Out of State schools?

[Greeneyes0234]

I am from Oklahoma, Which pretty much means my only reasonable state Med school is The University of Oklahoma. Oklahoma State University has a decent DO program but i'm not interested. The problem is I don't want to do my undergrad (business) and Med school at the same place. I'm new to SDN but I've been seeing in alot of threads that are saying state schools prefer their own residents. Is that right? How hard would it be for me to get the heck out of Oklahoma and into a good school...

GPA 3.58 (Business Admin major, political science and fine art minors)
Science GPA 4.0 (haven't taken O chem yet)
lots of liberal arts classes, two calc classes both b's.
studying for MCAT (but have a soft spot for standardized tests = ] )
Tons of extra curriculars - started a agency that mentors teen girls in the foster care system ages 13-18, part of agencies mission is to inform girls about teen pregnancy...etc...
Academic honor societies, public speaking, Local beauty queen. haha.


I know i'm kinda far away from med school. hopefully I can get in by 2010. I just need a little guidance.

Thanks.

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[Textuality]

I'd say that for now you should just get a handle on the MCAT and GPA, and make sure you have some clinical experiences in your EC's.

It's really hard to say how competitive you will be to schools that are out of state until you get back an MCAT score, and get a better idea of what your GPA will be by the time you apply. You can speculate all you want, but it'll probably just be wasted stress and energy which you might as well put towards MCAT prepping, haha.

But going out of state isn't too difficult, there are a lot of private schools out there that aren't super competitive (like Drexel, Temple, Tufts, etc). So keep up the hard work, shoot for a 30+ mcat, and I think you'll have a pretty good chance of getting out of Oklahoma.

 

[NTF]

Yup clinical ECs are a must. Biomedical research also a plus. Physician shadowing also a good idea. Your grades are competitive at several OOS schools so as long as you beef up those ECs and do well on the MCATs you're golden.

Where ideally are you looking to relocate too?

 

[Greeneyes0234]

honestly my dream school is the University of Chicago. 2nd Columbia. etc. I would like to move back to the East Coast. I used to live in DC. then I got sucked into the midwest.... = ) Biomedical research huh. have some experiencing doing like triage stuff at the Er. do you think that would count?

 

[NTF]

honestly my dream school is the University of Chicago. 2nd Columbia. etc. I would like to move back to the East Coast. I used to live in DC. then I got sucked into the midwest.... = ) Biomedical research huh. have some experiencing doing like triage stuff at the Er. do you think that would count?

University of Chicago a good option, it's very competitive but OOS friendly.
Columbia kind of uptight and nontrad unfriendly. you'll need stellar MCAT for that one, NYU a better bet, OOS friendly.
There's alot of OOS friendly east coast schools from Boston, Philly, NYC, DC, so you'll lots to choose from to apply to.

ER will count depending how you spin, but not as a replacement for biomedical research (meaning academic lab work). Plenty of people get in w/o it, but it can help.

lol. don't bag on the midwest. I went to UPENN, lived in NYC, Boston, Philly. Now I'm in Ohio and I love it.

 

[Greeneyes0234]

not the same midwest down here. Just red dirt and 80 proof. haha. I am not even sure where to start looking for academic lab work. Are you meaning the labs I took with biology and stuff? Where do you think I should look? I would be so lucky as to have gone to UPENN. =) boomer sooner.

Mind if I ask you a few questions about the MCAT?

1. If I freaking ace the verbal and writing sample, and just get like 11 or 12s on the PS and BS sections how do you think that will look?

2. I kind of need to understand the timeline. I'm pretty sure I'm too late to apply for this cycle and honestly not ready. So When should I plan to apply if not this cycle. Are there pretty standard deadlines? (saw something about people waiting for may 15th in some threads)

3. I love standardized tests. Thank God Im good at them. but how do you start studying for them. Is one part more important than any other?

4. Finally, Is 45 the highest score you can get?

Thanks for all you're help!

Katie

 

[NTF]

1. If I freaking ace the verbal and writing sample, and just get like 11 or 12s on the PS and BS sections how do you think that will look?

If you get a 11 or 12 on all three sections your MCAT will be above average right in the meat of the curve for all but the top 20 medical schools. Top 20 schools have an average of 35-36+ but a 33-34 will still be considered pretty competitive even at those schools (assuming your GPA, ECs, overall balanced application) So yes if you got 11/12 on PS, BS and 14 on VR you'd have a rockin score for any school.

2. I kind of need to understand the timeline. I'm pretty sure I'm too late to apply for this cycle and honestly not ready. So When should I plan to apply if not this cycle. Are there pretty standard deadlines? (saw something about people waiting for may 15th in some threads)

Honestly, I say the earlier in the cycle the better just so you can clear your plate. But I advise an april test date. That way your scores will be in, and if you can get your transcripts in before AMCAS submission start, you can have your primary verified from day one. Applying early increases your chances.
May test date is fine too. your scores will be in during mid june, so that's very early too

3. I love standardized tests. Thank God Im good at them. but how do you start studying for them. Is one part more important than any other?

I think they're all important because what you want is a balanced score. a 13,13,9 actually doesn't looke as good a 11,11,12 even though one's a 35 and the other 34. There seems to be some discussion that med schools really value the VR section, but who really knows. shoot for a 11 or better on each section and you'll have scores that any school will interview you with (assuming other strengths)
As far as test prep, everyone is different so I can only speak from my experience. My only advice I guess is not to use your textbooks to study (only use them as references), you don't want to waste your time studying things that you won't need. Get a good content review book. I used Kaplan, but I haven't really looked at other books. I personally think review courses like princeton and kaplan are a waste of money. Plus I found that their tests weren't really an accurate reflection of the real thing. I say just take as many eMCAT practice tests. I went through review book in 3 weeks, and took practice tests for a week (took 4-5, with scores ranging from 32-39). Got VR11, PS11, BS12, R.

4. Finally, Is 45 the highest score you can get?

yes it is. If you get a 45, please don't post a "What are my chances" thread. That's just cruel.

 

[Textuality]

Umm...I "just got like" 11s and 12s on my MCAT (11, 11, 12) and ended up getting accepted (all private and not in the midwest, haha) so yeah, I think you'd be fine "just" getting all 11s and 12s Granted, I didn't get a nod from Columbia, but that probably didn't have anything to do with my MCAT, probably more with the lack of biomed research (which is more important if you are applying to more competitive and research oriented schools).

 

[NTF]

Umm...I "just got like" 11s and 12s on my MCAT (11, 11, 12) and ended up getting accepted (all private and not in the midwest, haha) so yeah, I think you'd be fine "just" getting all 11s and 12s Granted, I didn't get a nod from Columbia, but that probably didn't have anything to do with my MCAT, probably more with the lack of biomed research (which is more important if you are applying to more competitive and research oriented schools).

Yeah, like I said Columbia seems uptight and more of a "numbers" school. Even their website seems snobbish and seems like they're trying to ward off people from applying. But you're going to UPENN which rocks over Columbia any day of the week and twice on Sunday.

 

[Textuality]

Yeah, like I said Columbia seems uptight and more of a "numbers" school. Even their website seems snobbish and seems like they're trying to ward off people from applying. But you're going to UPENN which rocks over Columbia any day of the week and twice on Sunday.

Oh, I totally agree NYC wasn't for me anyways, but even before I turned in my AMCAS, I knew I'd rather be at Penn than Columbia, haha.

I have a total crush on Penn