Finally have my MCAT score! Where to go from here?

[Swartzlehman]

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[redhaireddeamon]

you have some great stats! (jealous) where is your state of residency?

 

[Catalystik]

I would like some advice from my fellow SDNer's!🙂

Where do I apply??? Should I also apply to SMP's and/or MA in Biomedical Sciences? Any other suggestions for strengthening app?

BA Political Science at UC Irvine
GPA at this institution 3.34
Post-Bacc Coursework at Community College
GPA at this institution 3.92
Total Combined uGPA(with post bacc included) 3.55
Total Science GPA (with post bacc included) 3.85
MCAT: 36Q! What a relief
Work Experience: Over a year working in Physical Therapy. Worked for Political Campaign. Currently a Tutor in Anatomy and Physiology in a group setting (10 students).
Volunteering: Rebuilding Together Orange County, Skilled Nursing Facility, Emergency Room, ICU, PT Dept. over 1500 hours combined.
Internships: UC-Davis Pre-medical surgical internship - shadowing of resident and attending surgeons in addition to large academic component culminating in presentation before peers.
Leadership: Philanthropy Chair of Fraternity - Coordinated and planned over 1200 combined hours of service. Planned one large event attended by 500 people.
LoR: I have only three LoR. All are from Science professors.
Research: None 🙁 Haven't found any opportunities post-bacc.
Future Plans: Continuing with the tutoring. Going to UC-Berkeley Extension to take Biochem, Genetics, Cell and Molecular Bio, and Neurobio in spring semester.


That wasn't brief sorry. Thank you for taking the time to respond.

Download this google spreadsheet so you can enter your own stats and it will give you an idea of schools for which you're competitive. Then look at the OOS matriculation rate before further researching schools for "fit" with an MSAR or by looking at websites: https://spreadsheets.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AmKVGWwobG5GdEx2MjlBTDE0bXFXNGFZczZqYTZKb2c&hl=en_US#gid=0

 

[Swartzlehman]

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[sector9]

Thanks for the reply! Im a Cali resident. And thanks Cat for the spread sheet. Im having a hell of a time narrowing down the schools though. I'm sitting on 40 and want to knock off 15 of those.

Any thoughts about the following....Give me a reason to get rid of them please!🙂

Dartmouth, GWU, Eastern Vermont Medical School, Jefferson, Medical College of Wisconsin, OSHU, Penn state, Commonwealth, Stony Brook, University at Buffalo, University of Colorado, University of Kansas, University of Arizona, University of Missouri - Columbus, University of Vermont, University of Wisconsin, University of Cincinnati, Virginia Commonweath

Dartmouth- over 90% had some research
GWU- over 10k apps per year
Eastern Vermont Medical School- there's no such thing! I assume you're talking about Eastern Virginia Medical School though, which is a decent fit
OSHU- I assume you're talking about OHSU. You might want to get rid of this one because you're OOS and you need a 3.65 to be considered one of their groups considered higher priority for admissions
Stonybrook- over 90% had research
Kansas- 90% in state

 

[Slowpoke]

careful when you apply to some schools, as there are a handful that require a non-science letter as well. I can't find the original link but I have a PDF of all the MD schools and their LOR requirements compiled nicely. You can PM me for it if you don't already have it.

Good luck fellow Californian 🙂 great MCAT score too!

 

[Swartzlehman]

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[Swartzlehman]

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[deleted432862]

This is my final list! Is this a good mix of schools...too top heavy or not heavy enough? Stats are above.

(Dream schools) Mayo, Stanford, UCSF and UCSD

U of Colorado, U of Rochester, Case Western, Ohio State, U of Socal, UC Irvine, UC LA, U of Cincinnati, U of Wisconsin, UC Davis, Rosalind Franklin, Albany, U of Vermont, MC Wisconsin, Loyola, U of Washington, Eastern Virginia, Virginia Commonwealth


Thank you for any input!

As a Cali resident (or rather, a resident NOT in Washington's "region") U of Washington will be difficult. According to the MSAR, they interview an obscenely low amount of out-of-state applicants, and this may include the "region" I mentioned (I believe these states are Washington, Wyoming, Alaska, Montana and Idaho aka WWAMI) I'm not saying you shouldn't apply, but I also believe it belongs in the "dream school" category; or, if it's not a dream school, then a "reach" category.

I find it curious that UCLA also doesn't fall into the "dream school" category along with UCSD and UCSF, all 3 of which are highly selective schools in California.

I don't really know much about the other schools, so I'll let other people comment on your overall selection.

 

[Swartzlehman]

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[flodhi1]

This is my final list! Is this a good mix of schools...too top heavy or not heavy enough? Stats are above.

(Dream schools) Mayo, Stanford, UCSF and UCSD

U of Colorado, U of Rochester, Case Western, Ohio State, U of Socal, UC Irvine, UC LA, U of Cincinnati, U of Wisconsin, UC Davis, Rosalind Franklin, Albany, U of Vermont, MC Wisconsin, Loyola, U of Washington, Eastern Virginia, Virginia Commonwealth


Thank you for any input!

University of Michigan and NYMC would be a good add.

 

[Supisak]

University of Michigan and NYMC would be a good add.

Ok, so cume gpa is low for u of m but the auto invite for interview is at 34 I hear so you should pull an invite from them
add MSU CHM - historically show love to Cali students

 

[deleted432862]

Ok, so cume gpa is low for u of m but the auto invite for interview is at 34 I hear so you should pull an invite from them.

Auto-invite this cycle appeared to be significantly higher than 34 (pretty sure it was at least 37 or 38, as I had a 36 and didn't even receive a normal invite). In addition, I'm also fairly confident that GPA plays a role in UMichigan auto-invites, and though OP's post-bacc turnaround is admirable, I don't believe OP's cGPA will make the cut.

OP, please also note that UMich is known as a very stat conscious school. Though a 3.55 isn't unheard of, it is a tad low for them. Also, UMich was extremely aggressive during this cycle and exhausted a vast majority of their interview invites early on, so if you DO intend to apply to UMich, then apply as early as possible.

 

[Swartzlehman]

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