Please Chance, 3.84 GPA 37 MCAT

[goodlord123]

Hi, I am currently a religious studies major at a liberal arts college and a resident of VA.

I have a 3.84 gpa, and a 3.79 science gpa. I have a 37 MCAT score as well. My ec's are as follows:

Founder and President of several school clubs which are involved in charity and creative projects.

270+ hours of clinical volunteering. I have been lucky enough to intern at an amazing hospital which gives me a lot of hands on experience with patients. I have also gone through several different groups within the hospital such as the ER, general surgery and nursing units. I have had a lot of interaction with patients and some good letters of Rec. from the doctors I have interned with.

Done 100+ of research with a professor at my school looking for a link between hypnosis and its ability to improve academic ability.

Worked in Switzerland at a summer camp for a summer, 16 hour days for three months straight, in charge of 8 children for three week periods.

Also taught magic in Switzerland.

I hope this information can give you all a good idea of what my application will look like and because my school is relatively small, I have very personal letters of rec from my teachers.

My school list is:
Vanderbilt
Georgetown
Dartmouth
Miami
USC
Yale
UVA - instate does that matter?
Baylor
Duke
Tufts
Arizona
San Antonio
VCU
GW
USF
U Tenn.

Is this list realistic? Any additions?

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[Person0715]

I would consider removing GW and Georgetown since they get ~12k apps, unless you have a compelling reason to attend.

Do you have a regional preference? It looks like you'd be competitive for the NYC schools (NYU, Sinai, Columbia, Cornell, and Einstein).

 

[goodlord123]

I would consider removing GW and Georgetown since they get ~12k apps, unless you have a compelling reason to attend.

Do you have a regional preference? It looks like you'd be competitive for the NYC schools (NYU, Sinai, Columbia, Cornell, and Einstein).

I havent actually considered the NY schools, but you are right, I will give them a look. I prefer warm weather, but certainly will be able to handle the cold.

Also, does having family in DC count as a compelling reason to the med school boards? For me it is compelling as I have three very young siblings that I would like to be able to spend time with. Thanks for the help.

 

[Person0715]

I havent actually considered the NY schools, but you are right, I will give them a look. I prefer warm weather, but certainly will be able to handle the cold.

Also, does having family in DC count as a compelling reason to the med school boards? For me it is compelling as I have three very young siblings that I would like to be able to spend time with. Thanks for the help.

If you have a reason to be in DC, by all means apply to them. Just make sure you can convey your reasons eloquently on secondaries. Also, think of other reasons you want to attend besides location.

 

[goodlord123]

I know this is going to sound as if I have no clue what I am talking about, because I sort of don't, but what are the differences between med schools? obviously curriculum changes from place to place, but I'd imagine it is quite similar. So, what should I be focusing on to determine which med schools will be for me? obviously you all cant answer what is right for me, but what factors should I be considering besides location?

 

[nemo123]

I know this is going to sound as if I have no clue what I am talking about, because I sort of don't, but what are the differences between med schools? obviously curriculum changes from place to place, but I'd imagine it is quite similar. So, what should I be focusing on to determine which med schools will be for me? obviously you all cant answer what is right for me, but what factors should I be considering besides location?

Generally, schools are 80-90% the same, as a couple med students emphasized on the interview trail. You will get a great medical education wherever you matriculate at and it's about looking at the remaining 10-20% that distinguishes schools and see if you fit that well.

Some factors you should look at: Do you want a condensed curriculum so you can go off to wards earlier and have extra time to pursue research?
-Jumping off of that, does the school seem to have a lot of research opportunities (if you're interested in it)?
-Do they put an emphasis on small group, PBL, and/or lectures?
-Does the school require lecture attendance?
-When are exams/quizzes? Does the school have weekly quizzes or one huge exam at the end of the block?
-Is there protected time for Step 1?
-Do you like the overall feel of the school on interview day
-Do you like the current students (Emphasis on current... Some people strongly judge a school based on the interviewees they meet on interview day, but keep in mind that generally less than half of all interviewees will be accepted and even fewer than that will matriculate.)
-Do the students seem happy with the school?

 

[lmn]

Some of your schools that you probably put on as safeties have average stats much lower than yours and therefore might not seriously consider your application as they might assume that you would choose to go to higher rank programs (which you are competitive at) over their own.

 

[goodlord123]

Thanks so much for the responses so far guys. In regards to the lower tier schools on my list, @imn, what would be a good alternative then to them to still ensure that I have safeties I can have a decent expectation of being accepted into. Also @nemo123 Thank you so much for that list of possible things to consider. Over all, should I expand my list more? Good chance of being accepted? thanks so much guys.

 

[nemo123]

You also have some schools on your list that aren't very OOS friendly like Arizona and Tenn. You might want to drop those and add other schools (as mentioned above like Einstein, Cornell, Columbia, Sinai, etc)

 

[lmn]

Thanks so much for the responses so far guys. In regards to the lower tier schools on my list, @imn, what would be a good alternative then to them to still ensure that I have safeties I can have a decent expectation of being accepted into. Also @nemo123 Thank you so much for that list of possible things to consider. Over all, should I expand my list more? Good chance of being accepted? thanks so much guys.

For example, arizona I believe is like a 67ish on the LizzyM score, you are around a 75, look to lessen that gap a bit so you aren't so "overqualified". You might want to search and see what a general consensus is on how many points to go down for safety schools, I'm sure there are threads on it, and likely even answers by lizzym or other adcom members.

 

[Wonderpig]

You also have some schools on your list that aren't very OOS friendly like Arizona and Tenn. You might want to drop those and add other schools (as mentioned above like Einstein, Cornell, Columbia, Sinai, etc)

Arizona-Phoenix doesn't really care as much about IS/OOS--at least from my experience. I'm not sure about Tucson, but I received interviews from both Arizonas. I only attended Phoenix and was accepted as OOS and you have better creds than I do.

 

[nemo123]

Arizona-Phoenix doesn't really care as much about IS/OOS--at least from my experience. I'm not sure about Tucson, but I received interviews from both Arizonas. I only attended Phoenix and was accepted as OOS and you have better creds than I do.

That's because you're a stellar applicant.

 

[thegypsyqueen]

Your stats are really good and your ECs are solid (not great but not bad) and so your list is very reasonable. I would drop the DC schools and the OOS schools as others have mentioned and add more upper tiers. Your research is probably a little weak for the research intensive programs so be selective with those too.

 

[The Milkman]

Might as well throw on Eastern Virginia... and maybe look into Emory or Case Western?

I suggest dropping USF, USC, Arizona, Tenn, San Antonio