Strength of Schools

[Chans]

Hi All,

I will be applying next cycle, and have no idea where I stand. My cum GPA through four years in biomedical engineering is a 3.88, and below are my past four practice MCAT scores.

AAMC 4: PS: 12 / V: 12 / BS: 11
AAMC 5: PS 13 / V: 9 / BS: 13
AAMC 7: PS 15 / V: 12 / BS: 12
TPR Practice Test 4: PS: 13 / V: 10 BS: 14

The last three tests I have taken over the past three days. I take the MCAT on Saturday. Obviously, these two components are not the only part of the application, but assuming I score somewhere between 35 and 40, what kinds of schools should I be applying too. Additionally, how accurate are AAMC tests to the real thing?

Thanks

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[Catalystik]

Hi All,

I will be applying next cycle, and have no idea where I stand. My cum GPA through four years in biomedical engineering is a 3.88, and below are my past four practice MCAT scores.

AAMC 4: PS: 12 / V: 12 / BS: 11
AAMC 5: PS 13 / V: 9 / BS: 13
AAMC 7: PS 15 / V: 12 / BS: 12
TPR Practice Test 4: PS: 13 / V: 10 BS: 14

The last three tests I have taken over the past three days. I take the MCAT on Saturday. Obviously, these two components are not the only part of the application, but assuming I score somewhere between 35 and 40, what kinds of schools should I be applying too. Additionally, how accurate are AAMC tests to the real thing?

Thanks

Schools you'd choose should be based on your ECs and the schools' missions, not just on numbers.

To get some school ideas, download this google.doc spreadsheet data (an SDN collaborative effort from 5/11), so you can fill in your own projected stats, and it will tell you for which US med schools you're competitive (which may be all of them if your practice tests are a reliable indicator).

Next look at the sheet's in-state matriculation data before you do further research on each school, removing any from your list that take more than 85% in-state students: https://spreadsheets.google.com/spr...Ex2MjlBTDE0bXFXNGFZczZqYTZKb2c&hl=en_US#gid=0

Then look up the mission statement of each (in the MSAR), and be sure your ECs are a "fit" for the school. If you have one summer of research and no leadership, then consider going light on Top Twenties, for example. If you have no nonmedical community service to the poor, then avoid schools with a humanitarian mission.

Once you have a list, check out other factors that you care about: curriculum type, grading policy, weather, safety of area, rural vs city, cost of living & cost of attending, jobs or schools for significant others, location of clinical sites, proximity to home, etc, and use those to prune the list to a manageable number.