Application Cycle One: 2005

• Undergraduate college: Rutgers University
• Undergraduate Area of study: Biological/Life Sciences

• Total MCAT SCORE: 523
• MCAT Section Scores: B/B 130, C/P 132, CARS 132   Detailed Breakdown
• Overall GPA: 3.38
• Science GPA: 3.64

Summary of Application Experience

I applied way too late in the season because of August MCATs and a busy preprofessional committee. My letters of recommendation were the last thing to arrive at my schools and were completed mid-to-late November. Lack of clinical experience and volunteer/community service, plus mediocre cumulative GPA weakened my application, but was offset by the MCAT.

As far as general advice goes, medical school acceptances seem to be pretty random. You're really looking to get within the top 30th percentile for all of your statistics (not just MCAT and GPA; extracurriculars, motivation, etc are also important), and after that it's pretty much a roll of the dice.

I think my MCAT played a huge role in my admissions cycle - I only started some hospital volunteer work AFTER I had interviewed at UMDNJ - NJMS in December, and I think that this kept me out of most other schools. To this extent, I don't think you need some phenomenal trait to make your application good enough - it's much easier to have many decent qualities without any major deficiencies and be the 'well rounded applicant' all schools talk about. Most successful people I have met are much more like this than the 4.0/45 overachiever.

Finally, the school you go to is not important. Virtually all schools are the same save for some small differences. Try to apply to 10-15 schools (within your competitive range) if you're on the east coast and get your impression of them later when you're at the interview. Medical school will be a lot of work, so just try to find a place that's convenient for you. Wherever you go, their curriculum give you an excellent education and reputation. State schools are way cheaper, so do your best to get into those.