MD & DO Good MCAT, meh GPA, lots of research and clinical experience

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bshap000

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Hey all, just wondering where you think I stand.

Stats:
cUGPA: 3.4
sUGPA: 3.21
MCAT: 33 (9PS/10VR/14BS)

Biographic:
Race: White
Gender: Male
Residency: NY
Undergraduate School: Union College - Ranked in the top 50 liberal arts colleges
Major: Biology
Minor: History

LORs:
-Committee Packet
-I know there are a bunch of committee members who support me, as does the person actually writing the letter
Includes the following attached letters:
-Orgo 1 and Biochem prof
-History prof I had for many classes
-Bio prof. I had for a couple classes
(for these 3 I'm sure they will be strong letters)
-Director of Behavioral Science at a local family medicine residency I did research with - I've seen this one, its very, very strong
-Individual LORs
-Bio professor/major advisor/thesis advisor
-DO I spent a summer shadowing who told others he was very impressed with me
-(I'm sure these will both be strong also)​

Experiences:

Research:
-Clinically relevant - ARDS treatment research at a local hospital's Critical Care Lab - 3 years (summers and breaks) - 2 poster presentations
-Basic Research - Neurobiology research at my undergrad institution - Started sophomore year, ongoing (will be used for thesis research) - 1 poster presentation, one oral presentation
-Clinically relevant - Group visit model efficacy in treatment of type 2 diabetes in an underserved population with a local family medicine residency program- Last summer through October - poster presentation at a national family med conference.

Volunteering:
-Various volunteering positions at a local hospital (3 years, ~300 hours)
-Red Cross Blood Drive volunteering (started summer of 2014, ongoing, ~40 hours to date)

Shadowing:
-Orthopedic surgeon (MD) in his office - 30 hours
-Thoracic surgeon (MD) in his office and OR - 30 hours
-ER physician (DO) in the ER - 30 hours

Work:
-Clerical / Administrative Work - Psychological HealthCare (10th grade - 2014)
-Tutor - Varsity Tutors, LLC. (2014 - present)
-Tutoring in various subjects including biology, math, reading, writing, and ACT, SAT and MCAT preparation​

Awards:
-National Merit Scholarship - Letter of Commendation
-AP Scholar with Distinction
-Presidential (merit) Scholarship - Union College (2012-2016)

Schools:
MD:

Albany Medical College
Drexel University College of Medicine
George Washington University Sch of Med & Hlth Sci
Hofstra North Shore-LIJ School of Medicine
New York Medical College
Pennsylvania State University College of Medicine
Quinnipiac University SOM
Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science
Rush Medical College
SUNY Stony Brook University School of Medicine
SUNY Upstate Medical University
The Commonwealth Medical College
The University of Vermont College of Medicine
University of South Carolina School of Medicine, Greenville
Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine
Western Michigan University Homer Stryker M.D. School of Medicine

DO:

PCOM
CCOM
KCUMB
LECOM
UNECOM
NYITCOM
Touro NV


Any thoughts?​

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Assuming you've already applied, I think you're in good shape overall, particularly since you had the foresight to apply DO as well. If you want more MD recommendations to add, I might be able to help with that, but you seem to have done your homework pretty well and come up with a solid list.

Also be aware that your two high school awards (National Merit Commended and AP Scholar) will not help in the slightest and your scholarship will also likely not be of any consequence, though I think you know that.
 
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Assuming you've already applied, I think you're in good shape overall, particularly since you had the foresight to apply DO as well. If you want more MD recommendations to add, I might be able to help with that, but you seem to have done your homework pretty well and come up with a solid list.

Also be aware that your two high school awards (National Merit Commended and AP Scholar) will not help in the slightest and your scholarship will also likely not be of any consequence, though I think you know that.

Thanks for the input! Yeah I spent a good 3 months combing through the MSAR and data on OOS friendliness before I applied (and yes I already applied for the 2016 cycle). I'm definitely open to any suggestions you might have though!

And yeah, I included the HS and scholarship stuff just for some background info
 
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Others I might recommend looking into are EVMS, SUNY Downstate, and any other NY state schools that might be out there. It's always good to apply to all of your state schools, as you generally have the best shot there. I recommend EVMS due to their OOS friendliness and stats which align fairly closely with yours.
 
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Others I might recommend looking into are EVMS, SUNY Downstate, and any other NY state schools that might be out there. It's always good to apply to all of your state schools, as you generally have the best shot there. I recommend EVMS due to their OOS friendliness and stats which align fairly closely with yours.

Thanks for the help!!
I'll definitely look into EVMS.
My rationale for only applying to 2 of the 4 SUNYs is that I was advised that they talk to each other, and it looks bad to apply to them all. They take it to mean you aren't interested in the school, but are just scattershotting. Also, SUNY Upstate is where I've done a lot of my research (I'm from the area), and past students have told me that they look very favorably on that... so I don't want to screw it up by applying to the other SUNY schools.
 
Thanks for the help!!
I'll definitely look into EVMS.
My rationale for only applying to 2 of the 4 SUNYs is that I was advised that they talk to each other, and it looks bad to apply to them all. They take it to mean you aren't interested in the school, but are just scattershotting. Also, SUNY Upstate is where I've done a lot of my research (I'm from the area), and past students have told me that they look very favorably on that... so I don't want to screw it up by applying to the other SUNY schools.

The bolded statement is nonsense. Apply to all of them. Even if they do talk, it won't look bad to apply to all of them. It merely means you're covering your bases.
 
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The bolded statement is nonsense. Apply to all of them. Even if they do talk, it won't look bad to apply to all of them. It merely means you're covering your bases.

I guess this is what I get for listening to my pre health advisor :p

I actually know someone who was on the upstate ADCOM recently, so I'll check with them, but you're probably right.
 
I was under the impression that University of South Carolina School of Medicine, Greenville and Western Michigan University Homer Stryker M.D. School of Medicine were really tough on OOS, is that wrong?
 
Solid list! And congrats on the bio MCAT score! As a reapplicant, I would also suggest you apply to SMP programs in December if you don't hear back from any schools. Good luck!
 
I was under the impression that University of South Carolina School of Medicine, Greenville and Western Michigan University Homer Stryker M.D. School of Medicine were really tough on OOS, is that wrong?

From MSAR data it seems that they do have some IS preference, but they definitely take a decent number of OOS applicants. I decided that based on my stats and their averages it was still worth it to apply.

Solid list! And congrats on the bio MCAT score! As a reapplicant, I would also suggest you apply to SMP programs in December if you don't hear back from any schools. Good luck!

Thanks! I have 5 secondaries left to send it (2 of which I got today) so hopefully I'll start hearing back in the near future! I'll definitely keep that in mind though when December rolls around.
 
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Check out Wright State btw - 30% OOS. Avg GPA is a bit higher than yours but avg MCAT is lower.
 
Being a NYer, you can write off USC-G


Albany Medical College
Drexel University College of Medicine
George Washington University Sch of Med & Hlth Sci
Hofstra North Shore-LIJ School of Medicine
New York Medical College
Pennsylvania State University College of Medicine
Quinnipiac University SOM
Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science
Rush Medical College
SUNY Stony Brook University School of Medicine
SUNY Upstate Medical University
The Commonwealth Medical College
The University of Vermont College of Medicine
Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine
Western Michigan University Homer Stryker M.D. School of Medicine

DO:

PCOM
CCOM
KCUMB
LECOM
UNECOM
NYITCOM
Touro NV​
 
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Thank you all for your advice and encouragement!
 
Thanks for the help!!
I'll definitely look into EVMS.
My rationale for only applying to 2 of the 4 SUNYs is that I was advised that they talk to each other, and it looks bad to apply to them all. They take it to mean you aren't interested in the school, but are just scattershotting. Also, SUNY Upstate is where I've done a lot of my research (I'm from the area), and past students have told me that they look very favorably on that... so I don't want to screw it up by applying to the other SUNY schools.

Complete nonsense in the terms that you should only apply to 2/4 SUNY schools. Please don't shoot yourself in your foot and please take it from me (someone who interviewed at all SUNY schools).
 
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Complete nonsense in the terms that you should only apply to 2/4 SUNY schools. Please don't shoot yourself in your foot and please take it from me (someone who interviewed at all SUNY schools).

Good ole' pre-med advisors. Strike once again.
 
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