<p>I have a question regarding the list of schools for my D to apply to next cycle. Of course she will apply to a variety of schools (stat wise) but does not want to throw money away on any school that may be out of reach as far as GPA goes. She is a URM, so what is a reasonable allowance for that factor? One tenth, two.... etc.? She attends a top LAC if that has any bearing on it as well. Thanks.</p>
<p>What kind of URM is she if you don’t mind me asking?</p>
<p>She is bi-racial, AA/white.</p>
<p>I don’t believe in being PC so I’m going to be candid:</p>
<p>Being a URM helps…a lot. Med schools love URM’s, especially blacks because they, on average, score a few pts lower on the MCAT than Hispanics which on average score a few points lower than whites/asians. In my graduating class, there was an astonishingly low number of African Americans. This was very distressing to the medical school and the very next year there was more than SIX TIMES as many African Americans.</p>
<p>What does this mean for your daughter? Well, she has the upper hand obviously. It’s hard to quantify exactly how many GPA points being a URM is worth. During my application year, there were a couple of AA girls on SDN with decent but not overwhelming stats (I think in the range of 3.5/37 and 3.1/33) and they both got into multiple Top 20 medical schools. The girl with 3.5/37 got into the likes of Hopkins, Harvard, etc. My best friend in college was half Cuban/half white. Cubans are pretty much on the bottom of the URM totem pole (in fact, some say they’re not even a URM). She got interviews for Harvard Medical School and Penn Med with a 3.9/30. </p>
<p>So, my opinion is that if she has a great MCAT OR grades, she can be mundane in the other area and still get into the best medical schools. Therefore, I personally think being an African American adds at least 0.2 on the GPA and 4-5 points on your MCAT. This is assuming the rest of her application is at least average (she has research, volunteering, clinical experience, a few other EC’s). This is just only my opinion and there’s no way to substantiate it.</p>
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<p>Thank you for that, I am not PC either. I am guessing a 3.6c at application time, 400 hours research, varsity sport and okay clinical and volunteering. Of course no idea on MCAT, although students from her school seem to do well. Thanks for your input.</p>
<p>If she has a 3.6 (and her science GPA is close to that) and she can score in the 32-33 range on the MCAT, she should be applying to at least some Top 20 medical schools.</p>
<p>I had a student p.m. me with a similar (but different) question. I suggested he look at mdapplicants.com and put his expected GPA (a 3.3) as the upper-end, check “applying URM , African-American, no MCAT score”, and to check for acceptances. I then did it myself and came up with 43.</p>
<p>I agree whole-heartedly with ncg’s post #4 (I’d say 6-8 LizzyM score points for AA with AA males being at the upper-end) but I think I’d be even more optimistic than his post #6. I’d take a couple or 3 (or let’s be real, I’d take 5 ;)) very well-aimed shots with a 3.6 and a 29 or higher. 3.6, varsity sport, AA? Take a prep course. Do the work. Put in the time. </p>
<p>She’ll have a shot.</p>
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<p>She has decided to do Kaplan on-line. I think they give you access for 5 months.</p>
<p>We have a few ex (and maybe current) Kaplan instructors right here in our little internet town. 
They’ll know better than I but I believe they’ll tell you 5 months is maybe twice as long as she’ll need if she is hitting it hard.</p>
<p>I’m a big believer in Practice Tests (and an even bigger believer in using the AAMC retired tests) under “as close as possible” to test conditions.</p>
<p>After the practice tests be sure to review every question and determine why you got it right or why you got it wrong. </p>
<p>I also believe in checking out the test facility before-hand to note any quirks or weirdness (loud air-conditioner, funky chairs, …anything that distracts).</p>
<p>But again, the Kaplan pro’s here are better “strategizers” than I would ever be.</p>
<p>LOL, I meant she had access to it for 5 months, not that she would study for it for that long! :)</p>
<p>duh. Forgive me. I ain’t the sharpest tool in the shed.</p>
<p>Hell, I don’t even have a shed! I’m just hoping at some point that she will access the Kaplan course. SAT, not a minute of study time, ACT, 1 week .For the MCAT I’m hoping for at least a couple of weeks out of the 5 months!</p>
<p>^ She better give it some time…;)</p>
<p>GA2012Mom</p>
<p>Still planning your trip this way?</p>
<p>Yes, I’ll be back in a couple of weeks, not sure of the time frame. Can’t wait, I hear the weather is great there this time of year! ;:)</p>
<p>^One week of study for ACT is perfect. That is exactly what my D. did. 1hour/day for 5 days. She took it once, got what she needed. MCAT was completely different story, few hours/day for several months. Pre-meds around her did the same. They all had very low scores on first practice MCAT test.</p>
<p>With a 3.6 and a 30+ on the MCAT your daughter will get into medical school. I’d apply to a mix of top 10 and 20 and state schools with that combo and expect multiple acceptances.</p>
<p>With a 3.6 and a 30+ on the MCAT your daughter could get into MOST medical schools, but not all. Some schools, like Duke (where I went), Hopkins, UCSF really want a 3.8 and 35+. A competitive AA candidate will garner extra attention and will have an advantage in “tie breakers”; but simply: the stronger the grades the better the chance…</p>
<p>GA2012MOM</p>
<p>Tried to reply to your PM but your mailbox ix full. :(</p>
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<p>Very, very smart. My daughter did not do that and it certainly did not cross my mind to suggest it. It would have been helpful if she had.</p>
<p>eadad, just cleared it.</p>