Medical What are my chances of getting into a medical school?

[tantacles]

Hello SDN,

I have been stressing because of this and I saw that SDN is a huge resource for prospective medical students so I couldn't think of anywhere better to ask for some advice.

I'm not a traditional applicant- I graduated in 2019 and started working at a job not in my field. I am still currently employed there but I am planning on switching jobs to something in healthcare. I am hoping to take on a full-time job as a medical scribe until matriculation.

In terms of metrics, I have a 3.77 GPA with a 510 MCAT score (C/P 128, B/B 128, CARS 124, P/S 130)

I have:
about 600 volunteer hours including clinical/nonclinical
about 45 hours of teaching (as an instructional assistant for a philosophy course)
about 100 hours of shadowing
about 120 hours of clinical employment (working at university infirmary)
I'll be volunteering at least 500 hours as an EMT in the next few months.


I've applied to 19 schools:
Albany Medical College
Albert Einstein College of Medicine
Boston University School of Medicine
Chicago Medical School at Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine & Science
Eastern Virginia Medical School
Emory University School of Medicine
Frank H. Netter MD School of Medicine at Quinnipiac University
George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences
Georgetown University School of Medicine
Keck School of Medicine of University of Southern California
NYU Grossman School of Medicine
NYU Long Island School of Medicine
State University of New York - Downstate Medical Center College of Medicine
Tufts University School of Medicine
UCLA/Drew
UC - Davis
UC- Irvine
University of Connecticut School of Medicine
University of Massachusettes Medical School

The only thing besides my subpar MCAT score that is stressing me out is the fact that I have two institutional actions from my freshman year and early on in my sophomore year during college. I am embarrassed and disappointed to say that both of them were for smoking weed. My maturity level was not where I needed it to be and I deeply regret my actions. I have learned from my mistakes and rectified my behavior through serving others and giving back to my community. What bothers me is that usual applicants that have IA's only have one... but I have two. I have worked hard to lead a life that I could be proud of since those incidents but I am not sure how much it would set me back.



What do you suppose my chances are of getting into these schools?

Your chances seem good stat-wise. Your IA should not hold you back as long as you disclosed it, though the fact that you have two is concerning. I think, though, that most admissions staff don't care too much about marijuana use. Your MCAT and GPA are not subpar. However, you do have some low yield schools on your list, or at least I think you do because you have state schools from 4 states on your list. Are you a connecticut, massachusetts, california, or new york resident? The public schools in those states might be donations if you are not in-state. Your chances are good, but I would recommend adding 5-10 more private schools with stats in your range to round out your chances. Purchase the MSAR, choose schools with good out of state acceptance rates, and choose schools with GPA and MCATs in your range.

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[tantacles]

Thank you for your reply! What do you mean by "low-yield schools" and by public schools being "donations"?
I am indeed a resident of Connecticut. I thought it would be smart to add schools in my local area. I've also heard how California has great medical schools so I did some research and applied to those schools. I did purchase MSAR and created my list through that to fit the range of 505-515 MCAT and 3.6-3.8 GPA. Should I search with the parameters being wider than that range?

I can definitely do more research but if you have any specific medical school recommendations that may be in my range, I'd appreciate any suggestions.

State schools outside of your state, particularly ones that have a low number of accepted out of state students, are not great schools to apply to unless you are a resident of that state. UMass, for example, accepts almost all students from in-state. I believe MSAR has this data. Similarly, the California state schools are extremely competitive even for applicants with in-state status, so applying from out of state probably constitutes a "donation," or in other words you are likely paying money to them with almost no chance of an interview. Most schools will send a secondary application to every single person applying, so this is not an indication of your chance of gaining acceptance.

In terms of parameters, you can and definitely should given your personal circumstances apply to some schools with GPA and MCAT ranges LOWER than your own in case the schools with MCAT and GPA ranges in your range are put off by your IA's. I would largely stick to private schools as they have no in-state preference.

Some possibilities are Rush, Loyola, Jefferson, Temple, Drexel, Creighton.

 

[Goro]

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I've applied to 19 schools:
Albany Medical College
Albert Einstein College of Medicine
Boston University School of Medicine
Chicago Medical School at Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine & Science
Eastern Virginia Medical School
Emory University School of Medicine
Frank H. Netter MD School of Medicine at Quinnipiac University
George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences
Georgetown University School of Medicine
Keck School of Medicine of University of Southern California
NYU Grossman School of Medicine
NYU Long Island School of Medicine

UCLA/Drew

University of Connecticut School of Medicine
University of Massachusettes Medical School

The above schools are donations.

Getting into med school is 100% on you. Chances for IIs are good. Are you a Californian?

Add some DO schools.

 

[TheBoneDoctah]

Apply DO because you have IA on your record and aren't flawless. You have a good shot at MD, but there is always a chance something won't go as planned and you won't become a physician. Throwing in a few DO apps can help you gain a spot (for you, a backup if you don't get into MD).

Drawbacks to DO...not many. I am a DO and am now in orthopedic surgery. You will have fewer opportunities for research and getting into super high powered residency programs, but if you want to be a doctor and work your a** off, you can do mostly anything.