How are my chances for a good medical school?

Question

Hey guys, if anyone could give me a realistic assessment i'd appreciate it =D. Im currently an undergrad at UPenn's school of engineering (BE). My gpa is a cumulative 3.30, bcpm gpa same, and I have an mcat of 40. The story behind my gpa is i basically did well later on (3.9) but did pretty poorly in the middle (< 3.0)

As for activities, Im vice president of my fraternity as well as community service chair. This includes my being responsible for organizing our national bone marrow drive on campus every fall. I also tutor in west philadelphia 2x a wk + worked at the hospital for a year. Im part of AMSA and chinese student association (i kno, padding clubs) as well as volunteering at Joe Frazier's boxing gym. In addition ive boxed amateur for a yr there. Spent a yr at the chilrden's hospital, and have 6 summers of research at NIH (since hs) including 1 published paper in JBC and having presented at the annual biophysics conference in Long Beach, CA.

Please let me know what you think!

Answer 1

From what I have heard, the first thing that med schools look at is one&#039;s GPA and MCAT score...They look at these numbers before even glancing at your e.c.&#039;s.

If I were you, I would look at the average GPA of the med school that you&#039;re interested in applying for. From what I have heard, a GPA under a 3.5 usually raises red flags with certain schools. I have a pretty bad feeling that the 3.3 GPA will probably hurt you later on.

You should probably check out the site that I listed as a source to look at the average GPA and MCAT scores for  US med schools.

MY advisor told Me that a great MCAT score will not make up for a mediorcre GPA.

...just be sure to apply early and often.

Answer 2

this is all really good, however your competition which is all the other trying to get accepted as well also have a good record, im sure u will get accepted, not in California though. there is a looooooooong waiting list here i suggest u try another state but this one

Answer 3

that looks good. all that extracurricular stuff could make up for the gpa.

Answer 4

You sound like a great candidate, congratulations!  You should be able to get into almost any med school you&#039;d like :)  

Come to Houston, we have the best medical care here!

Answer 5

i think schools look at &#039;harder majors&#039; and give a pass to a lower GPA.  I majored in Finance.  My GPA was like a 3.14.

But, when I took liberal arts classes, my grades in those classes were like 3.7/4.0.  So, if I had majored in one of the liberal arts (which I should have done I might add), my GPA would have been around 3.3 to 3.7. This would be a huge advantage.  But, i think admissions people cut slack to the &#039;harder majors&#039;.  you have great extracurricular. i think the MCAT is good.  your undergrad school is IvyLeague.

it sounds like you have a good chance.

just remember one thing, no matter what medical school you go to, once you get your degree, you are a Doctor whether or not you finished first or last in your class or went to an Ivy League or a second-tier school.  You&#039;re all the same at that point.

Answer 6

With your MCAT alone, you will have no problem getting into a top rate allopathic school, you mustn&#039;t worry.  40 on the MCAT essentially places you in about the 99th %ile, so any concerns about your GPA will be quickly passed over.

Answer 7

In Mexico we don&#039;t have those things called GPA&#039;s and MCATS, but the fact that you actually got the chance to do real research and have a pretty impressive curricula of extracurricular activities would give you an edge in the US (In Mexico you would easily be accepted in any private university if you can speak spanish well enough and are willing to pay the full career). Heck, you actually worked in a hospital? O_O&#039; Arggh, my university never gives you chances to do real research. No wonder Mexico has so few researchers because students never get exposed to it during the career. ¬¬

I think you have very good chances of entering almost any university of your choice. I&#039;ve heard the U of Philadelphia is very good.

Answer 8

haha, good luck~

i guess medical school is not hard to get in, depends on which one you&#039;re trying to get in? If your family is rich, there&#039;s not a problem at all...