5% of class with 25+ credits per semester, upward trend)
sGPA 3.6 (upward trend, had to take orgo at a CC , wasn't originally planning on med school and finding orgo with lab on the weekends in between deployments was kind of rough... at least I pulled A's! Unlike gen chem, where one semester I got a C+ x10)
MCAT is coming this summer, but I'm on the four month Berkeley Review program and am a good test taker (top 1% on GMAT and SAT) so <30 would be very upsetting. I'm finding the questions really easy (even the gen chem ones, now that I've read the book...) and expect something in the mid 30s
Clinical experience in a warzone trauma center and military hospitals (literally 1000s of hours "shadowed", even got to sit in on the surgeons' morbidity and mortality meetings)
Founded a non-profit that has a patented/commercially available product for the developmentally disabled
Three 2nd author pubs from a stint as a fellow at a think tank (topics were more Health Affairs than Nature)
Valedictorian, best thesis winner, and best poster presentation in my Healthcare Admin master's (3.98 GPA, nice and inflated!)
Leadership/Volunteering as a Habitat for Humanity Project Leader, led a Christmas event that gave presents to 300+ kids on free lunch, and a bunch of other stuff that I'm forgetting because I'm med school old and my brain is decaying
Lots of leadership/mentorship awards from the military

Thanks for reading my novel; please let me know any reach or safety schools that you think would me! And just for good measure, I'll invoke the name of LizzyM in case she searches for that

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[gettheleadout]

You're an interesting applicant, that's for sure (that's a good thing). School choices will be largely dependent on your MCAT score. Low 30's could put you in one range while high 30's and above might have you looking at top schools (though your uGPA is admittedly low for the most competitive places).


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[Goro]

So far everything you've written here says you're golden. Score >30 on the mCAT and you're good for most medical aschools.

And thank you for your service to your country.

I plan to apply early and broadly across the spectrum, including all my state schools (reach and safety) as well as USUHS. I'd appreciate anyone's opinion on what schools might especially like my profile and which would likely turn up their nose.

"Med School Old" (Not very old, but I played Duck Hunt on the NES)
Not URM, but 1st person in family to go to college (only one parent graduated high school)
cGPA 3.7 from a Service Academy (top 5% of class with 25+ credits per semester, upward trend)
sGPA 3.6 (upward trend, had to take orgo at a CC , wasn't originally planning on med school and finding orgo with lab on the weekends in between deployments was kind of rough... at least I pulled A's! Unlike gen chem, where one semester I got a C+ x10)
MCAT is coming this summer, but I'm on the four month Berkeley Review program and am a good test taker (top 1% on GMAT and SAT) so <30 would be very upsetting. I'm finding the questions really easy (even the gen chem ones, now that I've read the book...) and expect something in the mid 30s
Clinical experience in a warzone trauma center and military hospitals (literally 1000s of hours "shadowed", even got to sit in on the surgeons' morbidity and mortality meetings)
Founded a non-profit that has a patented/commercially available product for the developmentally disabled
Three 2nd author pubs from a stint as a fellow at a think tank (topics were more Health Affairs than Nature)
Valedictorian, best thesis winner, and best poster presentation in my Healthcare Admin master's (3.98 GPA, nice and inflated!)
Leadership/Volunteering as a Habitat for Humanity Project Leader, led a Christmas event that gave presents to 300+ kids on free lunch, and a bunch of other stuff that I'm forgetting because I'm med school old and my brain is decaying
Lots of leadership/mentorship awards from the military

Thanks for reading my novel; please let me know any reach or safety schools that you think would me! And just for good measure, I'll invoke the name of LizzyM in case she searches for that

 

[MyDogIsRiley]

Thanks for the feedback. I'll try to spend more time doing MCAT questions and less time on SDN! It sounds like the MCAT will be make or break for me, since I have a lot of things in my record AdComs should like but a few weak areas I don't want to reinforce negative perceptions on. I know a GPA's a GPA, regardless of school, so they're going to think a 3.7 is , but I was pretty proud to be able to say my A minuses were bringing down my GPA! Service Academies require every course to give a 2.7 average, so I was usually the only person in my section to get an A. Occasionally I was 1 of 2 people. (I laugh at the 4.0 GPAs on here. In the four years I was in school, not one person graduated with a 4.0, including our Rhodes Scholars!)

 

[cinamin]

I plan to apply early and broadly across the spectrum, including all my state schools (reach and safety) as well as USUHS. I'd appreciate anyone's opinion on what schools might especially like my profile and which would likely turn up their nose.

"Med School Old" (Not very old, but I played Duck Hunt on the NES)
Not URM, but 1st person in family to go to college (only one parent graduated high school)
cGPA 3.7 from a Service Academy (top 5% of class with 25+ credits per semester, upward trend)
sGPA 3.6 (upward trend, had to take orgo at a CC , wasn't originally planning on med school and finding orgo with lab on the weekends in between deployments was kind of rough... at least I pulled A's! Unlike gen chem, where one semester I got a C+ x10)
MCAT is coming this summer, but I'm on the four month Berkeley Review program and am a good test taker (top 1% on GMAT and SAT) so <30 would be very upsetting. I'm finding the questions really easy (even the gen chem ones, now that I've read the book...) and expect something in the mid 30s
Clinical experience in a warzone trauma center and military hospitals (literally 1000s of hours "shadowed", even got to sit in on the surgeons' morbidity and mortality meetings)
Founded a non-profit that has a patented/commercially available product for the developmentally disabled
Three 2nd author pubs from a stint as a fellow at a think tank (topics were more Health Affairs than Nature)
Valedictorian, best thesis winner, and best poster presentation in my Healthcare Admin master's (3.98 GPA, nice and inflated!)
Leadership/Volunteering as a Habitat for Humanity Project Leader, led a Christmas event that gave presents to 300+ kids on free lunch, and a bunch of other stuff that I'm forgetting because I'm med school old and my brain is decaying
Lots of leadership/mentorship awards from the military

Thanks for reading my novel; please let me know any reach or safety schools that you think would me! And just for good measure, I'll invoke the name of LizzyM in case she searches for that

Thank you for your service... like others have said, score ~30 and you will be golden. I dont know why people say a 3.7 isn't that good... it IS. haha. You will be competitive for USUHS with your current GPA. Also check out LizzyM's latest AMA, she said her most interesting/favorite (I forget which adjective it was exactly) applicant was in the military. It's people like you with interesting stories and life experiences that jump off a piece of paper and get invites, then acceptances if you shine through the interview. You will have a decent shot at some top tiers too because you are unique. Apply broadly though. Good luck to you.

 

[LizzyM]

Take as many practice tests under test-like conditions as you can and by test day the whole thing will be second nature. ExamKrackers for verbal. This is what I hear day in and day out by applicants I've been interviewing (MCATs 35+).

Military leaders write great LORs, the service academies are well respected academically, and military "shadowing" experience never fails to impress the adcoms. It all adds up to "golden".

 

[MyDogIsRiley]

ExamKrackers for verbal.

Thanks for the advice! It's on its way to my mailbox right now.

It all adds up to "golden".

You're making me blush! Thanks for taking the time to reply.

Goro and cinamin, thanks for the kind words. I've never figured out how to respond to "thank you for your service" in a non-awkward manner; it's been much more of a pleasure than a sacrifice.

 

[MyDogIsRiley]

37!!!!!

 

[Goro]

Firstly, many thanks for your service to your country.

I'm probably biased, but I think as a veteran you'll do fine pretty much anywhere with a good MCAT score. My gut says public schools in the south would be especially welcoming.

I plan to apply early and broadly across the spectrum, including all my state schools (reach and safety) as well as USUHS. I'd appreciate anyone's opinion on what schools might especially like my profile and which would likely turn up their nose.

"Med School Old" (Not very old, but I played Duck Hunt on the NES)
Not URM, but 1st person in family to go to college (only one parent graduated high school)
cGPA 3.7 from a Service Academy (top 5% of class with 25+ credits per semester, upward trend)
sGPA 3.6 (upward trend, had to take orgo at a CC , wasn't originally planning on med school and finding orgo with lab on the weekends in between deployments was kind of rough... at least I pulled A's! Unlike gen chem, where one semester I got a C+ x10)
MCAT is coming this summer, but I'm on the four month Berkeley Review program and am a good test taker (top 1% on GMAT and SAT) so <30 would be very upsetting. I'm finding the questions really easy (even the gen chem ones, now that I've read the book...) and expect something in the mid 30s
Clinical experience in a warzone trauma center and military hospitals (literally 1000s of hours "shadowed", even got to sit in on the surgeons' morbidity and mortality meetings)
Founded a non-profit that has a patented/commercially available product for the developmentally disabled
Three 2nd author pubs from a stint as a fellow at a think tank (topics were more Health Affairs than Nature)
Valedictorian, best thesis winner, and best poster presentation in my Healthcare Admin master's (3.98 GPA, nice and inflated!)
Leadership/Volunteering as a Habitat for Humanity Project Leader, led a Christmas event that gave presents to 300+ kids on free lunch, and a bunch of other stuff that I'm forgetting because I'm med school old and my brain is decaying
Lots of leadership/mentorship awards from the military

Thanks for reading my novel; please let me know any reach or safety schools that you think would me! And just for good measure, I'll invoke the name of LizzyM in case she searches for that

 

[rodmichael82]

Apply wherever your heart desires:- Hopkins, Harvard, Duke, UCSF, Wash U wherever you want.

 

[MyDogIsRiley]

Bump! Have hope, my non-trad veteran friends!

 

[Lil Mick]

Congrats!