What are my chances for next year?

[krazydesi]

So right now I am just a junior and all but just getting worried about the medical school application process.

By end of junior year I am hoping to have around a 3.55 GPA

I am majoring in Industrial Engineering with a minor in Engineering Entrepreneurship

I have finished all my pre-reqs and got my MCAT score back. I got a 34 on the mcats.

How does applying early at the end of junior year look?

I have many Extracurricular like

-VP of standards in Multicultural Greek Council
-VP of BMB Society
-THON Chair (THON is a 46 hour dance marathon to raise money for cancer)
-Social Chair of my fraternity
-VP of Standards for National Board for my fraternity
-Volunteering at hospital (~100 hours and still doing it)
-Alpha Epsilon Delta Honors Member (Did many volunteering hours to get this)
-Going to nicaragua this winterbreak for 2 weeks to volunteer there
-Shadowed a cardiologist for 2 days, a chiropractor for 1 day, a optometrist for 1 day, and hope to shadow some more next summer

Research:

-Volunteered in Bioengineering lab for 1 year working on NONinvasive insulin delivery using low frequency sound waves (Didnt like it that much so left the lab)
-Volunteer in Brain Imaging lab (Started few months ago and very interesting and learning alot because the head of our group is a neurosurgeon but I do not work directly with him, rather work for another PhD professor and we have weekly meetings with him)

My gpa first year was 3.16 cum because my dad was not home for 2 years and I went home nearly every weekend to help my mom with the business and stuff and I would go on the weekends just to go work at her business to help relieve stress on her. So I basically would work Saturday-Sunday mornings about 3 weeks out a month traveling 5 hours every friday evening and sunday evening each way.


After that I increased my gpa and hope to get to 3.55 by end of this year.
It is very hard as an engineer but I love what I do and do not regret it at all.

My state residence is NY

Do I have shot at midtier medical schools such as

Jefferson
Hershey
Stony Brook
Temple
SUNY Upstate
SUNY Albany


I would love to go to
NYU
Mt. Sinai

but that is only a dream and I will apply regardless just for the hell of it.

right now My first schools are NYU or Mt. Sinai, then its Stony Brook because instate tuition is very cheap.

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[Mobius1985]

The 34 MCAT will compensate nicely for the slightly low GPA (which you did an amazing job of rescusitating after a bad start). You may get a bit of credit for a difficult major. Your research experiences together will be an above average experience. Your leadershoip looks very strong. The shadowing could be stronger, and the clinical exposure will be average, unless the Nicaragua experience is medically related. You've probably got some additional humanitarian work. The fact that you were needed to help your family financially should be on your application somewhere, as it may help you. All this said, I think you'll have a strong application if you get more clinical experience and a lot more shadowing of varied medical specialists (try to do maybe 10-20 hours each).

NYU and Mt Sinai are reach schools for you, but you can dream and hope that the redeeming parts of your application resonate with them. You have a great chance at all your other specified schools.

 

[TexasPhysician]

The 34 MCAT will compensate nicely for the slightly low GPA (which you did an amazing job of rescusitating after a bad start). You may get a bit of credit for a difficult major. Your research experiences together will be an above average experience. Your leadershoip looks very strong. The shadowing could be stronger, and the clinical exposure will be average, unless the Nicaragua experience is medically related. You've probably got some additional humanitarian work. The fact that you were needed to help your family financially should be on your application somewhere, as it may help you. All this said, I think you'll have a strong application if you get more clinical experience and a lot more shadowing of varied medical specialists (try to do maybe 10-20 hours each).

NYU and Mt Sinai are reach schools for you, but you can dream and hope that the redeeming parts of your application resonate with them. You have a great chance at all your other specified schools.

I agree with the first paragraph, but disagree with the second.

I wouldn't consider those school "reach schools" IMO. While your gpa is a little low, your MCAT makes up for it. I say you have a good shot at both NYU and Mt. Sinai. I know people that go there with lesser scores that is for sure.

 

[MilkmanAl]

I'd say both NYU and Sinai are slight reaches. He's below the MCAT median and a good 2 tenths below the average GPA. Still, that application plus some clinical experience will get you in somewhere, OP.

 

[229141]

So right now I am just a junior and all but just getting worried about the medical school application process.

By end of junior year I am hoping to have around a 3.55 GPA

I am majoring in Industrial Engineering with a minor in Engineering Entrepreneurship

I have finished all my pre-reqs and got my MCAT score back. I got a 34 on the mcats.

How does applying early at the end of junior year look?

I have many Extracurricular like

-VP of standards in Multicultural Greek Council
-VP of BMB Society
-THON Chair (THON is a 46 hour dance marathon to raise money for cancer)
-Social Chair of my fraternity
-VP of Standards for National Board for my fraternity
-Volunteering at hospital (~100 hours and still doing it)
-Alpha Epsilon Delta Honors Member (Did many volunteering hours to get this)
-Going to nicaragua this winterbreak for 2 weeks to volunteer there
-Shadowed a cardiologist for 2 days, a chiropractor for 1 day, a optometrist for 1 day, and hope to shadow some more next summer

Research:

-Volunteered in Bioengineering lab for 1 year working on NONinvasive insulin delivery using low frequency sound waves (Didnt like it that much so left the lab)
-Volunteer in Brain Imaging lab (Started few months ago and very interesting and learning alot because the head of our group is a neurosurgeon but I do not work directly with him, rather work for another PhD professor and we have weekly meetings with him)

My gpa first year was 3.16 cum because my dad was not home for 2 years and I went home nearly every weekend to help my mom with the business and stuff and I would go on the weekends just to go work at her business to help relieve stress on her. So I basically would work Saturday-Sunday mornings about 3 weeks out a month traveling 5 hours every friday evening and sunday evening each way.


After that I increased my gpa and hope to get to 3.55 by end of this year.
It is very hard as an engineer but I love what I do and do not regret it at all.

My state residence is NY

Do I have shot at midtier medical schools such as

Jefferson
Hershey
Stony Brook
Temple
SUNY Upstate
SUNY Albany


I would love to go to
NYU
Mt. Sinai

but that is only a dream and I will apply regardless just for the hell of it.

right now My first schools are NYU or Mt. Sinai, then its Stony Brook because instate tuition is very cheap.

Very impressive, the GPA is low but engineering is much harder than bio so I wouldn't sweat it. You;ll get in easy honestly if you have a good personality and don't mess up the interview.

 

[mmmcdowe]

He is above the MCAT average for NYU though, which is a 32Q I believe.

 

[Mobius1985]

NYU has a median MCAT of 35 (according to the school selection spreadsheet) and median GPA of 3.8.

 

[TexasPhysician]

I'm not saying any of you are wrong, but average MCAT scores change every year.

According to the numbers given to Princeton Review by Mt. Sinai last year for the MCAT average is 33.4 (feel free to look it up yourself). NYU was 32.7

Princeton Review's are probably from 2007 and yours from entering class 2008. Either way NYU has traditionally not had an average of 35.

To the poster: Feel free to research it yourself too.

 

[MilkmanAl]

My numbers were according to the '08-'09 MSAR. If PR reports matriculant averages, those numbers may be correct. Otherwise, the MSAR trumps them by a mile, accuracy-wise.

 

[krazydesi]

I truly appreciate everyones comments on here and giving me hope.

I go by thinking everday that I will have to take a year off to compensate for my low gpa and bring it up.

I have no problems taking a year off, but would rather go straight to Med. School. I was actually deciding today to not even apply till end of senior year.

But I will surely get more shadowing and clinical exposure. I am still going to continue in the hospital every week and hope to get upto 200 hrs by time I would apply next june.

I will also contact few of my dads contacts for shadowing. I am planning on shadowing a pulmonary doctor and a cardiologist for couple days each during my breaks.

As far as my Nicaragua trip goes, yes it is medical related. My friend actually told me about it and she said she loved and gained soo much medical exposure. She got to do small incisions, learned the basics of a physical, did many physicals, learned about meds etc...


I know its not a long trip but I think its going to be an eye opener into the real world and whats our there...


I mean my ECs I believe will be great. My research one will be a very good one, my 2 professors I have lined up know me very well, one of my professor knows me but not like my biodata like other professors since i worked for the others.

As far as pre-med committee letter goes, I worked for them this past summer so they know me very very well. I even do lunch like once in a few months with the head of the pre-med department who writes the letters.

The only thing is when I talked to them, they said there average applicant had a gpa of 3.6 and dont encourage people below that to apply and rather encourage to wait a year and apply. Should I still go ahead and apply?

Also since I am an IE major I am taking 3 upper level bio classes next semester to show that I can excel in the sciences.

I will probably graduate with 160-175 credits when I do graduate.

I am going to study abroad next summer (hopefully), and get an internship somewhere.

I was going to apply to the MT. sinai summer research program, and the NYU one.

Think that will help out?