I know I know... you guys hate these posts, but....

[WantCali]

(WARNING: If you're one of those people that get annoyed by students with decent stats asking if they have a chance at a top ten school... DON'T READ THIS.)

I can't help but ask.... what are my chances at Stanford? I have a 3.75 (no name state school in Ohio), various volunteer stuff (Habitat for Humanity, Clinic stuff, tutoring, etc...). Research at Dartmouth medical school and JHU medical school (not published)... an internship in medical imaging (at Phillips Medical Systems) Math major with CompSci minor...started the "Origami Club" at my school.

I currently have a 31 MCAT (10V 12P 9B) ugh... 9B... I know... but I'm retaking in 3 weeks.

I used to want to go to some school the Baltimore area... but after seeing Stanford and SF, I'm in love with a new flame.

So what do you all think I have to get on the MCAT this April to have a "good" chance at admissions?

If this sounds familiar... I've posted here before under a different name (CSgirl/ Sea-dragon)... I disabled those accounts about a month because I was spending way to much time in the lounge making a fool of myself... and not studying enough for the MCAT.

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[THE instiGATOR]

CS GIRL IS BACK!!!

I'm sure the Socialist will be thrilled.

I think you are nuts. I'm gonna leave it at that. Retaking the MCAT with a 31... Sheesh!

 

[medicine2006]

I hate to burst your bubble but your stats aren't that great for Standford. GPA is okay but the 31 while good for most schools at Standford that would be considered below average unless you are URM. Not dogging you, I would love to have your GPA, but just telling you honestly from someone who was a pre-med in Cali.

 

[Trek]

What happened to your boyfriend?!?! I think you're in good shape- don't listen to 2006- he thinks the 30+ crowd is only worthy of a med school seat :wink: --Trek

 

[Papa Smurf]

Yo yo yo, I'm all about Stanford. Unfortunately, they rejected my a$$ this year. Our numbers are pretty similar. I got a (10,11,11) and gpa is about the same. I'm from a decent school, but didn't get no invite though. I say bump up the MCAT a few points, and you got a shot.

 

[jase133]

I agree with Papasmurf

I have slightly higher stats and was rejected from Stanford pre-secondary.

Hope this helps.

 

[oldman]

hell, even people with awesome stats get rejected.

i have friends at hopkins with 3.9 gpas and 33+ mcats that were rejected pre-secondary

stanford is just an evil school.

 

[oldman]

well i guess stanford isn't all that evil, but i got 2 rejection letters from them...so in my books that's evil

 

[Scooby Doo]

With your GPA and ECs:

UCSF: You need roughly...oh...about a 40 on your MCAT since you are out of state

Stanford: You will probably need about 38+ on your MCAT.

Sorry csgirl...even though I love you...I am just telling you what I think the truth is on this one.

Unless you have some amazing EC that is going to sweep them off their feet...better have a kickass MCAT to go along with your good GPA.

 

[WantCali]

I was just wondering what I needed to have "a chance." I'm obviously not looking for a sure thing here people. I'd just like to apply without being laughed at . I know there's no way with a 31... but maybe a 35? Come on, their average is like a 33.5! and I'm in the Honors College!!

I need um, a sixth opinion...?

And I'm only willing to sleep with 3 people... no more! I have some moral standards.

 

[Scooby Doo]

•••quote:•••Originally posted by WantStanford:
•And I'm only willing to sleep with 3 people... no more! I have some moral standards. •••••Well...I suggest you start with me...
Then the other two can be heads of admissions at Stanford or UCSF.

 

[praying4MD]

•••quote:•••Originally posted by WantStanford:
•And I'm only willing to sleep with 3 people... no more! I have some moral standards. •••••After my tactics with adcoms, I doubt this will be of any help. It would be difficult to make an impression after they have "experienecd" me, the cream of the crop... very big boots to fill indeed. Stick to retaking the MCAT. :wink:

j/k of course. Good luck csgirl. I've been wondering where you've been.

 

[Scooby Doo]

•••quote:•••Originally posted by WantStanford:
•I was just wondering what I needed to have "a chance." I'm obviously not looking for a sure thing here people. I know there's no way with a 31... but maybe a 35? Come on, their average is like a 33.5!
•••••As I am sure everyone on here knows...average doesn't mean jack...So what? The people that bring down the AVERAGE are

a) URMs - this is a true statement and NOT MEANT TO OFFEND people though I am sure this thread will spiral out of control into dark obliviion until no one know what the point was anymore

b) People with EXCELLENT EC's that don't need stellar stats. My cousin worked in Peace Corps for OVER 5 years. She came back, took the MCAT and got a 31, her gpa was < 3.7 - got into UCSF.

c) People with great GPA -aka 3.99999), above average EC's -aka- study abroad, started a foundation, hundreds upon hundreds of volunteer stuff, and PUBLICATIONS!!!!...and an AVERAGE or a slightly below average MCAT

The stats I gave you were for a "chance"...the stats I said were for an INTERVIEW...after that, you gotta convince them yourself...
>40 for UCSF cuz you are out of state
>38 for Stanford

Look on the bright side...you can always sleep with me...even though it won't help your admissions chances..you still get to SLEEP with me

 

[WantCali]

Alright alright... what about USC?

Praying... unfortunately, I can't stay long... I just wanted to see what MCAT I'd need to have a chance at Stanford... but I guess it's out of the question.

Oh well... I want my Csgirl name back now... but I can't get it for some reason.

 

[Scooby Doo]

Hey CSbabe...why you want to come to California so badly now? warning: USC will cost you an arm and a leg but it's awesome. In their secondary, you want to emphasize that you want to stay in cali and work for their hospital/school etc etc....that will help you..i didn't do this..prolly hurt me

USC...hmmm...you probably should have greater than a 33...to be safe a 35+...

 

[WantCali]

I love California... I want to stay there forever. USC is not nice to out-of-staters either... but their average MCAT being a 30 and average gpa being a 3.45... I think a 35 would surely give me a chance.

 

[Cdc28p]

My stats are nothing spectacular--3.8 GPA and 35S--but I got accepted. I have only 3 ECs but am deeply committed to each one.

You do have a chance if you boost your MCAT up to at least 34-35. What's more important is how to present yourself to the school. The personal statement is extremely important. Be sure to write from the heart, not from the pages of some guide-to-med-schools book.

Good luck on the MCAT.

 

[Cambrian]

I was rejected from Stanford pre-secondary. My stats are 9V, 11P, 10B, R. I have a 3.89 GPA. I've done research, clinical, honors club, etc. Now, I know that I won't get in to Stanford with these stats. But I know someone on SDN who got into Stanford with stats similar to mine. I think it was Rajnee. Her MCAT scores were exactly like mine and her GPA was a little bit lower. I think the reason Rajnee got in to Stanford was because she probably has amazing life experiences and/or research experience. I don't know for sure because she never told me of her EC's and life experiences. And I don't think she's URM. I can tell you that the personal statement is very important with Stanford. My one regret is that I didn't elaborate enough about my life experiences in my personal statement. I talked mostly about my tutoring, research, and clinical experiences. Rajnee, if you are out there, please tell us your story with Stanford.

 

[A. Caveman]

come on guys (ie. peanut gallery)! you don't need a 38 to be competitive at Stanford. First and foremost it's a luck game, and no matter what you have you may not get in. they have to like your PS, for some odd reason like prolly in most schools (thus making the process a crapshoot). no matter what numbers yo have, you gotta get over that hump. then i'd say since their average is 33.5, ALL you need to be COMPETITIVE is ~34-35. they may accept above that range for someone from a no-name college with "only" a 3.75 gpa, but they INTERVIEW above and below that. you, with that good gpa, and very good ECs (what's everyone talking about..she did research at two top medical schools) and has demonstrated leadership (starting that lame ass club ), plus she's done other very cool/different stuff. all in all, she might get an interview with a 33 or so, and then it'd be up to her to get accepted, but it *might* be easier to be accepted with a 36 or so. and if you don't end up getting into stanford, big deal, with a higher mcat and those other things in your application, you'll get into many better schools. you can attend Cali for residencies and LIFE. later scrub.

PS. i'm the biggest Hator of these threads, but i posted cuz no one gives ME warnings and tells me not to read stuff!!

 

[souljah1]

i know more than a handful of people with 33 or below mcat scores who are at ucsf right now. you don't NEED a 35+. i would believe the same is true for stanford. their numbers are lower than ucsf's (if you are into averages).

i think the personal statement and your letters of recommendation are hugely important for ucsf. i think they use numbers more as a cut off. they have some formula where they consider the school you went to, grades, mcat, and personal statement. if it meets the criteria..you get a secondary..then your letters are included into the formula..meet the criteria...interview..i think it goes something like that.

numbers are not the whole story and i gaurantee you that the 500 who are interviewed out of the 4,800+ were not the 500 with the best numbers.

Scoobs comment about out of staters needing higher numbers is most likely very true (for ucsf). ucsf is one of the few ucs to take out of staters and to be included in this bunch...you have to be mad special. I'd argue that Stanford probably requires the in staters to have higher stats b/c they are all about getting ivy undergrads at the 'harvard of the west'. maybe i'm just bitter when it comes to stanford b/c i got rejected post-secondary (waiting post-interview at ucsf as i write..gulp).

 

[Scooby Doo]

A. Caveman,

I completely disagree here. Did you apply to Stanford or UCSF? I know you are from Florida so you might not know exactly what you are talking about. Averages lie (see above what I said about averages). UCSF, for example, looks for a very specific type of person. They want a person with real world experience...such as peace corps...and if a person has this, their mcat can be MUCH MUCH lower. CSgirl here (aka want cali), has average (yep, AVERAGE) EC's. Research with no pubs is just that...research with ZERO pubs. I didn't have any pubs but a lot of research. I have more leadership than she has, my MCAT's are higher than you stated, my GPA is higher than you stated, my letters are good, my personal experiences and motivation are good, my essays are very good as told to me in my interviews.
REJECTED PRE interview from both UCSF and Stanford. My statement of HER SPECIFICALLY NEEDING A 38+ is right on target....

Souljah - Yes, not everyone (such as yourself) need a 40+ for UCSF. HOWEVER, she is coming out of state; therefore, it's going to be harder. My numbers that I stated are SPECIFICALLY FOR HER!!
Look at her EC's, GPA, and first MCAT...What does she need on her next mcat to get an interview? I say 38-40. Are there people with less than this who get in there and interview? Of friggin course! BUT, with nothing "extraordinary" (I'm really not trying to diss your EC's...they are good! Hell, they look very similar to mine ), she is going to have a very hard time getting in...

 

[lilycat]

I think Scooby has done a nice job of summing up what you need to be considered at UCSF -- they really are into people with unusual accomplishments, experiences, etc. They LOVE teachers -- everyone I know who has taught and applied there interviewed there (I think that's 11 for 11 actually). UCSF seems a little more willing than Stanford to take people with low stats if they have amazing EC's.

As for Stanford, this is my take on their admissions process after having worked for someone who interviewed applicants and having worked with someone who actually sat on the AdComm. First off, I think your MCAT is actually somewhat competitive. However, your GPA is a little low for that score. A lot of the people that I saw getting interviews were in the 3.85-4.0 range, with MCATs around 30-33. Of course, this is not a hard and fast rule -- just a trend that was observed. Secondly, your EC's should really stand out. They love volunteer experiences/community service, but it should be a couple of things that you are really, really dedicated to and really passionate about -- less is more in this case. They also look for any sort of unusual accomplishments -- varsity athletics, musical talent, writing, painting, etc. Finally, it's often a crapshoot -- I know a lot of people who had great stats, great, unusual accomplishments and were rejected from Stanford and accepted at UCSF, and vice versa. Right now, you probably have a decent chance at Stanford, but I don't think your MCAT score, even if it goes up 3 or 4 points, will make or break your application at this point in the game.

 

[Scooby Doo]

Lilycat:

Make me the one exception to your 11 people you know

I taught for over 2 years during undergrad...zilcho interview from SF

 

[A. Caveman]

i think she meant taught as in like teachign a whole class, not being a TA. more like teaching like in a highschool or something. but regardless of that, i think with your very good numbers Scooby, maybe they'd filled up with people in your "category." as we saw from that Adcom post, once they fill a category (ie people from your particular school), they stop accepting. but you're exaggerating...for sure, cuz it can't be. it's hearsay until we hear it from an adcom's mouth

 

[lilycat]

•••quote:•••Originally posted by Scooby Doo:
•Lilycat:

Make me the one exception to your 11 people you know

I taught for over 2 years during undergrad...zilcho interview from SF •••••A. Caveman was right -- I didn't mean teaching as in being a TA -- unfortunately, that's sort of a dime-a-dozen experience when applying. Rather, I meant teaching full-time for a year or two after undergrad, for instance at the high school or jr. high level. I'm sure there are lots of people who have taught and weren't successful, but from my point of view, it seems to be an experience that is certainly well-regarded at UCSF.

 

[Scooby Doo]

Where am i exaggerating caveman?
On what MCAT's I feel she needs to get an interview?
Those are what I feel she needs to have coming from out of state and based on the people I KNOW who have gotten in there or interviewed there.
True, there might have been some quota of people and I couldn't compete with them from my area. Fact is, she has one MCAT of a 31. This will be seen by most schools (UCSF one of them). In order to overcome that she will especially need a high score...in addition to everything else.
Both SF and Stanford are top ten schools. This thread is basically a "what are my chances at a top ten STATE school when i am out of state?"
Answer: close to zero....
Don't talk like these numbers sound ridiculous since I do not think you applied to these schools...

 

[Scooby Doo]

ah...I see lilycat Yea...that's kidna what I figured too :wink:

 

[WantCali]

To whoever said the Origami club is lame... Origami is fun and cool... so

I have a special talent for drawing and painting... but that doesn't mean a thing if I haven't won a contest of put on a show or something.

Also, I did an intership at Phillips medical imaging! I played with CT scanning and MRI machines all summer... not to mention I helped develop software for the damn things!!

Geez.... you people are so hard to impress! I know... I asked for it...

I'm also a math major with a CS minor... ask anyone... maintaining a high gpa in those courses is HARD.