Chances and School list help

[Midwesting]

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[Catalystik]

Long time reader and finally registered today so I could post. Thanks for any help/advice!!

I took the MCAT last September and got a 32R (10/11/11). cGPA: 3.65, sGPA 3.5 from Indiana University. I am worried about my middle of the road stats, especially the GPA...there is an upward trend though, the last 3 semesters were all 3.9+

I graduated in 2010 and spent the next 4 months volunteering at a hospital w/ kids with disabilities in Thailand and then worked for 6 months as an autism therapist. Currently I'm an AmeriCorps volunteer at a local department of public health working on health promotion (it will come out to 1700 hours at the end of the 12 month term)

College activities:
*President of a 100+ member org benefiting people w/ disabilities
*Lead 3 elementary school science programs over 3 years (240ish hours non clinical volunteering including various other commitments)
*Intern at the local division of public health
*2 separate summer study abroad programs, 1 studying history in Rome (I'm a genetics/history double major) and the other studying public health in Cambodia (1 presentation and poster).
*120 hours of shadowing, across 5 specialties (2 primary care, 90 hours in US)
*400 hours of hospital volunteering including the time spent volunteering in Thailand
*Research in an anatomy lab for 1 year (basic work, nothing came of it presentation/publication wise) and 7 months of clinical data assistant work

Oh and my home state is Wisconsin. I dont think I have a good shot at Madison but maybe MCW? Any school suggestions? Specifically, schools that value public health experience? Or just overall suggestions?

I'm ready to submit as soon as AMCAS opens and may also apply to DO schools as I don't want to reapply?

🙂 Thanks for reading!

There are far worse places to be than the middle of the road, and your recent, consistent upward grade trend will serve you well, as will your interesting and comprehensive ECs.

Average matriculant stats are not very different for UW and MCW: 3.71/3.67/31.3 vs 3.74/3.69/31.8. Acceptee stats in the MSAR are medians and reflect that high stat folks get multiple acceptances and may go elsewhere.

Download this google.doc spreadsheet data (an SDN collaborative effort from 5/11), so you can fill in your own stats, and it will tell you for which US med schools you’re competitive. Next look at the in-state matriculation data before you do further research on each school for “fit,” removing any from your list that take more than 85% in-state students: https://spreadsheets.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AmKVGWwobG5GdEx2MjlBTDE0bXFXNGFZczZqYTZKb2c&hl=en_US#gid=0

 

[dudewitshirt]

Hey Catalystik,

Could you explain what the long shots, hopeful, go for it, and high chance ratings mean?

Is long shot <25% chance
Hopeful <50%
Go for it >50%
and high chance 75% or >?

 

[Midwesting]

Thanks for your reply Catalystic! Do you/anyone else know which mid/low-tier OOS-friendly schools are especially receptive to public health experience? Tulane comes to mind, but it is hard to tell from other schools' admissions websites.

 

[Catalystik]

I didn't set up the scale, but I'd interpret those labels as:

Long shot is a high reach and therefore unlikely.
Hopeful is a reach, but possible if you stand out in some way.
Go for it is in your target range and a good match for your stats.
High chance is a safety, where your stats exceed their expectations.

 

[Catalystik]

Thanks for your reply Catalystic! Do you/anyone else know which mid/low-tier OOS-friendly schools are especially receptive to public health experience? Tulane comes to mind, but it is hard to tell from other schools' admissions websites.

I think that most schools are going to value Public Health experience.