Sometimes I feel like medical school is impossible
I am definitely taking a gap year, to get some experience in before medical school, but I’m not sure if I can get in…
Aiming for middle tier!
Stats:
Binghamton University (SUNY school)
Major: Biomedical Engineering
Concentration: Nanoparticles and Drug Delivery, Pre med
Minor: Art History
Cumulative GPA: 3.87
Science GPA: 3.72 (not sure if my BME classes are counted, then it would be higher)
MCAT (taken once): 97% percentile
Extra Circulars:
Outside of school - volunteered in ER 1000+ hours
I also TA for the freshman engineering classes for 3 semesters, I am treasurer for Society for Women Engineers, member of BMES, and a tap dancer
Shadowing: two summers, total 100+ hours
Research: I started research in bio and chem in my first three semesters, and in my last five I worked in a research lab that deals with biosensors and stretchable electronics, currently working on a paper
Internship: did an internship in clinical research as part of the cardiology department, 400 hours total
Andddd to plan my gap year, where ever I need more strength
Honors:
I am part of the Scholars Program, which is the university’s only university honors program
I am graduating with summa cum laude
I was also inducted into two national honors societies for engineering (Alpha Eta Mu Beta and Tau Beta Pi)
If anyone could help me gauge if I could get into a middle tier medical school, it would be appreciated! I realize that nothing is guaranteed, but if I had more people’s opinion, maybe I could better prepare myself?
@Artistofmedicine
The only way to find out is to apply.
I think you look (on paper) like a reasonable candidate. About the only major omission from your CV is community service with the less fortunate/vulnerable populations. Since you are going into a service profession, med school adcomms expect to see a demonstration of your altruism and service to others.
Start volunteering regularly now and continue community service activities through your gap year and until you have a med school acceptance in hand. Consider doing a year of service with Americorp after graduation
Assuming you’re a NYS resident–the good news is the NY has several public med schools and they all favor in-state applicants. Apply to them all (Upstate Downstate, Stonybrook, Buffalo), plus most of the NY privates-- Rochester, Einstein, Albany, NYMC, Hofstra. Maybe NYU. Then add some OOS privates and maybe a few OOS publics that are OOS-friendly to your list. Subscribe to MSAR to see where your stats fit. With a reasonable school list plus some community service during your gap year, I think you’ll get interviews.
P.S. BME classes are not included in your sGPA. See: https://students-residents.aamc.org/applying-medical-school/article/course-classification-guide/
Umm, I am a bit surprised why you are aiming for the mid-tier with all these wonderful attributes? Biomed engineering is like one of the hardest majors and you have amazing stats. Have you already applied somewhere and been rejected, is this why your expectations are so low? What does the pre-med advisor at Bing say about your chances? To me, you look good enough for top tier medical schools.
@babysladkaya probably good that OP’s sights are set on mid tier (although I agree with you that they should apply to any school they want). FWIW, I did pre-interview screening for my medical school and not a single one of the apps I read, including the ones who got my highest scores got accepted post interview.
The stuff that no one posts on here (personal statement, answers to secondaries, how your interviewers evaluate you) is what ultimately determines whether you get in.