TFA 1 yr, c3.56, s3.34, 34 MCAT, NIH IRTA

[mhh917]

I have some unusual circumstances - I graduated from Washington University in St. Louis in 2010 with honors, double major in Philosophy-Neuroscience-Psychology & Biology: Neuroscience, then did TFA in Baltimore for one year because I was pushed out for budgetary reasons (as a first year teacher in BCPS, I didn't have tenure - also happened to 10% of the 2010 TFA corps, got my principal to write an explanation letter to go with my application).

Didn't want to apply in the 2011 cycle, as my credentials are not amazing and I was unemployed. In the meantime, did an extra semester of work at the Univ. of Maryland (15 credits, all As) and have been teaching MCAT classes with Kaplan since '10. I just started a position at the NIH as a post-bacc IRTA in a neuroanatomy lab.
First time I took the MCAT, got a 29. My scores expired this year, so I took it again got a 34.
My GPA isn't great because I got bad grades freshman year, but have gotten A/A- since then, with loaded credit hours.
Also, I did a summer of shadowing with a neurologist, as well as shadowing with an ER physician during the school year for a semester. Was a TA for Physics of the Brain, and also President of the Iranian Cultural Society for 2 years.
Besides my work with TFA, did 100+ hours of community service during school, plus 3 years of research and an honors thesis with a psychology lab. Also some other biological research gigs here and there.

I want to know what my chances would be at a top school (Wash U says they accept 1/5 of Wash U undergrads), any advice on which schools to apply to (Maryland is my home state), and how to explain all these unusual circumstances without sounding like I'm making excuses! Any advice would be appreciated - I will be applying this cycle (June 2012).

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[alexrgross]

I have some unusual circumstances - I graduated from Washington University in St. Louis in 2010 with honors, double major in Philosophy-Neuroscience-Psychology & Biology: Neuroscience, then did TFA in Baltimore for one year because I was pushed out for budgetary reasons (as a first year teacher in BCPS, I didn't have tenure - also happened to 10% of the 2010 TFA corps, got my principal to write an explanation letter to go with my application).

Didn't want to apply in the 2011 cycle, as my credentials are not amazing and I was unemployed. In the meantime, did an extra semester of work at the Univ. of Maryland (15 credits, all As) and have been teaching MCAT classes with Kaplan since '10. I just started a position at the NIH as a post-bacc IRTA in a neuroanatomy lab.
First time I took the MCAT, got a 29. My scores expired this year, so I took it again got a 34.
My GPA isn't great because I got bad grades freshman year, but have gotten A/A- since then, with loaded credit hours.
Also, I did a summer of shadowing with a neurologist, as well as shadowing with an ER physician during the school year for a semester. Was a TA for Physics of the Brain, and also President of the Iranian Cultural Society for 2 years.
Besides my work with TFA, did 100+ hours of community service during school, plus 3 years of research and an honors thesis with a psychology lab. Also some other biological research gigs here and there.

I want to know what my chances would be at a top school (Wash U says they accept 1/5 of Wash U undergrads), any advice on which schools to apply to (Maryland is my home state), and how to explain all these unusual circumstances without sounding like I'm making excuses! Any advice would be appreciated - I will be applying this cycle (June 2012).

Top schools are stringent about numbers, and have more than enough applicants with cGPA 3.8 and up...each one of them has outstanding, unique ECs with significant hours of commitment...Although that your ECs are strong, they are not on par with most that apply to top schools, and your GPA is way low - with that GPA even 100 credits of As for you last study would not show enough promise for top schools...the 34 MCAT is strong enough to overcome the GPA at lower and mid schools, not at the top though...I would aim for the middle to low end for the majority of your applications, and maybe choose about 3 top schools that you really fit with.

 

[Hotshy]

Whats your GPA? And I don't think a 34 will get you an acceptance for sure at a top school, even if you had a stellar GPA.

 

[StoicJosher]

Top schools are stringent about numbers, and have more than enough applicants with cGPA 3.8 and up...each one of them has outstanding, unique ECs with significant hours of commitment...Although that your ECs are strong, they are not on par with most that apply to top schools, and your GPA is way low - with that GPA even 100 credits of As for you last study would not show enough promise for top schools...the 34 MCAT is strong enough to overcome the GPA at lower and mid schools, not at the top though...I would aim for the middle to low end for the majority of your applications, and maybe choose about 3 top schools that you really fit with.

This.

The cGPA of 3.56 is below avg for matriculants (~ 3.67); the same goes for the sGPA.

 

[mhh917]

Thanks for all the replies - here are my lists so far:

Will probably apply:
-Wash U (they say they take 1/5 undergrads)
-Emory
-Tufts
-NYU
-UVA
-Georgetown
-GWU
-UMD
-Howard

Thinking about it (will probably pick ~6 from this list):
-Cornell
-Hopkins (thought maybe my experiences in Baltimore would help me here? I know it's a long shot...)
-Columbia
-Duke
-Brown
-Boston
-Wake Forest
-Dartmouth

Thoughts?

 

[Catalystik]

- I graduated from Washington University in St. Louis in 2010 with honors, double major in Philosophy-Neuroscience-Psychology & Biology: Neuroscience
-TFA in Baltimore for one year
-extra semester of work at the Univ. of Maryland (15 credits, all As)
-teaching MCAT classes with Kaplan since '10.
-I just started a position at the NIH as a post-bacc IRTA in a neuroanatomy lab.

-I got bad grades freshman year, but have gotten A/A- since then, with loaded credit hours.
-summer of shadowing with a neurologist, as well as shadowing with an ER physician during the school year for a semester.
-Was a TA for Physics of the Brain
-President of the Iranian Cultural Society for 2 years.
-100+ hours of community service during school
-3 years of research and an honors thesis with a psychology lab. Also some other biological research gigs here and there.

1) advice on which schools to apply to (Maryland is my home state
2) how to explain all these unusual circumstances without sounding like I'm making excuses!
3) Any advice would be appreciated - I will be applying this cycle (June 2012).

1) Download this google.doc spreadsheet data (an SDN collaborative effort from 5/11), so you can fill in your own stats, and it will tell you for which US med schools you're competitive. Next look at the in-state matriculation data before you do further research on each school for "fit," removing any from your list that take more than 85% in-state students: https://spreadsheets.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AmKVGWwobG5GdEx2MjlBTDE0bXFXNGFZczZqYTZKb2c&hl=en_US#gid=0

2) Inevitably, there will be a Secondary essay you can complete that can be used to address this: Discuss a challenge you overcame, A stress and how you dealt with it, or If you have any additional information you'd like to share, etc.

3) Your shadowing looks great, but I'm not clear on what what your clinical experience has been where you actively engaged sick people. Otherwise, I like your ECs a lot.