Chance for lower-tier BS/MD's?

Pre-Med & Medical School Multiple Degree Programs
1

<p>Hey everyone, I'm a rising senior, and I'd really appreciate it if you could take a few minutes to read the following and gauge my chances of getting into lower-tier BS/MD's (UKMC for example).</p>

<p>I attend a rigorous high school that doesn't rank.</p>

<p>GPA: 3.64 (UW) 4.26 (W)
SAT I: 2160 (800M, 680CR, 680W, first time)
SAT II: 800 Math II, 790 Chemistry, 750 Biology M
ACT: 34 (35E, 35M, 34R, 33S, 8 essay, also first time)
AP's by time of application: AP Chemistry (5), AP Computer Science (5), AP Biology (5), AP Calculus BC (5 with a 5 AB subscore), AP US History (4)
Senior Course Load:
AP Statistics
AP Physics
AP Microeconomics
AP Government
AP Environmental Science
AP Art History</p>

<p>I've taken the most rigorous course load my school has to offer.</p>

<p>Race: Asian (male)</p>

<p>National Awards: Based on prior cutoff scores, my junior PSAT should qualify for NMSF. I got 10th place in an international math competition in 10th grade (Log1 contest). I've been to the Mu Alpha Theta National Convention twice, and I received an award in the Polynomials and Rational Functions test the most recent time. </p>

<p>Extra Curriculars:</p>

<p>I volunteered at a hospital the summers after 8th and 9th grade (roughly 250 hours total).</p>

<p>I did research the summer after 10th grade (roughly 300 hours) and managed to get an abstract published in the journal of nuclear medicine (first author). This project was recently presented at the 2012 Society of Nuclear Medicine Annual Meeting in Miami. I'm currently working on publishing this project in the journal of nuclear medicine as a full publication, not just an abstract.</p>

<p>I also have around 200 hours of physician shadowing (summer after 10th grade as well).</p>

<p>I'm currently doing cancer research (roughly 300 hours expected this summer as well) and will hopefully have another publication out by the time I apply.</p>

<p>I've been playing competitive chess for five years and have numerous 1st/2nd place trophies from statewide competitions. Most notably, I'm a one of the four members of the team that was won the State Team Chess Championship (K-12) three years in a row. I'm ranked within the top 10 high school chess players in the state (1322 USCF rating).</p>

<p>I've been on the math team since 7th grade and have numerous awards to show for it. </p>

<p>I'm a member of NHS, Mu Alpha Theta, and Key Club.</p>

<p>Huge thanks to everyone for reading, and your opinions are welcome!</p>

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<p>Wow, you definitely have an impressive app! Many BA/MD programs, however, do put a significant amount of attention into SAT and GPA, while they may not regard math/science awards as much as ivy league schools or top tier schools. You might consider retaking the SAT.</p>

<p>Your medical experience is definitely really strong (200 hrs of shadowing is a LOT), as is the rest of your app.</p>

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<p>How did you get published in the journal of nuclear medicine and yet only have a 3.64 gpa?</p>

<p>And you spent 500 hours last summer just researching and shadowing?
That’s either amazing, or just a flat out lie</p>

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<p>As for the low GPA, my high school is very rigorous. Getting a 3.64 is actually pretty difficult.</p>

<p>dineroman13, what do I stand to gain by lying on CC? I got 500 hours of work in last summer by working 10 hour days (research was done independently, for the most part, so I could work even when my mentor wasn’t there, thus allowing for longer hours) and working weekends. I should’ve mentioned that I not only worked during the summer, but also a few weekends before and after summer. </p>

<p>Thanks for the input, guys!</p>

<p>I do have a question, though. My school doesn’t rank so colleges won’t really know where I stand compared to my peers, and with my low GPA, they might think I slacked off during high school. Any advice on this?</p>

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<p>Pulling up your SAT to maybe 2250+ would really help balance out that GPA. Progs are very stat focused, and your current GPA/SAT combo might deny you a chance at admission regardless of ECs. If your school has percentile rank, that could help a lot, or maybe they publish their GPA range percentiles in their school report. A 3.64 appears very low at first glance, many applicants will have 3.8-3.9 or better. Getting some sort of ranking would really help, but either way you should aim for a much higher SAT score.</p>

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<p>Thanks for the advice, neo. As for the 2250+ SAT, if I’m not mistaken, doesn’t a 34 ACT roughly convert to that score? Do these BS/MD programs put more weight on the SAT than the ACT? And I just emailed the college counselor at my school, asking about the percentile rank and GPA range percentiles. Hopefully my school has one of those.</p>

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<p>Sorry, I missed the ACT score. Even if there is an SAT preference, a 34 should be more than fine according to the concordance tables, it wouldn’t really be worth retaking unless targeting the very top programs.</p>

<p>Your school report may be published on your HS website or by the Board of Ed. Mine had a chart and it said what percentile each GPA range was for the graduating class. Our grade inflation meant that 15% or so had over a 4.0 in the top category, but it’s still better than nothing if you don’t have any sort of ranking.</p>

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<p>Thanks for the advice, neo. Is it unheard of for someone with a ~3.6 GPA UW to get into combined BS(BA)/MD programs?</p>

<p>Can I get a few more opinions on this?</p>

<p>Thanks!</p>

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<p>Yes the test scores are important but I would have to agree that GPA and rank are critical. Many students applying to these programs have great test scores but their school gpa shows their long term commitment and accomplishments relative to peers in the same environment -it tells admissions counselors a lot! Your ACT is good enough but I would recommend getting some sort of letter from your counselor indicating where you fall percentile wise in your graduating class even if they do not regularly rank. Tell counselor that it is critical for the program that you are applying and I am sure they will help out. A high rank and high gpa is worth more than a high ACT or SAT score.</p>

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<p>Though your school doesn’t send out rank, they are required to send a school report. On this school report will be a distribution of grades. It will be very easy for colleges to know where you fall within your school. As a guide for you, I would recommend asking your counselor to estimate your rank for you. But be assured that colleges will know your rank, and you don’t need any additional letters, etc. regarding rank.</p>

<p>As far as SAT/ACT, your ACT is fine and there’s no reason to retake the SAT. BS/MD programs, and colleges in general for that matter, don’t prefer one over the other and will usually only consider your highest score, even if they do not allow score choice.</p>

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<p>I would just like to clarify that for the BS/MD programs some schools do require the SAT and that ACT alone is not sufficient. My D did not take SAT and was told by a few schools she could not apply if she only has ACT scores.</p>

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<p>^Which schools?</p>

<p>I know many require SAT subject scores, but have never heard of a BS/MD program not taking an ACT instead of the SAT I. You are correct that you can’t apply with ONLY ACT scores, because subject test scores are necessary, but that is not the issue here. OP has subject tests with great scores.</p>

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<p>Your ACT will get you there on its own. Trust me. They want kids like you. They know you’re a high achiever. I got in with similar stats last year. </p>

<p>Don’t worry about your GPA. They will look at the weighted. </p>

<p>The only reason they wouldn’t accept you is because you might be too good. My friend had a 35 and was valedictorian. This person did research at an IVY. She got into many BS/MDs, but she chose Penn State (one of the hardest to get into). My theory as to why she got rejected is because they felt she wouldn’t go there anyway, so they didn’t want to waste an acceptance. </p>

<p>You’ll be fine. And that ■■■■■ who called you a liar is a fool lol. </p>

<p>Good luck! Aim higher than UMKC. You have what it takes.</p>

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<p>@alwaysleah you are probably right about ACT alone is not enough. My D didn’t take any SAT so I may be confusing it - she is not in the country for me to ask her right now but \i thought GWU was one of them. Best thing to do is just call the schools and ask. OP’s ACT score is also very good as are the SAT subjects.</p>

<p>I encourage people to call the admin offices with specific questions as we found all of them to be very helpful with information.</p>

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<p>Weighted GPA is ignored by nearly every college because weighting is so variable between schools. It only matters as far as its effect on your class rank. Unweighted GPA is the more important one otherwise.</p>

<p>I don’t think it’s possible to be too qualified. Even the lower tier programs are very competititve. Having a 35, research and being valedictorian doesn’t make you too good for a program. I know applicants with similar stats and great ECs who are rejected from many programs.</p>

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<p>“As for the low GPA, my high school is very rigorous. Getting a 3.64 is actually pretty difficult.”</p>

<p>-Well, if you are ranked #1 in your class, then 3.64 is NO problem. If you are ranked top 2%, I would still say that 3.64 is not a problem. Anything below might be a problem. Consider that even for those who are #1, getting into ANY combined program is relatively close to winning a lottery, even for many who are coming from well known private prep. HSs. D. was accepted to half of the programs that she has applied after graduating #1 from private prep. HS She has applied to wide range that included several state publics (in-state). Not sure what outcome would have been if she applied only to very well known programs. However, getting into Med. Schools regular route is easier than getting into combined programs. So, you might consider that also.
There is no such thing as being overqualified for combined program or when applying to Med. School regular route. There are simply way too many applicants even to the lowest ranked schools.</p>

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<p>My graduating class consists of roughly 70 students, and I’d estimate my ranking to be 7th or 8th. My ranking would be higher, but there are a lot of really bright kids in my school. For example, of the 70 students, roughly 20 took the AMC, and of those 20, 7 qualified for the AIME. Of those 7, two qualified for USAMO. </p>

<p>My school usually sends many grads to top schools, if that helps. </p>

<p>Can anyone suggest a few BS(A)/MD’s that are of a lower caliber or that don’t weigh too much on GPA?</p>

<p>And I’d like to offer a tremendous thanks to everyone that has posted on this thread. It’s been a huge help, guys.</p>

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<p>They all use GPA and rank as a way to cut applicants from their pool. Acceptance rates are so low that they will ignore ECs if the numbers aren’t up to par. In the northeast, easier programs IMO are AMC, UMDNJ, UConn. Even those will be very hard though unless you have a high class rank. If you aren’t in the top 10%, it might kill your application. Some top colleges publish percentiles of their accepted students. They usually want top 5% and 10% is the lowest acceptable for those UGs, and programs will be similar.</p>

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<p>Yes, they all are very selective. Try U of Toledo - it has 2 programs. One used to accept 10 and another 5. I do not think that they favor in-state too much. It might have changed from 5 years ago.
Do not stress too much. Although my D. was in a program, she has applied out “regular route”. Believe me, it is easier to get accepted “regular route” than to get accepted to combined program. She is currently at Med. School that was originally her number one choice ever since HS and that originally rejected her pre-interview from its bs/md despite the fact that she was accepted to college with huge Merit award that was close to full tuition. Do not get discouraged, get high college GPA, decent MCAT, EC’s and apply. As for the Med. School in D’s program, it was also fine, but she did not like location of the school and ended up to be the only one who applied out.
Best wishes! Have great UG experience with lasting memories, it is the most important, happy person will have “happy” result at the end.</p>

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<p>@ilovelost, how am I ■■■■■? I never even said that inthelab was lying. I was merely pointing out the extreme discrepancies between his academic performance and his extracurriculars</p>