Need some advice...3.2/3.3sgpa 31 mcat, great ECs. MD chances?

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shaner123

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I'm new to SDN and am looking for some advice. Planning on applying this cycle to only MD schools. Do I have a realistic shot at an acceptance?


300 volunteering ER/patient floors. Direct patient contact

300 hours shadowing multiple specialities (mainly ortho) have a letter of rec from a doc and it's strong

100 volunteering at a homeless shelter

Worked as a pharmacy technician for a year in high school

1 year of research in an entomology lab studying bee virus pathology associated with colony collapse disorder

5 strong letters of recommendation

Strong upward trend compared to earlier years. Attend a large public university in PA and am a PA resident. Obviously the GPA is not the best. Do I have a shot of acceptance to an MD school?
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Unless you're URM your odds are better for DO schools. I'd apply to state schools, a few "low tier" MD schools (e.g., NYMC, Rosalind Franklin), and DO schools. There's nothing wrong with going the DO route.
 
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No URM but socioeconomically disadvantaged. Does that matter? Are the PA schools favorable to in state residents? What is a good list of schools to apply to?
 
Best chances are with DO programs; I am not sanguine for any MD chances. But try your state school, if any.

shaner123 said:
I'm new to SDN and am looking for some advice. Planning on applying this cycle to only MD schools. Do I have a realistic shot at an acceptance?


300 volunteering ER/patient floors. Direct patient contact

300 hours shadowing multiple specialities (mainly ortho) have a letter of rec from a doc and it's strong

100 volunteering at a homeless shelter

Worked as a pharmacy technician for a year in high school

1 year of research in an entomology lab studying bee virus pathology associated with colony collapse disorder

5 strong letters of recommendation

Strong upward trend compared to earlier years. Attend a large public university in PA and am a PA resident. Obviously the GPA is not the best. Do I have a shot of acceptance to an MD school?
Click to expand...
 
Do you have the MSAR online? If not buy it right now. It will help YOU develop YOUR list. Really consider DO schools. Your GPAs are well below average for MD and your MCAT is about average. Read up on DO.
 
I have an MSAR and will use it. I'm just wanting an input on my chances. Do Pennsylvania schools favor in state applicants? Are my ECs good or can I improve them?
 
shaner123 said:
I have an MSAR and will use it. I'm just wanting an input on my chances. Do Pennsylvania schools favor in state applicants? Are my ECs good or can I improve them?
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Input on chances has been given - slim for MD decent for DO. As mentioned above state schools favor in-state applicants. This due to their mission/purpouse and funding, and should be noticeable in the numbers in the MSAR. You can always improve ECs. Yours are fairly decent.
 
I'll try all my state schools and out of state friendly schools. What other ECs could I do to improve my app? Should I retake the MCAT?
 
Goro said:
You should not retake the MCAT...the GPA is the problem for MD schools.

What's your home state?
Click to expand...

My home state is Pennsylvania. I know the GPA is low but I do have an upward trend
 
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bearded frog said:
Upward trend is only helpful when your GPA is borderline, ie ~3.5.

What was the GPA of your Junior and Senior years?
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Well I'm a junior right now but my sophomore year was:

Fall: 2.79
Spring: 2.86

Junior year:

Fall: 3.45
Spring: 3.55

So compared to my sophomore year I do have an upward trend. The low GPA is due to family issues and then taking >20 credits all 4 semesters. I feel that 21 credits at 3.55 has to account for something, right?
 
Not really. Two semesters isn't really a trend. Why are you applying this year? Why not wait until June 2015 to apply. Hopefully your upward trend will continue and your GPAs will inch up higher. What were your GPAs as a freshman?

DO NOT RETAKE THE MCAT. Your score is not the problem with your application package.

Sent from my KFOT using Tapatalk 2
 
bearded frog said:
It does, it brings you in range of competitive DO schools. When ADCOMs say that they like to see a strong upward trend, it means as an alternative to consistently high grades. Like instead of an applicant with ~3.7 in all four years, you might get someone with a 2.6, 3.2, 3.6, 4.0. If you have a 3.8+ in senior years it cam show that early low GPA years were either something else going on or you turned yourself around but you can manage an intensive medical school curriculum.

I'm not saying 3.5 is bad, its just not going to be a strong argument, as a strong upward trend argument would be going from low to 3.9 and averaging 3.5, where you went to 3.5. Not to say that all is lost, just that to really have the most opportunity you might consider a year of grade replacement for DOs or a one or two year post-bac or SMP for MDs.
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Even though I did it with 21 credits each semester? Along with studying for the MCAT and volunteering and research and shadowing?
 
candbgirl said:
Not really. Two semesters isn't really a trend. Why are you applying this year? Why not wait until June 2015 to apply. Hopefully your upward trend will continue and your GPAs will inch up higher. What were your GPAs as a freshman?

DO NOT RETAKE THE MCAT. Your score is not the problem with your application package.

Sent from my KFOT using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...

I'm applying this year because I don't want to do a gap year. How much higher can they really go when I have about 100 credits already completed?

As a freshman:
Fall: 3.57
Spring: 3.00

It has to be mentioned that a did a high course load every semester along with my extracurriculars. What can I do to increase my competitiveness? Why not retake the MCAT for a 34+?
 
Lots of people are doing the same as you. And doing it better. You aren't special with your workload etc.
IMO you should take a gap year. It is highly unlikely you will have success with MD schools. If you want to apply this year really research DO schools.

The reason you shouldn't retake the MCAT is that you have a good score. If you retake it there are no guarantees you will score a 34 in fact you may score the same or even lower. Do you really want to take that chance?
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An upward trend is always taken as a good sign. The high course load might explain, but doesn't excuse. it mmay have people question your judgement. However, just keep acing things and that will help.

It has to be mentioned that a did a high course load every semester along with my extracurriculars. What can I do to increase my competitiveness?

Because the risk is you may do worse, stay the same, or only go up 1-2 points. Even a 40 MCAT will not rescue a well below avg GPA.
Why not retake the MCAT for a 34+

You fine for any DO program, but if you're dead set on MD programs, try the following (only TCMC I foresee you having any chance at, really)
TCMC
Drexel (maybe)
Quinnipiac
Western MI
Albany
NYMC
Rosy Franklin
 
bearded frog said:
I'm not saying it isn't difficult, it is. But there are thousands of applicants with 3.9 GPAs while taking big course loads and ECs. Furthermore, ADCOMs expect you to have good time management skills, and know when to cut back on extracurriculars, course loads when you are aware you cannot excel in them. This is the party line. I'm telling you what you're up against. If you can knock out a 3.9 this year that will help you with your upward trend story. If you can excell this year, and identify and reflect on the reasons you struggled in previous years, that will go a long way to help an ADCOM look past a underperfoming total GPA.

Assuming your MCAT scores are balanced, a 31 is a competitive score. The rate limiting step here is your GPA. A 36 MCAT will not make up for the issues your GPA presents, so there is no advantage for you to retake it.
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I would say this last year shows I can handle heavy course loads. I have legitimate reasons for my low GPA. I'm not going to make excuses about it. I understand what you're saying about the MCAT score but is the LizzyM score not realistic for my chances?
 
candbgirl said:
Lots of people are doing the same as you. And doing it better. You aren't special with your workload etc.
IMO you should take a gap year. It is highly unlikely you will have success with MD schools. If you want to apply this year really research DO schools.

The reason you shouldn't retake the MCAT is that you have a good score. If you retake it there are no guarantees you will score a 34 in fact you may score the same or even lower. Do you really want to take that chance?
Sent from my KFOT using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...

What could I do to make my application stand out more in a gap year? Would a masters program that is not associated with a medical school work?

I understand about the MCAT. I thought it could possibly increase and make me more competitive
 
Goro said:
An upward trend is always taken as a good sign. The high course load might explain, but doesn't excuse. it mmay have people question your judgement. However, just keep acing things and that will help.

It has to be mentioned that a did a high course load every semester along with my extracurriculars. What can I do to increase my competitiveness?

Because the risk is you may do worse, stay the same, or only go up 1-2 points. Even a 40 MCAT will not rescue a well below avg GPA.
Why not retake the MCAT for a 34+

You fine for any DO program, but if you're dead set on MD programs, try the following (only TCMC I foresee you having any chance at, really)
TCMC
Drexel (maybe)
Quinnipiac
Western MI
Albany
NYMC
Rosy Franklin
Click to expand...

I'm not trying to make excuses. I had problems early on but that's no way representative of who I am now.

Does TCMC really favor in state residents? Do I have at least a chance at Temple, Jefferson, Penn State or some of the NY schools?

Could my ECs improve?
 
shaner123 said:
What could I do to make my application stand out more in a gap year? Would a masters program that is not associated with a medical school work?

I understand about the MCAT. I thought it could possibly increase and make me more competitive
Click to expand...

Continue to take upper level courses and do well to boost your GPA, and continue to build ECs. Graduate work generally doesn't help much in terms of competitiveness due to grade inflation. Also, your grad GPA would be separate from your undergrad GPA.
 
WillburCobb said:
Continue to take upper level courses and do well to boost your GPA, and continue to build ECs. Graduate work generally doesn't help much in terms of competitiveness due to grade inflation. Also, your grad GPA would be separate from your undergrad GPA.
Click to expand...

What would be some strong ECs to add?
 
shaner123 said:
What would be some strong ECs to add?
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Exposure to primary care can be viewed as beneficial, continued exposure to direct patient contact (e.g., working as an aide, EMT, scribe, etc), continuing to volunteer. Lots of things.
 
WillburCobb said:
Exposure to primary care can be viewed as beneficial, continued exposure to direct patient contact (e.g., working as an aide, EMT, scribe, etc), continuing to volunteer. Lots of things.
Click to expand...

I have shadowed a primary care doc for about 70 hours. I could try to become a scribe then. Do I really have no shot as it is?
 
shaner123 said:
I have shadowed a primary care doc for about 70 hours. I could try to become a scribe then. Do I really have no shot as it is?
Click to expand...

As pretty much everyone here has said, unless you take some time (1-2 years) to do some GPA repair your chance at an MD acceptance is slim. Statistically you have ~39% chance of an acceptance. You're fine for DO schools. Are you opposed to going the DO route?
 
WillburCobb said:
As pretty much everyone here has said, unless you take some time (1-2 years) to do some GPA repair your chance at an MD acceptance is slim. Statistically you have ~39% chance of an acceptance. You're fine for DO schools. Are you opposed to going the DO route?
Click to expand...

For any DO school? I'm not opposed to it but I'm shooting for mainly MD schools. I thought that my home state had all in state favorable schools...
 
Yes, by 3:1
Does TCMC really favor in state residents?

No for the Philly schools or Penn state; your GPAs are < the 10th percentile for these. For the two NY schools, barely.

Do I have at least a chance at Temple, Jefferson, Penn State or some of the NY schools?

ECs can always improve!

Could my ECs improve?
 
Should I apply early decision to TCMC then?

How broadly should I apply?

I'm going to try to find a scribe job for the summer!
 
shaner123 said:
Should I apply early decision to TCMC then?

How broadly should I apply?

I'm going to try to find a scribe job for the summer!
Click to expand...

Early decision is for people with solid stats, so I would not apply ED.
 
I've called before and they told me they don't offer advice...
 
Well when I called it wasn't about EDP. It was just general questions so I assume it's the same policy. I'm hoping they will give me a shot at acceptance
 
OP, are you from northeast pa? tcmc wants to train physicians that will stay in the area (northeast pa). They aren't just a school to apply ED to because you feel that gives you a better shot with your numbers.

Definitely ask to see if you are competitive though before applying ED. If you don't get in it puts you at a disadvantage for regular admission.
 
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bonnie12 said:
OP, are you from northeast pa? tcmc wants to train physicians that will stay in the area (northeast pa). They aren't just a school to apply ED to because you feel that gives you a better shot with your numbers.

Definitely ask to see if you are competitive though before applying ED. If you don't get in it puts you at a disadvantage for regular admission.
Click to expand...


I'm from eastern PA close to Allentown. I am willing to stay close and practice in the area and not move elsewhere. Is that local enough?

I'll call them to see what they say
 
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