WAMC?

[Eagles5987]

Graduating from undergrad in 2022, looking to matriculate into med school the same year.
Science major, business minor
cGPA: 3.80
AMCAS sGPA: 3.70
AACOMAS sGPA: 3.75
I took a few science classes in high school that count as college credit with B's, bringing down my GPA. Since being in college, my cGPA is 3.93, AMCAS sGPA is 3.88 and AACOMAS sGPA is 3.87.

MCAT: Plan to take in April/May

NJ resident with ties to PA and upstate NY (family, significant other)

White male

Upper medium-sized public school

Clinical Experience:
- PT Aide at multiple clinics (700+ hours)
- Volunteer at hospital transporting patients to/from floors (30+ hours)
- Recently hired as a Medical Scribe

Research:
Very minor, starting a lit search & protocol summary project with a possibility of being published if my work is strong enough on it

Shadowing:
Nearly 100 hours. Specialties include family medicine, sports medicine, orthopedics, and ophthalmology

Non-Clinical Volunteering:
- Meal kitchen and food delivery in an underserved area (nearly 100 hours)
- online counseling service (30 hours)

Others/Notes:
- TA for ochem
- leadership role in a sports club, participated in a competition with the team
- social media influencer/blogger with a large following base. Plan to emphasize the leadership skills learned from this, and talk about my business side
- worked other non-medical jobs (600+ hours)
- member of multiple pre-med clubs
- attended freshman year at a local community college since I was awarded a full scholarship for 1 year

Questions:
1. How impactful will my high school classes be in limiting my med school options? Should I let them hinder me from applying to top schools?
2. What schools should I apply to? Planning to use all in-state schools, but not sure where I may be competitive/if any top schools are good fit for me.

Thank you all for your support in my journey

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[m1redsox]

Impossible to say if you’ll be competitive at top schools without an MCAT score. If you can grab a 520+, the world is yours and schools will look at your early classes with more generosity. If you only end up with a 510, you’re looking at a school list that includes state schools, low-tier MDs, and some DO schools.

 

[Putkernerinthehall]

You might have limited interest from top tiers that are research-heavy. Strong MCAT is the key here.

 

[candbgirl]

IMO your courses in high school will not impact your application very much, if at all. YourcECscare pretty weak at the moment but you have a few months to beef them up. You have enough shadowing so stop that and focus on other areas. Your school list will depend on your MCAT score. Don’t take it until you are consistently scoring at or near your target goal on FL practice tests. Come back when you have a score and a tentative list of schools and people will help you out. Use thevMSAR to help develop your list. Good luck.

 

[Banco]

1) I had a few Bs in high school classes that brought down my GPA like yours. It never came up and I ended up with multiple "top 20" acceptances. But I was also nervous like you were at the time. Don't worry about it! Your GPA breakdown is shown by year on your application, and everything prior to college is clumped together.

2) MCAT will decide your school list. You have at least 10 good options in-region as a Jersey resident with NY/Pa ties if your MCAT is above 512 or so, and many throughout the country. If it ends up 518+ then you can cast a more competitive net.

3) With regards to your activities, I think your application is well rounded. Your clinical experience is already great and will be exceptional after scribing. Some things to work on would be research for many of the top schools. If you could do a little more non-clinical volunteering over the next year that might help too.


Good luck on the MCAT, that should really be your priority right now!

 

[Eagles5987]

1) I had a few Bs in high school classes that brought down my GPA like yours. It never came up and I ended up with multiple "top 20" acceptances. But I was also nervous like you were at the time. Don't worry about it! Your GPA breakdown is shown by year on your application, and everything prior to college is clumped together.

2) MCAT will decide your school list. You have at least 10 good options in-region as a Jersey resident with NY/Pa ties if your MCAT is above 512 or so, and many throughout the country. If it ends up 518+ then you can cast a more competitive net.

3) With regards to your activities, I think your application is well rounded. Your clinical experience is already great and will be exceptional after scribing. Some things to work on would be research for many of the top schools. If you could do a little more non-clinical volunteering over the next year that might help too.


Good luck on the MCAT, that should really be your priority right now!

this makes me feel much better and helps me focus my attention. Thank you for the input!

 

[Eagles5987]

IMO your courses in high school will not impact your application very much, if at all. YourcECscare pretty weak at the moment but you have a few months to beef them up. You have enough shadowing so stop that and focus on other areas. Your school list will depend on your MCAT score. Don’t take it until you are consistently scoring at or near your target goal on FL practice tests. Come back when you have a score and a tentative list of schools and people will help you out. Use thevMSAR to help develop your list. Good luck.

Can you explain what you mean when you say my ECs are weak? I felt that I had good clinical experiences, volunteer experiences, and some unique experiences, such as being a social media influencer. I know not all of mine are particularly unique like some students are, but I felt really confident in my ECs...

 

[Banco]

Can you explain what you mean when you say my ECs are weak? I felt that I had good clinical experiences, volunteer experiences, and some unique experiences, such as being a social media influencer. I know not all of mine are particularly unique like some students are, but I felt really confident in my ECs...

Your ECs are not weak.