Is my list realistic - cGPA 3.54 bcpmGPA 3.56 MCAT 31

[frochocinco]

Hello all,

so I just got my scores back and was relieved to find out that I do not have to take them again (THANK GOD!!)

i got a 31 (PS - 10 VR - 10 BS - 11). Not amazing but double digits in each section.

cGPA 3.54
bcpmGPA 3.56

NY State Resident
Biology Major
Top tier liberal arts college (top 20 in the country - according to those stupid U.S. News and World Reports)

I realize my GPA is not fantastic but its over the 3.5 threshold. The reason its not higher is because I had a pretty rough freshman year (not atypical i realize), especially the spring. soph-senior year, my cGPA was 3.69 and my bcpmGPA was 3.70. I realize the schools will not do those calculations, however, for those of you who are kind enough to respond to this, I just wanted to give a better idea on what my transcript looks like.

I'm not gonna go into extracurriculars too much because I just want to know if I'll be competitive at the schools on my list, however, ill list a few:
- Summer and the subsequent academic year doing biochem research at my college (10 weeks)
- Following summer (and on and off the next two years) doing clinical research (pediatric HIV) at Jacobi Medical Center (teaching hospital of Einstein)
-> wrote abstract and secondary author on paper
- Summer at physical rehab facility as an aide on the traumatic brain & spinal cord injury floor
- 2.5 years of local volunteer ambulance coverage
- plenty of shadowing
- a bunch of tutoring and other community service activities

I will be applying next June, so I will end up taking two years off as I just graduated. I started my job at a healthcare tech research company this week, working as a research assistant.

Here's my list. the top 7/8 schools are my top choices and the bottom 5 are obvious reaches: (again, I am a NY State Resident)

Mount Sinai
Albert Einstein
Case Western
Rochester
Upstate
Thomas Jefferson
Georgetown
NYU
--------------------
George Washington
Buffalo
Stony Brook
Albany
NYMC
Penn St
Hofstra
Commonwealth
Quinnipiac
Virginia Commonwealth
Drexel
Temple
Downstate
-------------------
Duke
Dartmouth
Tufts
Columbia
Cornell

Thanks so much for your input!!!

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[Goro]

Unrealistic, as your MCAT and GPA for these schools are well < avg.

Case Western
Rochester
NYU
Duke
Dartmouth
Columbia
Cornell

 

[khrisskhoras]

scratch mount sinai as well as what goro said

 

[frochocinco]

great, thanks guys. I have family connections at mt. sinai so i'm definitely applying there, but I appreciate the advice. my pre-med advisor seems to think i have a small shot at Rochester so I might apply there for ****s and giggles, but I do realize CW is not realistic, it was just some wishful thinking.

also, do you think it would be worth taking a couple postbac classes to get my GPA over a 3.6?? My job is affiliated with Columbia so I might get some nice discounts on classes

Thanks

 

[Goro]

You're fine for DO programs right now, so if you're committed tot he mD degree, then the post-bac or SMP is suggested.

Rochester will appreciate your donation in the form of the app fee. Save your money.

great, thanks guys. I have family connections at mt. sinai so i'm definitely applying there, but I appreciate the advice. my pre-med advisor seems to think i have a small shot at Rochester so I might apply there for ****s and giggles, but I do realize CW is not realistic, it was just some wishful thinking.

also, do you think it would be worth taking a couple postbac classes to get my GPA over a 3.6?? My job is affiliated with Columbia so I might get some nice discounts on classes

Thanks

 

[occams_razor]

I don't think you need an SMP to get into an MD school unless you only want to go to a top tier school. if you're fine with any MD school or a state school you need to apply early and broadly. you have strong extracurriculars. your MCAT is average for all matriculants. your GPA is fine. if you can get the BCPM to 3.6 then you will be average for all matriculants. I know people who got into the SUNYs who had ~3.5 GPAs and 30-31 MCATs with strong ECs

 

[Catalystik]

also, do you think it would be worth taking a couple postbac classes to get my GPA over a 3.6??

Yes! As in upper-level Bio and Biochem will serve you well. And you have the time.

 

[frochocinco]

Thanks swimmer125 and catalystik. i was never going to do a SMP or postbac program, I was just thinking a couple classes to get the GPA over the 3.6 threshold.

And no, I do not really care about a top tier school. it would be a plus because I would enjoy the research opportunities, but I would be happy at a state school like Upstate, Stony Brook, or even Buffalo. And with very strong connections at einstein because of my work at Jacobi, im confident I will be content at the end of the day wherever it is I end up getting in.

I am planning on submitting my applications on june 10th of next year, the first day the AMCAS applicant will be available for next years cycle, so i'm feeling pretty good about where I am at this point.

I guess my last question are specifically for the non-state schools that I'm especially interested in: Tufts, Jefferson, Georgetown, Sinai, and Einstein...aside from Sinai, do you guys agree I have fighting chance??

Thanks once again!

 

[basketcase0a0]

great, thanks guys. I have family connections at mt. sinai so i'm definitely applying there, but I appreciate the advice. my pre-med advisor seems to think i have a small shot at Rochester so I might apply there for ****s and giggles, but I do realize CW is not realistic, it was just some wishful thinking.

also, do you think it would be worth taking a couple postbac classes to get my GPA over a 3.6?? My job is affiliated with Columbia so I might get some nice discounts on classes

Thanks

I would keep Rochester, I am interviewing there in a couple of weeks with a 3.54 gpa and 37 MCAT (obviously much higher MCAT but your EC's blow mine out of the water)

 

[HinduHammer]

As others have said, I think you have great ECs ! One thing no one touched on is your personal statement, u think with strong essays you do h ave a shot at those reach schools. If you have time to take classes you might wanna consider retaking the mcat? I think you're a good applicant that has great shot at MD

 

[frochocinco]

thanks...I definitely have some great experiences and things to talk about in my personal statement. so I agree that will help as well. hopefully I can find night classes because my job is 8-5, five days a week.

Aside from likely not having sufficient time to study for the test again if I find some classes, I dont think that I'd be able to improve enough for it to make a difference. I wouldn't be happy if I got anything less than a 34/35, and quite frankly, I don't see that happening. I would likely improve on PS and BS, but 10 on VR is very good for me (started out with 7's and 8's at the beginning of the summer when I began studying and got 8's on my last two FL's). Correct me if I'm wrong, but the risk is not worth the reward. A 31 with double digits across the board should get me through most initial screenings. Thats just my thought process tho...

 

[Lucky Louie]

No need to do a retake; too risky. About some of those schools: although you are a NY State resident, many of those NY schools are private, Mt. Sinai/Rochester//Columbia/Cornell/Yeshiva/NYMedical/NYU/Hofstra/Albany, which give no preference to you. I suggest you do a little more research about some on your list to decide which ones sync with your interests (which can be talked about in your PS and interviews) as well as your ECs.

In fact, the only ones that are NY State publics are Upstate, DownState, and Stony Brook. That's where you'll have your best shot.

That said, don't create a list of schools just for the sake of creating a list. Make that list meaningful. If you put a school on that list, there should be a reason and not just because you've heard of them before.