Brief Profile:
Applied to both MD and DO programs. I'm a Biochemistry major with an AMCAS cGPA of 3.69, sGPA of 3.61, and an MCAT score of 30(10PS/8VR/12BS no writing section). I am also a first generation college graduate. I have slightly less than average stats, but a very substantial amount of clinical experiences.
ECs: - Volunteer EMT-B for 3 years( ~1600 hours total) - ED Volunteer at local hospital( ~150 hours) - Worked as an ER Tech during my gap year(~1000 hours) -Teaching assistant for 1.5 years in Organic Chemisty lab and Microbiology - Physician shadowing in EM and FM(~ 80 hours) - Worked as a waiter in a very busy restaurant throughout undergrad - Academic judiciary committee student hearing board member - GBM of Undergraduate Biochemistry Society
Research: -Clinical psychiatry research for 1 year(~400 hours). No publications.
LORs: 1. Physics Professor(Good) 2. Microbiology Professor for TAing (Strong) 3. Organic Chemistry Lab Professor for TAing (Strong) 4. Hospital Volunteer Coordinator(Good) 5. Chief of EMS(Strong) 6. Humanities Professor(Strong) - Lots of writing for this class. Hopefully this can help somewhat overshadow my verbal score.
// Applications //
Application Cycle One: 06/01/2014
Undergraduate college: Large NY Public University
Undergraduate Area of study: Biological/Life Sciences
Total MCAT SCORE: 509
MCAT Section Scores:
B/B 130,
C/P 127,
CARS 124
Overall GPA: 3.70
Science GPA: 3.60
Summary of Application Experience
I will be attending the University at Buffalo School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences! I never imagined that I would actually have the luxury of choosing between medical schools. I want to thank everyone on this forum for all the help I've received over the past year. I don't think I would have done as well this cycle if it wasn't for the sage advice that I have received from countless people on SDN. My advice for people with borderline stats like mine is to give a go at an application cycle, applying as broadly as financially possible as early as possible. A 3.6x/30MCAT combination is definitely not a death sentence for MD. Clearly, there's a bit more to this game than just MCAT scores and GPAs.Best of luck to everyone applying in future cycles!
Applied
Albany Medical College
Applying for combined PhD/MSTP? No
Submitted: 06/02/2014
Secondary Completed: No
Interview Invite: No
Interview Attended: No
Waitlisted: No
Accepted: No
Rejected: No
Summary of Experience:
Withdrew pre-secondary. Their secondary was very strange, and I didn't feel like I had anything notable to write.
Summary of Experience:
Pre-secondary rejection. Was expecting this though as this school has a very strong IS bias. I'm glad they screen primaries. Saved me spending the money on the secondary.
Summary of Experience:
This school was surprisingly nice. It really didn't seem like a public school at all. The faculty and students were all very nice and helpful. What's really nice about this school is that you have the choice of doing you 3rd year clerkships at either the Binghampton or Syracuse campus. MMI seems to be my Achilles heel though. Did not think it went too well, but will hopefully find out a decision sometime in December.
As I suspected, the interview definitely killed me here. Got the rejection email on 12/19/2014.
Summary of Experience:
-Update letter sent post-interview on 12/22/2014- The facilities here seemed a little bit dated. Definitely not as nice as some of the other schools I saw. However, the faculty and students hare were all super friendly and really made the interview day as comfortable as possible. Being located in the Brooklyn are also means that this school has some amazing clinical opportunities.
I'm sad to be waitlisted, but I will continue to send updates and LOIs in the coming months. I hear there is quite a bit of wait list movement here.
Summary of Experience:
Everyone at the admissions office was very warm and friendly(especially Mr. Rosso). The facilities at the schools were a little dated, but they are going to open up a brand new schools in 2017 in downtown buffalo. They did however have an amazing state-of-the-art simulation center. All the students seemed very happy to be there, and had great things to say about all the opportunities that the school offers. Both of my interviewers were very friendly and the interviews were very conversational. Students here get very early clinical exposure, which is a huge plus! The research at this school also seems very strong given their relatively substantial federal funding and close relationship with Roswell Park Cancer Institute. I would love to attend this school!
I'm sad to be wait listed. Unfortunately, this school does not consider updates or LOIs when pulling from the waitlist. I will most likely send one anyway(can't hurt). The dean said that the recently decreased the size of the wait list though, so maybe that will help my chances of getting in.
12/23/2014- Update/LOI sent in
6/4/2015 - ACCEPTED! Will be attending unless I receive word from Downstate!
Summary of Experience:
The school was very nice. All the facilities were very state-of-the-art. However, I just didn't feel the fit here on my interview day. All the faculty and students seemed very unenthusiastic about the college. Also, the MMI interviewers were very rude and unfriendly.
6/2/2015 - Declined this offer of acceptance. This just wasn't the school for me. I never thought I would ever have the opportunity to choose between schools! Goes to show you how random this process is.
Summary of Experience:
Accepted! I can't believe it! I'm going to be a doctor! Drexel has a very beautiful campus located around 10 minutes away from Center City in Philadelphia. I really love the idea of being able to study in a suburban setting, while also having the option to explore the city. The faculty and students were all very nice. Everyone really seemed very enthusiastic about the school's curriculum and community outreach opportunities. What's really nice about this school is that they have two curricula to choose from: a lecture-based option(IFM), and a problem-based option(PIL). Both the faculty and student interviews were very relaxed. My student interview was actually over lunch in the cafeteria. This was definitely one of my favorite schools that I attended for an interview, and I'm so thankful to have the opportunity to attend. Will most likely matriculate here unless I get into a SUNY school.
6/12/15 - Gave up my spot today. It was a very difficult decision given how much I loved the school, but it's definitely not worth an extra $80K in student loan debt.
AromaticOreo took the old MCAT and scored a 30 which is in the 79th percentile of all old scores.
We converted this to a 509 on the updated scale which is in the 80th percentile of the updated MCAT. We also converted AromaticOreo’s section scores as follows:
AromaticOreo scored a 12 on the Biological Science section of the old MCAT which is approximately equal to a 130 on the Biological and Biochemical Foundations of Living Systems.
AromaticOreo scored a 10 on the Physical Science section of the old MCAT which is approximately equal to a 127 on the Chemical and Physical Foundations of Biological Systems.
AromaticOreo scored a 8 on the Verbal Reasoning section of the old MCAT which is approximately equal to a 124 on the Critical Analysis and Reasoning Skills.