Please chance my son for medical school

Pre-Med & Medical School Pre-Med Topics
1

He is asian and applying in the 2019 cycle, hoping to matriculate into med school in 2220. We are CA residence. He plans to apply early and widely, But I would like to know if he is competitive for some of the California med school given his stats below. He has an amazing GPA, but I am worried about the imbalance in his MCAT scores, particularly his CARS score.

UCSB 2019 BS Biological Science - Physiology

GPA- 3.97
SGPA- 3.97

MCAT- 511R
Chemical and Physical Foundations of Biological Systems - 128
Critical Analysis and Reasoning Skills (MCAT CARS) - 125
Biological and Biochemical Foundations of Living Systems - 130
Psychological, Social and Biological Foundations of Behavior - 128

Resumes:

Center for Cardiac Care July 2017 to Present
Medical Scribe/Assistant
• Document cardiac patients’ consultations and follow-ups with stringent detail.
• Developing communication skills crucial to working with patients and medical professionals
• Honing skills such as taking blood pressure and 12-lead EKGs.
• Learning about the pathology, symptomology, and treatment of cardiac diseases.

UCSB Briggs Laboratory April 2017 to Present
Undergraduate Researcher
• Performed meticulous dissections on small tadpoles in order to harvest tissues for study.
• Conducted a project regarding the prevalence of false negatives in disease detection.
• Facilitated and maintained a team environment conducive to success within my project.
• Publishing a manuscript for my research regarding false negatives in disease detection.

Cottage Hospital General Surgery Shadow January 2017 to March 2017
Surgical Shadow
• Witnessed the work of surgeons and learned reasoning behind certain surgical techniques.
• Perceived the holistic timeline of patient care: pre-op to post-op care.
• Expanded my understanding of the life of young physicians, residents.
• Familiarized myself with surgical traditions such as morbidity and mortality conferences.

Honors and Activities
Graduated with Highest Honors and Distinction in the Major June 2018
Undergraduate Research and Creative Activities Grant December 201

Eagle Scout with The Boy Scouts of America March 2012

2

His chances of acceptance are the same as anyone else. He needs to apply…and wait and see.

His stats might get him an interview or more, but really…how will his interviews go?

Getting TO the door is based on stats…getting IN the door is based on other things.

His Eagle Scout award in high school will likely have no impact on his medical school prospects.

3

CA medical schools are among the most competitive and are flooded with qualified candidates, so it’s a good idea to “apply early and broadly”. I’d recommend assembling a list of non-CA schools now, so he can apply early.
Regarding the MCAT-how does he feel about that score? Is it higher/lower than he expected? Why?

Here’s an article on MCAT scores:

https://www.princetonreview.com/med-school-advice/what-is-a-good-mcat-score

4

Anyone who can get a 3.97 from a UC as a premed is pretty darn smart. But the MCAT is kind of low.

Would UC Riverside med school be an option? Although they prefer students from the Inland Empire and there is a commitment to serve the community in the area.

5

Yes, we live in one of the City that is located in County if Riverside and he grew up in this county. UCR is on his list.

6

In that case your son should be a good candidate for UC Riverside Med.

7

California is difficult place for pre-meds.

Per AAMC data, only 16% of CA applicants matriculated into CA med schools (public & private). This means your son’s chances of matriculating into a CA medical school are poor. Most successful CA applicants matriculated into med school outside of California. Your son needs to apply broadly to medical schools across the US to have the best chance for an acceptance.

https://www.aamc.org/download/321466/data/factstablea5.pdf

Another reason he will need to apply broadly is that CA produces a disproportionate number of Asian applicants. CA alone accounts for 30% of all Asian applicants nationally.

https://www.aamc.org/download/321476/data/factstablea10.pdf

----Take UCLA off your son’s list. UCLA has announced new GPA & MCAT minimums for applicants next year–3.5 GPA and 512 MCAT. Your son’s MCAT score is too low to qualify for admission consideration.
—I would also take Stanford, UCR (unless he graduated from an Inland Empire HS) and Loma Linda (unless he’s Adventist) off his list.
----Probably take UCSF and UCSD off too. His MCAT score puts him the bottom 25% of accepted students at both of those schools, which make those schools big long shots.

I suggest that your son purchase access to MSAR to help him define appropriate target schools.

If your son wants to stay close to home, he might consider applying to Touro-CA and AZCOM. Both are DO programs, but require a pretty high MCAT (508 or better) score for admission consideration.

Although your son’s clinical and research experiences seem strong, he’s appears to missing long term non-medical community service and leadership on his CV. Medicine is a service profession and adcomms are looking for evidence of altruism and service to others in applicants. Physicians function as team leaders in a healthcare environment so having leadership skills is critical and are an item adcomms seek in applicants.

As @thumper1 mentioned his high school Eagle Scout award, while commendable, really won’t have him much, if any, impact on his med school application. Med schools are all about what have you done lately.

Medical school admission is very idiosyncratic and not really predictable on a individual level. The only thing your son can do is apply and see what happens. But in the meantime, he should keep working on improving his CV, esp w/r/t to leadership and non-medical community service.

8

Thank you for the feedback and recommendations. He graduated from a Riverside County HS, but it is not geographically located in the inland empire. We have a family member who graduated from Loma Linda dental school and he is not an SDA. I grew up in near Loma Linda and my mother retired from Loma Linda Med Center payroll department, but we are not SDA.

You pretty much mentioned all the schools, except Davis.

thanks again.

9

UCR’s Mission Statement

https://medschool.ucr.edu/about/mission_diversity.html

If our son fits the mission of the school, he should apply.

Has he demonstrated any interest in working with the medically underserved or in a medically underserved area?

Here’s LLSOM mission statement:

Further expectations are included on the linked page below…
https://medicine.llu.edu/about/our-mission

Does he fulfill that mission? If so, then apply.

10

The other thing is that you presented his ECs as resume lines. It doesn’t begin to give an idea how directly he was involved in healthcare delivery. Eg, documenting is taking notes, not ‘caring for…’ It doesn’t convey how he has experienced the needs, practices, and challenges in being a med profesional, working directly with patients. I’m sorry if this sounds harsh, but it sounds a bit distanced, not one-on-one with patients.

11

WRT both mission statements above for UCR and LLUMC, he fits both. He sent me his resume and looks more like he is looking for a job than applying to med school. I like your point in demonstrating how he has provided care to patients in his capacity. i know he did a lot of that type of work for patients after they went through surgery and before surgery when he worked at the hospital.
thank you.

12

Op

I think your son do have a chance in a California med school, if not An US med school. Mcat 511 is not end of the world, if he can elaborate and write well in his personal statement and do well in interviews. Do not be discouraged, he did well in UCSB, a little slip is not going to stop him. A son of my friend has a similar gpa is in USC Keck now, of course he had a better Gpa.

Some times LOR can make and break a deal as well. Make sure he gets an personalized one.

Cc is a place some times very conservative in their opinions, you must take that into consideration.

13

Cannot edit but I meant a better Mcat.

14

@Jonnybruce14 Few suggestions.

  1. Take MCAT once again with preparation and target for 515.
  2. Shadow few doctors with different specialties. It helps to get different perspective and also helps in the application and interview.
  3. Prepare a solid list of schools. Easier said than done. Listen to every view points from CC and SDN but go with your son/family gut feelings. Apply to UCR, UCD, UCI, Linda-Loma and apply to out of state schools and some private and mission oriented schools. Have at least 30+ (painful and expensive). But unfortunately even the adcom of a medical school can not predict the outcome of another medical school admission. Hence left with no choice, except apply broadly.
  4. Is there any leadership activities or community activities done? or hobbies / interests? Include them.
  5. Prepare a solid PS for the application.
  6. Do interviews well.
15

https://career.berkeley.edu/Medical/AppCost estimated the cost of applying to 25 medical schools at $7,520 in 2014. Probably higher now.

16

I think you’re way ahead of the game if you’re looking for a 2220 matriculation :slight_smile:

17

Lol, IWBB!

18

IWBB
I don’t think the life expectancy is 200 years for human being. 2220, lol