Repost with reformatting and MCAT score - Please help

[OrphanedDoc]

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So I posted before without MCAT but I got my MCAT back and need help.

1. cGPA and sGPA as calculated by AMCAS or AACOMAS (rounding of memory): cGPA:3.0 sGPA:2.8 Trend: 1.6 ->4.0 -> 3.8 -> 3.6 (started recklessly taking 18 credits of upper level sciences) Graduate GPA:3.9 (maybe 3.8 if I'm not careful but pretty much set in stone)
2. MCAT score(s) and breakdown: 515: 128/130/128/129
3. State of residence or country of citizenship (if non-US): Florida
4. Ethnicity and/or race: Black (Jamaican)
5. Undergraduate institution or category: University of Central Florida
6. Clinical experience (volunteer and non-volunteer): Volunteer: ED volunteer (200 hours) Surgical greeter: (100 hours)
7. Research experience and productivity: Clinical research with radiologist(~300 hours) Will have to do a capstone to graduate which is like a lit review. (can be published if i find anything good)
8. Shadowing experience and specialties represented: Very hard for me did very desperate things for this but could only scape by with 20 hours of neurology shadowing and 10 hours of hand surgeon shadowing. I do feel like I can write competently on the experience.
9. Non-clinical volunteering: Volunteering with neuroscience alliance: 150 hours Volunteer with IMO (basically international outreach premed club): 10 hours
10. Other extracurricular activities (including athletics, military service, gap year activities, leadership, teaching, etc): 1.) IM basketball quarter finals for 3 years 2.) Masters in biomedical neuroscience 3.) started working with this organization for foster kids but not significant hours or work done yet so will probably leave off 4.) I was on the exec. board for an organization focused on social entrepreneurship 5.) I taught neuroscience to high schoolers and 6.) volunteered every year to help them compete in a brain bee organized by a former student of my club (13 school participated), 7.) Worked as a tutor 8.) and a SI leader (different slightly but won't go into it) for a lot of hours. (close to a thousand or more hours)
11. Relevant honors or award: Presidents list multiple semesters. The club I was exec board for won an award not sure if i should include at all.
12. Anything else not listed you think might be important: I understand I am not the best applicant. I am so lost, I am a complete orphan who grew up in group homes and foster care with no mentors or guidance and all my peers does great things but I want to be a doctor so I am applying this cycle and praying. I am not applying to DO due to financial reasons (huge deposits) but will consider next year if I do not get in. (on the 3rd cycle I will apply Caribbean 🙂()).
    
    My current school list is (I am a FAP applicant and need 20):
    1.) UCF
    2.) FAU
    3.) FSU
    4.) UF
    5.) FIU
    6.) USF
    *I go blank after florida public schools because those for me will be completely paid for and are preferred x1000000)
    but I have some fillers since it won't cost me anything that you might laugh at (I sure did).
    7.) Harvard
    8.) Yale
    9.) WASHU
    *not sure how bad the california in-state bias is but id like to apply there maybe one of the lower lower end schools*
    10.) UCLA
    Its hard to build a school list when your ugpa falls under the 10th percentile for every school. So suggestions are nice
    11.) Thinking about Howard
    12.) University of illinois
    
    *My personal statement is complete if thats needed at all.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

Every school that is not in Florida in your list except Howard should not be in play. I would consider all HBCU medical schools like Howard, Meharry, Morehouse, and Charles Drew. I would add DO schools, and would NEVER consider Caribbean schools. Deposits are down payments on tuition, and on that, everyone's expensive. Network with SNMA chapters at the schools in Florida and all HBCU schools. I'll let others add to the list.

 

[OrphanedDoc]

Every school that is not in Florida in your list except Howard should not be in play. I would consider all HBCU medical schools like Howard, Meharry, Morehouse, and Charles Drew. I would add DO schools, and would NEVER consider Caribbean schools. Deposits are down payments on tuition, and on that, everyone's expensive. Network with SNMA chapters at the schools in Florida and all HBCU schools. I'll let others add to the list.

Hi, thank you for your feedback I will consider all of those pointers. All those schools outside of florida except howard and illi (they place more emphasis on grad GPAs apparently) are filler school which I'd apply if I couldn't find anything else. Miracles happen but I in no way expect a secondary/ interview. DO school deposits that I have looked at are in the thousands the MD schools deposits are in the hundreds (correct me if I'm wrong)... Financially I'd get an acceptance to a DO school just to not be able to accept it and end up being a "reapplicant", or worse which is why I am not, also MD vs DO in terms of debt is 30k (Florida public school are paid completely so 30k for living and stuff) vs 200-250k debt. What are SNMA chapters?

 

[candbgirl]

University of Illinois is awfully expensive- like the most expensive school in America for OOS students.

You have to decide if you want to be accepted this cycle or are you just applying to apply. You have FAP so you should use those 20 applications wisely. Don’t waste them on schools that you won’t even meet the screening level. Develop a well thought out list using the MSAR. Take into consideration location, how the school looks at out of state applicants, is it public or private, whether your stats are between the 10-90 percentile of that school, etc..

You mention a grad GPA. Is that a masters degree? If so, what was it in? Or is it a post bacc either formal or DIY? If it is a post bacc of some sort are those grades included in your posted GPAs? (MD schools don’t really consider Masters but DOs do. So you can’t include your grad degree in your GPA for MD schools.)

You really need to apply to DO schools.

Never apply to the Caribbean.

Very nice job on the MCAT.
Good luck.

 

[Faha]

Add your other Florida schools-NOVA MD and Miami. Your OOS schools are unrealistic except for Howard. Add these OOS schools:
Howard
Meharry
Morehouse
UCLA Drew
George Washington
Drexel
Temple
Jefferson
Seton Hall
Hofstra
New York Medical College
Quinnipiac
Wayne State
Oakland Beaumont
Medical College Wisconsin
Loyola
Rosalind Franklin
Creighton
TCU-UNT

 

[OrphanedDoc]

University of Illinois is awfully expensive- like the most expensive school in America for OOS students.

You have to decide if you want to be accepted this cycle or are you just applying to apply. You have FAP so you should use those 20 applications wisely. Don’t waste them on schools that you won’t even meet the screening level. Develop a well thought out list using the MSAR. Take into consideration location, how the school looks at out of state applicants, is it public or private, whether your stats are between the 10-90 percentile of that school, etc..

You mention a grad GPA. Is that a masters degree? If so, what was it in? Or is it a post bacc either formal or DIY? If it is a post bacc of some sort are those grades included in your posted GPAs? (MD schools don’t really consider Masters but DOs do. So you can’t include your grad degree in your GPA for MD schools.)

You really need to apply to DO schools.

Never apply to the Caribbean.

Very nice job on the MCAT.
Good luck.

Hey, thank you. Yeah really wish I could apply to DO, I just don't think I could get the 2k in the timeframe they give you to pay before you lose your spot. I'll look more into it. I only put Illi because someone with similar stats got in so I figured I'd add it. The ultimate goal is Florida public school everywhere else will put pressure financially that will be difficult to deal with. If I don't get into those then I can take a year to try to find some more money and stuff but I don't want to risk never applying (if I can't save up money and my mcat expires or whatever life happens). It's a Biomedical Neuroscience masters. Also most MD representatives from school said they would consider it when I asked and some said since my last 60 credits are good I shouldn't be ruled out or something like that. Maybe they just want the donation, I don't know.

 

[OrphanedDoc]

Anyone knows if they see your transcript GPA because my actual GPA is a 3.6 just have a lot of retakes. It annoys me because I didn't even know I wanted to be a doctor freshman or sophomore year, and I'd be pretty competitive (I think) if I tried that year. I had some health issues and stuff but I am not going to disclose those because I don't want it to run off as an excuse.

 

[OrphanedDoc]

Add your other Florida schools-NOVA MD and Miami. Your OOS schools are unrealistic except for Howard. Add these OOS schools:
Howard
Meharry
Morehouse
UCLA Drew
George Washington
Drexel
Temple
Jefferson
Seton Hall
Hofstra
New York Medical College
Quinnipiac
Wayne State
Oakland Beaumont
Medical College Wisconsin
Loyola
Rosalind Franklin
Creighton
TCU-UNT

Great school lists I will look into all of those. How is George Washington not a stretch and whats the difference with UCLA Drew?

 

[Faha]

UCLA Drew prefers URM. George Washington is not a reach.