what makes a good candidate

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Ironshank

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What makes a good candidate in your opinion from a numbers stand point?

I am a forensic chem major and doing alright mid 3.0-4.0
I also work full time in a rehab center with alzheimers and dementia patients. And I live in a smaller town so no kaplan classes or other type of review classes for the MCAT. I have tons of review books from a friend who was accepted at rochester that I have been using for research and review, when should I start taking practice exams? And concerning the application part how did some of you narrow down your choices I have only a state MD school then a few others that I know a little about. <img src="graemlins/wowie.gif" border="0" alt="[Wowie]" /> I just love this animation :D :D :D :D

I have a ton of questions but in all honestly my school does not have the best of pre-med advisors

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The average stats of accepted applicants is I think is 3.5 GPA and 10, 10, 10 (30) MCAT about. So to be a good candidate I would shoot for at least this, and higher if you want very well ranked schools.

I took a review course so I don't know if I'm the best person to answer your MCAT questions but I would start taking practice MCATs now while you continue to study. You will improve as you study but you should start getting a feel for the test now. Also I would invest in the AAMC practice exams and leave Exam IV and V to do later on, as they are a better predictor of the real MCAT.

I asked my advisor where he thought I should apply and he told me. So actually I just kinda listened to him and didn't really think the stuff out on my own. Pretty much just cuz I told him I don't care where I go as long as they let me in.

I would try to ask your advisor but since you say he's not too great also look into things yourself. Try to apply to schools whose average acceptance stats mirror that of your stats and then apply to a couple below and a couple above. (you can find this info in books and on the net)

Well good luck :)
 
The <a href="http://www.aamc.org" target="_blank">American Association of Medical Colleges</a> is a good place to start looking into medical schools. They have listed <a href="http://www.aamc.org/data/facts/famg62001a.htm" target="_blank">historical applicant and matriculant</a> MCAT and GPA's. (Note that matriculant is just a fancy word for someone that gets accepted and enrolls in school) AAMC also has a <a href="http://pnet400.aamc.org/directories/schools/msgeo.cfm" target="_blank">list</a> of all medical schools by state or Canadian province. This is a good place to start choosing schools. First find a place you might like to go and then see what schools in that area are likely to accept you based on your state of residence, scores, programs available, etc. -- the schools' web page usually has all the information you need.

There is also the infamous <a href="http://www.studentdoc.com/medfind.html" target="_blank">Medical School Finder</a> in which you put in your stats and it will tell you at what schools you might be a competitive applicant. It is an interesting resource but the results are not perfect of course.

Have fun choosing schools...it is probably the funnest part of the application cycle. Don't forget to factor in the cost of the application fees. The AAMC Primary application will cost around $150 for the first school plus $30 for each additional school. Then most schools have secondary application fees ranging from $25 for the inexpensive state schools to more than $100 for some of the private schools. Applying to 10 schools can easily cost you over $1,000 in application fees.
 
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I never knew about this medical school finder. Is it pretty accurate you guys think? Who's used it that's been through the application process and been accepted already? Does it give a good indication? I'm curious. I know it is just some algorithm that doesn't factor in what kind of a person you are. So you don't have to reiterate that to me. Just tell me what the results were.

Originally posted by mpp:
•The <a href="http://www.aamc.org" target="_blank">American Association of Medical Colleges</a> is a good place to start looking into medical schools. They have listed <a href="http://www.aamc.org/data/facts/famg62001a.htm" target="_blank">historical applicant and matriculant</a> MCAT and GPA's. (Note that matriculant is just a fancy word for someone that gets accepted and enrolls in school) AAMC also has a <a href="http://pnet400.aamc.org/directories/schools/msgeo.cfm" target="_blank">list</a> of all medical schools by state or Canadian province. This is a good place to start choosing schools. First find a place you might like to go and then see what schools in that area are likely to accept you based on your state of residence, scores, programs available, etc. -- the schools' web page usually has all the information you need.

There is also the infamous <a href="http://www.studentdoc.com/medfind.html" target="_blank">Medical School Finder</a> in which you put in your stats and it will tell you at what schools you might be a competitive applicant. It is an interesting resource but the results are not perfect of course.

Have fun choosing schools...it is probably the funnest part of the application cycle. Don't forget to factor in the cost of the application fees. The AAMC Primary application will cost around $150 for the first school plus $30 for each additional school. Then most schools have secondary application fees ranging from $25 for the inexpensive state schools to more than $100 for some of the private schools. Applying to 10 schools can easily cost you over $1,000 in application fees.•••
 
imtiaz,

I just did the Med School finder thing--very non-accurate. (It claimed I was not as competitive at 2 of the schools I have been accepted to!) Give it a whirl, but don't put too much stock in it. It is just one of those algorithms we applicants can use to torture ourselves!

mma ;)
 
I figured as much. It says im very competetive at Finch and Loyola, I doubt it though. Heh.

Originally posted by mma:
•imtiaz,

I just did the Med School finder thing--very non-accurate. (It claimed I was not as competitive at 2 of the schools I have been accepted to!) Give it a whirl, but don't put too much stock in it. It is just one of those algorithms we applicants can use to torture ourselves!

mma ;) •••
 
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