How much do publications matter?

[jpdc]

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Does anyone have any idea of how publications truly affect an application. I think we can all agree that they "help," but to what extent?

My husband has a 3.4 overall, 3.3 sgpa, and a 26N. He went to an ivy league university where he won an important research award. I think he has done 6 years of research, 1 of which was at the NIH (he is only 23 years old). He has two scientific publications. Aside from the research, he has literally 2500 hours of volunteer experience from college as an EMT. He is a Virginia resident.

Thoughts? I'd love to hear success stories 🙂

 

[armybound]

Is he trying to apply MD/PhD?

The GPA is sort of concerning, but the MCAT score is really concerning. He really, really needs to retake it and get it up above 30. I don't think publications are going to mean much of anything with a GPA and MCAT score combination so low.

 

[jpdc]

So, this is what I dont understand...if the mean accepted mcat is a 30 nationally, why don't applicants with exceptional, non-academic qualifications have a chance? I agree that a 26 is a rough score, but it is above the national average. His gpas come from an amazing, yet difficult university. This is SO frustrating. He would be a wonderful physician.

He is not applying MD/PhD...I thought that was harder?

 

[wanderer]

The national mean is 31 I believe. A 26 is probably something like 2 z scores below the mean, so that a high GPA and other factors in the candidates favor are necessary for a closer look.

If you don't include the the HBCUs, Puerto Rican schools, and IS-only state schools the mean is higher, and the lowest decile is much higher.

 

[Dr Mario]

Your husband should consider applying to Eastern Virginia Medical School. The bottom 10th percentile MCAT subscores for this school are as follows: V:8, B:9, P:8 (2010-2011 MSAR) and an average matriculant cGPA of 3.6 (3.5 sGPA). With two publications under his belt and extensive extra curricular activities, I think he definitely has a shot! 👍

 

[armybound]

So, this is what I dont understand...if the mean accepted mcat is a 30 nationally, why don't applicants with exceptional, non-academic qualifications have a chance? I agree that a 26 is a rough score, but it is above the national average. His gpas come from an amazing, yet difficult university. This is SO frustrating. He would be a wonderful physician.

He is not applying MD/PhD...I thought that was harder?

Well, here's the way I look at it. Medical schools do want a diverse class, which your husband would definitely add to, but they foremost want to be sure that the students they accept can handle the curriculum, will pass their classes, and will pass the Step.

Your husband's GPA and MCAT score leave some questions about his academic ability. That isn't to say that he's not capable of doing well, but that he hasn't adequately demonstrated it in my opinion. A 30+ MCAT score would answer a lot of questions. Having a lower GPA from a difficult school in itself is not bad; it may reflect the competitiveness or difficulty of the institution. But if your husband only had low grades because of competitiveness, he should have still done well on the MCAT if he really did learn all of the appropriate material.

What your husband has demonstrated is that he's very good at research and committed to it. That would probably go far if he was applying MD/PhD. I don't know how far it will get someone with a straight MD application with such low scores.

But each admissions committee is different. Just because this is my opinion doesn't mean it's likely to be shared by all institutions. I do think that the safe bet is to improve his MCAT score, though.

 

[jpdc]

thanks everyone for the thoughts....

my husband is DEFINITELY going to apply to EVMS, and i think he's pretty interested in family medicine, which makes EVMS an even better choice...

i just hope there are a lot more people out there with lower qualifications than this forum reflects...EVERYONE seems to be so overqualified.

 

[Dartmouth2005]

thanks everyone for the thoughts....

my husband is DEFINITELY going to apply to EVMS, and i think he's pretty interested in family medicine, which makes EVMS an even better choice...

i just hope there are a lot more people out there with lower qualifications than this forum reflects...EVERYONE seems to be so overqualified.

If your husband is interested in family medicine, then I think he should look at DO schools. He has a much better shot of getting into one.

Your husband is very competitive for VCOM. See http://www.vcom.vt.edu/admissions/profile-2013.html.

 

[jpdc]

I agree about osteopathic schools but unfortunately, he just wants the MD. I guess I'll just keep my fingers crossed. There are definitely people in MD programs with low MCAT scores....

 

[Catalystik]

Does your husband feel he's hit his ceiling with the MCAT score he got? Did he take a formal classroom prep course? A higher score would help compensate for the low cGPA. If he could manage a 33+, he'd be a much more viable candidate for MD schools, particularly if his ECs are strong across the board.

Historically, those applying through AMCAS in the last three years with a 3.4/26 had a 23.8% chance of an acceptance.

 

[Kevin Baker]

I've heard from an ADCOM member that a publication is equivalent to a masters, whatever that means. I'm not sure how multiple pubs work, nor how first author or good journals affect things, but as a ballpark, assume it raises your LizzyM score by maybe 1 or 2 pts.

 

[bluejigmaster]

Historically, those applying through AMCAS in the last three years with a 3.4/26 had a 23.8% chance of an acceptance.

I'm just curious: what are you using to come up with percentages using GPA and MCAT?

 

[Catalystik]

I'm just curious: what are you using to come up with percentages using GPA and MCAT?

http://www.aamc.org/data/facts/applicantmatriculant/table24-mcatgpagridall2007-09.pdf