What do you consider "above average EC's" to compensate for a low GPA/MCAT?

[DrH2O]

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To be honest, I don't even know what average EC's would be.

 

[Dr. Death]

Be a veteran
Publish multiple scientific papers
Be the child of an extremely wealthy donor
Cure a disease
Single handedly defeat the white walkers

There are threads like this all over the place.

I'll say average 40 total hours shadowing 2-3 different specialties
150 hours clinical experience
100 hours non clinical volunteering
2 semesters research

 

[mathnerd88]

Average EC's are:
Volunteering/Shadowing a physician (Less than 200 hours)
Limited Research Experience with no Publications
Member of Pre-Med Societies

 

[brotherbanjo]

Many schools will value spending a long time at one volunteer/job if you can do it because it can show dedication in consistency. So if you are still a ways out from applying, keep that in mind. Find a volunteer opportunity you like and stick with it.

Otherwise, you can try to get creative with any nonmedical skills you have to initiate service projects on your own. That can show leadership and will be out of the box/above average. If you could tie it to a larger experience (i.e. Organizing a fundraiser for the volunteer organization you already volunteer at), that can be better yet. So see if you can get creative and use the unique skills/talents you have to fill some need around you! For example, if you are a musician, you could organize a benefit concert for an organization you are involved with, or see if you can setup a table for information/donations at music venues for a shows that are already going on. Get creative!

 

[IslandStyle808]

I have found that having a clinical activity does give some applicants that big boost in their application. So you can consider this for a job or volunteer activity. However, GPA/MCAT still takes top priority though and your activities should not take away too much time from academics.

 

[Dreamstoo]

I've heard for MDs, having numerous publications/posters can get borderline/low number applicants interviews. I know someone who was like that and got numerous interviews and multiple acceptances when they applied about 5 years ago. For DOs, I'm sure it means 200+ hours volunteering, 100+ hours shadowing, some unique non-medical ECs, and multiple DO letters.

 

[adrian710]

Low MCAT and Low GPA cannot be replaced with above average EC's in my opinion

 

[Goro]

In addition to the below, some very admirable ECs for me include:

Working in hospice; nursing homes; camps for sick children; mentally or developmentally disabled
Peace Corps
Teach For America
Being a Big Brother/Sister
Americorps volunteer
Habitat for Humanity

indirectly, while not an EC, having a compelling life story.

Be a veteran
Publish multiple scientific papers

 

[AnatomyGrey12]

Low MCAT and Low GPA cannot be replaced with above average EC's in my opinion

Agreed although it depends on what is defined as "low". I know sometimes we refute a claim like this but an applicant with 3.1/3.1/500 has more than a decent chance at acceptance somewhere if they apply broadly and early

 

[lolnotacop]

Agreed although it depends on what is defined as "low". I know sometimes we refute a claim like this but an applicant with 3.1/3.1/500 has more than a decent chance at acceptance somewhere if they apply broadly and early

The claim is refuted because all statistics say otherwise. You have no evidence to back this idea of "more than a decent chance at acceptance" up.

To answer your question, @DrH2O, I would say that ECs can replace GPA to a certain extent. Not so much the MCAT. Before I matriculated at my undergrad institution I met with an admissions counselor for our medical school. Was thinking about playing a varsity sport and asked him what this would mean to their admissions committee, if they would give me the benefit of the doubt on my gpa, etc. Average cgpa for med student at my school is 3.8. Said if I played a sport all 4 years of undergrad 3.4 would be completely fine and that they would understand that. Actually know someone at the school now who played a division 1 sport 4 years and did not even have that GPA, but had a solid MCAT and is doing absolutely fine.

To me, it depends greatly on the EC. Anyone can volunteer for 100 hours. You need to separate yourself. And then on top of that be able to show how your commitment to your EC may have influenced your GPA, but it made you a well rounded and overall better candidate because of it.

MCAT, in my opinion, does not have this leeway, as it is much more indicative of knowledge than GPA.

 

[AnatomyGrey12]

The claim is refuted because all statistics say otherwise. You have no evidence to back this idea of "more than a decent chance at acceptance" up.

To answer your question, @DrH2O, I would say that ECs can replace GPA to a certain extent. Not so much the MCAT. Before I matriculated at my undergrad institution I met with an admissions counselor for our medical school. Was thinking about playing a varsity sport and asked him what this would mean to their admissions committee, if they would give me the benefit of the doubt on my gpa, etc. Average cgpa for med student at my school is 3.8. Said if I played a sport all 4 years of undergrad 3.4 would be completely fine and that they would understand that. Actually know someone at the school now who played a division 1 sport 4 years and did not even have that GPA, but had a solid MCAT and is doing absolutely fine.

To me, it depends greatly on the EC. Anyone can volunteer for 100 hours. You need to separate yourself. And then on top of that be able to show how your commitment to your EC may have influenced your GPA, but it made you a well rounded and overall better candidate because of it.

MCAT, in my opinion, does not have this leeway, as it is much more indicative of knowledge than GPA.

Actually there is evidence to prove this. For starters go check the underdawgs thread and see how many have acceptances with numbers LOWER than that. And that is only a super small pool of applicants. I would bet good money that about 40 % of DO applicants have around those numbers give or take a few points. There is a reason the "10th percentile" is not published for DO schools. More than a few matriculants have numbers at or below 3.1/3.1/500

 

[AnatomyGrey12]

And I am talking about specifically DO schools. No DO school had an average GPA of 3.8 like your undergrad's medical school. I stand by what I said, an applicant with a 3.1/3.1/500 stands a good chance of at least 1 acceptance.

 

[mathnerd88]

And I am talking about specifically DO schools. No DO school had an average GPA of 3.8 like your undergrad's medical school. I stand by what I said, an applicant with a 3.1/3.1/500 stands a good chance of at least 1 acceptance.

A chance of acceptance? Yes. A good chance? Not likely.

In the underdog thread, most of the applicants who got accepted were going to BCOM, and the average GPA and MCAT is 3.5 and 25 MCAT for that school. New schools are already screening those with less than a 3.2 out, such as CUSOM.

Plus, BCOM started accepting applicants too early, and I bet that will change next cycle.

 

[lolnotacop]

Actually there is evidence to prove this. For starters go check the underdawgs thread and see how many have acceptances with numbers LOWER than that. And that is only a super small pool of applicants. I would bet good money that about 40 % of DO applicants have around those numbers give or take a few points. There is a reason the "10th percentile" is not published for DO schools. More than a few matriculants have numbers at or below 3.1/3.1/500

People have received acceptances with these numbers, you are correct.

In 2014, avg cgpa of matriculants (male) was 3.5 with a SD of .3, meaning that 15.9% of the matriculants had a 3.2 or lower. Avg MCATs at 27.68 with SD of 3.22. Again, 15.9% of matriculants had a 24.46 or lower. These percentages do not take into account the COMBINED matriculation percentage, meaning if you had both a gpa and mcat 1 SD or lower from the mean percentage of matriculation could be even lower.

I understand what you are trying to say, however I disagree. Possibly due to my subjective interpretation, I just wouldn't classify these percentages as "good".

EDIT: Also need to take into account the fact that each year the averages have gone up. So you have to figure 2015 & 2016 that 1 SD away from the mean could land at an even higher value than 3.2 and 24.6, further showing how these numbers do not give you a good chance. But this is an assumption as there is no data released yet.

 

[darknecrosforte]

Translated into car speak - "What spoiler can I put on my 1998 Toyota Camry to get into NASCAR?"