WAMC Please! Non-trad, URM, cGPA 3.4 sGPA 3.3

[alexlex143]

Working on a realistic school list. Here are my stats:

1. cGPA 3.4, sGPA 3.3
2. MCAT = 504 (124, 125,130,125 breakdown)
3. CA resident
4. URM Latino/a (Mexican/Central American, native Spanish-speaker, etc.)
5. Attended a CA state university, BA in English, working on an MS in Biology
6. I am a nontrad, about 6 years out of undergrad.
7. I have 5+ amazing LORs from science faculty, non-science, and MDs
8. Lots of great ECs (strongest component of my app)
-tons of paid clinical and nonclinical work that spans about 7-8 years
-tons of clinical volunteering with underserved, low-income communities
-about 50 hours of shadowing in primary care/obgyn
-very good leadership roles (management, coordinating, etc.)
-currently participating in research for graduate degree (no pubs or anything)

GPA is the scariest part for me. I had a rough 2 years in the beginning of my academic career (personal reasons) and I have been making up for it ever since, have done a post-bac, in a grad program currently. HUGE upward trend. Not including the first 2 years, I'd say my GPA hovers more around a 3.7 or so these last 8 years. Will I get auto-screened out of many schools with this GPA? or will I be treated more so as a 3.7ish applicant, assuming MCAT score is decent?

Trying to make a realistic school list. Here's what I have so far:
1. Most CA schools (UCSF, UCLA, UCLA-Drew, UC Davis, UC Irvine, UCSD, USC)
2. U Nevada Reno + Las Vegas
3. Oregon Health and Science
4. University of Washington
5. NYMC
6. Quinnipiac
7. Jefferson
8. Rosalind Franklin
9. Boston
10. Brown
11. Mayo (AZ and MN programs)
12. U Chicago
13. NYU
14. Yale
15. Columbia

Any feedback would be great. I am not opposed to DO schools either.

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[Faha]

Post your score here tomorrow and I will give you advice on your list.

 

[thenucleusaccumbens]

I don't know about the other schools on your list, but Mayo doesn't have a GPA screen, so your app will at least get looked at. The fact that you have a huge upward trend will also work in your favor.

 

[alexlex143]

Post your score here tomorrow and I will give you advice on your list.

Updated with score, a 504 sadly. I can re-take the exam but I'd be shooting for an early August date, with a score released early Sep. I'd be applying pretty late in the cycle. Trying to decide if it's worth applying this cycle still or not. I'm not opposed to DO schools. I would like to stay in CA but am open-minded of course.

 

[Faha]

Your stats are not competitive for most of the schools on your list. I suggest these schools:
Quinnipiac
New York Medical College
Drexel
Temple
Jefferson
GW
Georgetown
Oakland Beaumont
Loyola
Rosalind Franklin
St. Louis
Creighton
Tulane
Arizona (both schools)
Your CA schools (except UCSF and Stanford)

 

[alexlex143]

Your stats are not competitive for most of the schools on your list. I suggest these schools:
Quinnipiac
New York Medical College
Drexel
Temple
Jefferson
GW
Georgetown
Oakland Beaumont
Loyola
Rosalind Franklin
St. Louis
Creighton
Tulane
Arizona (both schools)
Your CA schools (except UCSF and Stanford)

Got it. My follow up question now I guess is, should I just defer to applying next cycle?

I am confident I can get my score up if I take it again but is it too late at this point for this year?

Thanks for the input!

Sent from my ASUS_Z01HD using SDN mobile

 

[Faha]

Apply this month and submit all your secondaries by August since an early application is important. You are competitive for many DO schools so apply to at least 8 and you should receive interviews. Include UIWSOM, ATSU-SOMA and AZCOM.

 

[Chelsea FC]

Working on a realistic school list. Here are my stats:

1. cGPA 3.4, sGPA 3.3
2. MCAT = 504 (124, 125,130,125 breakdown)
3. CA resident
4. URM Latino/a (Mexican/Central American, native Spanish-speaker, etc.)
5. Attended a CA state university, BA in English, working on an MS in Biology
6. I am a nontrad, about 6 years out of undergrad.
7. I have 5+ amazing LORs from science faculty, non-science, and MDs
8. Lots of great ECs (strongest component of my app)
-tons of paid clinical and nonclinical work that spans about 7-8 years
-tons of clinical volunteering with underserved, low-income communities
-about 50 hours of shadowing in primary care/obgyn
-very good leadership roles (management, coordinating, etc.)
-currently participating in research for graduate degree (no pubs or anything)

GPA is the scariest part for me. I had a rough 2 years in the beginning of my academic career (personal reasons) and I have been making up for it ever since, have done a post-bac, in a grad program currently. HUGE upward trend. Not including the first 2 years, I'd say my GPA hovers more around a 3.7 or so these last 8 years. Will I get auto-screened out of many schools with this GPA? or will I be treated more so as a 3.7ish applicant, assuming MCAT score is decent?

Trying to make a realistic school list. Here's what I have so far:
1. Most CA schools (UCSF, UCLA, UCLA-Drew, UC Davis, UC Irvine, UCSD, USC)
2. U Nevada Reno + Las Vegas
3. Oregon Health and Science
4. University of Washington
5. NYMC
6. Quinnipiac
7. Jefferson
8. Rosalind Franklin
9. Boston
10. Brown
11. Mayo (AZ and MN programs)
12. U Chicago
13. NYU
14. Yale
15. Columbia

Any feedback would be great. I am not opposed to DO schools either.

fellow URM here, you stand a good shot of getting in , I woulld remove NYU,Yale and columbia (too low of MCAT). Brown love their own students, BU because its low yield . I would add in HBCU especially those that take in higher number of latinos, tufts , temple and drexel as well as Penn state . Your list as it stands now is way too top heavy and you risk not getting in if your interviewing skills arent top quality

 

[alexlex143]

Apply this month and submit all your secondaries by August since an early application is important. You are competitive for many DO schools so apply to at least 8 and you should receive interviews. Include UIWSOM, ATSU-SOMA and AZCOM.

To maximize my chances for a CA MD acceptance, is it worth considering deferring to next year or retaking at all?

I appreciate your feedback! I'm taking very thorough note of all recommendations

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[Faha]

You could defer to next year. If you retake do not retake until your practice scores are consistently above 508.

 

[alexlex143]

You could defer to next year. If you retake do not retake until your practice scores are consistently above 508.

So I did decide to retake my MCAT and apply this cycle. I was verified 08/06 and I submitted most of my secondaries by mid August with my old score. But I scored a 508 on the 09/09 administration! I retailored my list and I applied to most of the schools suggested. I have 6 interviews so far and I cautiously believe I will receive a few more!

I just want to say thank you for the advice and I am eternally grateful for all the wisdom and nurturing I've gathered from all you savvy adcoms here over the years.

My final school list is:

All CA schools (except Stanford, LL, and Northstate)
U Washington
OHSU
Both AZ schools
MCW
U Minnesota TC
U Michigan
RF
Rush
Temple
Jefferson
Drexel
Penn State
Quinnipiac
Tufts
NYMC
SUNY Downstate
Albany
U Vermont
Dartmouth
Brown






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