HELP! science gpa: 3.2/strong application otherwise

[otter17]

Hi everyone,

I really need some help deciding what to do. I have less than stellar grades, but a strong application otherwise. Here are my stats:

Science gpa: 3.2 (not a strong upward trend)
overall gpa: 3.5

MCAT: am currently studying and seems to be a good chance of around 32.

Main Extracurriculars:
-started from scratch and directed a health education program at 2 community shelters coordinating ~30 people (won a large/competitive scholarship supporting this project)
-approx. 100 hours of shadowing physicians
-volunteer with a local women's clinic helping with sex education/family planning (2 years)
-work with local ngo to develop workshops to raise awareness around domestic violence in the community (2 years)
-research in the *humanities*, presented at 2 conferences (may potentially be publishing over the next year)
-worked as a lab tech for about 1.5 years, but certainly did not have my own project and was not asking my own questions/developing experiments/etc.

Letters of recommendation:
-3-4 strong letters of recommendation from humanities and my non-science program director
-one letter from my PI
-am not sure I will be able to get a strong letter from a science prof! I only got to know 1-2 of them well, but didn't necessarily do well in their classes!

My questions:
-what are my chances?
-what could I do to improve my application?
-if I can apply, what tier schools should I be thinking about???
-is it a bad idea to apply with that MCAT score? (should I wait to apply until I have a better one?)

Thank you in advance!

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[Doctor246853]

Hi everyone,

I really need some help deciding what to do. I have less than stellar grades, but a strong application otherwise. Here are my stats:

Science gpa: 3.2 (not a strong upward trend)
overall gpa: 3.5

MCAT: am currently studying and seems to be a good chance of around 32.

Main Extracurriculars:
-started from scratch and directed a health education program at 2 community shelters coordinating ~30 people (won a large/competitive scholarship supporting this project)
-approx. 100 hours of shadowing physicians
-volunteer with a local women's clinic helping with sex education/family planning (2 years)
-work with local ngo to develop workshops to raise awareness around domestic violence in the community (2 years)
-research in the *humanities*, presented at 2 conferences (may potentially be publishing over the next year)
-worked as a lab tech for about 1.5 years, but certainly did not have my own project and was not asking my own questions/developing experiments/etc.

Letters of recommendation:
-3-4 strong letters of recommendation from humanities and my non-science program director
-one letter from my PI
-am not sure I will be able to get a strong letter from a science prof! I only got to know 1-2 of them well, but didn't necessarily do well in their classes!

My questions:
-what are my chances?
-what could I do to improve my application?
-if I can apply, what tier schools should I be thinking about???
-is it a bad idea to apply with that MCAT score? (should I wait to apply until I have a better one?)

Thank you in advance!

Are you urm? You sound pretty decent but try to master that mcat and p.s.

 

[Catalystik]

What does "not a strong upward trend" mean for your BCPM? Is it a downward trend? That would be not good and would lead me to suggest waiting a year until you prove you can get great grades in some upper-level science classes, which isn't a bad idea anyway, regardless of your answer. Adcomms like to be convinced that you'll survive in their science-intense environment.

Do you have experience interacting with sick people?

An MCAT of 32 gives you a decent shot at some less-selective MD schools and most DO schools. Due to your ECs, some mid-selective schools might like you too (great ECs can trump numbers), but that low BCPM may limit you.

Your application with have a double crown of leadership and community service (with teaching). Your shadowing is above average. You've done humanities research and have science lab experience. Presentations are a definite positive if they occurred at regional or national conferences. Pubs are even better.

You need two science faculty letters. Some schools would take a science PI who didn't teach you, both others specify both must have taught you. They are looking for comments on your academic ability in the sciences, and for you that is important due to the low BCPM. Ideally, they'd be teachers who gave you an A. Acquiring such letters might be another reason for waiting until you take more science classes.