EC heavy schools

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Fellow non-trad here. I have a similar uGPA (haven't taken MCAT yet). I will, however, have a PhD in physics by the time I apply, which I've been told is basically like having a really cool EC. So I'd be interested in the answer to this question as well.
 
physicsguy said:
Fellow non-trad here. I have a similar uGPA (haven't taken MCAT yet). I will, however, have a PhD in physics by the time I apply, which I've been told is basically like having a really cool EC. So I'd be interested in the answer to this question as well.
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Out of curiosity, is your research focused on something relevant to medicine (like nuclear imaging) or is med school a completely different thing for you?
 
BerlinDude said:
Out of curiosity, is your research focused on something relevant to medicine (like nuclear imaging) or is med school a completely different thing for you?
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For me med school will be a total change of career. I do particle astrophysics. I guess some of the technology and principles we use are also used in radiology, and indeed for this reason many people with PhDs in my field do postdocs in medical physics. But my research isn't medically relevant in any way. For this reason I realize that med schools won't regard it as academically useful. But others here have told me that something like this is regarded as an EC, which is why I'm interested in schools that put a strong emphasis on this.
 
tailfree said:
Sorry, new to this...
32Q/3.4 (from top undergrad though for whatever that may count for)

As for schools, I basically just applied to the bottom of the list, excluding the ones that accept primarily in staters.
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Your gpa is a little low but other than that you're still competitive. Just chill and apply at a wide variety of places. I got in with a lower gpa and mcat.
 
jla314 said:
The only way for WashU to have an average accepted MCAT score of 38 is for them to be pretty numbers-heavy, I'm afraid
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Definitely agree with you here. I would love to get an interview/acceptance from them next year, though. 🙂 Great school!
 
jla314 said:
The only way for WashU to have an average accepted MCAT score of 38 is for them to be pretty numbers-heavy, I'm afraid
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Nothing special at all. I remember that UMich has avg MCAT of 37 for the last year class. So 38 is not that insane consider the much higher ranking of WashU.
 
longhorn09 said:
Nothing special at all. I remember that UMich has avg MCAT of 37 for the last year class. So 38 is not that insane consider the much higher ranking of WashU.
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Lol getting a 38 puts you in something like the top 1% of mcat takers! And apologies for nitpicking, but according to my msar, UMich had an average mcat of 36 last year. in any case, even if the average had been 37, it doesn't really prove anything except that michigan is a numbers heavy school too (especially since by following your logic, you perceive it to be of lower caliber - how can a "lower" ranking school have such a high mcat average? by selecting high-numbers applicants, of course!)
 
MossPoh said:
Your gpa is a little low but other than that you're still competitive. Just chill and apply at a wide variety of places. I got in with a lower gpa and mcat.
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I'm not really worried about getting in somewhere, just want to go to a good med school that puts emphasis on having people with diverse interests, which makes for a better overall experience anyway than cutthroat schools.

More looking for specific advice like Mt. Sinai definitely weighs ECs more heavily than NYU so applying there would be a better use of my time.

Thanks for your advice though!
 
Mt. Sinai might be a good option - I know they have some sort of early program for humanities majors where you apply in your junior year of college and don't even have to take the MCAT. This, to me, signals a commitment to increasing diversity of student body (with regards to intellectual interests) and would therefore indicate a probable willingness to look past numbers in favor of diversity in experiences.

But keep in mind, Mt. Sinai's 10th percentile of accepted students had a cGPA of 3.5 (science GPA 3.3), so you'd be cutting it pretty close. Your EC's would need to be absolutely stellar to compensate.

Where else are you considering (even just geographical locations)? There are so many med schools! Give us some specifics and maybe we can be of more help?
 
tailfree said:
That's pretty cool of them... wow.

Um... a place like Mayo is my idea of everything a med school should be.

Yeah, I know I'm cutting it really close. This whole process is making me kinda bipolar, too. My premed adviser and composite writer, who had access to my entire file, were both overwhelmingly positive and said everything else was really impressive. But then hearing about really qualified people who get rejected was depressing. And then I got that interview, and things really changed in my head...

Also, are there schools that weigh the interview part heavily? I'm much more likable in person.
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It's common knowledge that premed advisers don't know what they're talking about.

I think all schools weigh the interview heavily, but you first need to convince them to give you an interview. There was a survey of admission officers (it might be on the AAMC website), that said the interview was actually the most important factor in gaining admission.
 
jla314 said:
Mt. Sinai might be a good option - I know they have some sort of early program for humanities majors where you apply in your junior year of college and don't even have to take the MCAT. This, to me, signals a commitment to increasing diversity of student body (with regards to intellectual interests) and would therefore indicate a probable willingness to look past numbers in favor of diversity in experiences.

But keep in mind, Mt. Sinai's 10th percentile of accepted students had a cGPA of 3.5 (science GPA 3.3), so you'd be cutting it pretty close. Your EC's would need to be absolutely stellar to compensate.

Where else are you considering (even just geographical locations)? There are so many med schools! Give us some specifics and maybe we can be of more help?
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sinai is very much into the MCAT.
 
tailfree said:
I'm not really worried about getting in somewhere, just want to go to a good med school that puts emphasis on having people with diverse interests, which makes for a better overall experience anyway than cutthroat schools.

More looking for specific advice like Mt. Sinai definitely weighs ECs more heavily than NYU so applying there would be a better use of my time.

Thanks for your advice though!
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Every school usually has people with diverse experiences. No school will ever fess up to being cutthroat either. Mine isn't at all. That being said, the biggest indicator of not being cut throat is a true pass/fail system for the first 2 years. Not honors/high pass/pass/fail stuff. There aren't many schools that do it, but it has been shown to reduce competition and not hinder board performance. There aren't really any bad med schools in the US either. 😉 Just ones that don't or do fit your personality.
 
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