Overall undergrad GPA is 3.47 and don't know science GPA i need to figure it out. Waiting for AUGUST MCAT results. Played Div 1 Football. Several athletic and academic honors. Shadowed/assisted a Doctor for about 4 months now. Currently enrolled in graduated school. I am also a URM, fluent in spanish and California Resident. Any suggestions on were i have a chance? What kind of MCAT score do i need. Thanks
I'm no expert, but I'd say that a lot depends on your MCAT score. Your grades are okay, and your ECs sound great. I'm sure that you don't need me to tell you that most schools would love to increase their URM representation. So my guess is, if you score well on the MCAT (say, above 30-33) you will actually be recruited a bit by some schools. As a California resident, you'll have a ton of state schools to choose from; if I were you I'd apply to them all. Then, depending on the MCAT, I might also apply to some private schools. One question: you're not planning to apply this year, are you? Although you're a qualified applicant, and it's certainly not too late, the applications cycle has been going for a while now and lots of people are already doing interviews. If you wait till next year and get your AMCAS in early (like in June) I think you'll have a lot more options. But these are just the opinions of one man. Anyone else?
Honestly, its hard to really tell someone where to apply to, and I think that the best way for you to determine what schools to apply to is to get a hold of the latest MSAR and do a little research. Compare your GPA, and MCAT score (when you get it) and see which schools you would be competitive at. Then look at other factors, such as in-state, out-of-state acceptances and read about whether or not the school itself may interest you based on the descriptions that are included in the MSAR.
I agree. You can't go wrong making choices based on personal research of cold hard stats. Listen to too many people saying diffrent things can really mess you up. (That and you don't know whether or not they are talking out of that thing they sit on.)
Sometimes it's easier to start with all the schools on your list and just start eliminating based on simple factors...residency requirements, location (north, south, east, west), cost (although as a URM this won't often matter), class diversity, big city/small city, curriculum type, etc. You can shrink the list further by looking at statistics. Basically, apply to whatever schools you feel you'd like to go...even if thats only Harvard, UCSF, and Johns Hopkins. Then add some other schools that you feel will accept you based on the average stats of their matriculants.
It really all depends on your MCAT where you have the best chance. Like mpp said you can apply where ever you want.... but don't apply to any schools that you wouldn't want to attend even if they were the only schools you got accepted too.
So do you guys think i have a chance to get in somewhere. What kind of mcat score do you think i need to get in. Do you guys think i have a shot a UC schools. Thanks
I'm thinking a 30 (nothing less than an 8 in either science and no less than a 9 verbal) will get you in somewhere.... assuming you have decent EC. Good luck!
Well, You have a good GPA, hopefully you did well on MCATs. Definitely you should apply to ALL the California schools, UCs and otherwise. Then I'd look for schools that interview/accept alot of CA students, NY Med, Vanderbilt, Boston, Georgetown. Etc... Probably looking in the 25ish range to apply to... Good luck!
Are you waiting for your August scores to apply? Because that's probably not a very good idea. Are you worried that you did really poorly? If so, at least get your AMCAS in and apply to a few schools, so that the verification process gets started. I would suggest applying to 25-30 schools (because of your CA residency). Your stats and ECs are similar to mine when I applied last year. I got a 30 on the MCAT which was what I was aiming for and expected based on practice tests. As a URM, I would think that you're going to be fine as long as you have a blanced MCAT score somewhere around 27 or, hopefully, higher, and a strong application in all other regards. I know nothing about the UCs except that they're very hard to get into. What was your undergrad school? That might factor in as well. Also the essays, both on AMCAS and on secondaries, and LORs are very important. It's pretty hard to give you any advice without knowing how strong your total application will be. It really is not all about numbers. Best of luck to you!!
