Lopsided Stats: GPA 3.22, MCAT 39P - and late on my applications!

[Guppeh]

Well, I'm a non-traditional (B.S. 1998) applicant with a rather lopsided set of stats, who recently just went into grad school for Public Health. I applied last year to a small number of places, 1 interview but didn't get in.

I've checked some of the school chance calculators, but I don't think they're really intended for applicants like me, with numbers all over the map.

BCPM: 3.08 (Includes an F freshman year)
Total: 3.22
Graduate BCPM: 4.0 (but not many classes in Science)
Graduate Total: 3.77
MCAT (2007): 39P Verbal 11, Phys 13, Bio 15

I have quite a few years of experience in industry (pharma, biotech), but very little volunteer work except for some old stuff back around '98 (starting to fix that now and volunteered a bunch over the summer, but most is too late for this year's applications), and no shadowing (also fixing that now, but maybe too late as well).

My MCATs were 3 years ago. Only taken once after studying mostly by myself a whole year, so for many schools this is my last shot unless I re-take them. My big honking score is just about the only impressive on my list, and in some ways I think it could be a negative, since it contrasts so sharply with the rest of my stats ("what's wrong with this guy?").

I have no undergraduate letters of recommendation, thanks to the amount of time elapsed (Just a Dean's letter that confirms I have no disciplinary actions). I have some graduate letters and work references.

My biggest worry is that my applications were in late. I started pretty early but ended up fussing over it. Most of my secondaries didn't start coming in until mid-August, while I was out of the country (family reasons). As a result, my applications gradually dribbled out from end of August through mid-September.

Since I spammed a lot of schools this year, there are a few secondaries still not finished (I am slow at essay writing), and I am wondering if I should cut my losses with the remaining few, and get cracking on D.O. applications.

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[calimed214]

Since I spammed a lot of schools this year, there are a few secondaries still not finished (I am slow at essay writing), and I am wondering if I should cut my losses with the remaining few, and get cracking on D.O. applications.

Which schools have you applied to and which secondaries do you still have left to complete? And I would definitely apply to DO schools as well, just in case. With a very non-trad background, sometimes it's hard to predict how adcoms are going to respond.

 

[Guppeh]

Which schools have you applied to and which secondaries do you still have left to complete? And I would definitely apply to DO schools as well, just in case. With a very non-trad background, sometimes it's hard to predict how adcoms are going to respond.

Here's what I've finished so far:
Temple
Jefferson
Penn State
U. Pittsburgh
Ohio State
Albany
U. Illinois

Some of the ones I'm still working on:
Commonwealth Med. College
Keck
U. Maryland
Rosalind Franklin

There's also a bunch I didn't get secondaries back from yet, or for which I changed my mind (like U. Penn, because I decided I really don't have a shot).

Also, an example of the kind of response to my MCAT I worry about:

It's rare to hear the success stories of people with below average cGPA and average MCAT that get accepted. Additionally there appears to be diminishing returns on your MCAT score once it gets past a certain point. I think the reason for that is an MCAT of say 32/33 is impressive, but at some point I think there is a kernel of suspicion that you are just a good standardized test taker when you get closer to/above 40 and don't have a strong cumulative GPA/science GPA to back it up. Worst case, you just look like a smart, but lazy/inconsistent person.