WAMC? Help!

[peachmelon]

Hi SDN,

I've tried reading other WAMC posts to get an idea of where I stand this cycle, but the responses are really varied and I can't seem to find anyone with stats close to mine.
Do I have a chance at MD? DO?

cGPA: 3.97
sGPA: 3.97
MCAT: I've been scoring above 500 on my practice tests and my MCAT date is the end of June (I know this isn't definitive, sorry)
State of residence: IL
Ethnicity: white
Undergraduate institution: state school
Clinical experience: medical scribe ~150 hours (job location was changed and I was unable to commute 30+ minutes to the other hospital); this was split between family and emergency medicine
Research experience: 3 semesters in paleontology and anatomical sciences lab (1 semester of grunt work, 2 semesters of molding and casting, external scanning, and 3D printing) and one poster presentation; leadership position in lab
Shadowing experience: 50 hours family medicine
Non-Clinical Volunteering: ~500 in natural history museum preparing fossils in paleo lab and answering visitor questions, tours, special events, etc.
Other ECs: barista for 3+ years, Phi Kappa Phi
LOR: research advisor, biology professor, psychology professor, head of paleontology at the museum I volunteer at

I have plans in place to be a patient transporter at a hospital once I am finished with this semester, but I obviously will not be able to accumulate many hours (and this would not be over a long period of time). I also have plans in place to shadow a DO ob/gyn (~30 hours is what we planned on).

My research and volunteer experiences have been very meaningful and these are things that I would certainly be able to discuss and elaborate on.
My scribing experience, although brief, was a fantastic experience and huge learning opportunity. Not being able to continue was honestly devastating.

Are my ECs too weak to apply this cycle?
I know that a gap year would allow me to work on my ECs, but if I didn't take a gap year, would I stand a chance this cycle?
My school advisor is pushing me to apply this cycle and says that I will regret it if I don't (I can see this being true). However, he also told me "applicants with your stats don't need extra-curricular padding" so I don't think I can fully trust his advice...

Thanks in advance to anyone who reads this!

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[Faha]

As long as your MCAT is 500 you will be competitive for the majority of DO schools. Post your score here when available and you may be competitive for some MD schools also.

 

[peachmelon]

As long as your MCAT is 500 you will be competitive for the majority of DO schools. Post your score here when available and you may be competitive for some MD schools also.

Will do, thank you!!

 

[WIMNFamilyMed]

Hi SDN,

I've tried reading other WAMC posts to get an idea of where I stand this cycle, but the responses are really varied and I can't seem to find anyone with stats close to mine.
Do I have a chance at MD? DO?

cGPA: 3.97
sGPA: 3.97
MCAT: I've been scoring above 500 on my practice tests and my MCAT date is the end of June (I know this isn't definitive, sorry)
State of residence: IL
Ethnicity: white
Undergraduate institution: state school
Clinical experience: medical scribe ~150 hours (job location was changed and I was unable to commute 30+ minutes to the other hospital); this was split between family and emergency medicine
Research experience: 3 semesters in paleontology and anatomical sciences lab (1 semester of grunt work, 2 semesters of molding and casting, external scanning, and 3D printing) and one poster presentation; leadership position in lab
Shadowing experience: 50 hours family medicine
Non-Clinical Volunteering: ~500 in natural history museum preparing fossils in paleo lab and answering visitor questions, tours, special events, etc.
Other ECs: barista for 3+ years, Phi Kappa Phi
LOR: research advisor, biology professor, psychology professor, head of paleontology at the museum I volunteer at

I have plans in place to be a patient transporter at a hospital once I am finished with this semester, but I obviously will not be able to accumulate many hours (and this would not be over a long period of time). I also have plans in place to shadow a DO ob/gyn (~30 hours is what we planned on).

My research and volunteer experiences have been very meaningful and these are things that I would certainly be able to discuss and elaborate on.
My scribing experience, although brief, was a fantastic experience and huge learning opportunity. Not being able to continue was honestly devastating.

Are my ECs too weak to apply this cycle?
I know that a gap year would allow me to work on my ECs, but if I didn't take a gap year, would I stand a chance this cycle?
My school advisor is pushing me to apply this cycle and says that I will regret it if I don't (I can see this being true). However, he also told me "applicants with your stats don't need extra-curricular padding" so I don't think I can fully trust his advice...

Thanks in advance to anyone who reads this!

Great insight on your part about the professor saying with good grades ECs don’t matter because they totally still do! My advisor, in his late 70s, feels similarly but recognizes some that this was more of the case 20-40 years ago than today. I think you have enough ECs to apply. Best of luck - apply broadly. AAMC practice exams are best predictors of mcat score it seems - I know many people IRL who have done higher on the real thing than on AAMC practice exams. Don’t quit studying once you get a practice score you want though

 

[peachmelon]

Great insight on your part about the professor saying with good grades ECs don’t matter because they totally still do! My advisor, in his late 70s, feels similarly but recognizes some that this was more of the case 20-40 years ago than today. I think you have enough ECs to apply. Best of luck - apply broadly. AAMC practice exams are best predictors of mcat score it seems - I know many people IRL who have done higher on the real thing than on AAMC practice exams. Don’t quit studying once you get a practice score you want though

Thank you! Don't worry, I plan to keep at it right up until my test day - I'm hoping to score 510, as I'm generally a good test taker and I still have a lot of time to improve.
Thanks for the feedback!