wacky background, huge MCAT improvement... school list and chances?

[epsilonprodigy]

I am a non-trad. Was always pre-med but took a brief detour into nursing after having my son sophomore year of college. Graduated from a top 3 school with a 3.55 (major upward trend... first couple of years of college, I goofed off too much and had a 3.3 ish GPA.) Went back almost immediately after graduation and started post-bacc classes. This is where most of my science GPA comes from, because not as many nursing school classes cross over as you might expect. So, post-bacc GPA is 3.67 and all are sciences. Since graduating in 2006, I have been working as a pediatric critical care nurse, and have also been a forensic sexual assault nurse examiner for 2 years. I have done a lot of international medical relief work which I will be continuing throughout the application cycle. The rest of my EC's are all the normal stuff: NCSC, Dean's List, "peer advisor" (similar to an RA), hospital volunteer, running in marathons for charity, tutoring, hospital tech before graduating, and various scut jobs for extra cash. I am a Caucasian female VA resident and didn't count myself as disadvantaged, although I did grow up in a "rural medically underserved" area. I believe my PS is strong, it is focused on my "journey" from pre-med to nursing and back again, plus my interest in relief work. All my professor LOR's are from post-bacc, and all my "professional" LOR's are docs I work with, all of whom are associate professors at George Washington. My dad is also a GWU Law School alum. I am a Hopkins alum.

So.... here's my list.

JHU
University of Maryland
Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences
GW
Georgetown
Howard
Drexel
Temple
Jefferson
Penn State
UPenn
EVMS
VCU
UVA
Virginia Tech (both MD and DO programs)
Marshall
Univ. of Pittsburgh
The Commonwealth Medical College
Univ. of West Virginia
+ 2 other DO programs

MCAT score in 8/2010: 8/8/9 25P
MCAT score in 7/2011 12/11/13 36R



My questions are:

• What are my chances at top-tier schools like Penn and Hopkins?
• Does my list look reasonable, and if not, what's missing?

Thanks all!

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[Silverfalcon]

You have a strong application. However, two things to keep in mind throughout the cycle:

1) Top research heavy schools in your list may reject you because of GPA. So, make sure that you can validate your academic strengths through LOR and essays. Since there is an upward trend, you have a shot, but people with high MCAT and mediocre GPA receive rejections frequently from them.

2) Similarly, with average medical schools that are less number heavy, you may also receive rejection because of MCAT and of them thinking you won't come to their school. Show your interest and let them aware that you are not just applying them as "back-up" (you might, but they don't have to think that way) and are deeply considering them.

Great job on turning your application around. Good luck!

 

[epsilonprodigy]

You have a strong application. However, two things to keep in mind throughout the cycle:

1) Top research heavy schools in your list may reject you because of GPA. So, make sure that you can validate your academic strengths through LOR and essays. Since there is an upward trend, you have a shot, but people with high MCAT and mediocre GPA receive rejections frequently from them.

2) Similarly, with average medical schools that are less number heavy, you may also receive rejection because of MCAT and of them thinking you won't come to their school. Show your interest and let them aware that you are not just applying them as "back-up" (you might, but they don't have to think that way) and are deeply considering them.

Great job on turning your application around. Good luck!

Thanks. But.... regarding the bolded statement.... how?! I hear they are experts at detecting "website-pulling," but how do you avoid it? Surely most people do get most of their info on schools from their websites. I dread the "why our school?" questions and would love advice on how to go about this optimally.

Do schools really make a point to reject people that they don't think will come? I thought it was pretty much understood that we all just want to get in somewhere.

 

[FloridaMedicine]

I'd say you have a very strong application so kudos to you. However some of those top schools usually like to see a bit of research done. Either way I still think you have a shot landing some interviews at some top schools. Good luck to you!

PS. way to bump up that MCAT score that says alot about u already and for what its worth, im impressed.

 

[epsilonprodigy]

Thanks. I plan on discussing my interest in doing research while in med school if given the opportunity to do so. I didn't during undergrad or post-bacc, because international relief work, school, work and family gave me a pretty full plate, so I didn't want to sign myself up and then suck at it because I was never available. Hopefully the schools will respect that, but I would like to get some exposure to research eventually.

 

[FloridaMedicine]

Thanks. I plan on discussing my interest in doing research while in med school if given the opportunity to do so. I didn't during undergrad or post-bacc, because international relief work, school, work and family gave me a pretty full plate, so I didn't want to sign myself up and then suck at it because I was never available. Hopefully the schools will respect that, but I would like to get some exposure to research eventually.

right.. I completely understand and if you are given an interview i'm pretty sure med schools would understand that as well. Either way its defintely worth the shot!

 

[Silverfalcon]

Thanks. But.... regarding the bolded statement.... how?! I hear they are experts at detecting "website-pulling," but how do you avoid it? Surely most people do get most of their info on schools from their websites. I dread the "why our school?" questions and would love advice on how to go about this optimally.

Do schools really make a point to reject people that they don't think will come? I thought it was pretty much understood that we all just want to get in somewhere.

To first paragraph: That's where secondaries come in. Do some research about the school. What you like about it. It could be the school, the area, the research, etc...

To second paragraph, while people do want to get in somewhere, medical schools do make rejection based on the scores and student interests. I can't really give you a clear example, but this has happened before and will continuously do so.

And as others said, getting into a lab may help you. I wouldn't think too hard into it if you can't, but it may help for some schools.