High MCAT, Low GPA

[Blanky]

So I promised to keep up with this thread on some level to give other non-trades hope and help. Here’s what is going on so far:

II at USF —> Accepted this week
II at UCF —> Blown away by this school. Accepted!
II at Hofstra —> I’m postponing my trip up there by a week or two so classes are out, but I plan on staying up the area for one to two weeks to visit friends and family and maybe try to get other ITA interviews
II at Wake Forest —> SUPER excited about this. Had to postpone until after four exams at school because I want to be on my A game. Wait listed at first, accepted yesterday (early December)!!
II at UF --> Loved It. Accepted. Really awesome program.
II at NYU - this was one of the programs I randomly threw my hat into - I never ever expected or even hoped for an interview, but it’s really happening in just a few days!!

Just a note - if you think something's up with your application, follow up. But do it with grace.

Rejected at nine schools (Mayo AZ and MN, Georgetown, George Washington, Pitt, Pritzker - no surprise there, UCSF, Vanderbilt, and Johns Hopkins)

Planning to apply for Carle Illinois.

@Goro - I’m thinking of withdrawing from two schools at this point based on my acceptance. There are many schools I’m still interested in, but two that I am not based on location or other factors (Rosy Franklin and NYMC). Are there any reasons I should reconsider?


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Curious on your opinion of UF versus UCF.

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[DBC03]

Curious on your opinion of UF versus UCF.

I liked both schools - actually liked both better than USF. UCF is setting itself up to be a really solid school in the future and I think it will be going up in ranking. I prefer UF because it has a solid residency program and everything is in the same location - no driving all over creation for third year clinicals, etc. Both cost of living and amount of driving would be lower in Gainesville. Much of that will be changing in the future as UCF grows and starts it’s own residencies over the next few years.


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[skeptastic]

So I promised to keep up with this thread on some level to give other non-trades hope and help. Here’s what is going on so far:

II at USF —> Accepted this week
II at UCF —> Blown away by this school. Accepted!
II at Hofstra —> I’m postponing my trip up there by a week or two so classes are out, but I plan on staying up the area for one to two weeks to visit friends and family and maybe try to get other ITA interviews
II at Wake Forest —> SUPER excited about this. Had to postpone until after four exams at school because I want to be on my A game. Wait listed at first, accepted yesterday (early December)!!
II at UF --> Loved It. Accepted. Really awesome program.
II at NYU - this was one of the programs I randomly threw my hat into - I never ever expected or even hoped for an interview, but it’s really happening in just a few days!!

Just a note - if you think something's up with your application, follow up. But do it with grace.

Rejected at nine schools (Mayo AZ and MN, Georgetown, George Washington, Pitt, Pritzker - no surprise there, UCSF, Vanderbilt, and Johns Hopkins)

Planning to apply for Carle Illinois.

@Goro - I’m thinking of withdrawing from two schools at this point based on my acceptance. There are many schools I’m still interested in, but two that I am not based on location or other factors (Rosy Franklin and NYMC). Are there any reasons I should reconsider?

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Congratulations! Thank you for keeping us posted and providing hope for fellow non-trads. This is awesome news! You and I are the same age, so I'm going to be pretty old by the time I submit my application. Prerequisites courses have been amazing thus far but I've got a ways to go. Again, thank you for sharing the exciting news!

 

[skeptastic]

Especially when they have a massive MCAT score!

Indeed. That MCAT score is serious business.

 

[HealingGrace]

@DBC03 where did you end up going?? congrats! so inspiring!

 

[ChopinLiszt]

CONGRATS on all your acceptances!! You are amazing!

 

[DBC03]

@DBC03 where did you end up going?? congrats! so inspiring!

Sorry for the late reply! Things were so crazy over the holidays that this is the first time I'm on my computer. I haven't decided where I'm going, yet! I am hoping things become very clear by the end of April!

 

[DBC03]

As I approach the final days of April, I wanted to update so people in similar situations know what to do. I think I have received rejections from all of the schools I have applied to where I haven't interviewed (except for NYMC). Ultimately I was accepted at my three state schools and Wake Forest (after initially being waitlisted). I am waitlisted at NYU and Hofstra, but will likely withdraw from Hofstra this weekend. Somehow I managed to get scholarships from all of my accepted schools - two were small, but two were substantial enough to make cost of attendance pretty low for both schools. One of the schools was a top choice, so I'm thrilled.I am attending my final second look weekend in a few days and will be down to one school by then. I will probably wait about one month on the waitlist at NYU before moving forward as we need some time to get settled in before med school starts and I'm honestly very happy with the school I will likely be attending. Honestly, I'm still in shock this week with what has happened over the past two weeks.

Again, this cycle certainly surprised me in many ways. I'm still not sure how I ended up with an NYU interview. If anyone is in a similar situation - high MCAT, low GPA - keep in mind that you don't know which schools will want you as an applicant, so apply broadly. Also, don't be penny wise and pound foolish. Two schools gave me significant scholarships, which was certainly the last thing I thought would happen this year. Keep in mind that while each additional application is $39 + secondary fees (usually at least $100), that could turn into a scholarship. So move forward and realize that this is a kind of investment - both in getting accepted in just one cycle and maximizing the opportunity for scholarships. Don't apply to schools you don't wish to attend.

Also, don't hesitate to be in contact with admissions people and the financial aid offices. I've been fairly communicative with most of my schools and it has helped me understand anything I needed to do throughout the process. It has probably shown interest in attending the school, as well. I'll keep everyone posted on NYU - that's an additional reminder to throw a few crazy reach schools in there because you just never know. At this point I'm more than satisfied with how things turned out.

Special thanks to everyone who gave me advice and helped with my list, especially @Faha and @Goro!

 

[Forever Geebs]

Still hoping for my last two holdouts in the south, but very happy with the cycle so far!


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Congratulations on a successful cycle thus far!

 

[Goro]

As I approach the final days of April, I wanted to update so people in similar situations know what to do. I think I have received rejections from all of the schools I have applied to where I haven't interviewed (except for NYMC). Ultimately I was accepted at my three state schools and Wake Forest (after initially being waitlisted). I am waitlisted at NYU and Hofstra, but will likely withdraw from Hofstra this weekend. Somehow I managed to get scholarships from all of my accepted schools - two were small, but two were substantial enough to make cost of attendance pretty low for both schools. One of the schools was a top choice, so I'm thrilled.I am attending my final second look weekend in a few days and will be down to one school by then. I will probably wait about one month on the waitlist at NYU before moving forward as we need some time to get settled in before med school starts and I'm honestly very happy with the school I will likely be attending. Honestly, I'm still in shock this week with what has happened over the past two weeks.

Again, this cycle certainly surprised me in many ways. I'm still not sure how I ended up with an NYU interview. If anyone is in a similar situation - high MCAT, low GPA - keep in mind that you don't know which schools will want you as an applicant, so apply broadly. Also, don't be penny wise and pound foolish. Two schools gave me significant scholarships, which was certainly the last thing I thought would happen this year. Keep in mind that while each additional application is $39 + secondary fees (usually at least $100), that could turn into a scholarship. So move forward and realize that this is a kind of investment - both in getting accepted in just one cycle and maximizing the opportunity for scholarships. Don't apply to schools you don't wish to attend.

Also, don't hesitate to be in contact with admissions people and the financial aid offices. I've been fairly communicative with most of my schools and it has helped me understand anything I needed to do throughout the process. It has probably shown interest in attending the school, as well. I'll keep everyone posted on NYU - that's an additional reminder to throw a few crazy reach schools in there because you just never know. At this point I'm more than satisfied with how things turned out.

Special thanks to everyone who gave me advice and helped with my list, especially @Faha and @Goro!

Many thanks, but to give DBC credit, s/he is a classic example of a reinventor.

 

[non-trad-sad-man]

Sorry for the late reply! Things were so crazy over the holidays that this is the first time I'm on my computer. I haven't decided where I'm going, yet! I am hoping things become very clear by the end of April!

Just gotta say that you are giving me a ton of hope. I've been so stressed out about my low GPA. My stats are a lot like yours and I feel like I'm not in a terrible place anymore. Thanks for posting

 

[BlackStar90]

I, too, would love to know how he came up with this list, but after seeing many other posts by Goro, I imagine he has seen a lot over his many years here.

I originally thought along the lines you posted, but I looked at the actual accepted and *matriculated* data (helpful for determining if they are accepting anyone with lower GPAs or MCATs) for Mayo and Duke, and my GPA (even with my awful freshman year) fits within the 10-90% range for matriculated students while my MCAT is above their 90% thresholds. 10% of Mayo's current class is 30 and over (which makes them appear fairly non-trad friendly), and I have been visiting the Mayo clinic for years now, so I am very familiar with their mission as a hospital and medical school. There's no guarantee on any of these schools, but I will certainly send an application their way since the application process is often a crap shoot with even the most perfect background.

Where can you find accepted and matriculated data on schools?

 

[Magus5454]

MSAR

 

[BlackStar90]

MSAR

Okay, thanks!

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[BlackStar90]

MSAR

For some reason I thought the numbers they give is those who were accepted, not accepted and matriculated. Thanks for clarifying!

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[DBC03]

Just gotta say that you are giving me a ton of hope. I've been so stressed out about my low GPA. My stats are a lot like yours and I feel like I'm not in a terrible place anymore. Thanks for posting

I never thought I’d be going to med school! There’s hope!


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