what kind of stats do I need to have to go to a CA MD school?

[Timayyyyy!]

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I have heard the vast majority of CA applicants either go OOS for MD school, go to a DO school or get denied.

What kind of stats and ECs would I need to stand a good chance of being accepted to a CA MD school? I am also applying to DO school but I would like to keep my options open for all specialties if I could attend a MD school if possible (I know there are exceptions with some DO students matching in ROAD specialties)

here are my stats:
B.A psychology
transfer student; took two pre-reqs at a community college, rest of pre-reqs at home or visiting 4 year institution
3.78 overall GPA
3.9 pre-req GPA
3.85 science GPA
1500 community service hours
100 shadowing hours with 5 doctors in various specialties

still need to take the MCAT but I am going to use the SN2ed schedule that everyone keeps raving about

my two concerns are:
lack of research experience (like only 1 year during my time at a community college)
MCAT score (I did bad on the SAT, dont know how much my standardized test skills have improved)

I know medical school is very time consuming and busy but do you think this is a good list for applying to medical school in the southwest US (I really would like to stay close to my parents)

all CA MD schools (except maybe UCSF and Stanford and Loma Linda since I am not SDA/Christian)
Touro-CA
Touro-NV
A.T. Still
Midwestern
University of Arizona

thanks in advance!

 

[kevinus]

I have similar ECs as you + publications. IS 3.9+/35. I only got 3 IIs after applying to every CA school.

edit:
And they are UCI, USC, and Loma Linda... I was honestly hoping for UCSF, UCLA, or UCSD. I guess it's damn hard to get into CA schools?

 

[Timayyyyy!]

thanks kevinus for the reply, are you still interviewing or waiting to hear a decision from those schools? did you ask the schools that rejected why? I am just trying to see what I can do to land into a CA MD, especially a UC medical school considering their tuition is cheaper than my private school and OOS options

 

[Timayyyyy!]

btw nice MCAT score, now I really got to step up on studying

 

[kevinus]

thanks kevinus for the reply, are you still interviewing or waiting to hear a decision from those schools? did you ask the schools that rejected why? I am just trying to see what I can do to land into a CA MD, especially a UC medical school considering their tuition is cheaper than my private school and OOS options

Getting into a UC would be great for the location and tuition, but I would be extremely happy with an acceptance anywhere.

Loma Linda hasn't sent me the decision yet. And I still have to interview at USC and UCI.

I was rejected post-interview by JHU, and the letter said not to contact regarding why I wasn't accepted.

 

[Timayyyyy!]

Getting into a UC would be great for the location and tuition, but I would be extremely happy with an acceptance anywhere.

Loma Linda hasn't sent me the decision yet. And I still have to interview at USC and UCI.

I was rejected post-interview by JHU, and the letter said not to contact regarding why I wasn't accepted.

wish you the best of luck to both interviews, I would be stoked at USC and UCI, good medical schools in warm weather, cant get better than that (except for loans of course)

is this a good list for OOS schools
University of Arizona (the admissions counselor told me 50/50 admissions for OOS/IS)
University of Colorado
Loyola
Rush
SUNY downstate
Albert Einstein
Mount Sinai
Georgetown
Tufts
Tulane
OHSU
University of Miami

 

[kevinus]

It would be difficult to tell without knowing your MCAT score. I applied OOS state schools at WA and NE. They literally rejected me on the day I sent my secondaries.

edit: Maybe they rejected me a week later. Just make sure to look at IS/OS ratio!

 

[Timayyyyy!]

It would be difficult to tell without knowing your MCAT score. I applied OOS state schools at WA and NE. They literally rejected me on the day I sent my secondaries.

edit: Maybe they rejected me a week later. Just make sure to look at IS/OS ratio!

last question so I can stop bothering you lol! what type of MCAT score should I hope to get for the above mentioned OOS schools?

anyone else have suggestions?

 

[juliuspepperwood]

last question so I can stop bothering you lol! what type of MCAT score should I hope to get for the above mentioned OOS schools?

anyone else have suggestions?

That's a pretty broad list, schools like mount Sinai have higher scores than some of the others. I would check out the MSAR, you can get a good feel for which schools are taking high percent out of state students and what their average scores are

 

[Timayyyyy!]

I borrowed my friend's MSAR and checked off which one was OOS friendly (except for Colorado I think), I'll have to check which schools are realistic for me then based on the MCAT.

have there been there students denied with a 32+ MCAT and 3.7+ GPA despite having good shadowing hours and interview or is that a really really rare case. Like kevinus I would be stoked to get in any school but a CA MD school would set me up nicely for residencies

 

[juliuspepperwood]

I borrowed my friend's MSAR and checked off which one was OOS friendly (except for Colorado I think), I'll have to check which schools are realistic for me then based on the MCAT.

have there been there students denied with a 32+ MCAT and 3.7+ GPA despite having good shadowing hours and interview or is that a really really rare case. Like kevinus I would be stoked to get in any school but a CA MD school would set me up nicely for residencies

Unfortunately for Cali schools an applicant with a 32 & 3.7 is fairly common and many get rejected. Not saying that will happen to you but it's tough out here in Cali

 

[Timayyyyy!]

thanks for the insight, yeah it seems like that on SDN and to many of my CA friends as well. I wonder if any CA residents have better chance landing at UA-Tucson or Phoenix with those stats

 

[Goro]

GPA like yours, decent research, great ECs, and an MCAT >34. For UCSD and UCSF, I'd say MCAT of 36.

The Touros, Western and CCOM like high MCATs, so high 20s for them. I don't stats handy for the Az DO schools, alas.

What kind of stats and ECs would I need to stand a good chance of being accepted to a CA MD school? I am also applying to DO school but I would like to keep my options open for all specialties if I could attend a MD school if possible (I know there are exceptions with some DO students matching in ROAD specialties)

 

[sourdoughllama]

GPA like yours, decent research, great ECs, and an MCAT >34. For UCSD and UCSF, I'd say MCAT of 36.

.

 

[Timayyyyy!]

sorry if this is considered a dumb question but what would constitute as decent research

like a summer research project, do I have to get something published, does it have to be in the medical/health-care field, or can it just be a semester research project with 10 hours of research per week for 12 weeks?

 

[funniful]

I was in a similar situation as you where I was still studying for my MCAT in January and didn't have my score until late May. Similar GPA, MCAT 35, and lots of research experience but little clinical experience. Even in mid-March I was not scoring above a 32 and was starting to freak out, so I had an extensive list of 30+ schools all over the country hoping to just get in somewhere. After getting my 35 in May, I tacked on a few more Top 20 schools but still had a hefty chunk of 7 safety schools.

I applied to all the UCs (minus Riverside), USC, and Stanford (7). So far I have received invitations to 6/7 with silence from Stanford (but no rejection letter yet, so still hoping!).

For the research heavy schools like UCSD, UCSF, UCLA and Stanford, it's really important to have a demonstrated interest in research with specific projects that you have been involved in. You don't have to be published or have presented at conferences, but still have a substantial role in the projects where you were involved in the experimental design, critically thinking about future directions, etc. not just being a lab rat.

UCD and USC are more community-oriented schools so having a ton of community service experience and leadership roles helps a lot.

Keep in mind though that the UCs have a pretty stringent pre-screen process for secondaries that's pretty much based on GPA/MCAT numbers.

 

[Timayyyyy!]

I was in a similar situation as you where I was still studying for my MCAT in January and didn't have my score until late May. Similar GPA, MCAT 35, and lots of research experience but little clinical experience. Even in mid-March I was not scoring above a 32 and was starting to freak out, so I had an extensive list of 30+ schools all over the country hoping to just get in somewhere. After getting my 35 in May, I tacked on a few more Top 20 schools but still had a hefty chunk of 7 safety schools.

I applied to all the UCs (minus Riverside), USC, and Stanford (7). So far I have received invitations to 6/7 with silence from Stanford (but no rejection letter yet, so still hoping!).

For the research heavy schools like UCSD, UCSF, UCLA and Stanford, it's really important to have a demonstrated interest in research with specific projects that you have been involved in. You don't have to be published or have presented at conferences, but still have a substantial role in the projects where you were involved in the experimental design, critically thinking about future directions, etc. not just being a lab rat.

UCD and USC are more community-oriented schools so having a ton of community service experience and leadership roles helps a lot.

Keep in mind though that the UCs have a pretty stringent pre-screen process for secondaries that's pretty much based on GPA/MCAT numbers.

wow thanks for the funniful, very insightful. is Stanford your first choice, live close to the campus, super awesome.

will keep that research criteria in mind, might have to look around for someone to let me join a project with them, does it have to be medical related?

having transferred where the 4 year institution really cares about GPA (I seriously doubt they read my essay), I can get used to the UC secondary though ti all depends on my MCAT

so for the MCAT should I hope for a 32 at the lowest and a 35-36 as a reasonable highest?

 

[funniful]

Well I have more connections to UCSF seeing how I did a summer program, full-time job and most of my shadowing and volunteering work there, but I mean Stanford is well...Stanford.

As for research, it can really be in anything. Benchwork, clinical research, anthropology, poli sci, etc. As long as you can show that A) you can formulate a research question B) collect data C) analyze it D) contribute to the greater body of knowledge. Depending on how much time you spend/when you get involved with the project you might start and end anywhere in between which is why most people spend 1-2 years to experience that whole process as a whole or in bits and pieces. It shows commitment, curiosity, self-directed learning, and all that good stuff.

I would also be careful/double check your pre-reqs that you took at the CCs. Some schools only take credit at four year institutions at which point you might come up short.

Definitely you should aim for 10+ on each section and higher scores on sciences (11-13).

 

[Timayyyyy!]

yeah I talked to schools and most said the two CC pre-req courses are not a problem since I got A's and A-'s in the rest of the pre-reqs. I think NYU and Columbia said they dont prefer CC courses.