Chances of medical school

[schoolboy]

Hi, I would like to know what are my chances of getting into medical school if my MCAT is only a 27Q (8,9,10) and my GPA is a 3.6. I have done research for 2 years, but with no publications. And I also worked at a clinic for a year. Do I have a good chance of getting into a medical school? I’m a 5th year student.

[thymol_blue]

schoolboy:

It’s hard to give an objective answer to your question because the truth is that the med. school line of “it’s not just about the numbers” isn’t just propaganda; they do mean it. So the answer to your question is that it may be possible for you to get in and you also may not get in everywhere that you apply to.

To give yourself a better idea of the competitve landscape, take a look at “Medical School Admissions Requirements” (MSAR), published by AAMC. You can buy it from them for $25. I have the most recent copy and a MCAT of 27 is right on the borderline. That is, of 2002 applicants with an MCAT score of 27, half got rejected and half got accepted. With scores below 27, more get rejected than accepted, and of course with scores above 27 a majority get accepted. The gpa crossover point is around a 3.5. Again, this is for all applicants applying to all of the schools. It can’t tell you, specifically, your chances at the particular schools that you apply to (btw, nobody can). In general though, your paper qualifications are very, very unlikely to make the cut for an interview at the top ten schools as ranked by US News. Your best bet is your state school, unless you live in California, and your second best bets are the lower ranked private schools.

Are you applying in this cycle? Can you take the MCAT again?

[rworkman]

Your MCAT score of 27Q is good, not great, and so is your GPA. As for your chances of getting into medical school….who knows. I don’t mean to be flippant; I only wish to point out that there are many parts of an application beyond just the key quantitative parts. Clearly if you were to apply to medical school, there would be much more that would figure into your candidacy. If you have good to excellent letters of recommendation, insightful and well-written essays, a clear interest in medicine, and an interest in helping others (volunteer work), then your chances of getting into medical school are good. The list of schools to which you apply would also be a critical part of this process. To a point, however, this is speculation and I would need to know much more about who you are and what you’ve done to get a good handle on your chances.

Ron Workman, MD
AdmissionsConsultants
(703) 242-5885

[schoolboy]

rworkman and thymol_blue,
Thank you for taking the time to reply. Unfortunately, I do live in California and I am applying this cycle. I am currently receiving secondaries from schools that automatically send secondaries to everyone; but because of my low scores, I don’t think I would be replying to secondaries from Yale, Harvard, UPenn, etc. So I’m saving myself time and money.
Since I am graduating June 2004, I don’t think I would be taking the MCAT again. Or do you guys think I should take the MCAT and apply again next year? I believe I can do better, but isn’t it good just to be accepted to any medical college?
Thank you again for your time and advice.

[rworkman]

Again, only knowing a few details makes giving you solid, decisive advice virtually impossible without qualifying everything to the point where it’s so watered down that it won’t be very helpful. I don’t know enough about the rest of your application and your list of schools to recommend something as drastic as aborting this application cycle and retaking the MCAT.

Is it good to be accepted to any medical college? Well, it depends upon what your goals are and what is “good” in your eyes. There are bad, good, and great schools….but there is some difference of opinion from one person to the next as to which ones fall in those various categories (of course, there is general agreement about which schools are considered “top tier,” “lower tier,” etc.) Sounds like you may have some soul searching to do about what exact direction you wish to take, and that is normal.

Best regards,

Ron Workman, MD
AdmissionsConsultants
(703) 242-5885

[schoolboy]

Do medical schools give secondaries to everyone? If not, what are my chances of getting an interview based upon my secondaries?
Thank you again.

[rworkman]

Some medical schools give secondaries to all applicants, some don’t. It depends on the school.

As for your chances of getting an interview based on your secondaries, I have no way of knowing your specific chances. I can tell you that your responses to your secondaries are scrutinized quite carefully, so they certainly do influence the process. Whether its a positive or negative influence depends upon what you say.

If you would like more specific assistance with your application process, please do not hesitate to contact us at AdmissionsConsultants.com. Contact information is presented below.

Best regards,

Ron Workman, MD
AdmissionsConsultants
(703) 242-5885

[menkelm]

I graduated from Vanderbilt University in 2001 with a 3.34 GPA. I did not forsee at the time that I would be interested in the field of medicine, so I did not take all the required pre-med science courses. I now live in Las Vegas, so I will be attending UNLV this fall where I will be taking all of the required science courses for medical school. I would greatly appreciate any and all advice you may have in regards to all the steps I should take to get into the best schools. Your comments are greatly appreciated.

[menkelm]

I graduated from Vanderbilt University in 2001 with a 3.34 GPA. I did not forsee at the time that I would be interested in the field of medicine, so I did not take all the required pre-med science courses. I now live in Las Vegas, so I will be attending UNLV this fall where I will be taking all of the required science courses for medical school. I would greatly appreciate any and all advice you may have in regards to all the steps I should take to get into the best schools. Your comments are greatly appreciated.

[menkelm]

I graduated from Vanderbilt University in 2001 with a 3.34 GPA. I did not forsee at the time that I would be interested in the field of medicine, so I did not take all the required pre-med science courses. I now live in Las Vegas, so I will be attending UNLV this fall where I will be taking all of the required science courses for medical school. I would greatly appreciate any and all advice you may have in regards to all the steps I should take to get into the best schools. Your comments are greatly appreciated.

[thymol_blue]

Do well in your post-bacc classes and do well on the MCAT. That sounds like a trite answer but many people tend to forget that admission to med school is primarily an academic qualification. You can be a total tool but if you have great numbers you’ll still get in to a couple of schools, the reverse, however, is not true.

Get involved in some clinical volunteer type stuff; you’ll likely also get grilled on “why medicine, why now?” so think about answering that on your personal statement and on interviews.

[qwy]

Hello,
this might be a little out of the ordinary question on this board, but ANY ADVICE would be greatly appreciated!

So, I’m a high school senior and am 100% sure that I want to go into medicine.
I am now trying to pick between two schools:
Case Western University, where I’ve been accepted eary into the Case Western medical school. (It’s a non-binding 7 year program)

Or

Harvard undergrad.

I’m TOTALLY confused as to which school would be the best for a medical career. PLEASE HELP

[y82benji]

CWRU has a very good medical school, but if you go to Harvard and do very well you may get into a better school. But, if you are serious about being a doctor, then you are going to learn your stuff and perform well at both schools (or almost any other school). One question to ask is if money is going to be an issue by going to one instead of the other. Also ask yourself where you would rather be: Massachusetts or Ohio? Medical schools don’t prepare you to be a doctor, they give you the right tools that you will use to prepare yourself. Go to the place where you’ll be the happiest because that will correlate more directly with your success.

quote:

---

Originally posted by qwy

Hello,
this might be a little out of the ordinary question on this board, but ANY ADVICE would be greatly appreciated!

So, I’m a high school senior and am 100% sure that I want to go into medicine.
I am now trying to pick between two schools:
Case Western University, where I’ve been accepted eary into the Case Western medical school. (It’s a non-binding 7 year program)

Or

Harvard undergrad.

I’m TOTALLY confused as to which school would be the best for a medical career. PLEASE HELP

---

[missb]

I just graduated with a doctor of pharmacy degree from a pretty renowned university in the North East. Right now I got a job and am planning to work for the next year to try to eliminate some of the debt I incurred in student loans. Medicine, however, has always been my first love. I am contemplating applying this year but have not taken the MCATS yet . My grad GPA was about 3.4 and I do have hospital, pharmacy and other clinical experience. What would you say would be the best way to prepare myself for a career in medicine? I haven’t decided definitively to apply this year, but this is my long term goal. Any suggestions??

[reruchan]

Various people, including rworkman, have casually mentioned “lower tier” med schools. However, I haven’t been able to find an actual list, such as of the bottom 50 ranked schools in the U.S. There are some vague mentions of “Caribbean schools” and certain state schools, but I’d like a concrete list of private U.S. med schools that are the easiest to get into. Any help? Thanks.

[Author]

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