low mcat but very unique e.c.

[3bamboo]

Hey guys thanks for taking the time to give me some advice:
Going to CA school so I could argue CA residency and also have Nevada residency
white male

I haven't taken the real mcat but my AAMC scores fall around 28-30. 8PS 10-11VR 10-11BS
My gpa is 3.81 (will hopefully rise to 3.85 by application time)

For my "stand out EC" I worked for 5 months doing a research project in Antarctica during my junior year. Im pretty sure I can spend an entire interview talking about what its like to live for 4 months with only 30 people on a remote isolated station surrounded by penguins haha, so i figure that is my best statistic.

Other than that I have pretty typical EC's including:
2 years of grade school tutoring for low income students
1.5 years of working with UCSF premeds at a homeless clinic
1.5 years of volunteering at the haight ashbury medical clinic (shadow, taking BP, helping in the lab)
.5 year as a leadership member for peer health exchange

Lately I am getting nervous thinking about admissions, according to the graphs i have around a 61% chance, any advice or chance predictions?

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[Davidasaurus]

Very interesting EC I must admit, most people who state that claim usually are blowing a slightly above average EC out of proportion, but doing research in Antarctica is definitely something that should pique the interest of Adcom if you spin it right.

As for the rest of your application, your GPA is stellar, I'm assuming your sGPA is around the same, but so long as it's 3.6+ you're set in that category.

Regarding your MCAT you haven't taken it yet so my best advice for you is to put your best foot forward and give it your all. Anything that starts with a 3 (or 4 if you go hero-mode) and you should be set if you submit ASAP, quickly flip secondaries, and there are no blemishes on your record. Anything lower than a 27 or <8 individual score should warrant a retake, but hopefully that's not the case.

Best of luck!

 

[Goro]

The EC will not overcome a weak MCAT score, and I've noticed that people in SDN are constantly stating that they're avging nice score, but I also see a lot of people saying that they actually scored a lot less on the real thing than in practice (but then again, maybe the people who are performing as they practiced aren't reporting this).

Anyway, your other numbers are good, really good, and even if you don't get the invite to Stanford, you should be OK for the UNv and UC schools. Good luck, and stay warm!

Hey guys thanks for taking the time to give me some advice:
Going to CA school so I could argue CA residency and also have Nevada residency
white male

I haven't taken the real mcat but my AAMC scores fall around 28-30. 8PS 10-11VR 10-11BS
My gpa is 3.81 (will hopefully rise to 3.85 by application time)

For my "stand out EC" I worked for 5 months doing a research project in Antarctica during my junior year. Im pretty sure I can spend an entire interview talking about what its like to live for 4 months with only 30 people on a remote isolated station surrounded by penguins haha, so i figure that is my best statistic.

Other than that I have pretty typical EC's including:
2 years of grade school tutoring for low income students
1.5 years of working with UCSF premeds at a homeless clinic
1.5 years of volunteering at the haight ashbury medical clinic (shadow, taking BP, helping in the lab)
.5 year as a leadership member for peer health exchange

Lately I am getting nervous thinking about admissions, according to the graphs i have around a 61% chance, any advice or chance predictions?

 

[red doctober]

Hey guys thanks for taking the time to give me some advice:
Going to CA school so I could argue CA residency and also have Nevada residency
white male

I haven't taken the real mcat but my AAMC scores fall around 28-30. 8PS 10-11VR 10-11BS
My gpa is 3.81 (will hopefully rise to 3.85 by application time)

For my "stand out EC" I worked for 5 months doing a research project in Antarctica during my junior year. Im pretty sure I can spend an entire interview talking about what its like to live for 4 months with only 30 people on a remote isolated station surrounded by penguins haha, so i figure that is my best statistic.

Other than that I have pretty typical EC's including:
2 years of grade school tutoring for low income students
1.5 years of working with UCSF premeds at a homeless clinic
1.5 years of volunteering at the haight ashbury medical clinic (shadow, taking BP, helping in the lab)
.5 year as a leadership member for peer health exchange

Lately I am getting nervous thinking about admissions, according to the graphs i have around a 61% chance, any advice or chance predictions?

Given that UCSF is a graduate/professional school only, I assume you mean med students? You cannot claim two states of residency, so you'll have to decide between CA and NV. I would say that because CA state schools are ultra competitive, you should should probably choose NV residency even though the number of CA schools and their prestige may be enticing. If you were to get a 34+ MCAT, however, that would be a completely different story.

 

[canjosh]

Never got above a 30 on AAMC practice tests, got a 34 on the real deal. I think PS is probably the easiest score to bring up if you just focus on your weaknesses correctly. VR is tough to bring up IMO, and 10 or 11 there is quite good. Good luck.

 

[MedPR]

Hey guys thanks for taking the time to give me some advice:
Going to CA school so I could argue CA residency and also have Nevada residency
white male

I haven't taken the real mcat but my AAMC scores fall around 28-30. 8PS 10-11VR 10-11BS
My gpa is 3.81 (will hopefully rise to 3.85 by application time)

For my "stand out EC" I worked for 5 months doing a research project in Antarctica during my junior year. Im pretty sure I can spend an entire interview talking about what its like to live for 4 months with only 30 people on a remote isolated station surrounded by penguins haha, so i figure that is my best statistic.

Other than that I have pretty typical EC's including:
2 years of grade school tutoring for low income students
1.5 years of working with UCSF premeds at a homeless clinic
1.5 years of volunteering at the haight ashbury medical clinic (shadow, taking BP, helping in the lab)
.5 year as a leadership member for peer health exchange

Lately I am getting nervous thinking about admissions, according to the graphs i have around a 61% chance, any advice or chance predictions?

1. Your state of residency is whatever address you put on your AMCAS. You can't claim 2 states. I suggest you use NV instead of CA.
2. It's unique, but not very meaningful. You did research in an isolated region. So what?
3. Have you shadowed?

 

[Ironmandoc]

1. Your state of residency is whatever address you put on your AMCAS. You can't claim 2 states. I suggest you use NV instead of CA.
2. It's unique, but not very meaningful. You did research in an isolated region. So what?
3. Have you shadowed?

MedPR puts everyone down. Your research in Antarctica is bad ass...and I thought my trips diving reefs in the Dry Tortugas for marine natural products was cool...

 

[gmcguitar4]

you should check out pictures that divers take around glaciers..pretty amazing stuff

 

[MicroSteph]

MedPR puts everyone down. Your research in Antarctica is bad ass...and I thought my trips diving reefs in the Dry Tortugas for marine natural products was cool...

Agreed. Totally badass. But diving is also pretty badass. I have a severe lack of badass and this makes me sad...


OP, I'm not sure what your weaknesses are in the PS, but I brought my score up considerably by focusing primarily on physics, doing tons of practice problems, and I bought a couple hours of tutoring. It made a huge difference to feel comfortable with all the equations. Just a tip, if you need it!

Agreed that your stats look great, but really hustle for that MCAT score.

GOOD LUCK!

 

[MedPR]

MedPR puts everyone down. Your research in Antarctica is bad ass...and I thought my trips diving reefs in the Dry Tortugas for marine natural products was cool...

Agreed. Totally badass. But diving is also pretty badass. I have a severe lack of badass and this makes me sad...


OP, I'm not sure what your weaknesses are in the PS, but I brought my score up considerably by focusing primarily on physics, doing tons of practice problems, and I bought a couple hours of tutoring. It made a huge difference to feel comfortable with all the equations. Just a tip, if you need it!

Agreed that your stats look great, but really hustle for that MCAT score.

GOOD LUCK!

It's unique and cool, but why does that help his cause? Having a standout EC (simply because of the location, not because of anything merit based) does not balance out a low MCAT.

 

[1289]

how competitive is the state school in nevada? seems like you'd be just fine there.

 

[3bamboo]

It's unique and cool, but why does that help his cause? Having a standout EC (simply because of the location, not because of anything merit based) does not balance out a low MCAT.

For starters, I had to apply and get accepted into the program. I was doing research down there every day for 45+ hours a week collecting data for the genetic adaptations that allow phytoplankton to survive months without sunlight so I'm pretty sure that carries with it some merit..
I also worked closely with the doctor there in my spare time and I got practical instruction with all sorts of medical devices that many premeds could only dream of, and was part of a team that trained to assist the doctor in the event of serious trauma.

All of that during my junior year in college I am pretty sure whoever is reviewing my application would at least give me some credit and see that i can handle serious responsibilities and obligations.

ps I have also shadowed an anesthesiologist in the operating room and was present throughout 50 surgeries.

 

[3bamboo]

MedPR puts everyone down. Your research in Antarctica is bad ass...and I thought my trips diving reefs in the Dry Tortugas for marine natural products was cool...

that is badass! nothing better than research expeditions IMO

 

[Alejandro]

MedPR, I think what you may be missing is that this is a substantial life experience. Yes, its research, but it isnt like the research that most SDN'ers are doing-benchwork. spin some tubes down, run some PCR, clone some organisms, or maybe some clinical work...get some tissue samples, meet some patients, perhaps enroll people into studies. Gotta remember that interviewers are looking for interesting people as well. Not just a bunch of persons with numbers. Why? because nearly everyone who is at an interview has the "numbers" to get there in the first place.

Field work, from what I understand, is an interesting life experience, unlike what many others have done. If I were an adcom, the rationale in favor of the OPs research/life experience is that it is an experience that the applicant clearly was enthusiastic and involved in. I think its harder to distinguish the levels of grey in terms of involvement and enthusiasm of the research itself when everyone does the standard biomedical bench research (myself included).

Props to the OP. I think thats a wonderful experience.