What Are My Chances and Other General Questions

[Isis24]

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Your GPA speaks for itself. I think, however.....that the 8 on verbal is a disadvantage. You should also try to get more clinical experience (volunteering). I would atleast double what you already have. It shouldn't be TOO hard by mid-summer. 4 hours/week for lets say...atleast 15 weeks would give you another 60 hours. I'm not an expert obviously..... but you have a super strong application so you don't want to give the adcoms anything to question!!!

That being said, i would apply to a few less competitive schools, just to be on the safe side. Good luck!!!

 

[bozz]

oops wrong thread

 

[mdmarty]

Your GPA speaks for itself. I think, however.....that the 8 on verbal is a disadvantage. You should also try to get more clinical experience (volunteering). I would atleast double what you already have. It shouldn't be TOO hard by mid-summer. 4 hours/week for lets say...atleast 15 weeks would give you another 60 hours. I'm not an expert obviously..... but you have a super strong application so you don't want to give the adcoms anything to question!!!

That being said, i would apply to a few less competitive schools, just to be on the safe side. Good luck!!!

Thanks for your reply Isis24 (and to those who posted on my MDApps). I agree with all your comments. The clinical part is something I will definitely work on. I plan on starting at VA and volunteering there at least till interviews. I'll look into shadowing opportunities as well, though that might be harder as I have no docs in my family/friends.

During my past volunteering experience I found myself often starring at potted plants or filing papers. Rarely did I get to work with patients or have any other physician-like contact. And then, every hour volunteering meant an hour not in lab. I guess I can afford to shift priorities now and just bare volunteering a bit more.

The 8 in VR is something that I can't do too much about now. I was scoring 7-9 on almost all my PT. Looking at MSAR, it's true that no school has an avg. verbal as low as mine, but almost all (if not all) have 8 in their range of matriculates. I was actually more concerned with my drop from a Q to an N in WS.

Good luck to you too! I think your music background more than makes up for the lack of research you mentioned. Your schools (especially those that overlap with mine 😛) look solid. Once you get your secondaries, those LORs will become just as important (if not more) than your numbers.

 

[bozz]

EDIT: oops

I posted this earlier... but I think it got merged and muddled

"International" applicant (non citizen/resident) who's been living in the U.S for 6 years... and is attending a U.S undergrad school:

3.7 GPA
3.75 Science
37 MCAT (14, 10, 13)

My numbers are fine... if I were a "perm. resident", I wouldn't be asking this question. ECs are "average" .. and just like 90% of the people on here

Do I even have a shot at the top 20 schools? If so, any specific "number-hungry" ones? After some point numbers won't help.... I know this. There is always someone with better numbers than you.

Only reason I ask top 20 is.... many of these schools seem to be the only ones that don't discriminate between U.S and "international" students 🙁

Sucks that I'll have to compete with African-baby savers and the cream of the crop... I can only apply to 1 school in my state

Anyone with expertise on "int'l applicants"? Any specific school recommendations?

 

[daaarn]

I'm a postbacc (currently taking some classes, so GPA might change) and I'm applying for '09 so here goes:

Academics:
-GPA Overall: ~3.6
-GPA BCPM: 3.4-3.5 (depends on this semester)
-MCAT: 30R (10, 10, 10) [My first time I only got 23Q b/c of cold feet/anxiety]
-LoR: haven't requested them yet, but except for the physician LoR, I expect my sci teacher recs to be average.

Honors:
-a couple [full ride] academic scholarships
-a couple Dean/President's list honors (I've gotta double check on that)
-graduated cum laude

ECs:
-1 international patent, and 2 patents pending in US (all medically related)
-100+ hrs volunteering at hospital
~100+ hrs misc. volunteering (tutoring, habitat, etc.)
-semester of research (in behavioral psych)
-some physician shadowing
-worked in a medical clinic (I should note this was in a relative's clinic, and I did it to first get my feet wet and see if I really liked it b4 looking for another doctor to shadow)
-pre-law society

Notes:
I was a pre-law student throughout most of undergrad (and thus was part of pre-law society/fraternity) and didn't decide on med until after I had graduated (I was accepted to numerous law schools but I never attended). My grade trend is pretty bad. Since I transferred schools b/w my Soph and Jr. years, my GPA took a severe dip b4 going up again (so my trend is zig-zagged kinda like this: /\/).

Schools:
I'm a TX resident, so I'm looking mainly at TX schools (I'm not holding my breath for Baylor or UTSW tho), schools in surrounding states (OK, AR, LA), and a couple out-of-state private schools (Albany, NY Med. College, some others I haven't decided on). Any other school suggestions are welcome.

So what are my chances (mainly at the TX schools)?

 

[xylitol]

Pasted from my MDApps:

Age: 18
Gender: Female
Ethnicity: East Asian-American
State Public University

Application Year: 2009
MCAT Score: VR 10, PS 14, BS 11, R
BCPM GPA: 4.00
Overall GPA: 4.00


Brief Profile:
Goldwater Scholarship
USA Today All-Academic 3rd Team
Research (abstract publications) - 5 years
Volunteering: around 60 hours
School Prehealth Journal: Editor-in-chief

Schools I am Looking At
Columbia University
Cornell University
Duke University
Emory University
Harvard University
Northwestern University
Stanford University
University of Chicago
University of Illinois
Vanderbilt University
Washington University in St. Louis
Yale University

---------------
My school list is all top med schools; since I'm in a BS/MD program already, I'm just applying to see if I get into a better school, preferably not in Illinois (been living here for too long).

Also, I know I lack much volunteering/clinical experience. How much does my awards weigh out that aspect?

 

[ChubbyChaser]

Pasted from my MDApps:

Age: 18
Gender: Female
Ethnicity: East Asian-American
State Public University

Application Year: 2009
MCAT Score: VR 10, PS 14, BS 11, R
BCPM GPA: 4.00
Overall GPA: 4.00


Brief Profile:
Goldwater Scholarship
USA Today All-Academic 3rd Team
Research (abstract publications) - 5 years
Volunteering: around 60 hours
School Prehealth Journal: Editor-in-chief

Schools I am Looking At
Columbia University
Cornell University
Duke University
Emory University
Harvard University
Northwestern University
Stanford University
University of Chicago
University of Illinois
Vanderbilt University
Washington University in St. Louis
Yale University

---------------
My school list is all top med schools; since I'm in a BS/MD program already, I'm just applying to see if I get into a better school, preferably not in Illinois (been living here for too long).

Also, I know I lack much volunteering/clinical experience. How much does my awards weigh out that aspect?

with those schools, Id say you have a shot, but its definitely not a guarantee.

 

[katinthehat]

hello everyone -- my turn 🙂

So here are my stats:

senior
overall GPA is about a 3.3
my BCPM is about a 3.1
i haven't taken the MCAT yet, taking Kaplan and I'm hoping to get a 30+
state of res: NJ, hopefully - immigration issues are really annoying

LORs - Excellent - MD that I shadowed, 3 sci professors, 1 psych professor, 3 from my job (2 MDs and 1 RN) - so basically i have plenty to choose from

EC - Excellent - shadowing (~200 hrs), worked on hospital floor as a tech (~9 months), reserach for 2 yrs (nothing published), pharma company experience (clinical research), and more than enough volunteering and on-campus participation

PS - no comment - have been working on it, slowly but surely, i'll get it done. and it will be good.

i'm white, but i wasn't born in the US. I've been here for 9 yrs.

for throughout my four years of college, i've worked full time (except for my junior year) to help my family and to also pay for college.

an upward GPA trend, except for last semester
frosh - soph year 3.0-3.2 - doesn't make any sense soph yr C+ in chem, but a B+ in 400 level bio, i don't get it!
junior - Fall 3.5, spring 3.7 (both with 20 hrs of work every week at 18 credits each semester)
senior - fall 3.0 😡 with 35 hrs of work and 12 credits - family circumstances definitely do play a role, my sister was in a very bad car accident so had to go home often (3 hr drive from school each way)
senior - spring, hoping to get back up to the 3.5-7 range

now i know a big part of admissions is a number game, but i'm wondering what my chances (if any at all) are for getting into at least the UMDNJ system. DO is definitely an option also but nothing out of the country - mostly due to immigration/family issues. i plan on applying this cycle and on taking my MCATs in June

 

[ChubbyChaser]

hello everyone -- my turn 🙂

So here are my stats:

senior
overall GPA is about a 3.3
my BCPM is about a 3.1
i haven't taken the MCAT yet, taking Kaplan and I'm hoping to get a 30+
state of res: NJ, hopefully - immigration issues are really annoying

LORs - Excellent - MD that I shadowed, 3 sci professors, 1 psych professor, 3 from my job (2 MDs and 1 RN) - so basically i have plenty to choose from

EC - Excellent - shadowing (~200 hrs), worked on hospital floor as a tech (~9 months), reserach for 2 yrs (nothing published), pharma company experience (clinical research), and more than enough volunteering and on-campus participation

PS - no comment - have been working on it, slowly but surely, i'll get it done. and it will be good.

i'm white, but i wasn't born in the US. I've been here for 9 yrs.

for throughout my four years of college, i've worked full time (except for my junior year) to help my family and to also pay for college.

an upward GPA trend, except for last semester
frosh - soph year 3.0-3.2 - doesn't make any sense soph yr C+ in chem, but a B+ in 400 level bio, i don't get it!
junior - Fall 3.5, spring 3.7 (both with 20 hrs of work every week at 18 credits each semester)
senior - fall 3.0 😡 with 35 hrs of work and 12 credits - family circumstances definitely do play a role, my sister was in a very bad car accident so had to go home often (3 hr drive from school each way)
senior - spring, hoping to get back up to the 3.5-7 range

now i know a big part of admissions is a number game, but i'm wondering what my chances (if any at all) are for getting into at least the UMDNJ system. DO is definitely an option also but nothing out of the country - mostly due to immigration/family issues. i plan on applying this cycle and on taking my MCATs in June

Id say need above a 34 for an MD acceptance and above a 30 for a DO.

 

[batista_123]

I am in my fifth year of my undergrad. i have a 3.96 gpa and until today, i was very proud of it. I havent taken the mcat, but lets say i score very high.
but the problem is, i havent had much extracurriculars. just last week i started my first hospital volunteering. and my research is lame: i hate labs so i have done only data analysis, on various subjects, some about disease, some about real estate prices, just statistics stuff. (i am a stats major).
But i didnt think these would be a problem because of my high gpa
until today when someone who interviews people in med school said there is absolutely no difference between 3.7 and 4.0. In fact, at the interview everybody is equal with respect to gpa and mcat score. nobody cares if you got a B+ or an A+ GPA. He said he knows people like me who didnt get into any med school, and he knows people with 3.6 and great extracurriculars who got into top med schools.
so right now my heart is broken because i was so proud of my gpa and thought i was a shoe in.

I am applying this year and next year is definitely not an option. i need to know
is my research lame? does it have to be clinical, lab work?
will i get into any med school besides carribean?
at this point, what can i do to increase my chances?

Oh, i also wanted to let you know i am not a lazy person, I come from a poor family and I have to work an almost full time job to help my parents. so thats why i dont have much extracurriculars

 

[Cegar]

GPA and MCAT scores are the two most important "paper" factors.

People who say there's no difference between a 3.7 and a 4.0 are wrong.

How good was your MCAT score?

 

[mfrizzo3]

You have to understand that you are applying against other applicants with high GPA's and high MCATS, you want to be able to distinguish yourself.

 

[batista_123]

How good was your MCAT score?

i didnt take the mcat yet, but lets say 30

 

[Cegar]

If that's all you'll be counting on, you better get that sucker above a 34.

 

[mfrizzo3]

That is average for matriculants nationwide, but at some schools you will may not even get a secondary. Apply broadly, this is the only advice I can give.

 

[ChubbyChaser]

I think for most schools there is a difference bw a 3.7 and a 4.0.

If you dont have any clinical experience, its pretty much an automatic rejection.

If you do have atleast some Clinical experience then I think you are looking pretty good.

JC, what have you been doing all four years of college??? Do you not play any sports or do anything interesting??

 

[hoqhuuep]

I was in the same situation as you two years ago. Good grades (not as good as yours though) and relatively high MCAT, little clinical experiences. I'm sure you'll get secondaries across the board, and score quite a few interviews, but once you're there you'll have so little to talk about regarding clinical experience.

In retrospect I wish I'd shadowed and volunteered in college, I'd probably be a MS-2 by now. Scores alone won't get you in🙁

 

[MD2bJRP]

What kind of work did you do when you worked almost full time? Did you work with customers (learning to deal with people)? Were you in a service industry? Did you do hard, icky work that proves you can handle the dirty/grubiness of medicine? Look at what you have done and how it might relate to medicine. Then try to fill in the holes. A few weeks of full time shadowing will add a bunch of hours if you can spare the time this summer. And, do well on the MCAT.

 

[batista_123]

What kind of work did you do when you worked almost full time? Did you work with customers (learning to deal with people)? Were you in a service industry? Did you do hard, icky work that proves you can handle the dirty/grubiness of medicine? Look at what you have done and how it might relate to medicine. Then try to fill in the holes. A few weeks of full time shadowing will add a bunch of hours if you can spare the time this summer. And, do well on the MCAT.

i fix electronics, no i dont deal with people much, i take their broken stuff and fix it. and it can get dirty, you can expect to find dead cockroaches, hair, cigarette butts, etc. in people's electronics, especially computers.

thanks, that gives me something to work with.

 

[littlealex]

If you're going for top medical schools, the lack of stellar extracurriculars are almost guaranteed to get you rejected. However, if yo just want to goto medical school in America, your high GPA/acceptable MCAT will land you somewhere.

With that said, I do know people with high GPA/MCAT without proper ECs that were rejected everywhere they applied to.

In the end, your GPA/MCAT will get you in the door, you just have to have a great answer for "why do you want to be a doctor?"

How could you know without the track record of volunteering your time to help others? Without shadowing doctors?

It's not too late. You do have a good excuse (work to support yourself) for lacking ECs, but go find some doctor to shadow and just learn more about medicine before you apply.

It's easy to get more involved in extracurriculars and extremely hard to fix GPAs, so you'll be fine. But gain some exposure before it is too late.

p.s. Don't entertain the idea that "I thought I was a shoe in." No one is a shoe in, and it's the people with that attitude that most often get rejected. Be humble, especially in the language of your essays and during your interviews.

 

[clearmysix]

Oh, i also wanted to let you know i am not a lazy person, I come from a poor family and I have to work an almost full time job to help my parents. so thats why i dont have much extracurriculars

Last time I checked, working IS an extracurricular. As far as I can tell you have done everything right.

1. You have some research that is not the normal bench work
2. You are volunteering in a hospital
- make sure to do some shadowing?
3. You work to support your family <------ this will set you apart from a bunch of applicants.

Get your 30+ and focus on the stuff you HAVE done and will do in the next couple months and you will be fine.

Also, are you going to apply as financially disadvantaged?

 

[dragon529]

just a side question... is it a disadvantage to take 5 years in undergrad? would adcoms know that you're staying for 1 extra year to boost your uGPA? How does a 5yr undergrad compare to a 4yr undergrad?

 

[mfrizzo3]

just a side question... is it a disadvantage to take 5 years in undergrad? would adcoms know that you're staying for 1 extra year to boost your uGPA? How does a 5yr undergrad compare to a 4yr undergrad?

The OP has a 3.9ish so I don't think he is trying to boost his GPA. The consensus around SDN concerning ADCOMS take is this, if you are taking a strong course load every semester >16, and it takes you more than 4 years, it is ok. Also, if you are pursuing a double major, switched majors etc. It is not acceptable if you take a light course load every semester.

 

[ankit999]

the fact that you have been working full time to support youself and your family shows a lot about your character. You do not need research to get into med school, but you will need some clinical volunteering. Keep working hard and do some volunteering and you will be okay. Just apply broadly, and you will be fine. As long as your hopes arent stuck on john hopkins, and harvard, you will be fine.

 

[batista_123]

Last time I checked, working IS an extracurricular. As far as I can tell you have done everything right.

1. You have some research that is not the normal bench work
2. You are volunteering in a hospital
- make sure to do some shadowing?
3. You work to support your family <------ this will set you apart from a bunch of applicants.

Get your 30+ and focus on the stuff you HAVE done and will do in the next couple months and you will be fine.

Also, are you going to apply as financially disadvantaged?

i am not sure, should i?

 

[MattD]

A full time job IS an extracurricular. Mention your job, find a way to spin it to show how the experience will help you. Mention any hobbies you have. It doesn't have to be organized, just anything you do regularly. Hobbies are an extracurricular. Volunteerism is nice to see, but if you didn't have time, you didn't have time. Get some clinical experience. Find 50-100 hours somewhere to do some frequent shadowing. That's probably the most important thing for you to do, EC wise. Do well on MCAT. Write a good PS. Get good letters. Kick *** in med school.


Good luck!

 

[ryandote]

Last time I checked, working IS an extracurricular. As far as I can tell you have done everything right.

1. You have some research that is not the normal bench work
2. You are volunteering in a hospital
- make sure to do some shadowing?
3. You work to support your family <------ this will set you apart from a bunch of applicants.

Get your 30+ and focus on the stuff you HAVE done and will do in the next couple months and you will be fine.

Also, are you going to apply as financially disadvantaged?

Why would research beside normal bench work be right? At least, why it be more right than normal bench work?

 

[MattD]

i am not sure, should i?

If you meet the criteria (and if you had to work to support not only yourself but your family as well, you probably do), then YES.

My opinion on this, as well as the URM checkbox thingy, is if you qualify, check it. Lots of people don't want to, as they feel they don't want to 'take advantage'. Screw that. Check your pride at the door. Your goal is to GET IN. Once you're in you can show through your performance that you weren't a charity case, if that's how you feel. But as a pre-med, your only goal is to GET IN to medical school. Check any boxes necessary. If you have connections you think might help, use them. Do whatever it takes, within the boundaries of ethical behavior. I'm not saying to actively seek to harm others chances, or to cheat, just to do whatever you can to maximize YOUR chances.

 

[MattD]

Why would research beside normal bench work be right? At least, why it be more right than normal bench work?

I don't think he's saying it's 'more right'. Just that it's not 'wrong' 🙂

 

[Dr Roboto]

hello everyone -- my turn 🙂

So here are my stats:

senior
overall GPA is about a 3.3
my BCPM is about a 3.1
i haven't taken the MCAT yet, taking Kaplan and I'm hoping to get a 30+
state of res: NJ, hopefully - immigration issues are really annoying

LORs - Excellent - MD that I shadowed, 3 sci professors, 1 psych professor, 3 from my job (2 MDs and 1 RN) - so basically i have plenty to choose from

EC - Excellent - shadowing (~200 hrs), worked on hospital floor as a tech (~9 months), reserach for 2 yrs (nothing published), pharma company experience (clinical research), and more than enough volunteering and on-campus participation

PS - no comment - have been working on it, slowly but surely, i'll get it done. and it will be good.

i'm white, but i wasn't born in the US. I've been here for 9 yrs.

for throughout my four years of college, i've worked full time (except for my junior year) to help my family and to also pay for college.

an upward GPA trend, except for last semester
frosh - soph year 3.0-3.2 - doesn't make any sense soph yr C+ in chem, but a B+ in 400 level bio, i don't get it!
junior - Fall 3.5, spring 3.7 (both with 20 hrs of work every week at 18 credits each semester)
senior - fall 3.0 😡 with 35 hrs of work and 12 credits - family circumstances definitely do play a role, my sister was in a very bad car accident so had to go home often (3 hr drive from school each way)
senior - spring, hoping to get back up to the 3.5-7 range

now i know a big part of admissions is a number game, but i'm wondering what my chances (if any at all) are for getting into at least the UMDNJ system. DO is definitely an option also but nothing out of the country - mostly due to immigration/family issues. i plan on applying this cycle and on taking my MCATs in June

I agree with what amwatts0322 said, except for the numbers part. Your GPA is a red flag so you'll need to rock the MCAT to prove yourself. But an awesome MCAT score will not make up for a weak GPA. Then again, you pulled through a family emergency and working full time. That's to be commended. Mention how those things shaped you personally and professionally, but never offer it as an excuse. Put your stats in the context of your life. Help them see your perseverance and you'll be fine. Good luck.

 

[daaarn]

Anyone want to give mine a shot (it's already been posted above)? 😳

 

[ChubbyChaser]

I'm a postbacc (currently taking some classes, so GPA might change) and I'm applying for '09 so here goes:

Academics:
-GPA Overall: ~3.6
-GPA BCPM: 3.4-3.5 (depends on this semester)
-MCAT: 30R (10, 10, 10) [My first time I only got 23Q b/c of cold feet/anxiety]
-LoR: haven't requested them yet, but except for the physician LoR, I expect my sci teacher recs to be average.

Honors:
-a couple [full ride] academic scholarships
-a couple Dean/President's list honors (I've gotta double check on that)
-graduated cum laude

ECs:
-1 international patent, and 2 patents pending in US (all medically related)
-100+ hrs volunteering at hospital
~100+ hrs misc. volunteering (tutoring, habitat, etc.)
-semester of research (in behavioral psych)
-some physician shadowing
-worked in a medical clinic (I should note this was in a relative's clinic, and I did it to first get my feet wet and see if I really liked it b4 looking for another doctor to shadow)
-pre-law society

Notes:
I was a pre-law student throughout most of undergrad (and thus was part of pre-law society/fraternity) and didn't decide on med until after I had graduated (I was accepted to numerous law schools but I never attended). My grade trend is pretty bad. Since I transferred schools b/w my Soph and Jr. years, my GPA took a severe dip b4 going up again (so my trend is zig-zagged kinda like this: /\/).

Schools:
I'm a TX resident, so I'm looking mainly at TX schools (I'm not holding my breath for Baylor or UTSW tho), schools in surrounding states (OK, AR, LA), and a couple out-of-state private schools (Albany, NY Med. College, some others I haven't decided on). Any other school suggestions are welcome.

So what are my chances (mainly at the TX schools)?

A pretty average candidate stats wise, I bet those patents will make you stand out though. You are lucky because you are from texas, so I think you have a really good shot with your IS schools.

Other than that, you really dont have any red flags, so apply broadly and hope for the best.

 

[Dr Roboto]

I'd definitely apply to more schools and some DO schools, but that's not really my issue.

"34R, 3.02cGPA, 3.11sGPA, currently enrolled in a SMP at a US med school taking classes with M1 students...grades will be sent soon."

This will be my bottom line if I apply again this year. What chance do I have?

If you continued your ECs, you will have had an additional year of EC experiences on which to elaborate. If all you see of yourself is just your numbers, then how do you expect the adcoms to do differently? It's up to you to play up your strengths. What is your motivation for medicine? How have you proven it? What makes you unique? Why are you in an SMP? Answer those questions. Revisit your PS and revise if necessary. Focus on those answers. Be proud of yourself.

This process is designed to harvest tears and money from pre-meds. If you can't even make it through the primary app and the secondaries without doubting yourself, how will you convince your interviewer to vote for you? You have to advocate for yourself. If you don't feel confident, then wait. But if you're gonna go ahead and apply, you gotta be ready to give 100% every step of the way, that includes your PS and secondary essays too.

 

[daaarn]

A pretty average candidate stats wise, I bet those patents will make you stand out though. You are lucky because you are from texas, so I think you have a really good shot with your IS schools.

Other than that, you really dont have any red flags, so apply broadly and hope for the best.

Thank you for your comments. I was mainly putting myself out their to see if there were any glaring holes/red flags I had somehow missed. I know I'm pretty average, but my grade trend really bothers me. Up until I transferred schools b4 junior year, my grades were basically moving up. Then I totally bombed at my new school b/c I was unfamiliar w/ the school and the people (I ended up registering for all the bad teachers/classes) and ended up partying way too much in an attempt to get to know people/get comfortable. I don't suppose I'd be able to say that (or should I even mention that) in an addendum?

 

[ChubbyChaser]

Thank you for your comments. I was mainly putting myself out their to see if there were any glaring holes/red flags I had somehow missed. I know I'm pretty average, but my grade trend really bothers me. Up until I transferred schools b4 junior year, my grades were basically moving up. Then I totally bombed at my new school b/c I was unfamiliar w/ the school and the people (I ended up registering for all the bad teachers/classes) and ended up partying way too much in an attempt to get to know people/get comfortable. I don't suppose I'd be able to say that (or should I even mention that) in an addendum?

Lol i might skip out on the partying part, just explain that you came to a new school and it took a while to get accustomed and you should be fine.

Do you have any particularly low grades in prereqs?? that might hurt a little.

 

[daaarn]

Lol i might skip out on the partying part, just explain that you came to a new school and it took a while to get accustomed and you should be fine.

Do you have any particularly low grades in prereqs?? that might hurt a little.

Yeah, I ended up w/ a C+ in Orgo I the first time. I retook it and only managed a B+ the second time around (the teachers had completely different styles; one was all about doing reactions and the other was more about word problems/theory). Still, I'm not going to hide behind those excuses, b/c I just didn't work as hard as I should've.

 

[dtwalrus]

If you continued your ECs, you will have had an additional year of EC experiences on which to elaborate. If all you see of yourself is just your numbers, then how do you expect the adcoms to do differently? It's up to you to play up your strengths. What is your motivation for medicine? How have you proven it? What makes you unique? Why are you in an SMP? Answer those questions. Revisit your PS and revise if necessary. Focus on those answers. Be proud of yourself.

This process is designed to harvest tears and money from pre-meds. If you can't even make it through the primary app and the secondaries without doubting yourself, how will you convince your interviewer to vote for you? You have to advocate for yourself. If you don't feel confident, then wait. But if you're gonna go ahead and apply, you gotta be ready to give 100% every step of the way, that includes your PS and secondary essays too.

Don't doubt my pride. I made it through the primary and the secondaries confident that at least a few schools would see beyond the numbers and see the passion and the potential. I gave more than 100%, plenty of money, and not a single school offered me an interview. I can't help thinking that a 3.0 GPA is simply too glaring a red flag.

I think you misread the brevity of my post. I know there's much more beyond my numbers, but will they see that this time around. Quite simply, does anyone think enrollment in a SMP will be enough to actually make the short stack of interviews, at which time I'll be able to demonstrate myself a worthy candidate and hopefully present a semester worth of SMP grades.

 

[clearmysix]

Why would research beside normal bench work be right? At least, why it be more right than normal bench work?

I am just trying to pick something out that will separate this applicant from someone else. A lot of pre-meds will do standard basic biology bench research. Different types of research, from a non-traditional student will stand out.

However, I do believe that any type of research in general is very important, including bench work.

 

[clearmysix]

If you meet the criteria (and if you had to work to support not only yourself but your family as well, you probably do), then YES.

My opinion on this, as well as the URM checkbox thingy, is if you qualify, check it. Lots of people don't want to, as they feel they don't want to 'take advantage'. Screw that. Check your pride at the door. Your goal is to GET IN. Once you're in you can show through your performance that you weren't a charity case, if that's how you feel. But as a pre-med, your only goal is to GET IN to medical school. Check any boxes necessary. If you have connections you think might help, use them. Do whatever it takes, within the boundaries of ethical behavior. I'm not saying to actively seek to harm others chances, or to cheat, just to do whatever you can to maximize YOUR chances.

Perfectly stated!

I like to think of it like this. If you had to work a full time job to support your parents, you should exploit that just as much as someone whose parents sent them to Europe to do an expensive WHO internship for the summer.

 

[dtwalrus]

If you continued your ECs, you will have had an additional year of EC experiences on which to elaborate. If all you see of yourself is just your numbers, then how do you expect the adcoms to do differently? It's up to you to play up your strengths. What is your motivation for medicine? How have you proven it? What makes you unique? Why are you in an SMP? Answer those questions. Revisit your PS and revise if necessary. Focus on those answers. Be proud of yourself.

Check! Again, I applied this past year. There are great answers to all those questions and I'm fairly sure I did a great job getting that across on my apps. The point of my original post was that I AM much more than my numbers AND YET still not a single school saw beyond a 3.0 and offered an interview. The question I'm asking is: Will enrollment in a SMP make a difference?

 

[Dr Roboto]

I think you misread the brevity of my post. I know there's much more beyond my numbers, but will they see that this time around. Quite simply, does anyone think enrollment in a SMP will be enough to actually make the short stack of interviews, at which time I'll be able to demonstrate myself a worthy candidate and hopefully present a semester worth of SMP grades.

I apologize for misreading.

Check! Again, I applied this past year. There are great answers to all those questions and I'm fairly sure I did a great job getting that across on my apps. The point of my original post was that I AM much more than my numbers AND YET still not a single school saw beyond a 3.0 and offered an interview. The question I'm asking is: Will enrollment in a SMP make a difference?

I think your question is unique enough to either have had threads in the past for you to find an answer in or to post a new thread asking for advice. I think something as specific as SMP should deserve its own thread.

 

[mdmarty]

I am just trying to pick something out that will separate this applicant from someone else. A lot of pre-meds will do standard basic biology bench research. Different types of research, from a non-traditional student will stand out.

However, I do believe that any type of research in general is very important, including bench work.

I'm not sure if this 'standing out' is necessarily good for an applicant. I'm (mainly) a CS major who decided to do 'standard' wet-lab/bench research instead of something more unique such as artificial intelligence, visualization, data mining, etc..., and I don't regret it at all. Wet-lab research offers an opportunity to not only refine your scientific thought process, but also your manual dexterity (useful if you're considering surgery). While it's true that in the end, as long as you can relate your research to medicine, you'll be fine, I have to say that basic biomedical bench work gives an applicant the greatest potential to (1) show how he/she has the capacity to contribute to the advancement of medicine, and (2) do meaningful research (PIs will not let you waste rescources on worthless but costly experiments). Biology is so complex that it is unlikely that two random applicants will work on the same things, making each applicant's research 'unique'.

Finally, wet-lab research made studying for MCAT BS very easy 😀.

 

[CHAINCHOMPER]

I am applying for next year's class, and wanted to what schools are the best to apply to. I live in NY, so i know that i get a few brownie points for being a resident. But, I wanna know what out of state schools are good to apply to since they take such few people. Which schools are good to apply to if I have about a 3.1 GPA and a 26 on my MCAT?

 

[ChubbyChaser]

I am applying for next year's class, and wanted to what schools are the best to apply to. I live in NY, so i know that i get a few brownie points for being a resident. But, I wanna know what out of state schools are good to apply to since they take such few people. Which schools are good to apply to if I have about a 3.1 GPA and a 26 on my MCAT?

DO schools

 

[ganesha123]

amwatts..who is the girl

 

[Bretzel]

Would the following be very competitive at top tier medical schools?
GPA: 3.85
BCPM GPA ~3.85
MCAT: BS: 14 PS: 13 VR: 8 Overall: 35
1 year and 1 summer of research
lots of volunteering and leadership, etc



I am basically very worried about my verbal score....will that put me out of the running at top tier schools?

 

[Isis24]

I agree, DO schools. or retake your MCAT, atleast. I have a 3.5 and 34Q, and not even sure that anyone will take me.

 

[ChubbyChaser]

amwatts..who is the girl

SI model

 

[Isis24]

My message was for "CHAINCHOMPER"

 

[qtMD]

what do you guys think of my stats? any input would be awesome!

GPA: 3.484
science gpa: 3.2
MCAT: 10's in each section = 30R

extracurriculars:
year and a half of research
TA for human phys
served on the exec for three organizations -- all health related
been a mentor for multicultural freshman the last two years
will be shadowing the rest of this semester to get some experience
this summer i'll be in london working in a hospital...

honors:
part of national collegiate scholars and international scholars laureate

schools i'm looking at:
in state: west virginia schools
george washington
tufts
boston
georgetown
maybe nyu (but honestly doubt i'd get in)
emory

i'd really like to apply to california schools and penn mostly out of whim... should i even try?