Where to apply?

[registered user]

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Here goes:

I'd like to know if I should apply to schools like Hopkins, Cornell, NW (Top 15 schools). Maybe a hard question to answer, but any input would be helpful.

1998 graduate of UNC-Chapel Hill 3.0 gpa. I worked for the National Outdoor Leadership School and several other outdoor institutions over the past 5 years. I was a professional ski patroller for the last 3 winters (I received a national award for saving a skiers life) before starting my postbacc. Ski patrolling is where I found my interest in medicine. Many other experiences.

I took all 8 prereq classes over the last year and got A's in all of them, I worked in a genetics lab and should have a publication before too long and I volunteered in a local ER. I just got my MCAT score (34!) and this is why I am asking my question. I felt that if I got a 34+ I should apply to top tier schools. So I have a bunch of awesome EC's, a 4.0 postbacc, 3.25 cum gpa, 3.5 BCPM and a 34 MCAT. Whadaya think?

 

[ntmed]

I definitely think you should apply to competitive programs. But I think you should also apply to at least 12 (preferably 20) middle-of-the-road programs that accept a high number of out-of-state students (Drexel, Albany, George Washington, Eastern Virginia, etc.).

 

[Law2Doc]

I definitely think you should apply to competitive programs. But I think you should also apply to at least 12 (preferably 20) middle-of-the-road programs that accept a high number of out-of-state students (Drexel, Albany, George Washington, Eastern Virginia, etc.).

I agree -- definitely take a shot at a handful, but keep the core group of your applications closer to earth.

 

[Celiac Plexus]

Here goes:

I'd like to know if I should apply to schools like Hopkins, Cornell, NW (Top 15 schools). Maybe a hard question to answer, but any input would be helpful.

1998 graduate of UNC-Chapel Hill 3.0 gpa. I worked for the National Outdoor Leadership School and several other outdoor institutions over the past 5 years. I was a professional ski patroller for the last 3 winters (I received a national award for saving a skiers life) before starting my postbacc. Ski patrolling is where I found my interest in medicine. Many other experiences.

I took all 8 prereq classes over the last year and got A's in all of them, I worked in a genetics lab and should have a publication before too long and I volunteered in a local ER. I just got my MCAT score (34!) and this is why I am asking my question. I felt that if I got a 34+ I should apply to top tier schools. So I have a bunch of awesome EC's, a 4.0 postbacc, 3.25 cum gpa, 3.5 BCPM and a 34 MCAT. Whadaya think?

well... your gpa is low for top tier schools. your "awesome EC"s are pretty run-of-the-mill too... volunteering in the er is pretty common. working in a genetics lab is pretty common... having a publication (unless it's a first authorship in a major journal) is pretty common. your mcat score is pretty good though, and although it is subpar for wash. u. (what isn't?) it gets you in the door at the upper tier schools as far as getting an interview anyway.

you sound like an interesting, motivated, candidate who has worked hard to prepare for medical school application. the best strategy is the same one that most applicants should use. apply to say 15 schools: 5 upper tier, 5 middle tier, 5 lower tier, and all of your state schools. you should be okay.

one other piece of advice... if you are applying for admission for fall of '06, I *highly* recommend that you send your app in asap. most schools have rolling admissions, and the earlier you send in your app, the more interviews/acc you are likely to get.

best of luck.

 

[registered user]

well... your gpa is low for top tier schools. your "awesome EC"s are pretty run-of-the-mill too... volunteering in the er is pretty common. working in a genetics lab is pretty common... having a publication (unless it's a first authorship in a major journal) is pretty common. your mcat score is pretty good though, and although it is subpar for wash. u. (what isn't?) it gets you in the door at the upper tier schools as far as getting an interview anyway.

you sound like an interesting, motivated, candidate who has worked hard to prepare for medical school application. the best strategy is the same one that most applicants should use. apply to say 15 schools: 5 upper tier, 5 middle tier, 5 lower tier, and all of your state schools. you should be okay.

one other piece of advice... if you are applying for admission for fall of '06, I *highly* recommend that you send your app in asap. most schools have rolling admissions, and the earlier you send in your app, the more interviews/acc you are likely to get.

best of luck.

Thanks for the input and thanks for the . The EC's or whatever you want to call them that are unique are the work experiences which I only alluded to here. Three years of paid work in a medical setting working alongside doctors with actual hurt and dying patients. I actually submitted yesterday and my school distribution is pretty much what you said. UNC, ECU, Wake, SLU, Drexel, NYMC, Vanderbilt, Stanford, Hopkins, Penn, Pitt, UChicago. NC resident. Hopefully the adcoms will look at my postbacc gpa, science gpa, mcat and experiences and realize that I am not the person that coasted through undergrad 🙄 . We'll see.