URM with 3.6

[Theafoni]

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Currently sitting on a 3.25 as a sophomore (mediocre fall), if I can raise my GPA to a 3.5ish/3.6, what schools can I realistically aim for? I'd prefer to attend a school in the midwest. I intend to take the new MCAT next year.

 

[cookiemonsters]

Well a lot depends on your eventual MCAT score, but a 3.6 is a very good GPA for URM's.

 

[El Nino]

Well a lot depends on your eventual MCAT score, but a 3.6 is a very good GPA for you people.

Are you serious? Yeah, this is not cool.

Currently sitting on a 3.25 as a sophomore (mediocre fall), if I can raise my GPA to a 3.5ish/3.6, what schools can I realistically aim for? I'd prefer to attend a school in the midwest. I intend to take the new MCAT next year.

Please come to this section: http://forums.studentdoctor.net/forums/underrepresented-in-healthcare.219/
Otherwise you are bound to encounter a lot of comments like above.

 

[QuinnTheEskimo]

I have a URM friend who had a 3.6, and he got into every school he applied to (including several in the top 5-10).

You are pretty much guaranteed to get in somewhere, but I'd say a URM with a 3.6 and a 30+ MCAT has a very good chance of getting into a top 25 school.

 

[Tijou]

Well a lot depends on your eventual MCAT score, but a 3.6 is a very good GPA for URM's.

still not any better. 3.6 GPA is a good GPA for everybody. As people mentioned depends on your MCAT scores, once you have an idea of how well you might do then you can make a more informed decision. In order to be a solid applicant, aiming for a 35+ should wildly increase your chances of admissions, provided your ECs and letters are well rounded and strong.

 

[HopefulReapp]

still not any better. 3.6 GPA is a good GPA for everybody. As people mentioned depends on your MCAT scores, once you have an idea of how well you might do then you can make a more informed decision. In order to be a solid applicant, aiming for a 35+ should wildly increase your chances of admissions, provided your ECs and letters are well rounded and strong.

He identified himself as a URM because the end result of the question is changed by this status selection. I don't think his edited reply is inappropriate, do you?

 

[chondroblast]

Are you black? If you're black with a 3.6 you're basically guaranteed admissions as long as you get 25+ on the MCAT and don't have a criminal record.
^ Not trying to be racist.

 

[ChemEngMD]

Currently sitting on a 3.25 as a sophomore (mediocre fall), if I can raise my GPA to a 3.5ish/3.6, what schools can I realistically aim for? I'd prefer to attend a school in the midwest. I intend to take the new MCAT next year.

Don't listen to people telling you that all you need is a 3.6 and a 25...you still are going to need to have solid ECs.

The stats for Blacks and Latinos are skewed due to the 4 HBCU medical schools and the 4 Puerto Rico medical schools. If you are dead set on a specific region (mid-west) for school then you are going to need to be a solid all-around applicant. You cannot slouch on Clinical, Research, Service, or Leadership.

Good luck and if you need help or anything come through the Underrepresented in Healthcare sub-forum or PM me.

 

[listener23]

Don't listen to people telling you that all you need is a 3.6 and a 25...you still are going to need to have solid ECs.

The stats for Blacks and Latinos are skewed due to the 4 HBCU medical schools and the 4 Puerto Rico medical schools. If you are dead set on a specific region (mid-west) for school then you are going to need to be a solid all-around applicant. You cannot slouch on Clinical, Research, Service, or Leadership.

Good luck and if you need help or anything come through the Underrepresented in Healthcare sub-forum or PM me.

I thought it was only three: Howard, Meharry, Morehouse?

 

[ChemEngMD]

I thought it was only three: Howard, Meharry, Morehouse?

Lol you right...3 HBCU, 4 PR. (Although Charles Drew, while only 24 people, is technically an HBCU, even though UCLA is the one who grants the MD degree.)

 

[Theafoni]

Are you black? If you're black with a 3.6 you're basically guaranteed admissions as long as you get 25+ on the MCAT and don't have a criminal record.
^ Not trying to be racist.

I'm actually an african immigrant, but I'd put down black for demographics.

 

[Espadaleader]

I also depends on your upward trend. You may be better off PM'ing @ChemEngMD or myself. I applied at pretty much a 3.7 but I had a 2 years at 3.8+ and 2 years at 3.3+ with a solid upward trend throughout and nothing below a B in any course. After freshman BIO/CHEM I never got a B again. Plus I had outstanding EC's and a great MCAT. If you are looking for top schools as a URM, there really are no shortcuts.

If you want to just "get into" a school, you may be able to do it with a 3.5/28 MCAT but you have to have great EC's.

If not you will be like most Black and minority applicants I know. Rejected.

 

[chondroblast]

If you can get a 3.6 GPA and a 30 on the MCAT you have a 90% chance of being accepted to a US allopathic school since you're black.

 

[AdrianVeidt]

If you can get a 3.6 GPA and a 30 on the MCAT you have a 90% chance of being accepted to a US allopathic school since you're black.

Do not go by Table 25, it is very misleading. Takes more than that.

To OP: Get your GPA as high as possible by doing well in your courses, dedicate time to studying for the MCAT when the time to take it comes, make sure you have shadowed physicians of multiple specialties, get involved in research or some sort of school activity, do something helpful for your community and most importantly: enjoy your life while doing all of those things.

 

[listener23]

Lol you right...3 HBCU, 4 PR. (Although Charles Drew, while only 24 people, is technically an HBCU, even though UCLA is the one who grants the MD degree.)

Two questions; whats a PR? a what do you mean Charles drew only has 24 students, Is it a special part of ucla medical school? (I Googled it and got confused on there system)

 

[ChemEngMD]

Two questions; whats a PR? a what do you mean Charles drew only has 24 students, Is it a special part of ucla medical school? (I Googled it and got confused on there system)

Charles Drew is its own Health Science university but it does not award MDs. It awards nursing, PA, rad tech, etc.

UCLA has three ways that you can apply to it. One is through the main school (Geffen), one is through the PRIME program (this is something that all UC schools have, but most don't have you specify PRIME until the secondary phase - for some reason UCLA does it at the primary), and the UCLA/Drew joint program.

The UCLA/Drew program is for 24 students a year who are interested in working in urban underserved communities. You spend your first two years taking all of your classes at UCLA then during your third year rotations, some of them (not all of them), take place in urban underserved clinics and hospitals. Some of them are still done at UCLA because there aren't facilities for them through Drew, but for the most part your third and fourth years are spent much closer to Drew and you work a lot in Watts and Compton.

PR = Puerto Rico 😉 la isla del encanto, por sopuesto!

 

[ChemEngMD]

As an aside...I will say that I believe the Charles Drew program has much higher average GPA/MCAT than the 3 other HBCUs.