to be competative at top schools....

[migs54]

To be competative at the top schools, like hopkins,duke,harvard,cornell. What types of numbers gpa and mcat are needed. I know there is no set formula but just an idea for one to see if they should spend the time and the money to apply to these schools

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[abefroman]

Your experiences will be far more important than the numbers at those places.

 

[rajneel1]

i totally agree with the above poster. it is all about your life experiences, unusual committment to medicine and people at the top places. they don't care as much for numbers than say the UCs do.

 

[Scooby Doo]

I agree AND disagree.

Basically, think of it like a balance...

If you have super good scores, 36+ on MCAT and 3.8+ GPA, then you don't need as good of EC's to get into these top schools.

If you have a 30, 3.5 - YOU WILL NEED some realy really good EC'S! I mean life changing EC's...

If you have a 40, 3.9 - You will just need a few EC's showing you know what you are getting into.

Ifyou can combine the EC's with the great stats, and be good at interviewing, you are SET!

 

[The Fly]

•••quote:•••Originally posted by Scooby Doo:
•I agree AND disagree.

Basically, think of it like a balance...

If you have super good scores, 36+ on MCAT and 3.8+ GPA, then you don't need as good of EC's to get into these top schools.

If you have a 30, 3.5 - YOU WILL NEED some realy really good EC'S! I mean life changing EC's...

If you have a 40, 3.9 - You will just need a few EC's showing you know what you are getting into.

Ifyou can combine the EC's with the great stats, and be good at interviewing, you are SET!•••••Scoob-

You scooped my post!

Anyway migs54 -- it's basically common sense with the numbers. You DO need nominally high numbers to get into these schools even with good ECs (and recommendations, etc). The UCs, however, are more interested in numbers than most of the other competitive medical schools. The unfortunate reality is that unless there's some absolutely astonishing life changing event in your life, it's extremely unlikely that you're going to get into a "top-10" school with a less than 30 MCAT and equivalent GPA. . .

It's VERY idiosyncratic as both Scooby and I can testify. I was rejected post-interview from NYU and Mt. Sinai (and others) and yet got into Yale, Penn and Wash U.

It's extremely variable!

 

[whoanelly]

If you learn nothing else from reading the zillions of postings on this website, it is that med school admissions are a crap shoot. You will see people with low stats getting into great schools, people with great stats and no apparent deficiencies getting in few or no schools, people with almost identical stats getting vastly different results. For most of us, there is no sure fire way to predict the outcome. Soooooo..don't count yourself out of any school you really want to attend just because you think you don't measure up, and don't assume that you'll get in at other places (I heard of a Harvard grad who was a 4 time legacy at a school and didn't get in). As many people have advised, apply to a wide range of schools. To the extent possible, make sure that you apply to schools you would really want to attend if accepted. There's tons of helpful advice on this site and on the many other sites that people have referenced (I think there have been threads entitled 'helpful websites'). Read as many as you can and you'll glean an impressive amount of knowledge about this whole experience.

 

[psyche]

brushing up on your spelling wouldn't hurt

 

[Future_Doc]

•••quote:•••Originally posted by psyche:
•brushing up on your spelling wouldn't hurt•••••<img border="0" alt="[Laughy]" title="" src="graemlins/laughy.gif" /> <img border="0" alt="[Laughy]" title="" src="graemlins/laughy.gif" /> <img border="0" alt="[Laughy]" title="" src="graemlins/laughy.gif" /> <img border="0" alt="[Laughy]" title="" src="graemlins/laughy.gif" /> <img border="0" alt="[Laughy]" title="" src="graemlins/laughy.gif" />

 

[ecm2]

•••quote:•••Originally posted by whoanelly:
•If you learn nothing else from reading the zillions of postings on this website, it is that med school admissions are a crap shoot. You will see people with low stats getting into great schools, people with great stats and no apparent deficiencies getting in few or no schools, people with almost identical stats getting vastly different results. For most of us, there is no sure fire way to predict the outcome. Soooooo..don't count yourself out of any school you really want to attend just because you think you don't measure up, and don't assume that you'll get in at other places (I heard of a Harvard grad who was a 4 time legacy at a school and didn't get in). As many people have advised, apply to a wide range of schools. To the extent possible, make sure that you apply to schools you would really want to attend if accepted. There's tons of helpful advice on this site and on the many other sites that people have referenced (I think there have been threads entitled 'helpful websites'). Read as many as you can and you'll glean an impressive amount of knowledge about this whole experience.•••••I have to second everything said above twice over. It is sooo random who gets interviewed/in to different places. Out of all of the schools that I applied to, the ones I got interviews at were some of my "more competetive schools," which means the "less competetive" schools didn't even want me. (Screw them!) Its such a crapshoot.