Ideas on where to apply based on...

[vmgopal]

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🙂 Hi Im new to sdn

I am graduating from University of Wisconsin this summer and I am taking a year off. I will be taking the MCAT in April this year and applying for DO and MD schools this summer.

Ill prob graduate with around a 3.5 GPA with a BS in Molecular Biology and Honors in the Liberal Arts, but I botched first semester O Chem with a C, but I made a comeback in 2nd semester O Chem with a B....there are 2 BCs also..O Chem Lab and 1st semester Physics.....am I still competitive ??? can I get in...I know I havent taken the MCAT yet but I am in a prep course.


and Univ. of Wisconsin, MCoW, Temple, Drexel, Thomas Jefferson, Vanderbilt, Univ of Iowa, Univ of Michigan, Mayo,Loyola, Emory, Hawaii.......for MD schools

How do my options look??? ANY OTHER Suggestions of good fits for me from anyone or anybody who is applying now and gettign in??????

 

[BerkeleyMD]

🙂 Hi Im new to sdn

I am graduating from University of Wisconsin this summer and I am taking a year off. I will be taking the MCAT in April this year and applying for DO and MD schools this summer.

Ill prob graduate with around a 3.5 GPA with a BS in Molecular Biology and Honors in the Liberal Arts, but I botched first semester O Chem with a C, but I made a comeback in 2nd semester O Chem with a B....there are 2 BCs also..O Chem Lab and 1st semester Physics.....am I still competitive ??? can I get in...I know I havent taken the MCAT yet but I am in a prep course.


and Univ. of Wisconsin, MCoW, Temple, Drexel, Thomas Jefferson, Vanderbilt, Univ of Iowa, Univ of Michigan, Mayo,Loyola, Emory, Hawaii.......for MD schools

How do my options look??? ANY OTHER Suggestions of good fits for me from anyone or anybody who is applying now and gettign in??????

It sounds like your BCPM GPA is low, but your nonscience GPA makes up for it. It's hard to say whether you are competitive unless you have an MCAT score. The only advice I have is to apply to more schools.

You sound competitive for DO, but then again just be safe and apply to more schools.

Good Luck

 

[madonna]

🙂 Hi Im new to sdn

I am graduating from University of Wisconsin this summer and I am taking a year off. I will be taking the MCAT in April this year and applying for DO and MD schools this summer.

Ill prob graduate with around a 3.5 GPA with a BS in Molecular Biology and Honors in the Liberal Arts, but I botched first semester O Chem with a C, but I made a comeback in 2nd semester O Chem with a B....there are 2 BCs also..O Chem Lab and 1st semester Physics.....am I still competitive ??? can I get in...I know I havent taken the MCAT yet but I am in a prep course.


and Univ. of Wisconsin, MCoW, Temple, Drexel, Thomas Jefferson, Vanderbilt, Univ of Iowa, Univ of Michigan, Mayo,Loyola, Emory, Hawaii.......for MD schools

How do my options look??? ANY OTHER Suggestions of good fits for me from anyone or anybody who is applying now and gettign in??????

hey
unless you get a super mcat or have super ECs i would not apply to mayo, umich and vandebilt, hawaii is pretty tough on oos. either way apply to more schools
good luck

 

[Agent Splat]

hey
unless you get a super mcat or have super ECs i would not apply to mayo, umich and vandebilt, hawaii is pretty tough on oos. either way apply to more schools
good luck

I agree. Mayo is a longshot with such a small class size; save this money and apply to a different school, unless there's really something about mayo you like (or you beat the MCAT senseless). I wish I hadn't wasted my time and money on them back in the day. If you get your hands on an MSAR it might not hurt to look at various schools and their stats. But it doesn't hurt, if you can afford it, to apply to a couple "dream" schools, because you never really know. Best wishes!

 

[happydays]

In addition to the above comment about looking up schoot stats, you should talk to your premed advisor about which schools UW students tend to apply and become successful. That's where you should be focusing your time and money.

 

[owenmichael]

🙂 Hi Im new to sdn

I am graduating from University of Wisconsin this summer and I am taking a year off. I will be taking the MCAT in April this year and applying for DO and MD schools this summer.

Ill prob graduate with around a 3.5 GPA with a BS in Molecular Biology and Honors in the Liberal Arts, but I botched first semester O Chem with a C, but I made a comeback in 2nd semester O Chem with a B....there are 2 BCs also..O Chem Lab and 1st semester Physics.....am I still competitive ??? can I get in...I know I havent taken the MCAT yet but I am in a prep course.


and Univ. of Wisconsin, MCoW, Temple, Drexel, Thomas Jefferson, Vanderbilt, Univ of Iowa, Univ of Michigan, Mayo,Loyola, Emory, Hawaii.......for MD schools

How do my options look??? ANY OTHER Suggestions of good fits for me from anyone or anybody who is applying now and gettign in??????

Take out Mayo, Vandy, UMich, and Emory. Apply to more reasonable schools. I know for a fact that Mayo looks for consistency in MCAT and grades (thus the B's and C's will probably get you rejected right away). If you slaughter teh MCAT (35+) you have a shot at Mich and Emory, If you get around a thirty, MCOW, temply, drexel Thomas Jefferson all are reasonable

Keep in mind that University of Wisconsin has a point system. Being in state gets you 3 points right of the bat. Reaching 6 points gets you into the school. You get a half point for having a 3.8 GPA, half point for 30 or above on your MCAT, and points for hours you've volunteered, LOR's, personal statement etc... That being said I knew an in state applicant from UW this year that got rejected with a 35, and 3.8, because he suckedit up at his interview

hope this helsp

 

[NikkiFSU]

Apply to a few reach schools you really love and find out which are numbers ******, that way you know where you'll be wasting $ applying if you don't have a 3.8/35 or something. But you should apply to a lot more "reasonable" schools than reaches, and remember, if something in your app. (an experience or whatever) makes you stand out, it can let them overlook grades/mcats to some extent. And some places weigh the mCAT high vs. GPA...try to get a really high score because a high MCAT or GPA can compensate to some extent for a lower # for the other

 

[ahumdinger]

I don't know what your Science GPA is, but my over GPA was 3.4, so you can check out my mdapplicants profile to compare. I totally botched ochem too, but I rocked physics. I would definitely not apply to mayo or vanderbilt. You are definitely competitive at DO schools, so don't bother applying to too many of those-- pick one or two of your favorites. Rock your MCATs and you should have no problems with getting in in-state. One strategy that I wish I had used was to apply to rural areas, or schools that don't get a lot of applicants in the first place. SO many people apply to Drexel, so the application process there turns out to be a big pain the ass-- I still haven't heard from them. If you can live with going to school in a geographically undesirable area for 4 years, apply to some of those types of schools because they may end up accepting more students to fill the class, or accepting those who are truly interested in attending. Some big city schools where I had no luck include: GW, BU, Drexel. I think it's because they have SO many applicants that I was not able to stand out.

Best of luck.

 

[NikkiFSU]

I don't know what your Science GPA is, but my over GPA was 3.4, so you can check out my mdapplicants profile to compare. I totally botched ochem too, but I rocked physics. I would definitely not apply to mayo or vanderbilt. You are definitely competitive at DO schools, so don't bother applying to too many of those-- pick one or two of your favorites. Rock your MCATs and you should have no problems with getting in in-state. One strategy that I wish I had used was to apply to rural areas, or schools that don't get a lot of applicants in the first place. SO many people apply to Drexel, so the application process there turns out to be a big pain the ass-- I still haven't heard from them. If you can live with going to school in a geographically undesirable area for 4 years, apply to some of those types of schools because they may end up accepting more students to fill the class, or accepting those who are truly interested in attending. Some big city schools where I had no luck include: GW, BU, Drexel. I think it's because they have SO many applicants that I was not able to stand out.

Best of luck.

LOL @ your MD app profile, "f*ck you alma mater" they didn't want you with a 36 mcat and after going there that is pretty lame.

 

[SanDiegoSOD]

I'd forget about Hawaii, unless you're Hawaiian. For a little more regional diversity, I'd probably add USC in California, NYMC, George Washington, and Boston University. The last three I mentioned have average GPAs close to yours, but they also get about a billion applicants each, so they're somewhat of a longshot.

 

[ahumdinger]

LOL @ your MD app profile, "f*ck you alma mater" they didn't want you with a 36 mcat and after going there that is pretty lame.

yeah, it's uber lame. My only attempt at an explanation is that Pritzker must have extreme autonomy from the rest of the university, because the who atmosphere of the university is grade-deflation, not worrying about getting straight A's (3.25 being the Dean's List), etc etc. and then BAM! Pritzker basically says if you don't have a 3.7 GPA, forget it! It's just a little mis-leading to the pre-med students, because at the least, we expected our own medical school to know the undergrad curriculum very well and to know what is considered academic success at uchicago. As a result, very few Uchicago undergrads get interviews at Pritzker. Ah well, no use griping about it now. But funny thing is, my pre-med advisor for 3 years at uchicago took a position in admissions at Pritzker (Thanks for telling me that C in ochem was okay!), right when I was about to apply to school. As a result, I had to be advised over the phone (since i've moved after graduation) by the new advisor whom I have yet to meet.

enough complaining. To the OP, if there's one piece of advice I can pass on, it's to NOT apply to BU. It's a waste of 100 dollars and they don't even send you a rejection letter on paper. They do it over email. And they make you write this BS essay about professionalism while they are not professional at all-- A friend of mine recently interviewed and said that she kept getting scowls from admissions people.

 

[vmgopal]

I don't know what your Science GPA is, but my over GPA was 3.4, so you can check out my mdapplicants profile to compare. I totally botched ochem too, but I rocked physics. I would definitely not apply to mayo or vanderbilt. You are definitely competitive at DO schools, so don't bother applying to too many of those-- pick one or two of your favorites. Rock your MCATs and you should have no problems with getting in in-state. One strategy that I wish I had used was to apply to rural areas, or schools that don't get a lot of applicants in the first place. SO many people apply to Drexel, so the application process there turns out to be a big pain the ass-- I still haven't heard from them. If you can live with going to school in a geographically undesirable area for 4 years, apply to some of those types of schools because they may end up accepting more students to fill the class, or accepting those who are truly interested in attending. Some big city schools where I had no luck include: GW, BU, Drexel. I think it's because they have SO many applicants that I was not able to stand out.

Best of luck.

Hi "ahumdinger"

I will definetly remove Mayo and Hawaii and Vanderbilt, prob U Mich and Emory too....thanks for the advice.

Could you give some examples of schools that are "geografically unfavorable" and might taking people with similar stats to me???

others may include: Creighton, GWU, SLU, Iowa, Loyola and definety U Wisc (because I go there now so ill give it a shot) and MCoW

Also I think I have a unique experince to set me apart. I did a UNITE FOR SIGHT Eye care/ cataract internship in India this past summer. It was almost a month long and we took 300 eyeglasses each and raised a total of $2500 between us all for Free cataract surgeries.. Then we did daily screenings and vision checks at schools and orphanages and old age homes. We went to rural mass health camps and helped with reading checks and writing presecriptions for glasses and we shaddowed hours of cataract surgeries!!! It was amazing.

How should I work that experience into my applications? I am not yet familiar with AMCAS so I don't know if that should be in the personal statement or somewhere else.

 

[Ashanti Rock]

Hi "ahumdinger"

I will definetly remove Mayo and Hawaii and Vanderbilt, prob U Mich and Emory too....thanks for the advice.

Could you give some examples of schools that are "geografically unfavorable" and might taking people with similar stats to me???

others may include: Creighton, GWU, SLU, Iowa, Loyola and definety U Wisc (because I go there now so ill give it a shot) and MCoW

Also I think I have a unique experince to set me apart. I did a UNITE FOR SIGHT Eye care/ cataract internship in India this past summer. It was almost a month long and we took 300 eyeglasses each and raised a total of $2500 between us all for Free cataract surgeries.. Then we did daily screenings and vision checks at schools and orphanages and old age homes. We went to rural mass health camps and helped with reading checks and writing presecriptions for glasses and we shaddowed hours of cataract surgeries!!! It was amazing.

How should I work that experience into my applications? I am not yet familiar with AMCAS so I don't know if that should be in the personal statement or somewhere else.

I normally stay out of these “what are my chances threads", but honestly I have to say something!

Please, please apply to programs that your are genuinely interested in and know that you would like to attend. Umich clearly states on the website that they don't have dry cut offs for gpa and MCAT, so if you believe that this school would be a good fit, then you need to put your best application foot forward and show them that.

I know a few people actually from Madison that are at Mayo, while I don't know their #'s, it seems that Mayo appreciates people who really believe in their philosophies and someone who they believe will be a leader not only in medicine, but in their community. Again if you feel that this is you and you have a desire to go to the school then apply, and let the adcom decide what they want to do with you.

GWU receives about 10,000 applications every year, how do you know that your chances there are greater or less at some of these other schools that you've decided to remove! There are instances of "backup schools" snubbing applicants, while "reach schools" contacting them. No one knows how an adcom will view an applicant which is why most applicants apply broadly.

As for the other schools, I really can't help you, but PLEASE whatever you do make sure that you research your schools and make sure that you can account for your gpa in other parts of your application. You need to figure this out for yourself instead of adding and dropping schools because some people who have no other information about you as an applicant except your gpa told you to do so. You will be doing yourself a disservice and will regret it in the end.

Just my 2cents, take it for what it's worth!