Application Cycle One: 06/10/2012

• Undergraduate college: Public school

• Total MCAT SCORE: 517
• MCAT Section Scores: B/B 130, C/P 129, CARS 127   Detailed Breakdown
• Overall GPA: 3.72
• Science GPA: 3.66

Summary of Application Experience

I had four W's on my transcript, and feel that my numbers were my weakness. During the interview trail, I got comments about my strong LORs and essays and EC accomplishments.

I applied half MD only, half MD/PhD. Because I knew my numbers would hold me back, most of my top-10 schools were MD only.

Looking back, I think that if I had to reapply again, I would not have applied to any MSTPs. I ultimately found out during the interview trail that it's trivial to add the PhD at most schools once you're an MD student. I got MD interviews at better schools than I did MSTP interviews. Overall, I believe that applying MD/PhD held me back. I got 3 MSTP interviews but 8 MD only interviews, and 6 of those MD only interviews were at top-15 schools. Some food for thought for future MSTP applicants. Based on my experience, it really IS easier to get MD-only than MSTP interviews. If having choices at the end of the cycle matter to you, applying MD-only may not be a bad idea if you can add the PhD later and don't care about the MSTP funding.

At the end of the day, I'm more than happy with my results and thrilled to be starting medical school.