School List help / WAMC 3.4 cGPA, 3.25 sGPA, 520 MCAT, Non-Trad

[mergedbob]

Hi everyone!

I am a non-traditional student looking to apply to medical school next year, 2025 (for the class of 2030). I am about 10 years out from undergrad and am working full-time as a healthcare strategy consultant for a top consulting firm. While I did not have the appropriate maturity/work ethic to be a medical student nearly a decade ago when I graduated from undergrad, I have grown significantly since then and believe that I am now ready to pursue medicine. Hopefully, my poor GPA and initial MCAT score will not hold me back. I'll be 31 when applying to medical school if that's important!

1. cGPA: 3.44 & sGPA: 3.25 ( :/ )(does not include graduate grades) (3 Ws & 3 Cs on undergrad transcript)
2. MCAT: 520 (131, 130, 129, 130) (most recent attempt, taken in 2024; I studied for about 6 months while working-4/5 hours per day if able) ; 492 (2017; was a bad mistake as I did not study at all. I should have voided)
3. Residency: NY State Resident/ US Citizen
4. Ethnicity: ORM
5. Undergrad: State school for Engineering (Mech. Eng.) + Grad School: Masters (engineering) from Ivy League University (GPA: 3.97)
6. Clinical Experience: ~500 hours at Level 1 Trauma Center ER by the time I apply (within the last year)
7. Research Activity: ~1200 with two abstracts/posters presented at my university's Research Symposium; was second author in abstract published in national Journal; no publications otherwise (my research was conducted between 2016-2017)
8. Shadowing Experience: 50 hours total [25 hours (primary care) + 30 hours (cardiology)]
9. Non-clinical volunteering: ~100 hours volunteering for a park conservancy, ~100 hours volunteering as a hospice aide (2016)
10. Extracurricular Activities: Healthcare Consultant (for the past three years) at a top consulting firm, prior to graduate school I worked as an engineer for 2+ years
11. Awards/Honors: Fellowship Awardee for Graduate School, President of Graduate Program Student Organization

I plan on applying to both MD and DO programs, with a slight preference for MD (due to interest in a few competitive specialties). I am also married so ideally would love to be in a decent sized city for my spouse's job, however, we'll take wherever we get in. My school list looks like:

• MD Programs:
  • State Schools: Buffalo Jacobs, SUNY Upstate, SUNY Downstate
  • Dartmouth-Geisel, Georgetown, Boston, Tufts (Maine Track), Case Western, Tulane, Einstein, Rochester, NYMC, Albany, Wake Forest, Hackensack, Jefferson, Drexel, Temple, Penn State, Rosalind Franklin, UMiami, Cooper Rowan, TCU, Creighton, Toledo, Oakland Beaumont, Alice Walton (when it opens), Vermont, Quinnipiac, VCU, EVM, Louisville
• DO Programs:
  • MSUCOM, SHSUCOM, OSUCOM, PCOM, UNECOM, NYITCOM, LECOM Bradenton

Any recommendations that you all have in terms of adjustments/additions to this list would be appreciated! If you have any other feedback, please feel free to share! Thanks in advance.

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[Faha]

Accumulate another 100+ hours of non clinical volunteering (homeless shelter, food bank, etc.) before you apply.
I suggest these schools:
All 4 SUNYs
Hofstra
New York Medical College
Albany
Rochester
Mount Sinai
Einstein
Vermont
Quinnipiac
Dartmouth
Brown
Tufts
Boston University
Hackensack
Drexel
Temple
Jefferson
Penn State
Pittsburgh
Georgetown
George Washington
Virginia Commonwealth
Eastern Virginia
Wake Forest
Emory
USF Morsani
Miami
Tulane
TCU
Creighton
St. Louis
Rosalind Franklin
Medical College Wisconsin
Western Michigan
Oakland Beaumont
Wayne State
Mayo
Belmont
Arizona (Phoenix)
Iowa
Illinois
UMass
For DO schools I suggest these:
Touro-NY
NYITCOM
UNECOM
PCOM
CCOM
DMU-COM
ATSU-KCOM
KCU-COM
AZCOM
LECOM
CUSOM
WESTERN
TUCOM-CA

 

[mergedbob]

Accumulate another 100+ hours of non clinical volunteering (homeless shelter, food bank, etc.) before you apply.
I suggest these schools:
All 4 SUNYs
Hofstra
New York Medical College
Albany
Rochester
Mount Sinai
Einstein
Vermont
Quinnipiac
Dartmouth
Brown
Tufts
Boston University
Hackensack
Drexel
Temple
Jefferson
Penn State
Pittsburgh
Georgetown
George Washington
Virginia Commonwealth
Eastern Virginia
Wake Forest
Emory
USF Morsani
Miami
Tulane
TCU
Creighton
St. Louis
Rosalind Franklin
Medical College Wisconsin
Western Michigan
Oakland Beaumont
Wayne State
Mayo
Belmont
Arizona (Phoenix)
Iowa
Illinois
UMass
For DO schools I suggest these:
Touro-NY
NYITCOM
UNECOM
PCOM
CCOM
DMU-COM
ATSU-KCOM
KCU-COM
AZCOM
LECOM
CUSOM
WESTERN
TUCOM-CA

Thank you for your recommendations!

 

[LeaveNoTrace]

Big question here - do you have an upward trend?

 

[Mr.Smile12]

MCAT most recent attempt: what is the history of your MCAT scores and when?

 

[mergedbob]

MCAT most recent attempt: what is the history of your MCAT scores and when?

My first MCAT was taken in 2017 and I received a 492. I did not study for it (it was a mistake/don’t know what I was thinking and I should have just voided the score). My highest section was CARS at 126.

However, for my second MCAT, which I took earlier this year (2024), I worked hard to study for it. I scored a 520 (131, 130, 129, 130)

 

[mergedbob]

Big question here - do you have an upward trend?

It’s not the best:

Yr 1: 3.69
Yr 2: 3.4
Yr 3: 3
Yr 4: 3.5
Yr 4.5 (Extra Semester): 3.8

Graduate GPA (likely doesn’t count as it was in Industrial Engineering): 3.97

 

[Mr.Smile12]

It’s not the best:

Yr 1: 3.69
Yr 2: 3.4
Yr 3: 3
Yr 4: 3.5
Yr 4.5 (Extra Semester): 3.8

Graduate GPA (likely doesn’t count as it was in Industrial Engineering): 3.97

Do these include engineering courses? Can you highlight when you took prehealth prerequisites and recommended courses? What were those grades?

The seven year gap between MCATs will not concern me. Neither will the jump in your MCAT. (Most schools consider scores within 3 years as valid.)

 

[mergedbob]

Do these include engineering courses? Can you highlight when you took prehealth prerequisites and recommended courses? What were those grades?

The seven year gap between MCATs will not concern me. Neither will the jump in your MCAT. (Most schools consider scores within 3 years as valid.)

The courses taken during my undergrad include both engineering and pre-med reqs!

I received As (immunology, gen bio 1 & 2, gen chem 1& 2 engineering physics 1), Bs in (Ochem 1, bio chem, engr calculus 1-3, engr physics 2), Cs (Ochem 2, Differential Equations).

 

[Mr.Smile12]

The courses taken during my undergrad include both engineering and pre-med reqs!

I received As (immunology, gen bio 1 & 2, gen chem 1& 2 engineering physics 1), Bs in (Ochem 1, bio chem, engr calculus 1-3, engr physics 2), Cs (Ochem 2, Differential Equations).

The math classes are not typical medical school prerequisites, so you don't need to worry about the C in DiffEq (or the B's in calculus). You only list immuno as your upper-level bio class. Normally one gets to immuno through another course like physiology or microbiology. Did you take those classes? How about psychology, sociology, or ethics?

 

[mergedbob]

The math classes are not typical medical school prerequisites, so you don't need to worry about the C in DiffEq (or the B's in calculus). You only list immuno as your upper-level bio class. Normally one gets to immuno through another course like physiology or microbiology. Did you take those classes? How about psychology, sociology, or ethics?

My university allowed us to take immunology after Biochem. I did, however, take ethics and received an A. I did not take physiology, anatomy, psychology or sociology.