Unusual Background- chances?

[vanilla_pudding]

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[Faha]

Where is your state of residence? What sport?

 

[vanilla_pudding]

Where is your state of residence? What sport?

Massachusetts. And I'd rather not say, just to maintain some level of anonymity.

 

[Faha]

I suggest these schools with your stats:
UMass
Tufts
Boston University
Dartmouth
Brown
Vermont
Quinnipiac
Albany
New York Medical College
Einstein
Hofstra
Drexel
Temple
Jefferson
Seton Hall
Penn State
George Washington
West Virginia
Virginia Commonwealth
Wake Forest
Miami
Oakland Beaumont
Medical College Wisconsin
NOVA MD
Rosalind Franklin
Tulane
Your professional sports background may help you at some schools. It depends on who reviews your application. If the reviewer played the same sport in high school or college then your chances for an interview at that school go way up.

 

[Gilakend]

I was really hoping you were Zach Zenner for a minute.

 

[vanilla_pudding]

I suggest these schools with your stats:
UMass
Tufts
Boston University
Dartmouth
Brown
Vermont
Quinnipiac
Albany
New York Medical College
Einstein
Hofstra
Drexel
Temple
Jefferson
Seton Hall
Penn State
George Washington
West Virginia
Virginia Commonwealth
Wake Forest
Miami
Oakland Beaumont
Medical College Wisconsin
NOVA MD
Rosalind Franklin
Tulane
Your professional sports background may help you at some schools. It depends on who reviews your application. If the reviewer played the same sport in high school or college then your chances for an interview at that school go way up.

Thanks so much for the list! There is definitely a lot of overlap with the list I had already begun making, so that is comforting.

Do you think it would be worth it to take the MCAT again in June? I have been scoring a few points higher on practice exams but not sure how much of a difference this would make in admissions. Am I just in a bad position for top-ish schools because of the low GPA?

 

[Faha]

You do not need to retake the MCAT. It is your GPA and lack of clinical and non clinical volunteering will limit your chances at top 20 schools.

 

[WIMNFamilyMed]

Thanks so much for the list! There is definitely a lot of overlap with the list I had already begun making, so that is comforting.

Do you think it would be worth it to take the MCAT again in June? I have been scoring a few points higher on practice exams but not sure how much of a difference this would make in admissions. Am I just in a bad position for top-ish schools because of the low GPA?

A 514 is the 91-92 percentile or so, you’re at a much higher risk to do worse than better in my opinion! The gpa will hurt a bit with top schools, but your various research will help. Given the athlete situation, I think schools will be more understanding of your gpa. What is most likely to hold back your application is the lower amount of clinical and volunteer experiences.

 

[Willy38]

cGPA 3.67 and sGPA 3.65, strong upward trend, physics major
MCAT 514 (129 C/P, 128 B/B, 127 P/S, 130 CARS)
Undergrad institution: Top 5 schoool
Research: Three separate research experiences in undergrad (in physics, not medically-related) with two resulting in lengthy "thesis" type reports but no publications
Shadowing: 40 Hours (Primary Care, Ophthalmology, Ortho)
Non-clinical Volunteer: Minimal and scattered (100 hours)
Clinical: ~100 hours

I was a highly ranked collegiate athlete in my sport and played professionally for four years after undergrad. A serious injury derailed my career and got me interested in medicine in the first place. I completed the remaining handful of courses I needed as a post-bacc student. I haven't heard of too many ex-professional athletes applying to medical school, so I'm not sure how my background will be viewed and what schools I should be targeting. Any advice would be much appreciated!

I was a pro athlete for 3 years before med school and had some luck so I think your chances are good. Definitely get some more/continue volunteering and shadowing. The research thing is a big deal at the top places so if theres a way to get involved with a project now or try to publish something you've previously worked on then I'd do that also. Good luck!

 

[Walter Raleigh]

Former professional athlete is a killer EC; it improves your chances a good deal.

 

[GoatBrees]

A collegiate athlete I've met got into a Top 10 school with a 26 MCAT

 

[Walter Raleigh]

A collegiate athlete I've met got into a Top 10 school with a 26 MCAT

Was there any other compelling or unusual portion of their story? Even for a college athlete, a 26 seems quite low for Top 10 schools.

 

[thenucleusaccumbens]

Thanks so much for the list! There is definitely a lot of overlap with the list I had already begun making, so that is comforting.

Do you think it would be worth it to take the MCAT again in June? I have been scoring a few points higher on practice exams but not sure how much of a difference this would make in admissions. Am I just in a bad position for top-ish schools because of the low GPA?

I agree with others who said you should not retake that MCAT. Your GPA could hurt you at some of the top schools, but not all. Some schools are more holistic and will look at the fact that you were an athlete and also a physics major at a top 5 school. I know someone at Mayo who has a similar background but not sure what his stats were. Although there is no GPA screen at Mayo and your MCAT is above the MCAT screen they use, so maybe worth applying since your app will for sure at least get read and considered fully. you should also apply to the other schools Faha suggested. I think if you can get in some more volunteering that can only help.

 

[GoatBrees]

Was there any other compelling or unusual portion of their story? Even for a college athlete, a 26 seems quite low for Top 10 schools.

He was the best athlete in his field and was captain of the team or something
It could also be just a rumor he got a 26: He could have gotten a 36 for all we know