Moving to California Worth it?

[pick6mike]

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Hello everyone,

My fiancé and I are considering moving back to her home state of California. We are applying next year and both have:
cGpa: 3.4
sGpa: 3.6-3.7
Postbacc GPA:3.8-4.0
URM
Ivy League Masters (3.3-3.5)
2000+ Clinical
1000+ Research
1000+ Non clinical/Leadership (Teaching/Tutoring)
College Athlete and Coaching
My fiancé has good ECs on her end
No MCAT yet ( if score between 505-515 for both of us...obviously we still need to study and we’ll see)

Assuming these stats, would it be advisable to move from Georgia to California if that’s where we ultimately want to be, despite Cali schools being hard to get in? The gpas are pretty much set. What MCAT score do we both need to get to feel comfortable making the move. We would still be able to apply to the HBCUs, but are we sabotaging ourselves if we move from a state with easier to get in (albeit less) medical schools to California?

 

[rdyotz]

First, if you would to retain your anonymity, I would change your profile pic.
California is ultra competitive, with most (I believe) California residents being forced out of Cali to attend med school. Trying to get in to a school in the same geographic region as your fiance is also hard, as schools have to love both of you. Your cGPA is low to be highly competitive (not sure if undergrad was Ivy league as well). ECs look great though and URM status is helpful. It's pretty much impossible to gauge competitiveness without an MCAT (or without seeing essays, interview skills, etc). Georgia would likely offer a much better chance of you getting into the same school. If you are going to move, I'd say it would be more beneficial to move to an area with a large number of med schools in a short drive (NYC, LA, Chicago, etc) so you don't have to do a long distance relationship.

What's more important? Getting into medical school or getting into medical school in California. Every (assumption) medical school has students match to California residencies, so there is also time to get back to Cali.

 

[readmypostsMD]

Yes

 

[deleted889094]

Yeah you'll need a good MCAT to equalize the gpa. And 505-515 is a huge window. That's like 60th-90th percentile. You'll need at least a 510 to have a decent shot anywhere I think.

 

[pick6mike]

It’s more important to get in, so we’ll probably stay in Georgia. My post bacc gpa is going to be 3.8-4.0. If I pull off a 510, do I have a decent shot at schools like UCLA, Duke, UNC, Emory, Einstein? And if it’s lower, Say 500-509, with the rest of the package being good and URM would give me a decent shot in state and with HBCU’s?

 

[deleted1017883]

It’s more important to get in, so we’ll probably stay in Georgia. My post bacc gpa is going to be 3.8-4.0. If I pull off a 510, do I have a decent shot at schools like UCLA, Duke, UNC, Emory, Einstein? And if it’s lower, Say 500-509, with the rest of the package being good and URM would give me a decent shot in state and with HBCU’s?

I'd say 514+ish and you won't have any problems with those higher tier schools given your excellent ECs. With a 510 you will 100% get in somewhere nonetheless so just do your best!

 

[GreenDuck12]

If I were in your shoes, I would stay on the east coast since there is a greater concentration of schools there compared to CA. It’s not a guarantee that you both would matriculate to the same school in CA and travel times between schools can be extreme let alone if one of you is admitted to a school on the east coast. Georgia isn’t the most favorable state but it’s nowhere near as bad as CA. I would apply broadly in GA, SC, NC, VA, PA, NJ, and NY.

 

[sophop]

Native Californian here. Overall: 8 A's (inc. several T10s). In CA: applied to 8, rejected by 7 - Without. Even. An. Interview. (Of course, YMMV).

 

[fathergoat]

I mean you're a URM and a college athlete so unless you bomb the MCAT, you have a good chance of getting in. If you really care about going to a Cali school, your chances are improved significantly by going. So, the real question is, how bad do you wanna go to a Cali school? I feel like unless you bomb the MCAT, you will get in somewhere.

 

[Faha]

Which URM community are you from ? If Hispanic are you fluent in Spanish ? Is your fiance URM ?

 

[pick6mike]

@Faha I’m African (born and raised here) and I’m a little more than conversational in Spanish. My fiancé is Black Hispanic (black from South America), she speaks Spanish fluently, Chinese, and Portuguese.

 

[Faha]

@Faha I’m African (born and raised here) and I’m a little more than conversational in Spanish. My fiancé is Black Hispanic (black from South America), she speaks Spanish fluently.

Your chances are better in Georgia. You have Morehouse, Mercer and Medical College Georgia. If you both score 505 or higher you would be competitive for all 3 of those schools. You could receive interviews at Emory with a 510.

 

[deleted889094]

Your chances are better in Georgia. You have Morehouse, Mercer and Medical College Georgia. If you both score 505 or higher you would be competitive for all 3 of those schools. You could receive interviews at Emory with a 510.

Agreed. Much better to shoot for residency or career in Cali if you really want to live there.

 

[pick6mike]

Thank you. I’m confident in my test taking ability. What do I need to hit to be competitive for Duke, UNC, UCLA, USC, UCSF, Columbia?

 

[deleted889094]

Thank you. I’m confident in my test taking ability. What do I need to hit to be competitive for Duke, UNC, UCLA, USC, UCSF, Columbia?

Hard to say. I think you'll want at least a 510, but shoot as high as you can obv

Also, I don't think the answer is the same for all those schools.

 

[fathergoat]

Thank you. I’m confident in my test taking ability. What do I need to hit to be competitive for Duke, UNC, UCLA, USC, UCSF, Columbia?

I would look at MSAR for every school! If your MCAT is at least in the 1-25th percentile for each school, you should apply! Your GPA should be good for all schools listed.

 

[pick6mike]

Update:
We decided to move to California for personal reasons. We feel confident that if we can't get into a California school we would have a good shot at HBCUs or other OOS friendly schools. But, we also believe we are competitive for California and would like some updated advice with new Stats.

Could anyone help me create a school list for next year? @Faha maybe?

URM - Black Nigerian-American Male
Non trad
Advanced Spanish speaking skills
cGPA: 3.52 (Top-15 Liberal Arts & State School) (Presidents List) (Deans List) (Cum Laude)
sGPA: 3.8 (All Science Pre-Reqs & 2 Upper Div)
MCAT: 512
Postbacc GPA: 4.0 (All Science, Community College credits due to finances/Upper level coursework at 4-year State School)
Masters: 3.3 (Ivy League, Healthcare-related Field)

*2000+ hours - Clinical Employment/Volunteer Work*
Licensed Clinical Therapist: 600 --- Mental Health Support Group Counselor [Underserved/At Risk Community]: 500 ---- COVID-19 Patient Health Screener at Orthopedic Surgery Office: 300 ---- Crisis Counselor at Crisis Hotline (600)

*100+ hours - Shadowing*
20hrs - Family Medicine (PA) - [Underserved/At Risk Community] [100% Spanish Speaking]
20hrs - Psychiatry (NP)
20hrs - Psychiatry (MD)
20hrs - Neurologist (MD)
20hrs - Neurosurgeon (MD)

*1500+ Research*
-Worked as Research Assistant/Associate in 2 Labs at my Masters Program (Ivy Social-Science) & a Clinical/Medical Research Associate at top Academic Medical Center in California
-1 publication in a medical journal (6th or 7th Author)
-Completed Research project in partnership with Computer Science department, that resulted in the production of a 3-D Virtual Reality Data Visualization project. The production is a 3-D VR compatible visualization of the effect COVID-19 had on various areas of New York City.
-Began Academic Transcription Company; Contract Employed & Supervised 8 Subcontractors, Built Professional Website for Company; Hired for 2 large NIH-granted studies (more of EC/Leadership, but related)

*1500+ Non clinical Volunteering/Leadership/Relevant Employment (Teaching/Tutoring)*
-Volunteer Teacher/Curriculum Developer (English, U.S History, Consumer Mathematics, & Health Science) at 5013c organization that provided education and high school diplomas for Bhutanese refugees, Undocumented immigrants, and students who had been dismissed by the public school system (300)
-Substitute Special Ed Teacher (500)
-Math Teacher at Charter School for underserved & low SES families (220)
-English Teacher at After-school program for underserved & low SES families (220)
-Tutored gifted children for various Standardized Tests required for entry into Academies (300)
-Volunteer High-school Football Coach (Leadership)(25)

*Intercollegiate Athletics*
-College Athlete (300) (Top 5/35 Individual Finish at Conference Championships)

Schools I would hope to have a shot at. Out of these: Am I likely to receive interviews? Where can I improve (should I retake MCAT)?

Harvard
Yale
Columbia
SUNY Downstate
SUNY Stony Brook
NYMC
Albert Einstein
Duke
UNC
Emory
Vanderbilt
Cornell
Georgetown
Morehouse
Howard
Meharry
Miami
Stanford
UCLA Geffen
UCLA Drew
USC
UCSD
UCI
UC Riverside
UCD
UCSF
Dartmouth
Brown
U Mich
Drexel

 

[Faha]

You do not need to retake the MCAT. You could add any of these schools:
Kaiser
California University
Boston University
Pittsburgh
Case Western
Ohio State
Cincinnati
St. Louis
Mount Sinai
NYU
You should receive several interviews from your list. Remove UC Riverside unless you are from that region.

 

[pick6mike]

***EDIT

You would have told me to take it off if Harvard was out of range, I'm assuming?

 

[Faha]

***EDIT

You would have told me to take it off if Harvard was out of range, I'm assuming?

You could receive an interview at Harvard.