Do I have what it takes?

[RavensGal]

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Hey,
I'm a sophomore majoring in Biological Sciences with a concentration in Human Biology and minors in Genetics and Psychology.
cGPA: 3.54
sGPA: 3.3
Member of the University Scholars Program and College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Honors Program
My science GPA should go up this semester since I should be getting A's in physics and microbiology.
EC's: Color Guard (we're part of the marching band), winterguard, Pre-Health Club, RA this year and next. Also I was a founding sister of Tri Delta at my college, but ended up dropping from the sorority after a year (should I include that?)
Clinical: Shadowed ER doctors (only a few hours) 75 hours of volunteering in shock trauma, 4 summers of lifeguarding (not really sure that counts)
Research in microbiology, I just started this semester and should be continuing until I graduate. Also a semester long group research project on the Bubonic Plague
Community service: I've done a few one time things, relay for life, volunteering during spring break with Appalachian Service Program etc.
This summer I'm shadowing an Orthopaedic surgeon, retaking both organics (I got a C in both), volunteering at a hospital, and working with the boys and girls club which I will most likely continue with next year.
I haven't taken the MCAT yet..but I have started preparing using a Kaplan Book.
What are my chances of getting into schools like Pritzker in Chicago, or UNC or Wake Forest being a MD resident, but doing my undergrad in NC?
Also will med schools look favorably upon me retaking the organics??
What else can I do to boost my application?

Any advice would be appreciated! Thanks

 

[MilkmanAl]

C's in both organics is rough, but I don't think I'd retake them if you have good grades in higher-level sciences. That said, your GPA is fairly low, so you're going to need one hell of an MCAT score to have a chance at UNC. I understand that Wake fosters a bit of in-state preference, as well. Pritzker is always very selective. I'd say if you don't clock in around a 34 or higher, you probably have little chance at any of those 3 schools. Certainly apply to them, but don't be terribly disappointed if they pass you over.

The best thing you can do for your app right now is to rock the MCAT. It also seems that you need more clinical experience. Volunteering this summer will help, but I'd try to tack on an additional clinical gig to up your hours faster.

 

[Stratego]

You're only a sophomore, so you still have three more semesters to get your GPAs up. I think repeating Orgo is a good idea, as you'll need a solid understanding of the material to nail the MCAT. I do think that top schools will want to see top grades in those courses.

I think it's OK to mention founding the Tri-Delta group without mentioning that you left (the dates of involvement will make that evident). If this is a service sorority that did significant philanthropic work under your leadership, it will look great on the application.

It's good you plan to continue adding to your clinical and community service hours, and get more shadowing.

I don't think we can talk about how competitive you'll be for highly selective, research heavy schools until we have your final GPA (you have work to do there) and MCAT, and know if you got in at least two years of research and maybe some publications. You're making a good start though and are obviously aware of all the important things for a med school application.

 

[Mobius1985]

Mean acceptee stats for Pritzker=3.8 and 35, UNC=3.8 and 33, Wake Forest=3.7, 33. This will give you an idea of where you need to get your stats before applying if you want to attend one of those schools.

 

[RavensGal]

I really don't have my heart set on those three schools..
I toured UNC today and it was nice but Im not sure I'd like it there (giving some miracle that I did get in)
I'm working on raising my GPA. I'm hoping that by doing research in microbiology and possible being a physics TA my senior year med schools will see that I'm not bad at all science..just organic!!

I heard that Pritzker looks at numbers but they also look at how well a student will fit in at their school...

 

[Stratego]

I heard that Pritzker has cut the number of students in the incoming class and is assigning a research mentor to each one, with the expectation that a research project will be done during the med school years (like there isn't enough to keep you busy otherwise).