Hi all,
Just trying to figure out what my chances are here. I know it's hard to judge without an MCAT score, but please bear with me.
I went to a prestigious undergrad school and graduated in 2010 with a 3.64, then did a relatively prestigious post-bac program at the same difficult school, and completed that in 2011 with a 3.02 (definitely my weak point). Most of my post-bac classes were Bs, with a couple As peppered in, and one lousy C+ in orgo 2. I took a decent amount of science as an undergrad tho, so it brought my science GPA up to a 3.44. My undergrad grades were consistantly As and a few Bs, with no real black marks.
As an undergrad I originally intended to apply to PhD programs, and as a result I've been doing research every year since I was a freshman (both at my university and at the NIH). I have 3 publications (2 as first author) and another that should be published in the next few months. I even did some independent research in high school, although nothing was published. As a post-bac, I shadowed a doc at a local free clinic (lots of low-income patients, really interesting experience), and I'm currently working full time doing clinical research at a children's hospital and using this opportunity to shadow and get lots of exposure to the medical field.
As for ECs, I was very involved in the psych honor society in college and eventually became the VP. I also spent a lot of time tutoring kids, and I was on the varsity crew team my freshman year (brutal). Last summer I cycled 4,000 miles across the country with a cancer charity, and served as one of the trip leaders (extremely demanding, both before and during the ride). I'm still involved with the organization. Save the bike trip, this was all before I decided I wanted to pursue an MD, so I didn't do a lot of the stuff that most pre-meds do. I tell myself that what I did was genuine and driven only by my interests though, so hopefully that will come through in my application.
I'm from NY, just outside of NYC, and would be thrilled to go to one of our state schools (I even have a bit of a connection at one, more than just "one of my parents went there"). I'm also a white male. I have a very strong preference for an MD over a DO. If I can't get into any MD programs, I will do what I have to until I can.
I know it's tough to make a call without MCAT data (taking it on April 5th!), but I'm trying to decide whether I should apply this cycle or take another year off and try to boost my science GPA a bit. My plan is not to retake the MCATs if I get a 32, with at least a 10 in all sections.
Thoughts?
Just trying to figure out what my chances are here. I know it's hard to judge without an MCAT score, but please bear with me.
I went to a prestigious undergrad school and graduated in 2010 with a 3.64, then did a relatively prestigious post-bac program at the same difficult school, and completed that in 2011 with a 3.02 (definitely my weak point). Most of my post-bac classes were Bs, with a couple As peppered in, and one lousy C+ in orgo 2. I took a decent amount of science as an undergrad tho, so it brought my science GPA up to a 3.44. My undergrad grades were consistantly As and a few Bs, with no real black marks.
As an undergrad I originally intended to apply to PhD programs, and as a result I've been doing research every year since I was a freshman (both at my university and at the NIH). I have 3 publications (2 as first author) and another that should be published in the next few months. I even did some independent research in high school, although nothing was published. As a post-bac, I shadowed a doc at a local free clinic (lots of low-income patients, really interesting experience), and I'm currently working full time doing clinical research at a children's hospital and using this opportunity to shadow and get lots of exposure to the medical field.
As for ECs, I was very involved in the psych honor society in college and eventually became the VP. I also spent a lot of time tutoring kids, and I was on the varsity crew team my freshman year (brutal). Last summer I cycled 4,000 miles across the country with a cancer charity, and served as one of the trip leaders (extremely demanding, both before and during the ride). I'm still involved with the organization. Save the bike trip, this was all before I decided I wanted to pursue an MD, so I didn't do a lot of the stuff that most pre-meds do. I tell myself that what I did was genuine and driven only by my interests though, so hopefully that will come through in my application.
I'm from NY, just outside of NYC, and would be thrilled to go to one of our state schools (I even have a bit of a connection at one, more than just "one of my parents went there"). I'm also a white male. I have a very strong preference for an MD over a DO. If I can't get into any MD programs, I will do what I have to until I can.
I know it's tough to make a call without MCAT data (taking it on April 5th!), but I'm trying to decide whether I should apply this cycle or take another year off and try to boost my science GPA a bit. My plan is not to retake the MCATs if I get a 32, with at least a 10 in all sections.
Thoughts?
