Medical School List and GPA Trends (3.92 cGPA/3.9 sGPA/520) - What schools should I apply to?

[Mr.Smile12]

Hi everyone,

I took a friend's suggestion to reach out to a medical school consultation company since the initial consult was free and couldn't hurt as I apply next cycle. After their call, they said my GPA has a glaring downward trend for most top and mid tier medical schools. Overall, they were fairly condescending.

Although I know they were trying to just sell me their product, their response still threw me off on what schools to apply to next year. My ECs are fine and research/leadership oriented. MCAT is 520 which they said is "just average, nothing special, for the good schools". I apologize for this kind of post as I see how neurotic it must sound...I suppose the call made me second guess myself since the consultant was a former adcom.

My gut is telling me they are misleading me completely. Here is the "lethal junior year dip" they mentioned. Does this really count as a trend?

(cGPA/sGPA)
Year 1 4/4
Year 2 3.93/3.92
Year 3 3.8/3.78
Year 4 3.94/3.94

Thanks in advance for reading.

Get a second opinion. Mine (current AdCom) is that they're playing your premed syndrome psychosis so they can get money from you. I muted myself from sending the curse words I would have rather used on reflex.

This is not a precipitous GPA drop, and if you do things on time and respectfully, you can get a lot of attention from schools on your wish list. If your list is remarkably top-heavy, then you have set yourself up for the MCAT remark.

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[TheBoneDoctah]

I disagree with them.

Your drop is literally to a 3.8 (a GPA most with they could achieve) and your MCAT is 520 (a score most could never even get close to). As with everyone we try and help, make sure you balance your school list. You are setup good for great schools, but stuff happens so make sure you have some "backup" schools as well.

Oh, and don't pay that company.

 

[Goro]

Those people are idiots and or trying to rip you off. You do not have a declining GPA Trend.
Start your list with Wash U and radiate outwards. I will send School list later.

Do not be surprised that Stanford and Harvard will be on it.

 

[tantacles]

No one cares what your trend is if your GPA is above a 3.8. With a 520 MCAT, your stats are top tier material. I would never talk to the advisers from this company again, and be sure to leave a review for them online detailing your experience so that others can benefit from your experience.

Stat-wise, literally any school you want to go to is in your range, so I would make a minimal list of 5 top tier schools and 10 mid tier schools and add on only top tier schools after that until you're comfortable with your number. For further reassurance (and because it is a useful tool), purchase the MSAR and take a look at GPA and MCAT averages for each school.

Oh, and by all means, please let us know what this company is so that if someone comes to us for advice, we can wholeheartedly tell them not to use this company.

 

[Goro]

I suggest:
NYU
Columbia
WashU
Vanderbilt
Yale
JHU
U Chicago
U Penn
Kaiser
Northwestern
Harvard
Mayo
Cornell
Stanford
Case
Duke
Sinai
U VA
BU
Baylor
UCSF
Pitt
USC/Keck
UCSD
UCLA
U MI
Rochester
Hofstra
Ohio State
U Cincy
Dartmouth
Western MI
USF Morsani
U MA
U IA
Albert Einstein
Emory
Tufts
NYU-LI
Jefferson
Miami
U CO
SLU
U VM
U WI
Your state school

 

[lord999]

I agree with everyone, your stats are enviable. I would add though that there is one aspect you can work on. Get some people who do not know you very well in your premed club or so and practice interviewing in front of each other, preferably in front of a cam. The only thing I would pay for is if your undergraduate school has a med school attached, to buy a couple of actual students some beers or dinner to give you realistic feedback on your interviewing as well as to give you an idea of the sort of questions asked. It's money well spent.

 

[TheBoneDoctah]

I agree with everyone, your stats are enviable. I would add though that there is one aspect you can work on. Get some people who do not know you very well in your premed club or so and practice interviewing in front of each other, preferably in front of a cam. The only thing I would pay for is if your undergraduate school has a med school attached, to buy a couple of actual students some beers or dinner to give you realistic feedback on your interviewing as well as to give you an idea of the sort of questions asked. It's money well spent.

Totally agree. Some people have amazing stats and look like they should be accepted no matter what, but then come back and did not.

Practice, practice, practice interviewing. Bullet point answers for the top 20-30 interview questions you can find these online. You can find these online. Don’t memorize full answers because you will then recite them like you wrote them down and it will come out weird. Write bullet notes for the points you want to touch on and then fill in the gaps fluently in a conversation.