To apply now or wait for chance at my dream

[Surferboy]

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Hello from Greece everyone,
Well I got my MCAT score back and wasn't really expecting anything high. I went against any logic and took it in April a week before leaving for a quarter abroad in Greece. I had everything set to go to apply except the MCAT to apply, and thus thought might as well give it a shot in order to apply in June. Took a quick Princeton Review course, skimmed all the books, and 2 practice exams.

Ended up getting a 29Q, which is not horrible but isn't even close to what I want for my UC schools. In the end, I've learned that next time's studying will consist of rounds and rounds of practice tests. Also, I'm taking the last OChem this summer so I didn't have that under my belt. Basically the message is that I rushed the test to go to Greece and wasn't comfortable the day I took it. I blew it but am so grateful I have this experience in Greece.

So, now I have stats of 3.63, 29Q (anti-stellar), but I feel like my extra-curriculars/recommendations/interview skills are high quality. I don't even want to apply to UC schools because I 1) don't have a chance currently and 2) don't want to disgrace my school, myself, and my family.

My target is UCSF. It's a top notch school near my family in the Bay Area (in which I want to stay). It's just sad because I don't have the stats for UCSF right now. On my desk overlooking me as I am studying are two objects: Portrait of my great grandfather and the textbook main-edited by my grandfather. Both are alumni of UCSF. One dean of the MD school and other did residency there before other things. They are my idols. For life and my career.

The question is should I sacrifice that dream of attending UCSF (or any UC) and try for more modest schools considering my stats aren't horrible right now. Advantage: get my MD one year earlier
But I don't even know if I'll get in. Is it even worth it to apply? btw I'm a junior

Or should I work my butt off this year and aim to raise my GPA and MCAT (actually taking more than 2 practice tests and having second semester of OCHEM under my belt)...thus, actually having a chance to capture my dream and keep the family tradition going.

Sorry for the long blabbering. I guess I just needed some help from pre-meds. My parents are non-medical and I don't like bringing up my low-performance with my grandfather because it hurts me to know that I'm not living up to his standards.

 

[scarletgirl777]

If you take the test again, you would want to improve by 4+ points...if you think you could do that, just do it...you are only a junior so you still have time. It's better to have the best app you can so that there are no regrets. And you're right, with these numbers it might be tough to get in at a lot of MD schools, let alone UCSF.

 

[Raryn]

If you feel like you wouldn't be happy anywhere else, take the year to strengthen your application. Be warned though: even if you take the year and improve, admission into a med school as competitive as UCSF will still be far from guaranteed. The process is somewhat of a crapshoot, and the UCs are all competitive as hell. There are no certainties.

 

[alwaysaangel]

Hello from Greece everyone,
Well I got my MCAT score back and wasn't really expecting anything high. I went against any logic and took it in April a week before leaving for a quarter abroad in Greece. I had everything set to go to apply except the MCAT to apply, and thus thought might as well give it a shot in order to apply in June. Took a quick Princeton Review course, skimmed all the books, and 2 practice exams.

Ended up getting a 29Q, which is not horrible but isn't even close to what I want for my UC schools. In the end, I've learned that next time's studying will consist of rounds and rounds of practice tests. Also, I'm taking the last OChem this summer so I didn't have that under my belt. Basically the message is that I rushed the test to go to Greece and wasn't comfortable the day I took it. I blew it but am so grateful I have this experience in Greece.

So, now I have stats of 3.63, 29Q (anti-stellar), but I feel like my extra-curriculars/recommendations/interview skills are high quality. I don't even want to apply to UC schools because I 1) don't have a chance currently and 2) don't want to disgrace my school, myself, and my family.

My target is UCSF. It's a top notch school near my family in the Bay Area (in which I want to stay). It's just sad because I don't have the stats for UCSF right now. On my desk overlooking me as I am studying are two objects: Portrait of my great grandfather and the textbook main-edited by my grandfather. Both are alumni of UCSF. One dean of the MD school and other did residency there before other things. They are my idols. For life and my career.

The question is should I sacrifice that dream of attending UCSF (or any UC) and try for more modest schools considering my stats aren't horrible right now. Advantage: get my MD one year earlier
But I don't even know if I'll get in. Is it even worth it to apply? btw I'm a junior

Or should I work my butt off this year and aim to raise my GPA and MCAT (actually taking more than 2 practice tests and having second semester of OCHEM under my belt)...thus, actually having a chance to capture my dream and keep the family tradition going.

Sorry for the long blabbering. I guess I just needed some help from pre-meds. My parents are non-medical and I don't like bringing up my low-performance with my grandfather because it hurts me to know that I'm not living up to his standards.

You don't talk about what your ECs but I'm going to assume they're relatively typical. Work, volunteer, research, clinical...

Based on your numbers and that assumption right now you wouldn't be able to stay in Cali which you have already admitted you realize. But you would also be fairly hard pressed to get into any US allo school, your numbers aren't going to get you through the primary screen and you're going to need something incredible on your app to grab someones attention to get you through.

With that in mind you also need to realize that you probably wouldn't get into UCSF next year either. If you retook the MCAT and got 4+ more points that would help, but unfortunately your GPA is below their average too (below most of the UCs actually). So you would need to considerably improve that, and I'm not sure 2 semesters would be enough to pull it up to 3.7+ which is what you would need.

You might want to consider taking more than a year off or getting into a post-bac program if you really MUST GO TO UCSF. But if thats not a necessity then I would say take one more year - apply next year very broadly and hopefully you will get into some allo schools and at least 1 UC.

 

[RySerr21]

You don't talk about what your ECs but I'm going to assume they're relatively typical. Work, volunteer, research, clinical...

Based on your numbers and that assumption right now you wouldn't be able to stay in Cali which you have already admitted you realize. But you would also be fairly hard pressed to get into any US allo school, your numbers aren't going to get you through the primary screen and you're going to need something incredible on your app to grab someones attention to get you through.

With that in mind you also need to realize that you probably wouldn't get into UCSF next year either. If you retook the MCAT and got 4+ more points that would help, but unfortunately your GPA is below their average too (below most of the UCs actually). So you would need to considerably improve that, and I'm not sure 2 semesters would be enough to pull it up to 3.7+ which is what you would need.

You might want to consider taking more than a year off or getting into a post-bac program if you really MUST GO TO UCSF. But if thats not a necessity then I would say take one more year - apply next year very broadly and hopefully you will get into some allo schools and at least 1 UC.

maybe a liiittle overexaggerated?? just a little? OPs stats are not horrible. its very possible he/she could get rejected from every school (depending on where he/she applied), but i wouldnt go as far to say its hard pressed he gets an acceptance anywhere.

 

[Character]

You don't talk about what your ECs but I'm going to assume they're relatively typical. Work, volunteer, research, clinical...

Based on your numbers and that assumption right now you wouldn't be able to stay in Cali which you have already admitted you realize. But you would also be fairly hard pressed to get into any US allo school, your numbers aren't going to get you through the primary screen and you're going to need something incredible on your app to grab someones attention to get you through.

With that in mind you also need to realize that you probably wouldn't get into UCSF next year either. If you retook the MCAT and got 4+ more points that would help, but unfortunately your GPA is below their average too (below most of the UCs actually). So you would need to considerably improve that, and I'm not sure 2 semesters would be enough to pull it up to 3.7+ which is what you would need.

You might want to consider taking more than a year off or getting into a post-bac program if you really MUST GO TO UCSF. But if thats not a necessity then I would say take one more year - apply next year very broadly and hopefully you will get into some allo schools and at least 1 UC.

umm, no. to the op..if u wanna go to ucsf, then take some extra time, pull up that gpa a lil and definately improve the mcat. but if you applied now, assuming you ps and all are good, im sure youd get into multiple schools. good gpa, and the mcat is a lil below the average, but half of the students that are admitted every year is below the average basically.

 

[alwaysaangel]

maybe a liiittle overexaggerated?? just a little? OPs stats are not horrible. its very possible he/she could get rejected from every school (depending on where he/she applied), but i wouldnt go as far to say its hard pressed he gets an acceptance anywhere.

*shrug* I said MIGHT BE. (EDIT: Just realized I didn't say might be - that sentence should have read "might be fairly hard pressed") It depends on his ECs - a 29 (depending on the breakdown), 3.6 and typical ECs would make it hard. He would need to apply broadly and early. I didn't say he wouldn't get in, I'm just trying to make him cautious. Schools who have straight number cutoffs often have them above a 29 then they hand screen the others. Nothing I said was wrong or over exaggerated.

And you can't even claim that I'm someone who thinks numbers are everything or who is a real downer, or anything like that - I had the same GPA as him applying. I'm proof positive you can sometimes stay in Cali with subpar numbers (or at least whats considered subpar around here). But I am also realistic.

I will admit that part of my comment comes from being a firm believer in waiting to apply until you are as strong as you can be - reapplying is too time consuming and expensive and you usually need to add a lot to your app which can be hard. He needs to think hard about what HE WANTS and decide WHATS best for him.

 

[RySerr21]

*shrug* I said MIGHT BE. (EDIT: Just realized I didn't say might be - that sentence should have read "might be fairly hard pressed") It depends on his ECs - a 29 (depending on the breakdown), 3.6 and typical ECs would make it hard. He would need to apply broadly and early. I didn't say he wouldn't get in, I'm just trying to make him cautious. Schools who have straight number cutoffs often have them above a 29 then they hand screen the others. Nothing I said was wrong or over exaggerated.

And you can't even claim that I'm someone who thinks numbers are everything or who is a real downer, or anything like that - I had the same GPA as him applying. I'm proof positive you can sometimes stay in Cali with subpar numbers (or at least whats considered subpar around here). But I am also realistic.

I will admit that part of my comment comes from being a firm believer in waiting to apply until you are as strong as you can be - reapplying is too time consuming and expensive and you usually need to add a lot to your app which can be hard. He needs to think hard about what HE WANTS and decide WHATS best for him.

ooo i agree its definitely not gonna be easy, and is more of an upward battle than he would have liked....i was just trying to bring back the hope that your comment (accidental or not) might have sucked out of him. because, like you said, its going to be difficult, but not impossible.

 

[HumidBeing]

This is a good What Are My Chances topic.

Moving you up to that sub-forum.

 

[Surferboy]

Hey guys thanks for all the criticism and advice. I'm a realistic guy and know that my current stats aren't cutting it. After talking with my family and sitting on a cliff overlooking crystal clear water, I've realized that applying now would be a mistake in the long run.

I'll just have to keep chugging this year and forget about applying until the time comes next year. The MCAT doesn't really scare me. I got a 10 B 10 P 9 V so it's not like I need to drastically improve one section (as if it were a 6 or something). With ample preparation I think I could improve my score by 2 points on each section. Taking the MCAT so unprepared was a huge mistake. 2 practice tests- I should have known that was not enough.

I feel like I'm pretty set on the additional things- recs, volunteer work, research

I'm doing research/volunteer work in the anesthesia department- simulation, cardiac research, liver transplant research- so I'm getting a huge amount of experience there. From taking data in the OR for 6 hours straight to intubating a cadaver, that opportunity has been great.

Big tennis player- Ball boy for the US Open and have had lots of leadership opportunity there. Being in charge of a ball boy crew that is being aired to millions of people was fun but stressful.

Recommendations- Department chair of Classics (1 on 1 class right now in Greece- taking 3rd year of ancient Greek)
Department chair of Anesthesia at UCLA

I just need to stay true to my goal of going to UCSF. Whatever it takes. Any UC would be an incredible opportunity.

I just want to make my mark at UCSF. Maybe I don't have to be the dean of UCSF medical school like my great grandfather or write an anesthesia textbook like my grandfather but hopefully I can gain respect in my chosen field. I owe it to them and myself.

 

[scarletgirl777]

Hey guys thanks for all the criticism and advice. I'm a realistic guy and know that my current stats aren't cutting it. After talking with my family and sitting on a cliff overlooking crystal clear water, I've realized that applying now would be a mistake in the long run.

I'll just have to keep chugging this year and forget about applying until the time comes next year. The MCAT doesn't really scare me. I got a 10 B 10 P 9 V so it's not like I need to drastically improve one section (as if it were a 6 or something). With ample preparation I think I could improve my score by 2 points on each section. Taking the MCAT so unprepared was a huge mistake. 2 practice tests- I should have known that was not enough.

I feel like I'm pretty set on the additional things- recs, volunteer work, research

I'm doing research/volunteer work in the anesthesia department- simulation, cardiac research, liver transplant research- so I'm getting a huge amount of experience there. From taking data in the OR for 6 hours straight to intubating a cadaver, that opportunity has been great.

Big tennis player- Ball boy for the US Open and have had lots of leadership opportunity there. Being in charge of a ball boy crew that is being aired to millions of people was fun but stressful.

Recommendations- Department chair of Classics (1 on 1 class right now in Greece- taking 3rd year of ancient Greek)
Department chair of Anesthesia at UCLA

I just need to stay true to my goal of going to UCSF. Whatever it takes. Any UC would be an incredible opportunity.

I just want to make my mark at UCSF. Maybe I don't have to be the dean of UCSF medical school like my great grandfather or write an anesthesia textbook like my grandfather but hopefully I can gain respect in my chosen field. I owe it to them and myself.

It's good to have goals, and maybe your family connection will help, but realize that it IS still possible that you won't get into UCSF. Their numbers are pretty high and they get thousands of applicants from across the country. Still, good luck! I hope it works out for you.