<p>Plum - do they exist just for MD/PhD or also MD?</p>
<p>PD = residency program director</p>
<p>I think Plum is not worried about them residency program directors for another 8 years. :p</p>
<p>Edit - knowing how aggressive and prepared she is, may be 6 years…</p>
<p>
I guess I haven’t found the “right” threads to go to. Seems like all I find is a bunch of kids who wring their hands and start topics like, “Do I have enough ECs?”, or “should I drink some alcohol before an interview to calm my nerves?”</p>
<p>ps: thanks for telling me what a PD is. I didn’t have a clue.</p>
<p>lol limabeans…that should be in a parent thread…should i drink alcohol during the application/interview process my kid is going through?"</p>
<p>^^ And the answer to that is a resounding “yes” because imbibing adult beverages is the only way to get thru the process without going completely bonkers.</p>
<p>MSTP interviews always had alcohol consumption at some point during the 2-3 days. Every school usually had one horror story about a potential applicant (who obviously was not subsequently accepted). You all can probably guess how the story typically went.</p>
<p>While I guess you could use PD to describe an MSTP Director, somemom is right that it’s more common to see it used for Residency Program Director. The “Director” of an MD program is the Dean of the Medical School. MSTPs are usually part of the institution’s graduate school but since they’re obviously not the whole graduate school the Director of the MD/PhD program would be subordinate to the Dean of the Graduate School. The Residency Program Directors I assume answer to the Chair of their respective departments in the hospital.</p>
<p>
Sounds very similar to the first day of the Bachelor/Bachelorette shows. At least one contest boozes himself/herself out of the contest, each season. :D</p>
<p>So, D1 wants to go to med school. She is in her third year at an R1 flagship out west, bio major graduating a year early due to AP classes. She’s finished all her med school pre-reqs Her cumulative gpa is 3.3 with some 4.0 grades in med school pre-reqs physics and bio but 2.8-3 in O-chem. She has very little in the way of extra curric activities but has volunteered at the hospital and is now shadowing a surgeon. Has some work experience but has not been able to get a research job. Will be taking a gap year to work, earn money and complete application process. </p>
<p>Final point - she took the MCAT in August and got a 41. What’s the best way to find out where she should apply to med school? She doesn’t want or need Harvard or Stanford, just a good school. Advice from experienced parents/applicants (like wayoutwestmom) are wanted.</p>
<p>What is your native State? What are considered your state med schools?</p>
<p>
That’s a heck of an MCAT score, no doubt. There is a measure called LizzyM score that some people use to select schools. Your daughter’s LizzyM is 74 (41 + (3.3 X 10)). That is good enough for even some top 10 schools. However, many top schools may not bite a 3.3 GPA even for a 41 MCAT. Her lack of ECs only complicates matter further. Ask your daughter to calculate her BCPM GPA. That might help clarify things further.</p>
<p>She should first start building a decent set of ECs and also start scouting folks that can write her some good letters of reference. My thinking is that she should assume that her LizzyM is ~68 and select schools accordingly. Applying to all the schools in your state and allying broadly beyond that (~30 schools, in all) may enhance here chances. Also, she should leverage her schools pre-health, if there is one. Beyond giving her advice, if there is a committee process, it might enhance her application further, provided she can snag a good recommendation from them. Her MCAT score definitely gives her a chance and if she plays her cards well, she should be able to get in somewhere. Good luck!</p>
<p>First of all, rest assured there are no bad schools in the US. They all teach the same curriculum. The students all take the same national standardized licensing exams and have very similiar pass rates. All grads have earned the right be called “Doctor”.</p>
<p>Your state med school is everyone’s best chance to get an acceptance. (Unless, of course, you live in CA.) </p>
<p>What is your state of residency? What is your D’s state of residency? (As an independent, self-supporting college grad, she may be able to claim either. It may be to her advantage to claim one over the other.)</p>
<p>The MCAT score is great, but it won’t necessarily make up for the low GPA. (I have a high MCAT, low GPA kidlet who is now MS3 and doing great, but her app was cycle fraught with lots of rejections and anxiety.)</p>
<p>Your D will have to apply broadly and thoughtfully. Probably to a number of mid-ranked privates all over the US. (D1 only applied to 12 schools. Don’t do that! 20-30 is a more reasonable number.)</p>
<p>(Unfortunately the western US does not have a whole lot of OOS friendly or private med schools.)</p>
<p>What’s her sGPA (GPA that includes only biology, chemistry, physics and math classes)?</p>
<p>As a science major, her sGPA is pretty well “cooked”–as in it will take lots and lots of coursework to make it move signficantly. </p>
<p>Does she have a “story” as to why her GPA is low? (D1 did–and I think it helped…) You don’t need to say what it is here. In fact I would strongly urge you NOT to share it on a public forum.</p>
<p>Does she have anything unique about her app that would make her attractive to adcomms? Fully bilingual (esp in Spanish)? Lots of volunteer work with the medically underserved? High level clinical experience? (Something beyond your typical volunteering–esp. if it’s hands-on procedural.)</p>
<p>Does she have any other dings on her record? Ws? Retaken courses? Lots of P/F or S/U grading?</p>
<p>Do her grades show an upward trend? Downward? Pretty consistent?</p>
<p>I would strongly suggest she talk with the admission office of the nearest state med school (if possible get an appt w/ the Dean or Asst Dean of Admissions) and find out what kinds things the school values. For example, D1 found out her school strongly valued community service and a commitment to return and practice in the state. So she made sure she had lots and lots of community service ECs. Additionally she made sure she was able to strongly and honestly articulate how she wants to live and practice here on her secondaries and in her interviews.</p>
<p>I’ll try to answer kal123 and wayoutwest’s questions. </p>
<p>We’re both in Oregon - one of the many states in the west with only one med school per state - or zero. It’s probably about the same as being in California and it’s very hard to get in even as a resident - Washington, Idaho, Montana etc are all under-schooled.</p>
<p>And from what I’ve heard (from docs on the faculty) is that she doesn’t have much chance there - they are looking for family practice (D1 wants to be a surgeon) and for people with low-income clinic backgrounds etc. She is not URM. </p>
<p>One of the reasons why her gpa is low is that she has only had two years at university, and since her distribution requirements (history, english etc) were done by AP and IB credits, her gpa consists mainly of med-school pre-reqs and University graduation requirements. One more year -this year- won’t bring it up too much although she’s through with the heavy sciences and is into genetics and physiology which are easier. Yes, her gpa is cooked. No W or P/F classes. Not sure what the sGPA is but I’ll check. It’s funny that her grades are lower than MCAT but she has a phenominal photographic memory, huge capacity for knowledge storage and retrieval and strong reading comphrehension - all of which lead her to immediate correlations, which is what the MCAT tests for. And which would make her an excellent doctor. Her SAT was 2370 and standardized tests are easy for her. </p>
<p>EC just don’t appeal to her. She has great friends, does activities but at these big schools there’s not much to do to show leadership. It’s not like she’s at Whitman or Pomona - these kids are just cogs or numbers at the big schools. Joining an EC now just to pump up the resume doesn’t make much sense. Same with undergrad advising - she hasn’t found it very helpful. </p>
<p>Good point about underestimating the LizzyM score - I’ll check that out - and she doesn’t really want/need top-20 so that isn’t an issue. She does know that she needs to apply to 25+ schools. </p>
<p>She is going to try to use her Spanish as a volunteer at a clinic but that won’t be until after graduation in May and probably too late to be in the application, unless she wiffs the first year and tries again the second year. </p>
<p>Thanks for the feedback.</p>
<p>Oh, and the big question - how does she develop her list and is there a link to the LizzyM score with list?</p>
<p>2014 MCAT registration (for the first half at least) is now OPEN! Grab your slot now as they can fill up quickly in desired areas and desired time slots (like Saturdays and 1pm slots).</p>
<p>^^ Now it is down again. AMCAS has technical issues (surprise!) and it is closed for the day to work on it.</p>
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</p>
<p>Here you go: pmhs.berkeley.edu/documents/School<em>Selector</em>2010-2011.xls</p>
<p>I have been following this thread, just popping in to tell everyone that I am here. My D is a junior pre med student. She is a Spanish major, psychology and public health minors, at Tulane. She is planning on taking a glide year, though may change her mind. </p>
<p>I think she is planning on taking the MCAT next May or June, so that she can get a sense of it and have time to retake it if she doesn’t do as well as she wants to.</p>
<p>I do wonder, how much money do people/families budget for MCAT and application fees? D has been telling me that she knows she needs to apply to 20-30 schools, but where does that money come from to pay for that?</p>
<p>I think many people spend $5000+ for MCAT & applications and interview travel</p>
<p>“though may change her mind.”</p>
<p>I don’t think you get to change your mind if you are planning on it and are in junior year. It is not a good idea to try to apply to med schools in a hurry and expect to reapply during glide year.</p>