Chances-What to do? 3.26GPA, 3.1BCPM, Good ECs

[NHL]

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Hi. I was wondering what my chances are and where should I apply? I am open to MD, DO and even schools in the Caribbean. I've made a list of potential schools to apply to. Could you please tell me if I should get rid of any or add any? Should I apply to any Canadian schools? What Caribbean schools should I apply to?

3.26 GPA
3.1 BCPM
UG Institution: University of Michigan - Ann Arbor (Michigan Resident)
Major: Brain, Behavior and Cognitive Science
Biology
MCAT: Aug '10, Hoping for low to mid 30s
What score do I need?

Activities
250 community service hours - Children's Service Committee Member of Volunteer Org for 1 year
150 hours of hospital volunteering (surgical waiting room, radiology reception, Children's Hospital)
Cofounder/Treasurer of Organization for 10 months
Other Organizations - Dance Marathon (stand 30 hours and raise $300 for pediatric rehabilitation), K-grams for 3 years(write pen pal letters to elementary school children), Help people move in
Leadership camp
1 year of Research - Cell and Developmental Biology
2 years of Resident Advisor - Created Hall Newsletter
Another Job for 21 hours a week since 8 years old

PS: shows desire to be pediatrician and love for working with children
LORs: 2 Science and 1 Non-Science - Hopefully Great


Allopathic Schools:
• Howard
• Florida International
• Morehouse
• Rush
• University of Illinois at Chicago
• Tulane
• Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences
• Boston?
• Tufts?
• Michigan State
• Oakland University William Beaumont
• Michigan?
• Wayne State
• Albany
• New York Medical College
• SUNY Upstate?
• Toledo?
• Wright State?
• Drexel?
• The Commonwealth
• San Juan Bautista?
• Meharry
• Eastern Virginia
• Medical College of Wisconsin?

Osteopathic Schools:
• Still University-Kirksville (ATSU-KCOM)
• Michigan State (MSUCOM)
• New York College (Nycom/NYIT)
• Ohio University (OU-COM)
• University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey (UMDNJ-SOM)
• University of New England (UNE-COM)

 

[NHL]

I'm Asian Indian if that matters any

 

[Catalystik]

I don't see the MCAT score. Hard to say much without that.

It would help to know why your GPAs are low. Was it one bad semester? Do yo have a recent upward trend?

 

[ThaliaNox]

It is impossible to give you an idea of where you will be competitive without an MCAT score. Your GPA is low, so a high MCAT (I'd say 34+) would be essential for a decent chance at MD schools. DO schools would likely take you with anything around 28-30, and Carribean schools with even less, although I'd never recommend Carribean schools.

Come back and update us when you have an MCAT score.

Just a note, Howard, Meharry and Morehouse are traditionally black schools which take mainly black students and those who have expressed an extremely strong interest in working with the underserved through their activities. I don't see evidence of that in your ECs, so I would say that your chances there are slim.

 

[Drrrrrr. Celty]

Hard to say, I guess your gpa isn't that great. For MD I'd say 32+ would be a start. For DO it'd be considerably good to retake a few course's and get your gpa up, it'd probably just take a semester or two to get your gpa up to competitive levels for DO. Then doing 27+ on the mcat would put you into a great place.

 

[XVivo]

I agree with Serenade in that you need at least a 32 on your MCAT to be competitive. Also, try to get a 4.0 in your upcoming semesters. I think that showing a consistent, strong, upward trend in the more difficult classes can sometimes persuade adcoms in forgiving a sub-stellar cumulative GPA.

 

[ExpressoMD]

Hey Guys,

I'm curious to hear more about the chances for the original poster. My stats are around the same with pretty impressive ECs (let's assume well above the average applicant's) and also good LORs.

Would you recommend that the OP and I with the same GPA and let's say MCAT of 34 apply to medical school, take a post-bacc (informal or formal?), or apply for SMP? Let's say any MD school in the US is fine.

I don't mean to threadjack. I just didn't wanna create another thread when someone with similar stats has already posted. Thanks!

 

[NHL]

Why is it that you would never recommend Carribean schools? My thought process in applying to Howard, Meharry, and Morehouse had been that they are more likely to take students with lower GPAs. But thank you for your advice. I feel like I have a slim chance at any school I apply to so I think I might still take a shot at those schools.

It is impossible to give you an idea of where you will be competitive without an MCAT score. Your GPA is low, so a high MCAT (I'd say 34+) would be essential for a decent chance at MD schools. DO schools would likely take you with anything around 28-30, and Carribean schools with even less, although I'd never recommend Carribean schools.

Come back and update us when you have an MCAT score.

Just a note, Howard, Meharry and Morehouse are traditionally black schools which take mainly black students and those who have expressed an extremely strong interest in working with the underserved through their activities. I don't see evidence of that in your ECs, so I would say that your chances there are slim.