Top tier dreams are shattered but what are my chances at mid-tier schools?

[goldngrl1611]

Hey guys-
So I'm pretty bummed out about getting back my MCAT score for 5/27...I know my score is a solid score but its more about the breakdown. 12 PS/9 VR/S/11 BS: 32S. The 9 in verbal really has me worked up because I scored consistent 11s on my practice tests...but i'm getting over it and just transitioning to the idea of getting into mostly mid-tier schools now. Other stats:

College: University of Southern California
Major B.A. Biology
Minor: International Relations
cum GPA: 3.88
Science GPA: 3.82
AO GPA: 3.95
MCAT: 32S, 12/9/S/11
California Resident

ECs:
* Department of Biological Sciences Honors Program- honors thesis, extra seminars, etc.
* Phi Sigma Biological Honor Society
* Academic Tutor for middle schoolers- 1 semester
* Tour Guide for the USC Office of Admission- going on my third year, about 8 hrs/week
* USC University Hospital Volunteer - 75 hours, mostly volunteer work
* Undergraduate Researcher in Neurobiology- 2 months plus summer stipend working every day- no publication though
* Phi Beta Kappa
* Resident Advisor- going on my second year, 20 hours/week
* Collegiate Medical Volunteer Program at LA County- 80+ hours of shadowing, rotations through various fields, saw operations/consultations, etc.
* Supplemental Instruction Leader - Molecular Biology and Biochemistry

I am still going to apply to some top schools just to give it a shot with my GPA, but I'm wondering how my chances look for schools like Georgetown, Brown, NYU, USC, Northwestern, GW, Dartmouth, Einstein, etc.

Also, any input on the 9 in verbal in general? I reallllyyyy don't want to take that test again, but it's in the back of my head every minute of the day. 😡

Thanks for any input I really appreciate it!

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[goldngrl1611]

bump! PLEASE help! I don't want to end up filling out secondaries I may have no shot at haha

 

[brandnew1]

I am a bit worried that you may be too caught up in the prestige factor. Your stats are good and your ECs are decent, however you should look to apply to schools that better fit your stats. Of the ones you list as "mid-tier"

Georgetown: would fit your stats but they receive a TON of applications.
Brown: no chance, I believe they don't take OOS students or something of that sort.
NYU: median MCAT is probably a 34-35. Would be a tad bit of a reach.
Northwestern: median MCAT is between 35-36. This is a top tier school and would be a reach.
GW: same kind of deal as GU. Receive MANY applications.
Dartmouth: another highly thought of school; median MCAT is probably 34-35.
Einstein: don't recall stats off top of my head, but this is another well respected school.

My point is that the schools you list as "mid-tier", or whatever, are in fact very well respected schools, most of which have median MCATs a few points above your own. The majority of these should be thought of as slight reaches.

Make sure your application has its fair share of schools such as Rosalind Franklin, Loyola Chicago, Wayne State, U Cincinnati, U Toledo, Creighton, etc... Basically schools
with a median MCAT in the low 30's that are favorable to OOS students.

Best of luck.

 

[goldngrl1611]

Thanks...I'm not that good at the categorization of schools into tiers. I have these what I think are mid-tier schools on my list:

BU (?)
Drexel
Loyola Chicago
Michigan State
GW
Georgetown
Rush
St. Louis University
Temple
Miami
UC Irvine
UC Davis
Tulane

Let me know what you guys think (i.e. is this enough mid-tier?)

 

[minka]

The MCAT isn't everything, and yours isn't as bad as you think. You still have a decent shot at most schools. I agree with brandnew1 that you did rank some very well known schools as mid tier though and you should definitely still apply there and also apply to all CA schools as you have a very good chance for Irvine and Davis, and heck you may even get some interviews at UCLA, UCSD, UCSF and Stanford due to you high GPA and diverse EC's. Also I second brandnew1's school suggestions, and Albert Einstein has an average MCAT of 33, but your GPA is higher than average according to MSARs so you def have a chance there
Good luck!

 

[goldngrl1611]

The MCAT isn't everything, and yours isn't as bad as you think. You still have a decent shot at most schools. I agree with brandnew1 that you did rank some very well known schools as mid tier though and you should definitely still apply there and also apply to all CA schools as you have a very good chance for Irvine and Davis, and heck you may even get some interviews at UCLA, UCSD, UCSF and Stanford due to you high GPA and diverse EC's. Also I second brandnew1's school suggestions, and Albert Einstein has an average MCAT of 33, but your GPA is higher than average according to MSARs so you def have a chance there
Good luck!

Thanks so much for the confidence! That just made my day haha

 

[goldngrl1611]

one more thing: what is it about my ECs that might be considered only decent? I know my research doesn't have a publication and isn't a very long duration (I had to leave and take on another job on campus for financial reasons) but though I don't have a list of 20 ECs several of them are very time consuming and important roles on campus.

Any other opinions on anything above as well as the mid-tier list I added would still be appreciated, as always 🙂

 

[brandnew1]

one more thing: what is it about my ECs that might be considered only decent? I know my research doesn't have a publication and isn't a very long duration (I had to leave and take on another job on campus for financial reasons) but though I don't have a list of 20 ECs several of them are very time consuming and important roles on campus.

Any other opinions on anything above as well as the mid-tier list I added would still be appreciated, as always 🙂

The schools you listed above would definitely fall under the range of "safe to matches". This is not to say that you shouldn't apply to "reach schools"; by all means, you would be competitive at schools like Dartmouth, UVA, Emory, Einstein, etc... It is the heavy hitters (Northwestern, Michigan, Harvard) etc.. where you'd face an uphill battle.

Your ECs are fine but since you're asking for a critique (remember this is compared to the competition you'd face at decent schools):

- as you already mentioned, two months is a very short duration for research. One year is considered standard; 2 months may raise a flag and may not even fully "count" as research.

- lack of extensive clinical volunteering. A solid amount would be ~ 200 hours. 75 hours is a bit sparse.

- lack of non-clinical volunteering. Schools like to see you take up some personal cause.

- shadowing is solid, as are your teaching roles.

I guess my main concern would be the lack of commitment shown to the more important activities. RA and campus leadership roles are well and good (and do count as something) however in the ways of clinical volunteering, non-clinical volunteering and research, you would be average to below average at the schools you are looking at.

Don't fret though; if you balance your application out well, you will surely see acceptances. 👍

 

[minka]

Well you are right that your research isn't top notch due mainly to short duration much more than no publication, and this could and probably will hurt you to some of the top tiers as they are generally very research heavy/oriented schools. Your jobs are nice and you could probably spin that as interaction with various people and show consistency. Your shadowing / volunteering is slightly lower in hours than what tends to be considered great, and I hope you have a good duration doing it and not just cramming it all into on semester, as med schools like that you do these types of "medical oriented" activites for a committed time again from what is being said on these forums. But then again, we are human and don't have time to do everything, and I know people who got into all sorts of places without any research and minimal clinical experience, so don't freak out to much.

Bottom line: good EC's but seemingly short duration on the clinical ones and short research experience are what people will probably point out and rank it as decent and not amazing.

Hope this helps and good luck

 

[goldngrl1611]

The schools you listed above would definitely fall under the range of "safe to matches". This is not to say that you shouldn't apply to "reach schools"; by all means, you would be competitive at schools like Dartmouth, UVA, Emory, Einstein, etc... It is the heavy hitters (Northwestern, Michigan, Harvard) etc.. where you'd face an uphill battle.

Your ECs are fine but since you're asking for a critique (remember this is compared to the competition you'd face at decent schools):

- as you already mentioned, two months is a very short duration for research. One year is considered standard; 2 months may raise a flag and may not even fully "count" as research.

- lack of extensive clinical volunteering. A solid amount would be ~ 200 hours. 75 hours is a bit sparse.

- lack of non-clinical volunteering. Schools like to see you take up some personal cause.

- shadowing is solid, as are your teaching roles.

I guess my main concern would be the lack of commitment shown to the more important activities. RA and campus leadership roles are well and good (and do count as something) however in the ways of clinical volunteering, non-clinical volunteering and research, you would be average to below average at the schools you are looking at.

Don't fret though; if you balance your application out well, you will surely see acceptances. 👍

hey- i appreciate the input. Though not a year, my research was 6 months. 2 months of the spring semester PLUS an entire summer working on a stipend. I had no idea 150+ hours of clinical work wasn't a lot ( I had 75+ at one hospital soph year and 80+ at another junior year), but I have done it all sophomore and all junior year (so spread out), so I thought it was a good amount.