What tier of schools should I be looking at?

[Anranius]

Hi all,

I'm a bit lost as to the kind of school I should be looking into. I'm hoping for some thoughts on the level of applicant I'd be considered.

Basics:
22 yrs old.
Biochemistry, Cell Biology, Latin and Greek triple degree (2 BS, 1 BA)
Univ of Maryland College Park
cGPA: 3.17 s GPA 3.24 (by AMCAS calculations)
Had good freshman year (3.81 cGPA 3.81sGPA) crappy sophomore and junior years, decent senior year (3.52/3.23). Last semester GPA was 3.81 in 7 classes.
2 graduate level courses, As in both this year.
MCAT: 41R - 14B 13V 14P
Instate at UMD

EC:
Many (4+) years of research experience.
Doing clinical research at NCI for a year now and working with a surgeon. Planning on 1 more year. Participating in running a clinical trial.
No shadowing, but attending clinical rounds and able to observe on some surgeries.
Volunteering for 10months at NIH hospital, 100+ hours
Volunteering for 4months at Children's Hospital in DC, 40+ hours
One publication from 2004, working on a second and third.

Applied once in my junior year, no interviews.

My issues were that I had a crappy GPA and no clinical experience, but a great MCAT score. Have I improved sufficiently to apply again?

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[Stratego]

While your excellent MCAT score is theoretically enough to compensate for the low GPA, in your case adcomms will like to see that your most recent two years prove you can perform well in tough science classes, and I think you've accomplished that with your most recent academic performance. Having the clinical experience is essential for success too, and you've beefed that area up nicely. Leadership, teamwork (like sports/music), and teaching are other activities it's nice to list if you have them.

I do think you have a good chance if you apply now. What schools to aim for is more tricky. Your low BCPM GPA may hold you back from an acceptance at schools that your substantive research and high MCAT suggest you belong at. In choosing your school list, pay attention to the school's bottom 10th percentile in BCPM GPA (see School Selection spreadsheet stickied at the top of this forum for an extract of the MSAR). So I suggest you fall back on SDN's general rule of "Apply broadly." Apply to a few reaches, ~8-10 where your LizzyM score is in your range, ~5-10 where your BCPM is in the range, and a few safeties. (Opinions will vary.)