Help with 2007-2008 Cycle!

[chickenlittle84]

Hi everyone! I'm new to this website and am still learning the medical school admissions game. I would love it if someone would be willing (pretty please!)to take a look at my profile and advise on whether they think I have shot pretty much anywhere. And any ideas about schools that might especially like my profile would be really helpful too!

I went to an ivy for undergrad (one of the more difficult/very little grade inflation ones) and majored in a social science - the major was pretty intensive so I didn't have a whole lot of interaction with other pre-meds. Overall GPA is 3.56, BCPM is 3.22, and non-science is 3.83. These are my BCPM grades:

Fresh year:
2 Semesters of Inorganic Chem: C/C
1 semester quantitative demography: A

Sophomore year:
2 Semesters of Biology: B/C+
2 Semesters of Physics: A-/B+
1 semester of intro stats: B+

Summer after sophomore year:
2 semesters of Ochem: B+/B+ (I took it over the summer at another ivy because I spent my entire junior year off campus).

Junior year:
No science

I took my MCAT after Junior year and got a 31: 12V, 9P, 10B, S

Senior Year:
1 semester Biochem: A
1 semester Neuroscience: A-
Advanced Biochem Class - Metabolism: A-
1 semester advanced stats: B+
Cell Biology: A

I have a lot of work focusing on low-income and underserved communities, in terms of coursework, research, and other ECs. I graduated in 2006 and am participating in a competitive fellowship this year for community leaders/people interested in public service.

Sorry, I know this a lot! I am really worried about not getting in anywhere becuase of numbers. Any thoughts on the profile? Any suggestions for things I could do next year while I apply to make my application stronger? Any schools I should really consider? Schools I should just forget about? Thanks SO much in advance for your help!!!!!!!!!!!!! I really appreciate it!!!

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[SupergreenMnM]

well, not knowing all your 'details' i can't really say...but I don't think you need to worry about not getting in "anywhere". Top 20 schools are a reach for you for sure but that doesn't mean you might not find plenty of middle of the road and lower end schools that will give you a look, the MCAT is ok, the GPA will hurt you esp. the science, but that can be overcome...G'luck.

 

[Wanna_B_Scutty]

Hey chickenlittle,

I've got two concerns:

First, your BCPM in general is pretty weak. Since many schools use computer algorithms for initial screenings nowadays, it's very likely that your app will get "screened out" by at least some schools before it even reaches human hands.

Second, I'm concerned about the disconnect between your non-sci (3.83) and your BCPM (3.22). While I'm sure your social sci major was as intensive as you say, the sudden drop-off in science grades will make it at least appear that either (a) you succeeded in social sci because the classes were easy but you struggled in hard sci when the classes were hard, or (b) the classes were of equal difficulty, but your natural talent lies in the social sciences and not the hard sciences. Neither (a) nor (b) is good news for you.

So my questions to you are: (1) how much do you really want to apply this year and (2) do you feel strongly about which school(s) you are able to gain an acceptance to? Would you be willing to take a few upper-div science classes instead in order to raise that BCPM and reapply next year? I didn't run the numbers, but since you mostly only took the BCPM pre-reqs, I'm guessing a few "A"s in upper-div classes could bring you up to the ~3.4-3.5 range.

Ultimately, like Supergreen said, you can still probably get in somewhere with your current numbers. In fact, I have a friend at an Ivy with an overall GPA and BCPM lower than yours who got into a couple of (forgive this term, but I don't know how else to put it) "lower end" places. However, depending on what you want to do after med school, you may find yourself aiming for a more "powerhouse" type school. If that's the case, a little "app polishing" this year might be the way to go.

Either way, good luck to you.

 

[msa786]

apply to a bunch of places i pretty much guarantee you will get in somewhere. Good Luck!

 

[Catalystik]

Your worries are justified. It is only in your senior year that you began to demonstrate the ability to handle upper level bio courses and get great grades. Considering the low science GPA, I'd strongly consider, were I you, another year of proving yourself. You need to buff your GPA. The extra course work, preferably physiology, anatomy, microbiology, immunology, and such would also give you a strong foundation for succeeding in med school. If you apply now, getting an acceptance will be a crap shoot. Best to make your application the best you can get it before spending thousands of dollars on the application process.

The 31 S MCAT is fine.

Also add to your extracurriculars more clinical exposure, ie, shadowing, medically-related volunteering, etc. What have you been doing, along these lines, since you graduated, other than the fellowship?

 

[chickenlittle84]

Thank you so much for the replies! I guess this is sort of what I had suspected, but I was hoping that people sometimes do beat the odds and get in with these numbers. Do you think admissions committees will weight the strong grades in biochem, etc, senior year? Does this count as an upward trend? Also, what might be some examples of mid-level or lower level schools? Right now I would really love to end up at Tufts, GW, or Rush. Any thoughts on these schools? Also, I think I didn't make this clear in my first post, but I have a lot of clinical exposure/experience working with people who are sick, if that makes a difference. Thanks again, a lot!

 

[stoppushingit]

your grades are sort of like mine (especially performance from class to class)
but your MCAT may keep you from Top 20-25 schools, to be honest.

but you have a good shot at many schools, and you'll probably get into a strong med school anyhow

Tufts sounds like a good place for your range - and Boston is great!!! Rush and GW are also fair shots.

 

[PhotoMD]

Thank you so much for the replies! I guess this is sort of what I had suspected, but I was hoping that people sometimes do beat the odds and get in with these numbers. Do you think admissions committees will weight the strong grades in biochem, etc, senior year? Does this count as an upward trend? Also, what might be some examples of mid-level or lower level schools? Right now I would really love to end up at Tufts, GW, or Rush. Any thoughts on these schools? Also, I think I didn't make this clear in my first post, but I have a lot of clinical exposure/experience working with people who are sick, if that makes a difference. Thanks again, a lot!

I think you honestly have a shot at some top 20 schools if that is what you really are after. I wouldn't rule it out. If your extracurrics are as strong as you claim, then there are more than a few deans of admissions who are interested in applicants with a real aptitude for the liberal arts. I suspect, with your MCAT S and high non-science GPA that you have that. Highlight your strengths.

 

[samwise2]

Here's my two cents. If you apply this year and don't like where you get in, you have to go there anyway, because places will penalize you if you turn down an acceptance. What I would do if I were you is do another year of classes this year, increase your GPA (a lot of places have a 3.5 cut-off, but some may use this cutoff for BCPM as well--not sure). Anyway, I think you can significantly increase your chances this way.

Thing is, if you get screened out (my MCAT was about the same as yours and my BCPM GPA was higher, from an Ivy also), it's gonna be by a computer program--may as well increase your numbers to try and beat the algorithm. I got nothing from Tufts or GW--those two schools end up being more competitive than their names would indicate because of the cities in which they are located and the numbers of apps they receive. All that being said and done, I did get into UCLA OOS and am probably going there.

Just get that GPA up a bit higher, maybe a bit more shadowing and I think you'll be there.

Best,
Sam