What schools should I be looking at?

[Siew]

Hello,

I'm a senior in college and I'm going to apply after I graduate. My major is engineering and I'm in my school's honors college. My cum gpa is 3.90 and my science is 3.94. I plan on taking the MCAT probably this January. On my practice exams, my highest individual scores are BS 12 / PS 13 / VR 10 and my average score is ~33. I volunteer at the hospital, no shadowing exp yet. I have done research for 2 years so far and will have completed a thesis before graduation. I am in a rigorous curriculum and have taken 2 grad level courses so far. I do not have any real leadership exp. What kind of schools do you think my app would be competitive at? Thanks!

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[aggie08]

Hello,

I'm a senior in college and I'm going to apply after I graduate. My major is engineering and I'm in my school's honors college. My cum gpa is 3.90 and my science is 3.94. I plan on taking the MCAT probably this January. On my practice exams, my highest individual scores are BS 12 / PS 13 / VR 10 and my average score is ~33. I volunteer at the hospital, no shadowing exp yet. I have done research for 2 years so far and will have completed a thesis before graduation. I am in a rigorous curriculum and have taken 2 grad level courses so far. I do not have any real leadership exp. What kind of schools do you think my app would be competitive at? Thanks!

Assuming you do well on the MCAT and get around your average, you will be competitive at most schools. You do need to get some significant clinical experience in the way of shadowing or working in an office, though. Contrary to popular belief this can really hurt your application. The volunteering is good, but not usually as helpful in the long run as actually working or shadowing (depending on the doctor you shadow).

Check out the "School Selector Spreadsheet" for more detailed info.

Edit: Here's that link - http://www.fileden.com/files/2009/4/28/2422456/School_Selector_2010-2011.xls
It's not perfect, but it's a good indication and very helpful. It will open up a file, just save it and then open up and change your numbers. There's an entire thread dedicated to it (by the one who made it, I believe) right above this one.

 

[Siew]

Thanks for your advice! Yeah I will try to do some shadowing soon. I just don't know when I'll have the time to do it. I guess I'll find time.

 

[J ROD]

Thanks for your advice! Yeah I will try to do some shadowing soon. I just don't know when I'll have the time to do it. I guess I'll find time.

Winter break. I still think you can do better than a 33. All my engin buddies got that or higher and none of them had a 3.9 in engin. That's very impressive!! Some more clinical stuff would help.

Overall, one day you will be a MD!!

 

[Siew]

Thanks, yes Winter break does seem like a good time. That way I can shadow from 8-5 every day or something. Yeah I'm hoping I can up the score a bit before I take it. Haven't put that much time into studying for it yet with classes bearing down on me. I've only been able to study for about 2 or 3 hours a week so far. I think I'll devote Winter break to shadowing and hardcore MCAT studying. Thanks for the advice!