MD What are my chances? 31 MCAT, 3.63 cGPA, 3.58 sGPA

[LFC_Gerrard]

-

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[ProudMD]

You have good numbers, and your list looks good. Make sure you beef up your clinical volunteering hours!

Your combination of significant athletic accomplishment/leadership and strong academic performance is a major plus factor!

Lastly, don't worry too much about that 7 in verbal. It is very unlikely that many (if any) mid/low-tier schools will screen you out just because of one subsection MCAT score. Besides, a 7 isn't that bad, especially for verbal. If you got below a 6, then there'll be problems.

No need to retake unless you are 100% certain that you can raise your verbal by 2+ points.

 

[ProudMD]

ProudMD,

My pre-med advisor is REALLY pushing for a re-take of the MCAT (either praying for a Jan seat or preparing for the new mcat). He seems to think that a 7 in verbal is going to hold me back and be a thorn in my side throughout the app and interview process. Does he have a point? Or maybe if I get some clinical volunteer hours, do I stand a legitimate shot of interviews/acceptances?

If I don't do a re-take, he says that a special master's program would be the way to go.

LFC_gerrard

A 7 is definitely not ideal, and it may make some schools pause a bit. But it shouldn't keep you out of a good MD school considering the rest of your application is pretty stellar.

Taking a SMP when you have 3.63 cGPA and 3.58 sGPA is a monumental mistake. Your GPAs are very competitive for many fine MD schools!

DO NOT take a SMP
DO NOT take a SMP
DO NOT take a SMP
DO NOT take a SMP
DO NOT take a SMP

Did I make my point clear?

Feel free to ask around anyone else on this forum.

And if you are still sitting on the fence about the MCAT, are you aware that after January of 2015, the current MCAT disappears completely? So unless you've already scheduled a spot for a January test date, there's no way for you to retake the current MCAT. This is good news because you absolutely shouldn't retake!

 

[ProudMD]

And this goes to anyone else who's considering a SMP...

DO NOT take one unless you have NO other options left.

 

[Doug Underhill]

ProudMD is capitalizing the DO in his posts for a reason: you should be applying to those as well as low-tier MDs. Your list has a bunch of schools you're OOS at, which is a bit odd to me.

Here's a preliminary list that might help you:

MDs:
Wright State
NEOMED
U. Cinn
Toledo
Temple
Drexel
Rosalind Franklin
Creighton
Quinnipiac
NYMC
Jefferson
Albany
Tufts
Einstein
Wake Forest
Hofstra

DOs: (you have an excellent chance for an interview at any DO school, but here are some good ones)
PCOM
CCOM
AZCOM
KCUMB
NOVA

 

[ProudMD]

Actually, I don't think the OP needs to apply to DO schools at all unless he/she likes the DO philosophy.

A 3.63/3.58 and 31 is competitive for many MD schools (not just the lower ranked/un-ranked ones), and the OP's ECs (especially the athletic background and achievements) are pretty fantastic.

 

[Goro]

Goro suggests

1. 
   Cincinnati
2. Creighton
3. Drexel
4. Loyola-Chicago - Stritch
5. Miami-Miller
6. Oakland - Beaumont
7. Ohio State
8. Penn State
9. Rush
10. Toledo
11. Wake Forest
12. Wright St
13. VCU
14. EVMS
15. NEOMED
16. SLU
17. Tufts
18. NYMC
19. Albany
20. Gtown
21. GSU
22. MCW
23. Any new MD school
24. Any DO school.

 

[gyngyn]

Baylor is also on probation. Would not attend there either?
I recommend putting Chicago Med back on the list!

 

[Faha]

Why are Wright State and Northeast Ohio Medical School not on your list ? As an Ohio resident your best odds are at your own state schools, not at schools such as Indiana, Illinois, Louisville and Stony Brook which mainly favor their own state residents. With a MCAT of 31 you need to apply to additional schools. Consider adding Western Michigan, Quinnipiac, Albany, St. Louis and Tulane.

 

[Goro]

1)Invest in MSAR Online.
2) put it back on. Beggars can't be choosy.
3) delete IU and all other OH state schools.
4) consider VCU answer EVMS.
5) Add DO schools. Beggars can't be choosy.
A few notes/questions I have are:
1. does Rush have an MCAT subsection cut off that would weed out my verbal score of a 7?
2. I was considering Rosalind-Franklin for a while, but decided against it because of their history with being put on probation.
3. I understand that Miami and Wake Forest are reaches. OSU and Cincy would be considered reaches too, but I hope my IS status will help. Are there others on my list that I should consider "reaches" and potentially discard?
4. other schools I was considering were Rosalind-Franklin, EVMS, MCW, Wayne State, and WVU, but ultimately I do not think I would be happy going to those schools, so I discarded them. i discarded Yeshiva, Temple, Loyola-Chicago, Thomas Jefferson, Tufts because of their higher verbal scores on MSAR.
5. is my list balanced enough? in terms of reaches, mid-tiers, and lower-tiers

I was accepted to an SMP for this next year, but do not plan on attending because I would rather take the new MCAT if I do not get in this cycle. Also, I do not want to apply to D.O. programs.

LFC_Gerrard[/QUOTE]

 

[ComputerGuy365]

Are you URM?

 

[ComputerGuy365]

I would really add some DO schools. If you can only afford to apply to 20, and you get rejected everywhere, you are going to waste a lot of money. Add some DO's for safety. Ask @Goro for which DO's to add.

 

[Goro]

Suggest adding OHUCOM, MUCOM, LECOM and Pikeville to stay close to home. Add LECOM if you can get a DO LOR. You should be good to go now.

 

[PugsAndHugs]

As an update, I didn't apply DO and have been accepted at Toledo and Wright St thus far. Interviewed at Beaumont and Wake Forest with results pending.

Congrats, that was risky with a 7 in verbal, but I'm happy it worked out for you!

 

[Omppu27]

As a subsequent update, I decided to attend Wake Forest School of Medicine! It was the best fit for me, and they even helped financially more than the other schools. It was a no-brainer decision!

Go Rockets

Good luck!!!