MD Finally!! It's happening!!

[SciTchr]

Hello,

First post, after 2+ years of using SDN. I graduated from a small Virginian college in 2014. Always intended to pursue medicine, but became discouraged after a bad MCAT. So, switched gears to Principalship/Teaching in public schools. Realized the monotony of the career, and quickly devoted myself to developing a good app for Med School.

I recently read a post on the pre-allo forum about multiple MCATs. Didn't think it'd be an issue since my last score was good, but after seeing some responses on that specific thread, it prompted me to post a WAMC thread of my own.

Undergraduate Major: STEM Teaching, with Licensure
--> cGPA: 3.67
--> sGPA: 3.42
Post-Bacc: Enrolled at the University of Oregon, as I was teaching in Eugene, OR at the time
--> cGPA: 3.73
--> sGPA: 3.61
MCAT Examinations
--> May, 2014: 22 (Don't remember breakdown, too lazy to look it up!)
--> Sept, 2014: 25 (Ditto)
--> Jan, 2014: 36 (Even 12/12/12)

A little bit about me

For the past year, I worked full time as an elementary school TechEd teacher (teaching the kids keyboarding skills, and basic Microsoft packages, as well as running the two elective robotics courses). Prior to this, I'd completed the bulk of my clinical volunteering/shadowing. During college, I volunteered nearly 1000 hours to the local ER, and also shadowed two of my GPs. Also, during college I worked in (3) labs, and published 1 paper in the social sciences. Since moving to Eugene, I've been pretty immersed in my post-bacc and teaching, so I've not done much outside of school. However, I do coach the kids in their Science Olympiad competition, and also coach the Track & Field Club.

After leaving last year, I was awarded an NSF GRFP to pursue a master's in Statistics at Harvard, and will be moving to Boston at the end of August. I hope to finish this within the year, but will leave it incomplete if I land a spot in Med School for Fall, 2015.


I'm in the midst of my app cycle! I applied to 20 schools, please let me know if my list is stupid and pompous, my feelings will not be hurt!

1. University of Virginia (IS)
2. Virginia Tech (IS)
3. VCU (IS)
4. EVMS (IS)
5. GW
6. Georgetown
7. Medical College of Wisconsin
8. Vermont
9. Dartmouth
10. USF
11. Pittsburgh
12. Loyola
13. Albert Einstein Yeshiva
14. Mayo
15. Duke
16. Emory
17. Tulane
18. Cornell (Do I have a chance? Thinking of not doing secondary bc of intimidation)
19. Tufts
20. Columbia

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[GrapesofRath]

There's no good answer for how multiple MCATs will be perceived in your situation. Part of that discussion you're alluding to also talked about how alot of schools now days really are focused on the most recent score. Which is a huge positive in your case. That said, some still average and gyngyn has said many times before that the idea of a school saying they only look at the most recent one can be misleading. Also there is a difference between one retake and two retakes; how much of a difference is very hard to quantify That said, you definitely have a solid application.

What is your overall cumulative GPA? That's important when talking about all these reach schools of yours.

I count 7-10 lower tiers where you have a legitimate chance of an interview. Try and add a couple more lower tiers to cover your bases. I would look into Oakland, Quinnipac, Western Michigan, Wake Forest, Creighton, Saint Louis, Albany as some of the first lower tier options to consider. Lower yield schools like Drexel, Temple, NYMC, Rush, Rosalind are also in play(and there are other lower tiers I haven't listed to check out). After that, I think you can fill in middle tiers. Einstein, Emory, Hofstra, Boston U, Rochester, Case Western, Miami, USC are what I'm talking about as good choices.

As for the reaches, invest in MSAR and look at 10/90th percentile for GPA's. In particular pay attention to science GPA since yours was 3.44 prior to post-bacc which is definitely below 10th percentile at a number of these reaches you are asking about. Nonetheless, invest in MSAR check GPA's and still take a stab at some, see what happens. As long as you have your bases covered with 12 or so lower tiers with a legitimate chance of an interview, you have flexibility with the other applications and where you want to send them.

 

[Banco]

Crazy good MCAT improvement. Your activities seem great, and your GPA is good as well. It is always hard to advise applicants with multiple MCATs; some schools may look at your most recent one, some may average.

I think your current list is OK, but to be on the safe side I'd add ~5+ more lower-tier MD schools as more of a safety cushion. You can keep the reaches if you do this. Grapes gave you some good suggestions.

 

[Faha]

Mayo, Duke, Pittsburgh, Emory, Cornell and Columbia are reaches. I suggest adding more schools where your stats give you a chance for an interview:
Quinnipiac
Hofstra
New York Medical College
Albany
Oakland Beaumont
Western Michigan
Rosalind Franklin
St. Louis
Creighton
Wake Forest
Drexel
Temple
Jefferson
Penn State

 

[SciTchr]

@GrapesofRath Hi! So my c/s is now as follows:

--> cGPA: 3.73
--> sGPA: 3.61


Also, to your guys' advisement, I went ahead and added the following (5) schools last night.

- Wake Forest
- Albany
- Hofstra
- Jefferson
- St. Louis


Either UPitt or Cornell remain my dream schools, doubt I'll get an II though!! haha thanks for the advice guys.

 

[GrapesofRath]

@GrapesofRath Hi! So my c/s is now as follows:

--> cGPA: 3.73
--> sGPA: 3.61


Also, to your guys' advisement, I went ahead and added the following (5) schools last night.

- Wake Forest
- Albany
- Hofstra
- Jefferson
- St. Louis


Either UPitt or Cornell remain my dream schools, doubt I'll get an II though!! haha thanks for the advice guys.

The GPA is pretty much above the 10th percentile for the majority of the top 20 reach schools. While the 3 MCAT attempts complicates things it could still be worth a shot taking a stab at some top 20's. I don't think Pitt or Cornell are out of the realm to at least apply to.

 

[PREDOCSIMP]

@GrapesofRath Hi! So my c/s is now as follows:

--> cGPA: 3.73
--> sGPA: 3.61


Also, to your guys' advisement, I went ahead and added the following (5) schools last night.

- Wake Forest
- Albany
- Hofstra
- Jefferson
- St. Louis


Either UPitt or Cornell remain my dream schools, doubt I'll get an II though!! haha thanks for the advice guys.

I have to ask! How did you improve your mcat dramatically?

 

[Nietzschelover]

Great story! [BTW, I think the phrase "re-invention," which you didn't use but I see often, is misleading and a bit of an insult to having what you have...a story, and a story that reeks of commitment to excellence and devotion to helping/educating others.] Hard to see you not getting an in-state acceptance, but my guess is that whoever gets you, regardless of tier, is going to be very happy.

 

[SciTchr]

I have to ask! How did you improve your mcat dramatically?

To be honest, I was in sort of a funk the first two times I took it. I didn't really study for it and it was more parental motivation than my own.

After I got out into the real world and learned what a 9-5 job entails, I found that my passion really was medicine, so for nearly 10 months, I went out with friends maybe once, twice? I missed three weddings, and kind of isolated myself. This might not be something that is for everyone, but it really helped me learn a heck of a lot about myself.

Best of luck. Patience & Perseverance.

 

[SciTchr]

Great story! [BTW, I think the phrase "re-invention," which you didn't use but I see often, is misleading and a bit of an insult to having what you have...a story, and a story that reeks of commitment to excellence and devotion to helping/educating others.] Hard to see you not getting an in-state acceptance, but my guess is that whoever gets you, regardless of tier, is going to be very happy.

Awh shucks, well thank you

 

[GrapesofRath]

To be honest, I was in sort of a funk the first two times I took it. I didn't really study for it and it was more parental motivation than my own.

After I got out into the real world and learned what a 9-5 job entails, I found that my passion really was medicine, so for nearly 10 months, I went out with friends maybe once, twice? I missed three weddings, and kind of isolated myself. This might not be something that is for everyone, but it really helped me learn a heck of a lot about myself.

Best of luck. Patience & Perseverance.

The sciences I can see improving, I am interested how you made such a substantial verbal improvement for your MCAT. That is something that is rather rare.

 

[PREDOCSIMP]

To be honest, I was in sort of a funk the first two times I took it. I didn't really study for it and it was more parental motivation than my own.

After I got out into the real world and learned what a 9-5 job entails, I found that my passion really was medicine, so for nearly 10 months, I went out with friends maybe once, twice? I missed three weddings, and kind of isolated myself. This might not be something that is for everyone, but it really helped me learn a heck of a lot about myself.

Best of luck. Patience & Perseverance.

What kind of study material did you use?

 

[Banco]

@GrapesofRath Hi! So my c/s is now as follows:

--> cGPA: 3.73
--> sGPA: 3.61


Also, to your guys' advisement, I went ahead and added the following (5) schools last night.

- Wake Forest
- Albany
- Hofstra
- Jefferson
- St. Louis


Either UPitt or Cornell remain my dream schools, doubt I'll get an II though!! haha thanks for the advice guys.

Cool, then you should be set. And keep Pitt and Cornell!

Case Western and Vanderbilt have also been recommended by Goro as schools that value reinvention - but these are just suggestions, you don't need any more schools. Good luck with your app cycle and if you can please update us (or keep an mdapps profile) so we can learn from your case as well.

 

[Stagg737]

I'm pretty sure your MCAT dates are wrong in the OP, what were the actual dates?

I think you've got most of the advice you need and you'll probably get some love (especially from your state schools). Only thing I'll add is that if you start that degree at Harvard, some schools will probably want to see you finish it. I know this is typically the case when people have sub-par GPAs in undergrad and then do a master's. Considering you already did a post-bacc though, I'm not sure how that will be viewed. Just something to keep in mind though, and I'd still start it anyway either way.

 

[Doug Underhill]

Is that a Jan 2015 MCAT? It's a lot better to go from 25 to 36 than 36 to 25.

 

[Gandyy]

How in god's name did you go from a 25 to a 36?