Where to apply?

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HardyWork

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7+ Year Member
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MCAT 27 (super upset) 9p 7v 11bs (took the last possible old MCAT)
GPA(science) 3.45
GPA(overall) 3.35
Postbacc GPA @ UPENN (3.5)

Volunteering -
100+ hours in ER department at University of Kentucky
24 hours DanceBlue
20 hours Bone Marrow Transplant Department University of Kentucky

Leadership -
- Chartered Phi Delta Epsilon International Medical Fraternity to the University of Kentucky
- President of Phi Delta Epsilon 2013-2014
- Helped organize a Be the Match Bone Marrow registry drive
- Organized Shadowing Experiences through the Lexington Medical Society for the PhiDE members

Research (not published)
- 2 semesters in the Concussion Assessment Research lab

Shadowing Experience -
Maxillofacial Surgery
Valve Replacement
Retina Reattachment
Ocular Implants
Radiology
Breast Augmentation
General Physician
ER

What are my chances of getting into an MD program? I am planning on taking the MCAT in November of 2015, which will obviously go on my AMCAS.

Should I apply this cycle or next?

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I would apply but set your sights at DO schools
 
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I think you can get into medical school.

The 7VR makes me think you should be heavily focused on DO. MD is a long shot with sub-8 scores and middling GPAs (although Penn carries some weight in admissions). A 27 is two standard deviations below the median for MD matriculants, and you'll be fighting all the 3.9+/27 kids with no sub-8s.

Do you have DO shadowing or a LOR from a DO? Many DO programs prefer these.
 
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assuming you're white, table 25 puts your chances of MD acceptance at 20-30%. given that you're a little light on volunteering and research, that might even overestimate your chances. your mediocre postbac grades are going to be concerning too.

i would definitely advise you to wait until next year to apply if you think you can do very well (>90th percentile) on the new MCAT. beef up the rest of your resume in the meantime
 
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If you aren't retaking the MCAT until November your scores won't be available until December! That's awfully late for MD schools to consider you for the upcoming cycle! If you want to go DO you could apply this cycle but if you want a MD you should probably wait!
 
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assuming you're white, table 25 puts your chances of MD acceptance at 20-30%. given that you're a little light on volunteering and research, that might even overestimate your chances. your mediocre postbac grades are going to be concerning too.

i would definitely advise you to wait until next year to apply if you think you can do very well (>90th percentile) on the new MCAT. beef up the rest of your resume in the meantime

How much Volunteering do most med students have?

Also, do you think the admissions staffs would know chartering and running a medical fraternity for 3 years takes up a lot of time while being a full time student?
 
other than the keggers, what did you do?

even if your volunteering experiences are stronger than you indicated, your chances are still not great with that MCAT score and those grades. if you're dead-set on MD, an MCAT retake is probably your best bet. you'd need to do very well on it, though! what were you averaging on your practice exams?
 
Your stats are above the 10th% for the U of Louisville.
Your gpa's are above the 10th% but your MCAT is below the 10th% for the U of K.

This is pretty slim pickins for MD, but it could work since 42.6% of KY applicants matriculate IS.
 
other than the keggers, what did you do?

even if your volunteering experiences are stronger than you indicated, your chances are still not great with that MCAT score and those grades. if you're dead-set on MD, an MCAT retake is probably your best bet. you'd need to do very well on it, though! what were you averaging on your practice exams?

National Championships and partying with the dance team.
 
Your stats are above the 10th% for the U of Louisville.
Your gpa's are above the 10th% but your MCAT is below the 10th% for the U of K.

This is pretty slim pickins for MD, but it could work since 42.6% of KY applicants matriculate IS.

Let's say I boost my MCAT score by studying all summer and get a volunteer clinical research position at UPENN while i'm finishing up my Postbacc program next year. Should I take a gap year to apply for the matriculating class of 2017 and work full time?
 
Let's say I boost my MCAT score by studying all summer and get a volunteer clinical research position at UPENN while i'm finishing up my Postbacc program next year. Should I take a gap year to apply for the matriculating class of 2017 and work full time?
I am unfamiliar with the priorities of your state schools. I do recommend a strong first application, though.
 
This is pretty much what the committee will imagine...
Obviously a joke. Chartering PhiDE is no easy task. I was one out of a couple hundred applications that PhiDE chose to pursue. It took 2 years to go through the paperwork, review process, group organization, and officer interviews before being able to charter. I then grew it to a group of 100+ of Kentucky's top pre-medical students in a year. Meanwhile, I was 18 years old when this process began.

I forgot to add I have letters of recommendation from the CEO of the fraternity, the president of the Maxillofacial Surgery program at Pitt, Histology professor at UPENN, Organic Chemistry professor at UK, and a Biochemistry teacher at UPENN.

Definitely not a lot of kegs, just a bad test taker.
 
Obviously a joke. Chartering PhiDE is no easy task. I was one out of a couple hundred applications that PhiDE chose to pursue. It took 2 years to go through the paperwork, review process, group organization, and officer interviews before being able to charter. I then grew it to a group of 100+ of Kentucky's top pre-medical students in a year. Meanwhile, I was 18 years old when this process began.

I forgot to add I have letters of recommendation from the CEO of the fraternity, the president of the Maxillofacial Surgery program at Pitt, Histology professor at UPENN, Organic Chemistry professor at UK, and a Biochemistry teacher at UPENN.

Definitely not a lot of kegs, just a bad test taker.
I would choose the last three LOR's if they are likely to be strong..
 
in all seriousness, the frat thing sounds like a very nice leadership EC. the problem of your volunteering/research/grades/MCAT remains

you could definitely get in somewhere, but your chances are still well below 50%.

i would start getting As in postbac, for starters!
 
in all seriousness, the frat thing sounds like a very nice leadership EC. the problem of your volunteering/research/grades/MCAT remains

you could definitely get in somewhere, but your chances are still well below 50%.

i would start getting As in postbac, for starters!

Only 1 semester finished with 3 to go.

My family is from a small town on the coast in Mississippi (considered rural medicine). Is it true that committees like to see rural volunteering? After all, I plan on moving back there one day to practice (DO or MD).
 
if that's true, there's no reason not to apply DO this year!

any sustained commitment to meaningful volunteering is nice, rural or not
 
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