School selection

Pre-Med & Medical School Pre-Med Topics
1

<p>My son is a junior at a well regarded private school in the mid-Atlantic area. He is deciding on medical schools to apply to in the 2013/'14 cycle. Over the spring break, he showed my his tentative school list that apparently has the blessing of his Pre-Health advisor. His school's Pre-Health advisory is highly regarded.</p>

<p>The list had close to 20 schools (my memory isn't quite what it used to be :) ), including the 2 UMDNJ schools, 3 schools from Philly and 2/3 schools from NYC. The rest are pretty much top schools excluding CA publics.</p>

<p>To me, on the first look, the list appeared to be a bit top heavy. He claims that, according to his pre-health advisor, he doesn't need any more so called "safety" schools. That prompted me to get a subscription for MSAR Online. Based on my reading, he seems to be competitive as far as his MCAT scores go, but his GPA looks a bit sub-par for the very top schools.</p>

<p>Here are his stats:</p>

<p>GPA : 3.82 ( 3.85 if spring grades turn out as he expects)
sGPA : 3.68 ( 3.70 if spring grades turn out as he expects)
MCAT : 38 (P:14, B:13, V:11)
Major(s) : Computer Science (primary) and Biology
Minor : Linguistics
Research : 2 years of research in computer aided surgery that resulted in a 1st author
published paper that he presented at a conference.
NSF Research Experience for Undergraduates in medical robotics,
Research grant from the university to continue his research.
Two semesters of gene sequencing work at his biology dept.
Volunteering : 3 years at Health Leads outreach at the University Hospital
Shadowing : 60+ hours (ER, ENT, Opthalmology )
Other (EC) : Founded a tech startup that built a system relevant to Health
Leads. They are invited to TEDMED 2013 in DC to present it.<br>
Resident of : New Jersey</p>

<p>I noticed that there are some very knowledgeable parents that post here and hence decided to seek their wisdom.</p>

<p>Any thoughts?</p>

2

<p>the GPA is fine. If the advisor thinks the list is good then it probably is.</p>

3

<p>I don’t post much on topics like this one as there are many more people who know the “ins and outs” of applying and being accepted to medical school. However, on paper as presented, it looks as if your son has a terrific profile for medical school and looks to be an ideal candidate. I found that during my application cycle and with my acceptance (I am an MS1 this year) that each individual school has a “culture” that fits the students they choose to admit. Every school selects students that best fit what the school observes will make each class a cohesive “team.” I think-at least in my case-the key to acceptance was based not only on my stats, but also on the recommendations that were written as testimony to my abilities and personality. I found that during my interviews the interviewees constantly came back to phrases used in my recommendations as markers for questions they asked. I spent a lot of time on my PS—I could not believe that when I finally finished I had written 34 revisions. I think this helped me, too, because discussion focused on my reasons for wanting to become a doctor. I was accepted early to my first choice (interviewed September, 2011-accepted October, 2011) and I cannot stress to candidates having all of your materials ready to roll out by the end of June-beginning of early July. Some schools were great at keeping me posted— other schools it was difficult to get any response. In the end, I would have to say I have had a very happy experience at my school-we have a great class that has bonded together–and I can see that my fellow classmates are cut from the same mold–we fit at our school and it’s a great feeling. Best of luck with all of your son’s applications-he has worked very hard and I am sure he will find a place that fits. As things heat up-try to take a deep breath and not get too crazy–there is a place out there where he will fit the culture and thrive.</p>

4

<p>Aberdeen,</p>

<p>Thanks. I e-mailed your post to my son verbatim.</p>

5

<p>You may find this thread useful; I post my suggestions in #3.
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/pre-med-topics/1474908-how-make-med-school-app-list.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/pre-med-topics/1474908-how-make-med-school-app-list.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;