Chances for Top 20 Med School?

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orangecow11

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  1. cGPA = 3.7, sGPA = 3.6
  2. MCAT2015: 521 = 131 chem/phys + 130 reading + 131 psych + 129 bio
  3. Mixed race
  4. B.S. Bioengineering, top university
  5. 8 months, 200 hours volunteering in Emergency Department
  6. 4 years research: 3 yrs in academia, 1 yr at renowned biotech company. 2/3 LOR's are stellar. No pubs yet, but may get one in the next 6 months.
  7. Shadowed cardiologist for 3o hours
  8. No non-clinical volunteering
  9. Other EC's: leadership position in fraternity, taught bioengineering class, marathon runner
Any suggestions for how I can improve my chances would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!
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1) On the low end, but still acceptable.
2) Excellent score, will definitely compensate for your GPA.
3) I would avoid marking yourself down as "Asian." Otherwise, your race is irrelevant as far as you are concerned.
4) Hopefully this will give your GPA some context.
5-8) Pretty run of the mill tbh.
9) These are cool, but not mind-blowing

I suggest you take a gap year doing something unique alongside volunteering. Get creative and you can kill two birds with one stone.

Good luck!
 
Service with the less fortunate is what could really make a difference for you. Hospice work, service with those in less priviledged areas etc. That seems to be what's missing from your app and what could make a difference. The stats are fine, the research is fine, try and do something beyond that that adds a different dimension to your app.
 
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No one will have trustworthy, actionable advice. Just do your thing and cross your fingers. And also don't worry so much about prestige.
 
Get in some non-clinical volunteering stat. Especially in in service for those less fortunate than yourself. Get off of campus and out of your comfort zone.

orangecow11 said:
  1. cGPA = 3.7, sGPA = 3.6
  2. MCAT2015: 521 = 131 chem/phys + 130 reading + 131 psych + 129 bio
  3. Mixed race
  4. B.S. Bioengineering, top university
  5. 8 months, 200 hours volunteering in Emergency Department
  6. 4 years research: 3 yrs in academia, 1 yr at renowned biotech company. 2/3 LOR's are stellar. No pubs yet, but may get one in the next 6 months.
  7. Shadowed cardiologist for 3o hours
  8. No non-clinical volunteering
  9. Other EC's: leadership position in fraternity, taught bioengineering class, marathon runner
Any suggestions for how I can improve my chances would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!
Click to expand...
 
Hi everyone, realized I forgot to say that I graduated from college in May 2015 and am applying for entrance in Fall 2017, so I'm taking 2 years off. I basically have 6 months to improve my app (I'd like to apply the first day if possible).

I'm planning on more shadowing and more volunteer work in the Emergency Department. I realize that 6 months is not enough time to drastically change my app, but just want to make this time as productive as possible and that I stand out. Thanks again!
 
You're competitive, but there's always a degree of chance involved. If you do the shotgun approach and apply to ~16-17 or so of them, you'll probably garner a few interviews, and, if you're lucky, an acceptance or two.

No one can tell you for sure, but you definitely have a shot.
 
Great app (solid stats and research) and I concur with the poster that advised some non clinical volunteering could go a long way (if you can rack up a few hundred hours these next six months).

If you're set on getting into a top 20 I suppose you could apply to all ~20 of them, and add maybe 5-10 more safeties/reaches.
 
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