<p>Hi, I think I'll apply to 2 out of the 3, and I was hoping to see what my chances would be.<br>
Thanks for the help!</p>
<p>** Background Info ** [ul]
[<em>] State: Iowa
[</em>] Gender: male
[<em>] Ethnicity: Asian
[</em>] School: private [/ul]</p>
<p>** Academics ** [ul]
[<em>] GPA: 4.07 W, 3.98 UW (taken most rigorous schedule possible, 1 B+ 9th grade)
[</em>] AP's: Euro (4), Chem, Calculus BC, Language & Composition
[<em>] ACT: 33 (35E, 33R, 32M, 31S, 10W -- will retake)
[</em>] SAT II's: Math II (800), Chem (690 -- will retake)
[/ul]</p>
<p>** Extra-Curriculars ** [ul]
[<em>] Forensics: compete in individual event (HI) and duet event (DA); 1x state champ in HI; 1x state runner-up in HI; 3x district champ in HI; 3x conference champ in HI; 1x state runner-up in DA; 2x state bronze in DA; 3x district champ in DA; 24 reg. season medals
[</em>] Academic Decathlon: 1x state champ in Hard Sciences, Honors (math & econ), 1x regionals champ in math, 1x regionals runner-up in econ; led team's scoring in math; 1x bronze medal in conference quiz bowl
[<em>] Math Club: 3x UNL Math Day state champ as team; participant on UNL Math Day state champ quiz bowl team; 1x runner-up at NW Missouri State competition, 5th place at NW Missouri State Competition
[</em>] Golf: varsity letter; JV MVP; JVP Most Improved; JV Best Sportsmanship
[li] Tennis: varsity letter [/ul]</p>[/li]
<p>** Research ** [ul]
[li] Summer 2011 at Creighton University School of Medicine Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology [list][/li][li] Research prion diseases; 7 hours a day [/ul] [/list]</p>[/li]
<p>** Volunteering ** [ul]
[<em>] Teen Volunteer at local hospital
[</em>] National Honor Society
[<em>] Cross-Age
[</em>] other minor things [/ul]</p>
<p>Thanks. Do I have to take the SAT if I send in the ACT? I took it twice and have a superscore of 2240 (critical reading sucks…) so I don’t think I’ll send it in. I hope schools don’t look down on me only sending in ACT.</p>
<p>And I saw my dad perform surgery once, but I don’t have time to shadow because I work at the lab all day. Will this also be a killer for my chances?</p>
<p>Contact each school (or dig into their med school web sites) to find out if ACT is acceptable. And their cut-off score on the admitted class. (both SAT and ACT) </p>
<p>If your dad is a doctor, you sure can shadow him (even at weekend or holiday) and put it on your resume. Or you can shadow other doc in the hospitals/clinics. Remember - don’t let your ECs disturb your normal school work. Get as high GPA as you can.</p>
<p>Again, physics SAT II score is important too. Also, it seems to me you don’t have many AP classes taken. I would suggest upon your graduation, take at least 8 AP classes and all get score 5, below that it will lower your chance.</p>
<p>^ I disagree about SAT II physics. Out of the 3 programs, only HPME has specific subject test requirements, and they want Math II and Chem. </p>
<p>Also, I doubt any school has specific test score cutoffs (that would be a huge turn-off) but a Brown admissions officer did ackowledge that it’s easier to do better on the ACT than SAT. Brown averages 34-35 on ACT, and that’s not even PLME.</p>
<p>My school restricts the amount of AP’s you can take per year. I’ve taken the most possible… and I’m awaiting my scores from this year. The max is: 1 in 10th grade, 3 in 11th grade, 4 in 12th. And would they look down on me shadowing my own dad? Or is it fine?</p>
<p>Problem is if other applicants send in SAT II physics, and has very high mark on it, if i am the admission officer, i love to see it. Remember, MCAT test has a portion about physics, even some schools don’t require you to take MCAT after admitted to their BS/MD program. For regular route med school admission - biology, calculus, physics and chem, orgo are the core-science courses u have to take in pre-med. Therefore, if you can demonstrate you have good AP score on those subjects, you are a strong candidate. </p>
<p>Many BS/MD programs do post their cut-off SAT score on the website, u just need to dig them out.</p>
<p>BTW, for HPME program, the interview plays very important role, consider when you go to any company for an interview, people their must love to have you on board. If you are an above average handsome/beautiful, trust-worthy, and elegant young guy/girl, you have a better chance to get in. Just my two cents…</p>
<p>Cool. Thanks. I’ll try to shadow him. And I think that an interview would be one of my greatest strengths. Thanks to speech and stuff - maybe it’s innate, I don’t know - I am good with communication. I like interviews… so hopefully I can get at least one!</p>
<p>I think what we mean is that Physics is no more necessary than any other SAT II. You seem to really emphasize Physics SAT II as one of the most important tests. You say you’d like to see if an applicant does well on physics, but really it’s not more impressive than any other subject test.</p>
<p>I will be entering BU’s program this fall. Admission to the program is also very competitive, so I would suggest getting those ACT and SAT II Chem scores up. But your extracurriculars look quite good - the interview is crucial, so make sure you can demonstrate a sincere interest in medicine.</p>
<p>^thanks. Also, I saw that they recommend an SAT II in a foreign language. However, foreign language at my school is kind of a joke, so I would be horrible with that test. Will that be a killer for admission?</p>
<p>BU is easier than all those three programs.</p>
<p>Two years ago, I went through the process (admitted at all) - no sat ii physics is necessary. I just sent chem and physics. no foreign lang is required either. i got above 750 on sat spanish, but didn’t send it. like big fire said, interview is crucial (no interview for plme). you have to win the admission officials over with your likeability, not your ec’s. be endearing.</p>
<p>your chances are good, they could be better, but that’s no problem - write well so you get an interview, and speak well so you get in. good luck.</p>
congrats on all of your achievement you seem to be pretty well-rounded!</p>