Good Stats, Not So Good School... Chances?

[isomorph]

First post here, just thought I'd see some opinions...

I'm a sophomore at an extremely small liberal arts college (not even sure if it is ranked) and basically no research takes place here. I attended this school because I got a full ride for track and field and academics.

Here's some stats
GPA: 4.0 (science and non science)
Major: Chemistry and mathematics (dual)
Minor: Pre-professional (pre-med requirements)
MCAT: I'll take it next year, but I have taken 3 AAMC tests, which I got 37, 39, and 42 (They got better as I learned more organic chemistry, and physics is my strong point).

Extracurricular activities and research experience

Honors program - numerous community services and one survey research project

Residential advisor (RA) this year, resident director (RD) next year

Chemistry club secretary

Decathlete on the track and field team, around 20 hours of training per week

Computer skills - experienced with programming languages (python, java and C) and Excel

Docent (volunteer teacher) for the Smithsonian Institution last year

SAAC athletics representative

Audited a biochemistry class freshman year

Summer REU in molecular biophysics at Princeton University, did research for 10 weeks

Will be going to the International Institute of Structural Biology in the Czech Republic for 10 weeks of research this summer (through Princeton again)

Calculus lab assistant

General chemistry lab assistant

Math 101 teacher (Yes, students teach math 101 at my college)

1 day of shadowing an orthopaedic (I'll get more)

Calculus tutor

Currently training to be a hospice volunteer, I will get my certificate to volunteer soon

Will be a college marshall next year and my senior year

I also have a job set up next year with one of my chemistry professors to do water analysis for our county (they hire the college), and my professor does some of her research in analytical and organic chemistry with chemicals in water supplies.





I feel that my ECs are decent and I'm confident I'll graduate with a good GPA and achieve a good MCAT score, but I'm concerned that the major lack of prestige at my school (barely any research) will hinder my ability to get accepted to a top 10 medical school.

However, I've been trying to make up for it by getting research experience at larger universities (Princeton and the International Institute of Structural Biology), and I will strive to apply to get more research in later summers.


Will my attendance at my very unnoticed school matter in my application?

By the way, I want to go the MD/PhD route and do medical research and practice.

Thanks for your time!


EDIT: I like it at my small school, it fits me well and I personally think the classes are great and I've made great friends and all, but would transferring in order to raise admission chances be a drastic decision?

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[HotandCold]

From my understanding, as long as the institution you attended was accredited at the time you attended, the school itself has very little to do with acceptance or rejection.

If you want to do MD/PhD they care more about the institution you researched at as an undergrad. In which case you should have no problem. Although, you're obviously going to have more research under your belt when you apply, right? Publications? They look for stuff like that.

 

[flodhi1]

That "extremely small liberal arts college" will not put you at a disadvantage at all if you have a 4.0 and a MCAT > 35 (which it seems like you will score based on your practice exams). Do you think scoring a 35 on the MCAT from Harvard would be more impressive? or someone scoring a 40 from an unknown school? If anything ADCOM will be even more impressed because you defied the odds and proved yourself. I graduated from a not so well known University with below average scores and still got in so stay positive. By the way good job on those practice exam scores! (save exams 8-11 for the very end right before your actual MCAT exam).

 

[isomorph]

From my understanding, as long as the institution you attended was accredited at the time you attended, the school itself has very little to do with acceptance or rejection.

If you want to do MD/PhD they care more about the institution you researched at as an undergrad. In which case you should have no problem. Although, you're obviously going to have more research under your belt when you apply, right? Publications? They look for stuff like that.

Well thank goodness my school is accredited , that actually surprised me a little bit.

Yes I will definitely have more research, hopefully at least 3 summers. Is that enough? And I MIGHT get published for the work I did last summer whenever the grad student I worked with gets her PhD and publishes her paper... But hopefully I can squeeze in a publication during my next 2 or 3 summers.

 

[isomorph]

That "extremely small liberal arts college" will not put you at a disadvantage at all if you have a 4.0 and a MCAT > 35 (which it seems like you will score based on your practice exams). Do you think scoring a 35 on the MCAT from Harvard would be more impressive? or someone scoring a 40 from an unknown school? If anything ADCOM will be even more impressed because you defied the odds and proved yourself. I graduated from a not so well known University with below average scores and still got in so stay positive. By the way good job on those practice exam scores! (save exams 8-11 for the very end right before your actual MCAT exam).

Thanks I don't see the need to go to a larger school to score high on the MCAT, since self study can be very effective. I was just worried about the lack of research going on at my school, but hopefully making good use of my summers with research experience make up for it.

 

[TriagePreMed]

No disadvantage, but I'd definitely suggest getting some summer research somewhere.

 

[isomorph]

No disadvantage, but I'd definitely suggest getting some summer research somewhere.

I spent last summer at Princeton for 10 weeks and I'm spending this summer at a research institute in the Czech Republic, so will one more summer after that be sufficient? 3 summers total

 

[TriagePreMed]

I spent last summer at Princeton for 10 weeks and I'm spending this summer at a research institute in the Czech Republic, so will one more summer after that be sufficient? 3 summers total

Two summers is excellent, unless you're applying MD/Ph.D.

 

[Catalystik]

First post here, just thought I'd see some opinions...

I'm a sophomore at an extremely small liberal arts college (not even sure if it is ranked) and basically no research takes place here. I attended this school because I got a full ride for track and field and academics.

Here's some stats
GPA: 4.0 (science and non science)
Major: Chemistry and mathematics (dual)
Minor: Pre-professional (pre-med requirements)
MCAT: I'll take it next year, but I have taken 3 AAMC tests, which I got 37, 39, and 42 (They got better as I learned more organic chemistry, and physics is my strong point).

Extracurricular activities and research experience

Honors program - numerous community services and one survey research project

Residential advisor (RA) this year, resident director (RD) next year

Chemistry club secretary

Decathlete on the track and field team, around 20 hours of training per week

Computer skills - experienced with programming languages (python, java and C) and Excel

Docent (volunteer teacher) for the Smithsonian Institution last year

SAAC athletics representative

Audited a biochemistry class freshman year

Summer REU in molecular biophysics at Princeton University, did research for 10 weeks

Will be going to the International Institute of Structural Biology in the Czech Republic for 10 weeks of research this summer (through Princeton again)

Calculus lab assistant

General chemistry lab assistant

Math 101 teacher (Yes, students teach math 101 at my college)

1 day of shadowing an orthopaedic (I'll get more)

Calculus tutor

Currently training to be a hospice volunteer, I will get my certificate to volunteer soon

Will be a college marshall next year and my senior year

I also have a job set up next year with one of my chemistry professors to do water analysis for our county (they hire the college), and my professor does some of her research in analytical and organic chemistry with chemicals in water supplies.





I feel that my ECs are decent and I'm confident I'll graduate with a good GPA and achieve a good MCAT score, but I'm concerned that the major lack of prestige at my school (barely any research) will hinder my ability to get accepted to a top 10 medical school.

However, I've been trying to make up for it by getting research experience at larger universities (Princeton and the International Institute of Structural Biology), and I will strive to apply to get more research in later summers.


Will my attendance at my very unnoticed school matter in my application?

By the way, I want to go the MD/PhD route and do medical research and practice.

Thanks for your time!


EDIT: I like it at my small school, it fits me well and I personally think the classes are great and I've made great friends and all, but would transferring in order to raise admission chances be a drastic decision?

This quote is via the Physician Scientist Forum from Neuronix' sticky at the top:

What is considered good research experience for MD/PhD students?

This is a hard thing to define. The one thing you need most is strong letters of recommendation from the labs you have worked in. The other thing you will need is a good knowledge of your research in your interview. We generally speak in terms of years of research experience, so I'll make the general recommendation:

>2 years of experience is recommended for everyone who applies. The more in-depth and independent it is, of course the better off you'll be. The more time you spend at it, the better off you'll be. Start doing research as early as possible in undergrad and do it often. If you are planning to perform basic science research for your PhD (I suspect >90% of MD/PhDs), the time you spend should be all or mostly basic science research. If you are planning to perform other types of research during your PhD (social science, economics, etc...), you should try to perform research as close to that as possible during your undergraduate time.

You might consider Searching in that forum, or asking, how three summers of research would be viewed by MD/PhD programs when your school doesn't offer academic-year reasearch opportunities.