cGPA 3.79/ sGPA 3.46, unusual ECs, narrowing II's

[badgerwenthome]

Finished!

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[Abstractions]

If you score a 35+ on your MCAT as anticipated, skies the limit. Best of luck!

 

[el_duderino]

Impressive research credentials and your MCAT should be great. sGPA is low, though don't harp on it much. Your list looks well-rounded, but be careful with Loma Linda: religious services, no alcohol, etc.

 

[badgerwenthome]

Thank you so much for the feedback! I just got my MCAT score back yesterday - 13ps 13vr 13bs, 39 cumulative. I'm pretty excited, to say the least.

Any advice with that update?

Oh, and I don't mind the Loma Linda thing - I'm coming from BYU, and I hear we compete with LL for the whole "stone-cold sober" award every year.

 

[Goro]

Here's a problem that I see: have you actually set foot in a hospital or clinic other than to shadow or take care of your own family's medical needs? You need some clinical ECs...the foreign stuff is too short and simply won't cut it. I've seen 4.0/40 MCAT people rejected because of similar lacks of clinical ECs.

You need to show us you know what you're getting into, and that you want to be around sick people for the next 30 years. The declining grade trend may be a problem after interviews rather than before. In our Adcom meetings, people with declining grade trends tend to fare poorly for garnering acceptances. If you can garner an II and explain what happened, it might be less of an issue.

The para below is even more concerning. I see someone who makes poor choices, has poor time mgt skills, doesn't know how to prioritize, and clearly thinks that research is more important than coursework. We worry about the last aspect because it seems that you're be more suitable for a PhD than a medical degree. I love research too, but I wouldn't let it interfere if it was going to compromise my stats.

Frankly, preparing for fieldwork was simply more time-consuming and important than o-chem. I was lucky to pull out of o-chem with a passing grade at all. Similarly, the courses I was taking as part of my fieldwork, including one graduate level philosophy course, didn’t end until 1 month after the beginning of the fall semester. I was effectively taking two semesters at once, and o-chem 2 suffered as a result. I would have withdrawn, but couldn’t do so without losing my academic scholarship (and I had no real alternative options to pay for school).

Numbers are fantastic, but the < avg sGPA worries me, so I altered your list.



Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine
Columbia University College of P & S
Duke University School of Medicine
Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth
George Washington University Sch of Med & Hlth Sci
Georgetown University School of Medicine
Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
Loma Linda University School of Medicine
Saint Louis University School of Medicine
MCW
The University of Vermont College of Medicine
University of Arizona College of Medicine-Phoenix
University of Arizona College of Medicine-Tucson
University of Rochester School of Medicine and Den
U CO
U VT
UCSD (yes, UCSD!)
U UT
UCLA
Harvard OR Yale (if the ECs are going to count anywhere, might as well be here).
Pitt
Northwestern
Your state schools, if any
Loyola
Tulane
U Miami
USC
Emory
All new MD schools
TUCOM-NV, if you're from AZ. Maybe Western or TUCOM-CA as well.

Midwestern and AT Still D.O. schools in AZ

 

[LizzyM]

Do you understand the "Yale System" and are you okay with that? Yale (and perhaps some other schools on your list) require a thesis; are you okay with that?

Are you willing to attend any school on this list if it were your only offer... consider the location, housing options and cost of living particularly given that you will be raising a family in that environment. Is there campus housing for families or safe, affordable housing in the area? Will your child be attending school during your 4 years in med school? What options are there for schooling?

Presuming you have a car at BYU, could you imagine life without a car in some of the more urban schools on your list?

Your science GPA will not help you but the MCAT is impressive.

Aside from shadowing, I don't see any activities that involved patients in the US. There may be some schools that find an applicant with an interest in Tibetan folk music to be a curiosity but there may be some who will question your sincere interest in medicine given the lack of medically related activities in your curriculum vitae.

@Goro is faster at the keyboard than I am.

 

[Lawpy]

Also get rid of DO schools in your list

 

[badgerwenthome]

@LizzyM - thank you for your reply! You and @Goro are awesome, and speedy.

I'm rather fond of the Yale System (my number one is Lerner through Case Western, which uses an even more extreme version of the Yale System, if I understand it correctly). I perform best when given a learning goal (or allowed to create one), a little organizational support, and free reign to accomplish that goal. I'm also perfectly okay with a thesis - longitudinal studies and long papers have become my good friends. I like the opportunity to study something in-depth and then organize it into papers and presentations, and it feels more "real" to me than the never-ending lecture-test-lecture format. It's at least a good change of pace, when placed within a standard lecture system.

I'll have to look more into the schools Goro added (thank you so much, by the way!), but the schools on my original list seemed to have good support for families - good housing, support groups for spouses, etc. Weather is my only concern at some - it's tough to go outside and play with the kids in a blizzard. If you know of any other issues, please let me know. Our daughter just turned one, so she'll be starting kindergarten during med school. I'm ok with public ed - I grew up in Arizona! Hahaha... I thought the laid-back educational system gave us more time for self-learning, and it worked out well for me.

I used public transportation in Seattle and India and didn't mind it at all, but the story might be a little different with kids. My wife and I have been trying to figure that one out too - tons of parents in NYC, for example, get by fine with the subways, but is it too much of a hassle to be worth it if there are other options for locale?

@Lawper The two DO schools in AZ (my home state) seem pretty awesome, especially MW. I don't have any stigmas against DOs. Any particular reason to get rid of them?

 

[LizzyM]

Take a hard look at the public school systems in DC, Baltimore, Philly, NYC, New Haven, and any other schools that are located in the "inner city". This wouldn't be an issue for most students but it will be for you.

I've lived without a car and my grocery shopping consisted of no more than I could carry. Since then Zip Cars and other car sharing schemes have become available in some places for those monthly trips to stock up but keep in mind that city apartments tend to be tiny with limited storage space, too.

I would lean toward less urban schools where there might be a possibility of living in a nearby suburb with decent public schools and more housing options that allow some elbow room.