Please help me decide...

[BRUINGOLD]

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Ok, so most schools won't give me a consultation appointment until late April or May, but I have to decide on what to do for next year before then! You guys give good advice so I wanted to get your opinions. My advisor hasn't been all that helpful. She told me to retake the MCAT (I got a 35) in order to be competitive at schools like UCSF and Stanford, but hasn't been decisive on what to do for the next year. I'm planning to apply to all the UC's, plus USC, Stanford and schools where I should have a good shot (if there is such a thing 🙂 )

Anyway, here are my options for next year:

1. Take a UC post-bacc program (they do let in people who are NOT disadvantaged). My GPA is 3.4 and obviously needs some work.

2. Do the Georgetown SMP. This program is definitely appealing to me. I'd be taking 6 classes with first year med students so it would be a way to prove to med schools that you can handle the work and that you belong.

3. Get a regular master's. I'm looking for one year programs.

4. Do research at the NIH.

 

[oldtown]

I would not retake the MCAt if i were you. 35 is pretty damn good, and i would be worried about doing worse the second time around. cali schools are extremely difficult, and i don't know if a better mcat would help- i'm from CA, i had a 3.45 GPA and a 37 MCAT and didn't even get an interview to a UC, and got rejected by UCSF pre-secondary. I didn't apply to any CA private schools though, so i can't attest to them. otherwise, i would recommend applying to a lot of the out of state private schools that take a lot of californians- Tulane, NYMC, MCW, Drexel, Creighton to name a few.

 

[Lab-Rat21]

DO NOT retake the MCAT, you may score lower and ruin such a good score. I would go for the NIH research...it's a great experience to talk about during interviews...your GPA is OK, but a 3.4 easily can be justified with a 35...what's your science GPA?

I would not do a post-bacc unless you don't get in the first time, good luck, but I don't think you will need any. APPLY EARLY!!!

 

[Ginza]

I definitely agree that I wouldn't re-take the MCAT. I would focus my time on other things.

Just to clarify, are you talking about applying to enter the fall of 2004? If you are going to re-submit AMCAS in three months, then you won't be able to include your post-bacc grades in your GPA. You will be able to send them updates as grades come in, but that is just one thing to consider.

I also don't know if you only applied to UC schools this time around. If so, definitely diversify the schools you apply to.

best of luck!

 

[DW]

if you're just trying to get into "a" medical school, your pre med advisor needs to be assasinated. retake with a 35?!? Unless you have a 5V, 15P, 15B, breakdown, dont retake. a 3.4 from ucla will not stellar is not horrible either.

i think your mcat score should validate the GPA (what was your major btw?) if you're applying to the right schools, such as east coast privates that take a lot of californians, and a healthy number of them. I'd do the NIH thing. Great resume booster and you'll make a little money.

 

[CTIL]

I'm continually shocked to hear stories about people with 35's or 37's not getting into medical school. What do you think was working against you?

Good luck with everything. I would do research at NIH if I were you. Getting a master's for the hell of it seems like a waste. Work nine to five in the lab and enjoy your weekends for a year.

CTIL

 

[oldtown]

just to clarify- i don't know if you were referring to me as one of the people w/ 35's or 37's and not getting in or not. if so, i had a 37 and i have been accepted to 3 schools, i just meant that i got no interviews at UC schools. all mine are out of state private

 

[CTIL]

clarification noted

 

[BRUINGOLD]

Yeah, retaking the MCAT concerns me too. The best I think I could do is go up 2 points and the nightmare scenario is, of course, I could go down a few points. I think my advisor wants me to break a 40!!! 😱 When I told her I was interested in applying to UCSF, she flat-out told me my score would not cut it. BTW, for those that asked, my major is Neuroscience and my science GPA is 3.34 (my freshman year screwed me 🙁 ). I applied to 10 schools this year including...Wake Forest, GW, Dartmouth, Wash U., UAB.

CTIL, I think my GPA worked against me big time.

Thanks for all the advice, guys! So far, most people are for the NIH research. 😀

Ginza-- yes, I'm applying for Fall 2004.

 

[lola]

in my opinion you should NOT retake the mcat unless you have a really really bad distribution or something.
even if you do retake and score a 40, who's to say ucsf will accept you? admissions is too random to waste all that time studying for the mcat when you have a very good score already. their average mcat is something like 34. you are already above that. for you to be under consideration there you will need some great ec's and a lot of luck.
if i were you i'd take the year off and work while taking a few science classes to try to boost your science gpa. hopefully you'll be able to get a good lor from your work -- at least to add to your file mid-year when you've been there for a while.
shame on you for applying to only 10 schools 😉! apply to more schools next time.
🙂

 

[DW]

Originally posted by lola
shame on you for applying to only 10 schools 😉! apply to more schools next time.
🙂

excellent point. bruingold, you might want to SERIOUSLY consider applying to more schools, and evaluating where you spply to. both UAB and Wake favor instate residents, and Wash U's average stats are a ~3.8 and ~36. feel free to apply to wherever you want, but think long and hard about how you can optimize your chances of acceptance

 

[lattimer13]

i agree with lola's last post. retake those courses that you screwed up on during your freshman year. sounds like that should help out the GPA. your MCAT scores are awesome and you do NOT need to waste another perfectly good saturday.

your premed advisor sounds like a tool. it sounds like he/she doesn't know a god damn thing about the MCAT. go to your local library and check out aamc's MSAR book; it tells you the avg. GPA, science GPA, and MCAT's for students accepted to all the med schools. you'll find your 35 is at or above the avg and just about every US school.

again, as lola said, apply to lots more schools. it seems like all the cali residents apply to a ton of schools seeing as how UC schools are so tough because of the huge # of cali premeds.

try to pick up a part-time job too if you decide to retake your classes. research, clinical, volunteer. just make sure it's something that interests you and you enjoy it. don't do it because you think it will look good on your app.

how did your interviews go? i don't remember seeing you say anything about those. did your interviewers say anything about your application during interviews?

hope this helps.

 

[BRUINGOLD]

I know, shame on me! 😀 I was basically pretty uninformed about the process. One thing I've learned this year is that med school admission is freakin' RANDOM. UCSF could very well reject me even if I got a 45. I'm looking into schools now where I have a reasonable chance so I'll probably be applying to 20.

lattimer13-- Pre-med advising here sucks, I'm trying to find other resources. I will check out the MSAR to give me an idea of which schools to apply to. I didn't get ANY interviews this year! I was either rejected pre-secondary or post-secondary. Pretty damn depressing. 🙁

 

[monkeyarms]

like everyone else said, your mcat is fine. you'd be best off to start taking grad courses somewhere this summer (if possible) that are relevant to your 1st year med material (any anatomy, physiology, biochem, genetics). just be sure you dominate the coursework. if you can pull it off, work as a research assistant so you can take a class or two for free. #1 tip is to go somewhere you like and beat the door down with your work ethic, enthusiasm, and whatever charm you've got. politics are absolutely crucial in this game. remember the ad coms are just a bunch of people like you that happen to be 20 years older. make sure they know you. just be sure to do something to improve your app this year and i'm sure you'll be in next year. oh yeah...be sure to volunteer starting immediately.