Chances at a CA school

[NRAI2001]

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I have a 3.45 gpa from UC Berkeley in Public Health and Intergrative Bio, 1 year of neurosurgery research at UCSF, 1.5 year of working with a professor at UCB (possible publication). Planning to volunteer in the ER or OR at ucsf next semester and into the summer. I haven't taken the mcat yet, but i am a pretty good test taker.

I was wondering what my chances of getting into a CA med school are? What type of mcat score would i need to get an interview. I know no one knows for sure, but any ideas?

 

[LoneCoyote]

No one can really tell you. I have met people in my class with high GPAs, low GPAs, high MCATs, lower MCATs, and everything in between. I think that some of the UCs also look at life experience and your essays more so than some other schools. Aim to do the best you can on the MCAT and get your apps in early and work hard on your secondaries. Write a good personal statement. Beyond that it is a bit of a crapshoot. Good luck.

 

[tinkerbelle]

you should check out mdapplicants.com and see what type of stats accepted people have

 

[benelswick]

Just an unqualified .02$--

You've got a great well-ballanced application. A solid mcat--32+ should put you right in running with all the other stellar california kids.

 

[NRAI2001]

Just an unqualified .02$--

You've got a great well-ballanced application. A solid mcat--32+ should put you right in running with all the other stellar california kids.

Cool, I haven't really gotten any volunteer or clinical experience yet though, do u think 6 months or so of working in the OR will be enough?

Also can volunteering or shadowing u did in High school be counted?

 

[tinkerbelle]

Cool, I haven't really gotten any volunteer or clinical experience yet though, do u think 6 months or so of working in the OR will be enough?

One med school called my hospital volunteering one of my deficiencies: 3 months nursing home volunteer and 7 months of hospital volunteering. But I still got in, so I guess it was a decent amount.

Also can volunteering or shadowing u did in High school be counted?

Yup, I counted my year-long hospital volunteering from high school. I hoped it would make up for my lack of volunteering in college.

 

[faradayampere]

No one here is qualified enough to predict your application [I think] ... we cannot even control our fates .... just apply, and see what adcom officers think

 

[opinionkitten]

all depends on your mcat. your gpa isnt doing you any favors, but the rest of your resume sounds nice. a hardcore mcat and you are game anywhere in california. a 30-32 and itll be doable if a little on the close side. look at uci stats on mdapplicants, this is the most permissive cal school, in my opinion.

 

[i77ac]

Yup, I counted my year-long hospital volunteering from high school. I hoped it would make up for my lack of volunteering in college.

i dont think so. i'm pretty sure AMCAS specifically states that you cannot list high school experiences.

 

[fakin' the funk]

...greatly improve if you're an URM. otherwise, total crapshoot and don't get your hopes up.

 

[UCLAstudent]

i dont think so. i'm pretty sure AMCAS specifically states that you cannot list high school experiences.

Right, I would hold off on listing high school experiences unless they are stellar. You can always mention how high school stuff affected you in your personal statement.

 

[UCLAstudent]

look at uci stats on mdapplicants, this is the most permissive cal school, in my opinion.

Although this year UCI is acting kind of weird ...

 

[DrYo12]

I have a 3.45 gpa from UC Berkeley in Public Health and Intergrative Bio, 1 year of neurosurgery research at UCSF, 1.5 year of working with a professor at UCB (possible publication). Planning to volunteer in the ER or OR at ucsf next semester and into the summer. I haven't taken the mcat yet, but i am a pretty good test taker.

I was wondering what my chances of getting into a CA med school are? What type of mcat score would i need to get an interview. I know no one knows for sure, but any ideas?

Well. Your GPA is in the mid to lower range, so a good MCAT will do some good, but that's not all you need. Sure, you want to have the volunteer experience in the hospital and if you like research, that's a good thing to get involved with. However, recall that applicants who have done the "right" things to get into medical school will be a dime a dozen. If you're going to distinguish yourself, be a unique person. Get involved in things that you like because you like them, not because you 'have to' to get into medical school. Medical schools want you to be passionate about whatever it is that you do, and be able to tell about it. If you just go through the motions, it shows in how you talk about it.

For example, let's say you really like kids. You don't have to volunteer in a pediatrics unit to show that. You can volunteer at the local library reading to kids, have a great time, and know that in your heart, you did what was right. And when it comes time to talk about it (ie personal statement or interview), you will be ready to speak from the heart.

As for getting an interview, of course, they're going to look at everything, but the personal statement and recs will be key for you. You'll want to have some people that really know you well to write for you and you will definitely (I cannot stress this enough), most absolutely want to spend the extra time refining and strengthening your personal statement. This will be the first impression they can get about who you really are and your motivation toward medicine.

G'luck.

 

[Zephyrus]

i'm at duke and even here there is a cumulative less than three percent chance of acceptance to a california school among applicants, even though duke boasts an overall 80 percent chance of acceptance to a med school (higher among duke seniors). for a california aspirant such as myself, even with a 3.95 GPA in a double science major, the odds are always against us. the best advice is to find a god and pray to it regularly, lol.

"you know, thoreau said that most men lead lives of quiet desperation."
"i'm not most men."