Chances to get into UMich, Pitt, Emory, etc

[abc123puck]

Let me begin by stating I am not a troll. With that taken care of, I go to the University of Miami and have a 4.0 and 42 on my MCAT. However, I have extremely weak ec's: i volunteered at a local hospital for 4 hrs a week for 3 years so far, and about 4 weeks worth of shadowing of 4 different specialties, honors program, and several intramural championships. That is it, nothing more. What are my chances with schools such as those listed in the title?

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[sling787]

Let me begin by stating I am not a troll. With that taken care of, I go to the University of Miami and have a 4.0 and 42 on my MCAT. However, I have extremely weak ec's: i volunteered at a local hospital for 4 hrs a week for 3 years so far, and about 4 weeks worth of shadowing of 4 different specialties, honors program, and several intramural championships. That is it, nothing more. What are my chances with schools such as those listed in the title?

I would say you have a great chance. I wouldn't call those EC's weak, their average, but not weak.

Your stats are so great, that I think they will overlook the average EC's.

 

[cliffhuxtableDO]

I agree. You can always start some EC's now too.

 

[flip26]

Low...the ECs really matter, are not just a nice thing to have, but a must...

 

[Mobius1985]

I agree with flip26 that your chances are low for those schools. If you want a good chance of an acceptance at research-intense, highly selective schools, you usually need some substantive research experience. In some cases some wow-factor leadership or other outstanding EC might get one in the door, but you don't have those either.

I do think you have an outstanding chance at getting an acceptance somewhere due to your excellent numbers, but be sure to apply to a range of school types.

 

[AdemTD]

I would say you're a lock for UMich. I am quite familiar with their admissions standards and have chatted with Mr. Robert Ruiz a few times. He states: "The most important aspect of the application is the MCAT score, followed closely by GPA, followed by LOR and then everything else." You'd really have to be a psycho at your interview for them to deny you admission with those stats. Good Luck to you!

 

[abc123puck]

AdemTD, Well that is good news about michigan. I know they auto interview for out of state students with 38+ and 3.8+, so I should at least get an interview. Michigan is prolly my top choice at this point anyways. Any more info AdemTD would be greatly appreciated, just pm me.

 

[CourageKid]

I'm concerned. What are you going to talk about in your interviews? You need something that you are passionate about that you could write and talk about for days. That is what will jump out at schools.

My impression of Pitt was that they very much valued "interesting" people. Not to say that you are not one of those, but I think that is one place where strong numbers won't get you all the way.

For the record, I had stats above what you mentioned for UMich and did not get an auto-interivew. I got an interview (and acceptance) after submitting the secondary, but it's not something you should bank on. Michigan was another place where I felt that my application had been read thoroughly and my interviewers were very interested in my ECs.

 

[drizzt3117]

I'm concerned. What are you going to talk about in your interviews? You need something that you are passionate about that you could write and talk about for days. That is what will jump out at schools.

My impression of Pitt was that they very much valued "interesting" people. Not to say that you are not one of those, but I think that is one place where strong numbers won't get you all the way.

For the record, I had stats above what you mentioned for UMich and did not get an auto-interivew. I got an interview (and acceptance) after submitting the secondary, but it's not something you should bank on. Michigan was another place where I felt that my application had been read thoroughly and my interviewers were very interested in my ECs.

You only receive auto-interviews to UM if your undergrad institution is in a specific list of schools.

 

[STLINI]

can you elaborate on that list of schools?

 

[AbRKnight]

can you elaborate on that list of schools?

I don't think they make the list public. I could definetely be wrong, and I am sure someone will correct me if so, but I have "heard" it is something like the top 25 or so, undergrad schools.

 

[time2go]

with a 4.0 and a 42 im pretty sure that is a lock for an interview

 

[lovedocta07]

uhh 42? thats insane howd you study for the mcat, o btw your def in top 20 or even top 10

 

[Gannador]

WashU just heard about this guy and this happened.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M7Va1TGK_kU

Just kidding WashU

 

[JJMrK]

Four hours a week for 3+ years is over 500 hours of hospital volunteering. You may not have a variety of activities but you've donated a lot of time, done something consistently, and you have great numbers. You'll get in somewhere.