Chances - stong ECs, decent but not stellar numbers

[4intlmed]

I have taken the MCAT 2x, the second one should have gone better, but life kind of got in the way. 1st time 30R 10/10/10 and 2nd time 31Q 12/9/10 which leaves me with 2 decent but not exceptional scores. I do not plan on taking the test again, at least for the 2011 application.

Here is what the rest of my application looks like.
cGPA: 3.65
sGPA: 3.43
International Relations Major
Spanish Minor
- 3 years research assistant in HIV Prevention/Intervention (working on 3 different grants), coauthored a poster abstract being reviewed for International AIDS Conference this year
- 9 months emergency department volunteer
- 9 months clinical trials research assistant in an emergency department (data collection with lots of patient interaction)
- Interpreter/clinic assistant for a med. mission trip to Guatemala
- Student med. mission trip to Nicaragua
- Teaching assistant for undergrad Public Health HIV class
- Volunteer at an International NGO for torture rehabilitation and treatment helping torture survivors in US access health care services (started recently continuing through the next year)
- Summer internship with a disability health care advocacy organization
- Co-founder and officer of a health research student advocacy group (not sure if I want to include this because I didn't stay involved with the group after freshman/sophomore year)
- Other nearly meaningless honors things: NSCS, summa cum laude graduate (I am hesitant to put these on an application as well)
- Some actual physician shadowing, but most "shadowing" has been in the context of working in the emergency department in research, and volunteering on international mission trips

I am graduating this May and am applying for some pretty interesting research assistant jobs and internships at international health development NGOs and public health research institutions. Hopefully that will keep me busy during my year off and add 1 more awesome EC to my application.

I feel pretty confident about writing a great personal statement and being able to describe my ECs to highlight how they have prepared me for a career in medicine. I also interview pretty strongly, so getting to that stage is what worries me the most.

Any feedback about what types of schools to apply to is greatly appreciated. I have only 2 in-state schools, one of which strongly favors rural candidates (not me) and the other is a fairly competitive school that looks mostly at numbers (so I don't feel I have a great chance there either). That said I am looking at many out of state schools, and mostly primary care oriented schools, although I have been strongly considering MD/MPH programs as well.

Whew, that was long-winded. Thanks for any advice!

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[flip26]

I have taken the MCAT 2x, the second one should have gone better, but life kind of got in the way. 1st time 30R 10/10/10 and 2nd time 31Q 12/9/10 which leaves me with 2 decent but not exceptional scores. I do not plan on taking the test again, at least for the 2011 application.

Here is what the rest of my application looks like.
cGPA: 3.65
sGPA: 3.43
International Relations Major
Spanish Minor
- 3 years research assistant in HIV Prevention/Intervention (working on 3 different grants), coauthored a poster abstract being reviewed for International AIDS Conference this year
- 9 months emergency department volunteer
- 9 months clinical trials research assistant in an emergency department (data collection with lots of patient interaction)
- Interpreter/clinic assistant for a med. mission trip to Guatemala
- Student med. mission trip to Nicaragua
- Teaching assistant for undergrad Public Health HIV class
- Volunteer at an International NGO for torture rehabilitation and treatment helping torture survivors in US access health care services (started recently continuing through the next year)
- Summer internship with a disability health care advocacy organization
- Co-founder and officer of a health research student advocacy group (not sure if I want to include this because I didn't stay involved with the group after freshman/sophomore year)
- Other nearly meaningless honors things: NSCS, summa cum laude graduate (I am hesitant to put these on an application as well)
- Some actual physician shadowing, but most "shadowing" has been in the context of working in the emergency department in research, and volunteering on international mission trips

I am graduating this May and am applying for some pretty interesting research assistant jobs and internships at international health development NGOs and public health research institutions. Hopefully that will keep me busy during my year off and add 1 more awesome EC to my application.

I feel pretty confident about writing a great personal statement and being able to describe my ECs to highlight how they have prepared me for a career in medicine. I also interview pretty strongly, so getting to that stage is what worries me the most.

Any feedback about what types of schools to apply to is greatly appreciated. I have only 2 in-state schools, one of which strongly favors rural candidates (not me) and the other is a fairly competitive school that looks mostly at numbers (so I don't feel I have a great chance there either). That said I am looking at many out of state schools, and mostly primary care oriented schools, although I have been strongly considering MD/MPH programs as well.

Whew, that was long-winded. Thanks for any advice!

Skip over the Top 20 - 30 research oriented schools.

Then knock yourself out.

Your numbers are a little low for OHSU, one of the top primary care schools; you may have a little better chance at UVM.

But Mayo (a top 20-ish school) is a real "patient centered" mission oriented school, and I think you may have the background for their mission, so check it out as one of your "reaches."

 

[ThaliaNox]

It would really help to know your home state. Without it we're really shooting in the dark.

 

[4intlmed]

Flip26 - thanks for the feedback. I hadn't considered UVM and have always considered OHSU (because of low out of state acceptances) and Mayo (which I forgot to include when I mentioned schools in MN) to be way out of my league.

ThaliaNox - sorry, MN.

 

[Catalystik]

LizzyM Score: MCAT score + (cGPA X 10) + 1 = Your Score (68.5). School score doesn't include the +1.

Consider researching 66/ MSU, 67/Virginia Commonwealth, EVMS, Drexel, NYMC, Tulane, UIllinois, Rush, GWU, 68/Temple, Toledo, Buffalo, Loyola. And possibly 69/MCW, UVermont, Jefferson, SUNY Upstate, UCentral Florida, Albany, Creighton, Wayne, Rosalind Franklin.

 

[ThaliaNox]

Well, MN is a bit of a tough nugget. Not as bad as some states, but certainly not fun.

Anyway, I would definetely put the mid-range Midwest private schools on your list. MCW would be a good school for you, as would Rosalind Franklin and RUSH. I would go ahead and apply to University of Wisconsin as well. Numbers mean a little less when you're applying to schools near your home state, because they are more likely to be familiar with students from your state or even undergrad. Also, make sure you still apply the the schools in MN, excepting possibly Mayo. You also say you're interested in primary care, so I would still give Duluth a shot. On the same level, consider MSU, although MSU has painful out of state tuition.

 

[J ROD]

OP, I think you will have a decent shot somewhere.....choose wisely..

 

[flip26]

OP, I think you will have a decent shot somewhere.....choose wisely..

I agree.

The OP has a very impressive background. If he can write a really strong PS (which should not be a dry autobiography, or a recitation of your ECs, but a thematically driven essay on "why medicine?"), and if he has strong LORs, I think he can overcome his stats deficiency (and his stats really aren't bad, just not great).

 

[4intlmed]

Thanks for the feedback guys!