Possibly applying with the highest MCAT ever? Help w/ School List

[md-2020]

Hi SDN! Totally blown away by my recent (new) MCAT score, so here to get your thoughts on my revised school list.
My stats:
Mostly traditional, graduated college at 20, now applying @ 21 after a 1 year MPH
~3.7 cGPA
~3.5 sGPA
527 MCAT
Top 15 undergrad, graduated in 3 years w/double major and magna cum laude.
MPH from big Ivy
Maryland resident, ORM

EC's:
GI research 5 years: 4 pubs (1st, 2nd, 5th, 6th author) with 2 more in the works. 4 poster presentations (all national/international level conferences)
ortho clinical research: 1 year, no pubs
shadowing: 150 hours ortho spine (50 in the OR), 100 hours IM; 250 total
shock trauma med assistant: 100 hours
athletic trainer+sports med intern: 500+ hours-worked for school (DI) athletic department
lifeguard and swim instructor (paid job): 5 years
SAT/AP tutor (paid job): 3 years
sports coach (volunteer): 4 years, ~500 hours
school news editor
peer reviewer for 3 undergrad journals, head of review for home institution journal
various paid articles for newspapers
school-organized service organization (3 years), ~200 hours
student hospital volunteer/clerk: 1 year, ~75-100 hours
campus tour guide: 2 years
Catholic service with church: about 200 hours total

Misc:
Mensa
FIDE ranked chess player
HS 2 sport All-American (injured in college)
Guildhall certified concert pianist
Fluent in Mandarin and Spanish

School list (going super top heavy, I know....is it too much?):
Harvard
Hopkins
Stanford
Perelman@ Penn
Columbia
Yale
Duke
Pritzker @ UChicago
Weill Cornell
Northwestern
Vandy
Icahn @ Mt. Sinai
Mayo
Geisel @ Dartmouth
Alpert @ Brown
Maryland (IS, almost all clinical/research there, mom is doc there)
Georgetown
GW
Virginia
Iowa (lived there a while, born there, decent OOS %)
=20 schools so far. Looking to apply to about 25-30. Any add suggestions? I realize my GPAs could be an issue at many schools of this caliber.

Edit: Will be applying MD/MBA, where applicable.

Thanks guys and be kind if I violated any newbie posting rules!

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[aesklepi]

Congratulations! The best of the best. You may want to be a little more general in your posts, as to not give away your identity (if that matters to you).

 

[md-2020]

@aesklepi thanks for the heads up. Generally I'm pretty mindful of that (which is why I've only lurked on SDN until now), but I wanted to provide as much info to get some help as possible. and thanks for the kind words as well 🙂

 

[Goro]

Any med school in the country is yours. It might be easier to post a list of schools you don't want to go!


Nothing wrong with aiming high. I suggest:

Harvard
Hopkins
Stanford
UCSF or UCSD
USC/Keck and/or UCLA
Perelman@ Penn
Columbia
Yale
Duke
Pritzker @ UChicago
Weill Cornell
Northwestern
Vandy
Icahn @ Mt. Sinai
NYU
Case
Geisel @ Dartmouth
Maryland
U Miami
Virginia
Iowa or MI
Baylor
Pitt
Loyola
Tulane
Hofstra
BU
Rochester
Einstein




With that MCAT score??? No way! While the sGPA might be < median for a number of these school, you have a lot more that makes up for it.
Any add suggestions? I realize my GPAs could be an issue at many schools of this caliber.

Edit: Will be applying MD/MBA, where applicable.

Thanks guys and be kind if I violated any newbie posting rules![/QUOTE]

 

[doctor in da makin]

Hi SDN! Totally blown away by my recent (new) MCAT score, so here to get your thoughts on my revised school list.
My stats:
Mostly traditional, graduated college at 20, now applying @ 21 after a 1 year MPH
~3.7 cGPA
~3.5 sGPA
527 MCAT
Top 15 undergrad, graduated in 3 years w/double major and magna cum laude.
MPH from big Ivy
Maryland resident, ORM

EC's:
GI research 5 years: 4 pubs (1st, 2nd, 5th, 6th author) with 2 more in the works. 4 poster presentations (all national/international level conferences)
ortho clinical research: 1 year, no pubs
shadowing: 150 hours ortho spine (50 in the OR), 100 hours IM; 250 total
shock trauma med assistant: 100 hours
athletic trainer+sports med intern: 500+ hours-worked for school (DI) athletic department
lifeguard and swim instructor (paid job): 5 years
SAT/AP tutor (paid job): 3 years
sports coach (volunteer): 4 years, ~500 hours
school news editor
peer reviewer for 3 undergrad journals, head of review for home institution journal
various paid articles for newspapers
school-organized service organization (3 years), ~200 hours
student hospital volunteer/clerk: 1 year, ~75-100 hours
campus tour guide: 2 years
Catholic service with church: about 200 hours total

Misc:
Mensa
FIDA ranked chess player
HS 2 sport All-American (injured in college)
Guildhall certified concert pianist
Fluent in Mandarin and Spanish

School list (going super top heavy, I know....is it too much?):
Harvard
Hopkins
Stanford
Perelman@ Penn
Columbia
Yale
Duke
Pritzker @ UChicago
Weill Cornell
Northwestern
Vandy
Icahn @ Mt. Sinai
Mayo
Geisel @ Dartmouth
Alpert @ Brown
Maryland (IS, almost all clinical/research there, mom is doc there)
Georgetown
GW
Virginia
Iowa (lived there a while, born there, decent OOS %)
=20 schools so far. Looking to apply to about 25-30. Any add suggestions? I realize my GPAs could be an issue at many schools of this caliber.

Edit: Will be applying MD/MBA, where applicable.

Thanks guys and be kind if I violated any newbie posting rules!

You may be the best applicant ever.

How did you study for the MCAT?

 

[gyngyn]

Wash U

 

[md-2020]

You may be the best applicant ever.

How did you study for the MCAT?

Thanks so much! So I started very very early, and did an insane amount of problems. Beyond that, I highly recommend taking a Kaplan prep course; despite the bad rep they sometimes get, I found their practice problems significantly harder than the real deal, which definitely helped alot. With the exam coming up, I also found Examkrackers' 2015 guide to be absolutely essential-honestly, you could probably learn half the exam content from scratch with that book. It's probably worth mentioning that it seems I generally test well. Entering college, I took the SAT I and 3 Subject tests, and received perfect scores on all of them too.

@Goro @gyngyn Thanks for the recommendations! I assume it's not worth applying to the DC schools because of yield and Brown due to their homecourt advantage? I noticed that Goro took out Mayo Med--any particular reason why? I'm pretty interested in them due to their strong reputation for orthopaedics and sports med, which is a field I'm pretty crazy about. How does this revised version look? (Bold indicates addition)

Harvard
Hopkins
Stanford
UCSF
UCSD
WashU
UCLA Geffen
Perelman @ Penn
Columbia
Yale
Mayo (?)
Duke
Pritzker @ UChicago
Weill Cornell
Northwestern
Vandy
Icahn @ Mt. Sinai
NYU
Geisel @ Dartmouth
Maryland
Miami (Fl.)
Virginia
Iowa
Baylor
Pitt
Tulane
BU
Einstein

 

[shineornot]

Congrats on everything!! You can get in anywhere! Where do you want to go?
Also, exactly how early did you start studying exclusively for the MCAT?

Thanks so much! So I started very very early, and did an insane amount of problems. Beyond that, I highly recommend taking a Kaplan prep course; despite the bad rep they sometimes get, I found their practice problems significantly harder than the real deal, which definitely helped alot. With the exam coming up, I also found Examkrackers' 2015 guide to be absolutely essential-honestly, you could probably learn half the exam content from scratch with that book. It's probably worth mentioning that it seems I generally test well. Entering college, I took the SAT I and 3 Subject tests, and received perfect scores on all of them too.

@Goro @gyngyn Thanks for the recommendations! I assume it's not worth applying to the DC schools because of yield and Brown due to their homecourt advantage? I noticed that Goro took out Mayo Med--any particular reason why? I'm pretty interested in them due to their strong reputation for orthopaedics and sports med, which is a field I'm pretty crazy about. How does this revised version look? (Bold indicates addition)

Harvard
Hopkins
Stanford
UCSF
UCSD
WashU
UCLA Geffen
Perelman @ Penn
Columbia
Yale
Mayo (?)
Duke
Pritzker @ UChicago
Weill Cornell
Northwestern
Vandy
Icahn @ Mt. Sinai
NYU
Geisel @ Dartmouth
Maryland
Miami (Fl.)
Virginia
Iowa
Baylor
Pitt
Tulane
BU
Einstein

 

[698344]

Wow. Your stats along with ECs are just insane. How does anyone have enough time for all of that? Extremely impressive application, good job.

 

[CaliforniaDreamer]

Is this a 43-44 converting to the old exam?

 

[Gandyy]

You are literally the strongest Applicant I've ever seen. Your EC's are insane, your MCAT is insane, all you really needed was a 3.8+, but honestly your EC's are so insanely good that it overshadows your gpa.

 

[nRomaleos]

wow.

 

[GrapesofRath]

I don't know if I've ever seen @Goro so freely and loosely recommend top 20 schools before. That in itself could be history in the making.

 

[Carmiche]

Mother of god.

 

[Gandyy]

Mother of god.

Yea, I just showed my friend this list. He pretty much said they same thing.

 

[Nietzschelover]

md-2020, would you mind sharing a little more about how you accomplished all those things by age 20? Did you skip a year or two of high school? HS All-American for two years, concert pianist, chess champion, Mandarin, Spanish, FIVE years of GI research, shock trauma, sports coach, athletic trainer, lifeguard, etc, etc, etc. What do you read in your spare time? Ever have a date? And given all that and the streak of perfect scores, how does the 3.5 in science make sense?

 

[GrapesofRath]

The only thing I might ask is that are all these accomplishments from college or did you include stuff from high school as well.



Not that it really matters. 6 pubs+ 527 MCAT.............

 

[Carmiche]

md-2020, would you mind sharing a little more about how you accomplished all those things by age 20? Did you skip a year or two of high school? HS All-American for two years, concert pianist, chess champion, Mandarin, Spanish, FIVE years of GI research, shock trauma, sports coach, athletic trainer, lifeguard, etc, etc, etc. What do you read in your spare time? Ever have a date? And given all that and the streak of perfect scores, how does the 3.5 in science make sense?

I second this motion. Also, were your publications predominantly in undergraduate journals?

 

[Goro]

Yes to why I removed those earlier schools. FOR Mayo, small class and apparently quirky tastes in what they want. Kudos to gyngyn for catching WashU, I simply forgot about them.

Thanks so much! So I started very very early, and did an insane amount of problems. Beyond that, I highly recommend taking a Kaplan prep course; despite the bad rep they sometimes get, I found their practice problems significantly harder than the real deal, which definitely helped alot. With the exam coming up, I also found Examkrackers' 2015 guide to be absolutely essential-honestly, you could probably learn half the exam content from scratch with that book. It's probably worth mentioning that it seems I generally test well. Entering college, I took the SAT I and 3 Subject tests, and received perfect scores on all of them too.

@Goro @gyngyn Thanks for the recommendations! I assume it's not worth applying to the DC schools because of yield and Brown due to their homecourt advantage? I noticed that Goro took out Mayo Med--any particular reason why? I'm pretty interested in them due to their strong reputation for orthopaedics and sports med, which is a field I'm pretty crazy about. How does this revised version look? (Bold indicates addition)

Harvard
Hopkins
Stanford
UCSF
UCSD
WashU
UCLA Geffen
Perelman @ Penn
Columbia
Yale
Mayo (?)
Duke
Pritzker @ UChicago
Weill Cornell
Northwestern
Vandy
Icahn @ Mt. Sinai
NYU
Geisel @ Dartmouth
Maryland
Miami (Fl.)
Virginia
Iowa
Baylor
Pitt
Tulane
BU
Einstein

 

[md-2020]

Hey guys, thanks so much for the responses!

So to be completely fair and address the predominant issue being raised, in some of my activities (ones where length of time >3 years) I started in HS. So for AMCAS, hours would be toned down a bit. I also had a significant amount of time throughout this year to be involved while pursuing my MPH, and several activities listed reflect more recent accomplishments, post college graduation. Speaking of college graduation: I was able to graduate early because I brought in a ton of AP credit, which essentially covered ALL of my gen eds and graduation requirements, letting me take my upper level major electives and pre-med pre-reqs right off the bat. One major took me a total of 10 credit hours in college to complete (!).

@Carmiche all publications are in real-deal peer reviewed journals--research is probably the largest commitment I've had outside of school. Full disclosure again though, my mom (physician at Maryland SOM) definitely helped speed things along/make connections when I first started.
@Nietzschelover I was on the normal track up until graduating college early. I'm about a year on the younger side of academic years, but that was purely due to birthday cutoffs in elementary schools etc. In terms of languages, one is my native language (before english, though I was born in the States), and another I started in fifth grade as part of this crazy foreign language track my school (K-12 private school) insisted on. Time, especially in college, was definitely an issue. I will be completely honest and admit that I have had a series of failed relationships and attempts at relationships; so in terms of that, definite shortcomings. Times when my friends went out and I went to work at the hospital were also quite common, and definitely a routine that takes getting used to.
I've always had more trouble in class than on standardized testing, and maintaining focus/interest is actually foremost on my list of priorities. Graduating high school, one of the predominant reasons many of the "super-elite" (HYPSM) schools turned me away was a more mediocre GPA (not to be ungrateful or conceited in any way--I love the school I went to and graduated from!!). It got a bit better in college, but obviously, not 100% there yet.
@Goro thanks for the explanation! I'll definitely mull over Mayo some more.

I really appreciate the outpouring of interest! If you have any specific questions I'd be more than happy to answer them either in this thread or via PM.

 

[Carmiche]

I was able to graduate early because I brought in a ton of AP credit, which essentially covered ALL of my gen eds and graduation requirements, letting me take my upper level major electives and pre-med pre-reqs right off the bat. One major took me a total of 10 credit hours in college to complete (!).

Very nice. I kind of despise my undergraduate institution in this regard. I came in with a very large amount of AP and dual credit, but they gave me the classic, "Some of these only count for elective credits, and since you're a premed + bio major, we're going to make you retake like half." Would have loved to graduate early and take a year off to really buff up my application. In addition, I am already on the older side of the academic age spectrum due to my birth date.

@Carmiche all publications are in real-deal peer reviewed journals--research is probably the largest commitment I've had outside of school. Full disclosure again though, my mom (physician at Maryland SOM) definitely helped speed things along/make connections when I first started.

Congratulations on this. Those initial connections are definitely huge.

 

[Yazo]

Congratulations on your accomplishments, bud! You can literally get into any medical college you want.

Any tips for an incoming freshman pre-med?

Best of luck and God bless (I see you're Catholic 🙂).

 

[md-2020]

@Yazo thanks for the support!

Start off strong; getting an "upward trend" is way harder than people here on SDN make it out to be. Also, honestly enjoy undergrad and make time for yourself--this is something I seriously wish I could have done. If I could go back a year, I would have held off on graduating and studied abroad with some friends or taken classes for fun, not need.

 

[WedgeDawg]

Have fun at whichever Top 10 school strikes your fancy! It will be you rejecting them, not the other way around 😉

Come back in a year and let us know how it went!

 

[doctor in da makin]

Your ECs alone would have gotten you into at least a few schools... my God

 

[698344]

@Yazo thanks for the support!

Start off strong; getting an "upward trend" is way harder than people here on SDN make it out to be. Also, honestly enjoy undergrad and make time for yourself--this is something I seriously wish I could have done. If I could go back a year, I would have held off on graduating and studied abroad with some friends or taken classes for fun, not need.

Yeah, but you might be able to finish residency before you are 30!! Depending what field you go into of course.

 

[GiveMeThatMD]

I think at this point with all of those ECs, it's not so much you applying to the schools... but the schools applying for the attendance of you! Absolutely incredible.

 

[md-2020]

Many thanks to all of the kind comments and support in this thread! Much appreciated!

Finished my application with the exact list above (in the revised edition) minus Mayo and plus Georgetown (really want a shot at staying close to home--low yield fully noted).

 

[raiderette]

Please do us a favor and do an MDApplicant profile. I think we would all love to see how this turns out. Glad you added Mayo back. It is a great school.

 

[Gandyy]

Many thanks to all of the kind comments and support in this thread! Much appreciated!

Finished my application with the exact list above (in the revised edition) minus Mayo and plus Georgetown (really want a shot at staying close to home--low yield fully noted).

Even if Georgetown accepted only 1 applicant a year you would probably still get in so I wouldn't worry about "low yield."

 

[md-2020]

Please do us a favor and do an MDApplicant profile. I think we would all love to see how this turns out. Glad you added Mayo back. It is a great school.

I will create one in the near future!

 

[toutou]

Congrats on the accomplishments! Can you share how you studied for the new MCAT?

 

[md-2020]

Congrats on the accomplishments! Can you share how you studied for the new MCAT?

1. Started early, at the beginning of sophomore year (as I had already taken many of the upper level pre-reqs by then). "Question of the day"s are fun and almost unnoticeable ways of getting alot of practice in over a long period of time. Also: free!
2. Kaplan MCAT prep course and study guide, ExamKrackers 9th edition complete MCAT study collection: I did practice problems daily, and about 10 practice tests total (3 EK, 5-6 Kaplan, 1 AAMC). Kaplan is definitely harder than the real deal IMHO.
3. Just like in sports, taper off your preparation in the week/days leading up to the test. The new MCAT is absolutely ridiculous in terms of actual testing time/effort/determination, so you will need to take it in the best possible mental/physical state. Don't hold yourself to an extremely high standard during the test, even if you're aiming for a top score; that just adds undue pressure and can throw off your logical reasoning.

Hope that helps! PM me for any specifics if needed.

 

[toutou]

1. Started early, at the beginning of sophomore year (as I had already taken many of the upper level pre-reqs by then). "Question of the day"s are fun and almost unnoticeable ways of getting alot of practice in over a long period of time. Also: free!
2. Kaplan MCAT prep course and study guide, ExamKrackers 9th edition complete MCAT study collection: I did practice problems daily, and about 10 practice tests total (3 EK, 5-6 Kaplan, 1 AAMC). Kaplan is definitely harder than the real deal IMHO.
3. Just like in sports, taper off your preparation in the week/days leading up to the test. The new MCAT is absolutely ridiculous in terms of actual testing time/effort/determination, so you will need to take it in the best possible mental/physical state. Don't hold yourself to an extremely high standard during the test, even if you're aiming for a top score; that just adds undue pressure and can throw off your logical reasoning.

Hope that helps! PM me for any specifics if needed.

I've already taken the new MCAT and score 505 on it...was curious how you studied for it. Thanks for sharing! Again, congrats and good luck.

 

[HelpMe212]

You guys are all forgetting one very important detail... Are you an Asian male? if so, you may as well forget about applying to medical school. hahahahahaha

 

[Gandyy]

You guys are all forgetting one very important detail... Are you an Asian male? if so, you may as well forget about applying to medical school. hahahahahaha

Yea its pretty bad being an Asian Male.

Have you had a negative experience with this or something? You seem bitter?

 

[HelpMe212]

Yea its pretty bad being an Asian Male.

Have you had a negative experience with this or something? You seem bitter?

No no. I was just making a reference to the current discrimination lawsuit against Harvard. I am applying to medical school now still. Although, my situation is pretty bad too. White Jewish male is just as bad if not worse...

 

[md-2020]

You guys are all forgetting one very important detail... Are you an Asian male? if so, you may as well forget about applying to medical school. hahahahahaha

I am an Asian male. But for some reason I still feel pretty good about my chances ;p
Even if the big boys turn me down I'd be extremely happy at my state school or something

 

[Gandyy]

No no. I was just making a reference to the current discrimination lawsuit against Harvard. I am applying to medical school now still. Although, my situation is pretty bad too. White Jewish male is just as bad if not worse...

Eh nothing is as bad as Asian Male lol.

@md-2020 Lol you dont count. 🙂

I've seen your application.. its enough to blow even top Harvard applicants out of the water probably.

 

[md-2020]

Eh nothing is as bad as Asian Male lol.

@md-2020 Lol you dont count. 🙂

I've seen your application.. its enough to blow even top Harvard applicants out of the water probably.

Thanks! Totally agreed on the point about asian males though. Rough going at every stage of college/grad school etc.

 

[Gandyy]

Thanks! Totally agreed on the point about asian males though. Rough going at every stage of college/grad school etc.

Especially if you have borderline MD stats like I do. Very frustrating.

 

[md-2020]

Especially if you have borderline MD stats like I do. Very frustrating.

I looked up your stats. I think if you apply broadly and have the energy to write good secondaries you will get into an MD. 3.7/29 is not out of the question--depending on your state, your state schools(s) should show some love.

 

[Gandyy]

I looked up your stats. I think if you apply broadly and have the energy to write good secondaries you will get into an MD. 3.7/29 is not out of the question--depending on your state, your state schools(s) should show some love.

I hope you are right.

 

[deleted393595]

Hi SDN! Totally blown away by my recent (new) MCAT score, so here to get your thoughts on my revised school list.
My stats:
Mostly traditional, graduated college at 20, now applying @ 21 after a 1 year MPH
~3.7 cGPA
~3.5 sGPA
527 MCAT
Top 15 undergrad, graduated in 3 years w/double major and magna cum laude.
MPH from big Ivy
Maryland resident, ORM

EC's:
GI research 5 years: 4 pubs (1st, 2nd, 5th, 6th author) with 2 more in the works. 4 poster presentations (all national/international level conferences)
ortho clinical research: 1 year, no pubs
shadowing: 150 hours ortho spine (50 in the OR), 100 hours IM; 250 total
shock trauma med assistant: 100 hours
athletic trainer+sports med intern: 500+ hours-worked for school (DI) athletic department
lifeguard and swim instructor (paid job): 5 years
SAT/AP tutor (paid job): 3 years
sports coach (volunteer): 4 years, ~500 hours
school news editor
peer reviewer for 3 undergrad journals, head of review for home institution journal
various paid articles for newspapers
school-organized service organization (3 years), ~200 hours
student hospital volunteer/clerk: 1 year, ~75-100 hours
campus tour guide: 2 years
Catholic service with church: about 200 hours total

Misc:
Mensa
FIDA ranked chess player
HS 2 sport All-American (injured in college)
Guildhall certified concert pianist
Fluent in Mandarin and Spanish

School list (going super top heavy, I know....is it too much?):
Harvard
Hopkins
Stanford
Perelman@ Penn
Columbia
Yale
Duke
Pritzker @ UChicago
Weill Cornell
Northwestern
Vandy
Icahn @ Mt. Sinai
Mayo
Geisel @ Dartmouth
Alpert @ Brown
Maryland (IS, almost all clinical/research there, mom is doc there)
Georgetown
GW
Virginia
Iowa (lived there a while, born there, decent OOS %)
=20 schools so far. Looking to apply to about 25-30. Any add suggestions? I realize my GPAs could be an issue at many schools of this caliber.

Edit: Will be applying MD/MBA, where applicable.

Thanks guys and be kind if I violated any newbie posting rules!

Looks like we have the next William Hwang in our midst!

I seriously hope you're not applying with us for this current cycle! 😛 Anyways, hope to run into you somewhere on the interview trail!

 

[IndieKush]

You are good to go anywhere you'd like, you are a unique candidate on top of your great scores.

 

[Gandyy]

Looks like we have the next William Hwang in our midst!

I seriously hope you're not applying with us for this current cycle! 😛 Anyways, hope to run into you somewhere on the interview trail!

Nah hes probably not going to apply to schools that most applicants do lol. I think we're safe from md2020 🙂

 

[deleted393595]

Nah hes probably not going to apply to schools that most applicants do lol. I think we're safe from md2020 🙂

His list is more or less the same as mine 🙂

 

[Gandyy]

His list is more or less the same as mine 🙂

Nevermind you have a LizzyM of a 78. You might be in his class!

 

[deleted393595]

Nevermind you have a LizzyM of a 78. You might be in his class!

Haha! Big emphasis on the "might" though 😛

 

[Gandyy]

Haha! Big emphasis on the "might" though 😛

I will say that out of all the ridiculously un-proportionally strong applicants that ask "WAMC", this OP definitely knocks all of the ones I've personally seen out of the water.


That being said a 78 LizzyM is absolutely ridiculous as well.