Does this board terrify anyone else??

[JulianCrane]

OK, so I am ready various posts about people's stats and the number of acceptances that they received to med school. After reading all of the posts, I am absolutely scared of what lies in front of me. Sure, I don't take the MCAT until next year, and I am already freaking out about that. I thought that my stats were good, but I'm not so sure anymore. Can anyone lend insight into my quandary?

I go to a top 15 school, have a 3.79GPA (3.67Science GPA), member of Golden Key and AED, tour guide for my school, in a cappella group, research science before freshman year and started up again in January. I am thinking about applying to Duke, U Mich, WashU, Jefferson, Mt. Sinai, and Rochester right now. What do you think? Thanks.

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[none]

I think you need to add around 12 more schools to that list! And apply to some schools that aren't so competitive. I guess this board isn't scaring you all that much...

 

[SolidGold]

I would also suggest you apply to at least 10 more schools. You have a good GPA but you still should apply to a broad range of schools to increase your chances of getting accepted.

 

[moo]

You'll be fine, don't worry.

 

[SolidGold]

hmm....moo, which school are you attending, MCW or Northwestern?

 

[JulianCrane]

What would be considered a less competitive school than most? And sure, those are NOT the only schools I am considering. I do have a year, ya know.

 

[moo]

•••quote:•••Originally posted by SolidGold:
•hmm....moo, which school are you attending, MCW or Northwestern?•••••waitlisted at northwestern, accepted at MCW... prefer northwestern

 

[moo]

•••quote:•••Originally posted by JulianCrane:
•What would be considered a less competitive school than most? And sure, those are NOT the only schools I am considering. I do have a year, ya know.•••••Finch/CMS, NYMC, MCPH are some off the top of my head. But keep in mind that there are really no "easy" schools, as these schools, although their avg gpa is lower, have about 10000 applicants applying to each.

 

[medname]

Here's my word. Do what you want in terms of applying to medical schools. I applied to 8 schools and did fine. If you do your best and do well on the MCAT you will do fine. Just try to be a different candidate than the rest.

If you are from California, then you probably should apply to more schools because there are so many applicants from there. If you go into an interview and they ask you where you are applying to and you list 20 schools, what makes them think that you are serious about their school??

So, apply to some top notch schools.. And apply to schools that you really have a good shot getting into- does your school have a certain reputation at a certain school?? Best advice- relax and enjoy college. The rest will follow...

 

[efex101]

Also keep in mind that you really *do not* know if what everyone on this board (or any board for that matter) claims is the honest to God truth. I am sure that most people are telling the truth and the advise is great but take everything with a grain of salt...

 

[dude7]

Excellent point stated. Although it is an unwritten rule that we SDN'ers stick together, i can almost gaurantee people ( some) make up numbers and scores and such to scare other people or whathaveyou. My best advice is to do your own thing, and apply to a place even if your gpa is a 3.4 and every "claims" they have a 3.9. Just remember, you apply to get an interview. THe rest is history from there!

 

[efex101]

Exactly! Dude said it very well, apply and see what happens. Not everyone in medical school has 4.0's and 35 MCAT scores, EC's up the wazoo, and saved homeless children in Africa. There are all kinds of GPA, EC's, MCAT scores, etc. Yes, it helps if you have high GPA and MCAT plus nice EC's and gret LOR's, but not having a perfect anything will not kill you either. Keep your chin up, do your best and you should be fine. Also if you give it your best shot and heaven forbid that you do not get in, guess what? you can apply again and this time you will have the inside knowledge that you may be lacking now... :wink:

 

[Tweetie_bird]

You said it...
it's funny how we're on the same wavelength. I know a lot of the kids at my school who are a bit "out of the loop" since they don't belong to SDN and since i hardly know them, I have no right to give them advice. But I have noticed that all of us on SDN are pretty much "over achievers" when it comes to planning, grades etc. Now, that IS a generalization, so please don't hurt me for it.
But I have noticed it myself that this board kinda skews reality a bit....not every premed out there is "THAT" informed and "THAT" competitive when it comes to stats. Hey, look at me! I am below average, yet live on SDN..and the stuff I hear on here could potentially help me get in over another "below average" kid who is not in the SDN loop. Don't let his board distort your reality, you're doing much better than you think. Keep that chin up. It's a happy life!
Tweetie

 

[efex101]

Tweetie you are correct about the overachiever bit. I think that who else would go out of their way to first find a website that has to do with pre-med info and then actually read the posts and sometimes even post back! an overachiever, hehe. All jokes aside it is really pretty sad how poorly informed some (not anyone here on SDN of course) pre-meds are, an example is my school. One time speaking with another pre-med and talking about the MCAT she said "MCAT? what is the MCAT" <img border="0" title="" alt="[Eek!]" src="eek.gif" /> I could not belive my ears like hello? where have you been all your undergrad, duh!

 

[Tweetie_bird]

wow, was she a freshmen? I didn't know about the god forsaken MCAT until I was a sophomore. There has to be a reason for that.....

I was actually thinking of a few of the kids at my Kaplan class that I've spoken to. None of them have even started their AMCAS!!! (and I should talk, I still have to get one more LOR, al beit it's just an EXTRA one that i need) Either that or they are all lying?? I know a lot of such competitive premeds at my school, unfortunately. That's why I hung out with the reseachers.

 

[Assassin]

i wonder if those of you who are claiming/implying that med school application process is not as competitive as some here make it out to be, have actually gone through the application process??
personally, this process has been very humbling although i will not diclose my stats, i will say that they would've been on the high side for any med school. i applied to 5 of the top 10 schools (according to us news rankings) and received 0 interviews; i was also rejected by 2 of my state schools (one pre-interview) and was rejected by one of the "low tier"/"safety school" everyone's been mentioning - NYMC.
good luck to all applying this year

 

[Vdawg]

also, I dont know if this is mentioned in any of the replies since I didnt have time to read them but SDN is not representative of the medical school applicant population. and this is obvious from the number of offers from all the med schools that SDN people have received. so basically, don't get scared by reading SDN. remember, they are above the average applicant! good luck

 

[Hopkins2010]

Julian,

I wasnt "scared" per se when first came to this board, but I was definitely intimidated by the accomplishments of others on here. Frankly, some of the people on here are outright amazing in what they accomplished in college.

I'm not going to tell you that you'll definitely get accepted somewhere, because thats very presumptuous of me, especially when this process is so subjective. I personally think that you are on the right track as far as stats go, but I'm not really sure anymore how much that has to do with admissions.

I would definitely encourage you to cast a wide net, and definitely sprinkle some top-ranked schools in there. Its my opinion that its very hard to estimate a priori your chance of success at ANY med school. Take my situation for example. Although I got accepted to Hopkins, I was rejected outright without even being offered an interview at places like Case Western and UT Southwestern.

I'm not implying those are inferior schools, my point is that you cant base your chances of success purely on rankings because its a much murkier picture than that.

 

[nebula7]

Julian, I didn't see your medical experiences listed in your first post...have you done any volunteering or working in a medical setting? I don't know about MD/PhD programs, but for MD programs you'll more than likely need some kind of direct exposure to medicine.

I think your GPA is definitely good enough (it's higher than mine, and I start med school this August), and your other extracurriculars as well. But like others have posted, applying to a wide range of schools should increase your chances.

 

[jmejia1]

•••quote:•••Originally posted by JulianCrane:
•OK, so I am ready various posts about people's stats and the number of acceptances that they received to med school. After reading all of the posts, I am absolutely scared of what lies in front of me. Sure, I don't take the MCAT until next year, and I am already freaking out about that. I thought that my stats were good, but I'm not so sure anymore. Can anyone lend insight into my quandary?

I go to a top 15 school, have a 3.79GPA (3.67Science GPA), member of Golden Key and AED, tour guide for my school, in a cappella group, research science before freshman year and started up again in January. I am thinking about applying to Duke, U Mich, WashU, Jefferson, Mt. Sinai, and Rochester right now. What do you think? Thanks.•••••I would definetly apply to a wider range. At Duke, UMich and WashU, you are vying for some of the most competitive spots in the world. You can very likely get in at one of more, but like someone said, cast a wider net. Apply to 20 schools.

Nice Ecs, but unless you are very active with Golden Key, I would not include that on my application. Practically every premed with a 3.4+gpa is elgible for the Golden Key and all you need is to cough up $40 to join.

 

[analu]

I'd like to reiterate nebula7's comments...I really think that CLINICAL experience is a must for applying to med school. Your stats are terrific. Just do well on the MCAT and get some medically related experience (if you haven't already). I feel adcoms like to know that applicants have done their research and know what's in store for them once they begin their medical practice! Moreover, working with patients, even as a nurse aide, can really get the "juices" flowing regarding one's reasons for choosing medicine as a career. Will definitely help at interview time!

 

[JulianCrane]

bump

 

[relatively prime]

My suggestions...

1) It's already been said but...apply to more schools!! Like at least 10 more!
2) Study your a$$ off for the MCAT, try to get at least a 9 or 10 in every section.
3) Make sure you hit all the hot spots... i.e. make sure you've done some volunteer work, gotten clinical experience... and since you're applying to a lot of schools that are heavy into research...make sure you've done some research.
4) Write a killer personal statement and try to file your AMCAS as soon as you can... usually during the first week of June.

Good luck!!

PS: You're gpa is great, don't worry about it... it's high enough for you to apply confidently to school you want to apply to (unless you're applying out-of-state to some state school that only accepts in-state students... in which case even a 4.0 won't get you in ).