Some help please.

[polishgravy]

Long-time lurker, first-time poster.

I could really use some community help. Here's a "quick" background.

I went to undergrad at UCSD. I completed my biology undergrad in 3 years with a 3.63 GPA, and did my Master's the following year.

During my Master's year, I completed my last O-chem quarter (A-) and O-Chem lab (A) and had a final GPA of 3.94. I also studied for the MCATs and got a 31 (11/9/11). I then applied to a lot of medical schools last fall (early September). I didn't get any interviews.

While waiting for schools, I spent 6 months re-studying for the MCAT and got a 34 (13/12/9). I am now working at Yale as a Clinical Research intern and getting some really awesome experience.

My concerns:

(1) I'm having difficulty choosing which medical schools to apply to. I have heard of this LizzyM score, but I'm having difficulty calculating my science GPA because I don't know what to do with my O-Chem and O-Chem Lab.

(2) My relatively low GPA. Will they consider that I finished in 3 years? Will they count my two pre-med requirements that I took in my Master's year?

(3) My low score in bio in my most recent MCAT. Will they care? Will they look at my previous 11 on the Bio Section?

Thanks you guys. Your support really means a lot.

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[1289]

3) how schools look at various mcat scores is different for each school

 

[EnergyDrink]

Long-time lurker, first-time poster.

I could really use some community help. Here's a "quick" background.

I went to undergrad at UCSD. I completed my biology undergrad in 3 years with a 3.63 GPA, and did my Master's the following year.

During my Master's year, I completed my last O-chem quarter (A-) and O-Chem lab (A) and had a final GPA of 3.94. I also studied for the MCATs and got a 31 (11/9/11). I then applied to a lot of medical schools last fall (early September). I didn't get any interviews.

While waiting for schools, I spent 6 months re-studying for the MCAT and got a 34 (13/12/9). I am now working at Yale as a Clinical Research intern and getting some really awesome experience.

My concerns:

(1) I'm having difficulty choosing which medical schools to apply to. I have heard of this LizzyM score, but I'm having difficulty calculating my science GPA because I don't know what to do with my O-Chem and O-Chem Lab.

(2) My relatively low GPA. Will they consider that I finished in 3 years? Will they count my two pre-med requirements that I took in my Master's year?

(3) My low score in bio in my most recent MCAT. Will they care? Will they look at my previous 11 on the Bio Section?

Thanks you guys. Your support really means a lot.

Going down 2 points in Bio is going to raise an eyebrow, especially since everything else went up.

Your GPA is about average for matriculating students, so I don't think it is relatively "low", unless you're looking at top schools. I think with your MCAT score you fall in the 60%ile of matriculating students. Your research and MS pushes you even higher. Depending on your ECs, then you should be fine.

September is pretty late to apply, that hurt you last cycle.

What are your ECs?

Since you didn't get any interviews I'm going to assume you are not a URM.

 

[catzzz88]

1) How many schools did you apply to last year and were they upper tier schools?
2) How many schools will you apply to this year and what tier are you thinking?

 

[polishgravy]

Thanks for the quick replies. If by Extracurriculars, you mean experiences. THe ones that I've talked about in my application are the following:

(1) volunteering/shadowing in India
(2) Volunteering at Cancer Unit
(3) Research experience with HBP and DNA Analysis
(4) Internship under Dr. Easter
(5) Work with underprivileged; made lab kits and videos; taught 30+ kids on various topics.
(6) TAing 2ce
(7) Financial Commissioner for my College
(8) Current Clinical Research Intern Job
(9) Hobbies: Acting, Triathlons

catzzz, I applied to approximately 20 schools. They were mostly middle to upper tier. This year I'm thinking 25-30 schools in 10 low, 15 middle, 5 upper. The hard part is categorizing which schools are the most reasonable for me.

-Do upper division bio courses count towards BCPM?

-Also, is there any way to get a table with the avg MCAT and GPA for each college. I can't find a comprehensive list in the recent MSAR.

Thanks again y'all.

 

[LizzyM]

Calculate your gpa yourself incorporating all of the undergrad courses you took, regardless of when you took them. This is easy to do with a spreadsheet.

Your MCAT went up & down 2 points or so in each section which means that your "true" score is somewhere in that neighborhood. Can you see the point of averaging? Your average of 32.5 is a decent score for mid/lower tier schools when combined with your gpa.

Completing undergrad in 3 years could have hurt you because it meant only 3 years of experiences since HS graduation. Applying in Sept didn't help, either.

With more experience, a slightly higher MCAT and an earlier application you should be in better shape this time around.

 

[theseeker4]

Thanks for the quick replies. If by Extracurriculars, you mean experiences. THe ones that I've talked about in my application are the following:

(1) volunteering/shadowing in India
(2) Volunteering at Cancer Unit
(3) Research experience with HBP and DNA Analysis
(4) Internship under Dr. Easter
(5) Work with underprivileged; made lab kits and videos; taught 30+ kids on various topics.
(6) TAing 2ce
(7) Financial Commissioner for my College
(8) Current Clinical Research Intern Job
(9) Hobbies: Acting, Triathlons

catzzz, I applied to approximately 20 schools. They were mostly middle to upper tier. This year I'm thinking 25-30 schools in 10 low, 15 middle, 5 upper. The hard part is categorizing which schools are the most reasonable for me.

-Do upper division bio courses count towards BCPM?

-Also, is there any way to get a table with the avg MCAT and GPA for each college. I can't find a comprehensive list in the recent MSAR.

Thanks again y'all.

All upper-level, UNDERGRAD courses in BCPM count toward your AMCAS sGPA. Graduate level sciences do not.

Apply earlier this year and you should be good.

 

[Colonel Sanders]

Long-time lurker, first-time poster.

I could really use some community help. Here's a "quick" background.

I went to undergrad at UCSD. I completed my biology undergrad in 3 years with a 3.63 GPA, and did my Master's the following year.

During my Master's year, I completed my last O-chem quarter (A-) and O-Chem lab (A) and had a final GPA of 3.94. I also studied for the MCATs and got a 31 (11/9/11). I then applied to a lot of medical schools last fall (early September). I didn't get any interviews.

While waiting for schools, I spent 6 months re-studying for the MCAT and got a 34 (13/12/9). I am now working at Yale as a Clinical Research intern and getting some really awesome experience.

My concerns:

(1) I'm having difficulty choosing which medical schools to apply to. I have heard of this LizzyM score, but I'm having difficulty calculating my science GPA because I don't know what to do with my O-Chem and O-Chem Lab.

(2) My relatively low GPA. Will they consider that I finished in 3 years? Will they count my two pre-med requirements that I took in my Master's year?

(3) My low score in bio in my most recent MCAT. Will they care? Will they look at my previous 11 on the Bio Section?

Thanks you guys. Your support really means a lot.

I have an excel file someone gave me that I used to calculate my sGPA. For me it was accurate to the hundredth place. If you want it just PM me your email and I can send it to you. Or if theres some way to upload it on here let me know and I will.