Brief Profile:
BS Mechanical Engineering 2003 UG GPA: 3.53 (including 4 W\'s, 3 C\'s, 1 D, and a handful of B-\'s) UG sGPA: 3.46
Post-Bacc at University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (http://www4.uwm.edu/letsci/certificates/pre-med/). Somewhat informal, mostly done so I could qualify for financial aid. Took ~12 credits/semester while working full time as an engineer. Post-Bacc GPA: 3.95
MCAT Took Phys 1&2, Chem 1, Bio 1, OChem 1 all before 2002. Took Ochem 1 (again) Fall 2010, Ochem 2, Bio 2, and Cell Bio Spring 2011. Took Princeton Review online class Fall 2010. Took MCAT in March 2011. I had not taken Chem 2 at that time, had not had the physiology part of Bio yet, had not finished OChem. And it had been 9+ years since I\'d had Physics or Chem 1. 11BS, 10PS, 13V, Q Fall 2011 I\'m taking Chem 2. It\'s amazing how much I was missing when I took the MCAT. I am extremely confident that if I had waited until finishing all the pre-reqs my PS and BS scores would be at least 2 points higher each. I went into it knowing I had deficiencies, though, and I had a plan (see below).
EC\'s - Recent - Worked as a Process Engineer in automotive (GM & Toyota) for 5 years. Worked as a Process Engineer in healthcare for 3 years. - Volunteer at the Free Clinic staffed by MCW students (~24 hrs) - Volunteered at Literacy Services of Wisconsin teaching ESL briefly (~12 hrs) - Religious ed teacher at a Unitarian Universalist church (~36 hrs) - Official shadowing - Hospitalists, Family Practice, Emergency, Derm, Interventional Cardiology (~66 hrs) - Grand Prix drag racing, was in a magazine (2 years, lots of hours)
EC\'s - From College - Kettering University Woman of the Year - 2 week conference in Paris on women in engineering - Leadership positions in social sorority - 350+ hours of volunteering, mostly through the sorority
My plan had been to take the MCAT in Spring 2011. If it was >30, I would apply EDP to MCW. If it was <30 I would wait until 2012 to retake.
When I got the 34Q, my plan was then to apply EDP to MCW. If accepted, Woo hoo! If rejected, I would finish pre-reqs, retake the MCAT in March 2012 and reapply more broadly (basically most schools in Wisconsin, Chicago, Minnesota, and Ohio).
I am perfectly happy with the way things turned out. My MCAT and post-bacc performance seemed to have balanced my not-so-stellar GPA. Even knowing how much of an impact finishing my pre-reqs would have made, I\'m glad I timed things the way I did. I made sure I had a competitive (if not stellar) application before applying, and made sure I knew what I was getting into if I had to reapply. I know that being a re-applicant is tough, but I wasn\'t scared of it; I knew that if I didn\'t make it this year I would come back with a far stronger application next year.
// Applications //
Application Cycle One: 07/10/2011
Undergraduate college: Kettering University
Undergraduate Area of study: Engineering/Technology
Total MCAT SCORE: 516
MCAT Section Scores:
B/B 129,
C/P 127,
CARS 132
Overall GPA: 3.53
Science GPA: 3.46
Summary of Application Experience
This application cycle was a one-shot deal. Because of my husband\'s work, and the fact that we own a house and my son started school this year, we decided MCW was the only school I would apply to this cycle.
I decided to apply Early Decision (EDP) for the following reasons: 1. We have strong ties to Wisconsin and SE Wisconsin in particular. 2. My stats were within the range of MCW\'s MSAR data. I had med with the Director of Admissions before taking the MCAT and was told that if I managed 10\'s in each section then EDP wouldn\'t be inappropriate. I was never encouraged to apply EDP, though. 3. If you apply EDP you get a decision by October 1. They never (or rarely, depending on who you ask) roll EDP applicants into the normal app pool, so the decision is what it is. This was important because if I didn\'t get in I wanted to know ASAP so we could start planning for the next cycle, from both an application strength standpoint and a logistical one (prepping the house for sale, getting ready for moving the family, etc).
Accepted
Medical College of Wisconsin
Applying for combined PhD/MSTP? No
Submitted: 07/10/2011
Secondary Completed: 07/26/2011
Interview Invite: 09/01/2011
Interview Attended: 09/15/2011
Waitlisted: No
Accepted: 09/23/2011
Rejected: No
Summary of Experience:
7/11 - AMCAS Submitted 7/12 - AMCAS Verified (EDP) 7/19 - MCW Secondary Submitted 7/27 - Letter packet received by MCW, Application Complete 9/2 - Interview Invite 9/16 - Interview 9/23 - Was supposed to hear by email if accepted. No email. Depressing day. 9/24 - Got a big envelope in the mail. Accepted!
8/6/12 - Will start orientation at MCW on my 31st birthday.
