Anyone feel like estimating my chances? PLEASE READ, I need your opinion

[braek12]

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Alright, first off no MCAT yet, so there is still a big chunk of my app missing.

Anyway,

Chemical Engineer at a top 10 school with a reputation as the hardest in the state (public)
3.4 overall, probably about 3.3 science
I have a about a year to raise it, and unless my senior design or reactor design class give me a C i can crawl up to 3.5 hopefully
2 Internships (Engineering), volunteering at hospital and with private organization working with cancer patients in hospitals
lots of student orgs, undergraduate research (including performing animal surgeries.)


Anyone think I got a shot at getting in without post-bac work? I really have no idea what to think of my application, PLEASE HELP

[FutureCTMD]

You have a shot assuming you covered the pre-reqs 1 year calc, physics, gen chem, organic chem and english. The US accepted average for allopathic med is 3.4 science GPA and 3.5 overall. Competitive MCAT is 28+. For osteopathic med Mid 20s MCAT but similar grades. Where are you applying?

[jameslynton]

You have a very good working chance at US school and top island schools for sure (SGU, AUC, Ross, Saba). You will need a very good MCAT > 34 for US schools. The better the MCAT the better your chances. Suggest working ExamKrakers and a good Prep course to help the MCAT. Avoid Kaplan!

If you are doing engineering - one of the best preps for the MCAT - you will do well on Chemistry and Physics. Would suggest you work very hard the #1 predictor of medical entrance and success - the Verbal section the hardest.

[ol' man]

Also suggest you forget about the "top 10 school with a reputation as the hardest in the state (public)". For the schools reviewing your app, GPA is what matters, regardless of where you went.

[jameslynton]

This year 2009 there are going to be around 18,000+ seat in MD/DO medical schools up from the previous year. Up from previous years. 2010 will see the first class at the totally new UGA medical school in Athens, Ga with 200 to 300 seats.

AMCAS is expecting around 35,000 applications for 2009. So chances are about 51% of the students will get in US schools. The fact is only around 25,000 of the students will be competitive. Thus you really have 72% make the grade and get in. The rejects of these 7,000 qualified candidates falls like so:
1. some try again next year
2. some give up or go to grad school
3. some go to the island schools or go the Europe route.

You have normally, 10,000 who have low grades, low MCAT scores or spotty records (bad freshman year, blew a pre-req, etc). These student who are the motivated ones go the Island schools or go the Europe route also.

For 2009 SGU will take around 900 students, Ross about 1,200 students, AUC around 700, Saba around 300. Not sure about how many do the Europe route. But I will estimate about 1,000+ go there and to Mexico.

So there are about 5,000+ seats at these alternate schools for roughly the lower 10,000 and the 7,000 who missed or 17,000 total. The upper 7,000 have about a 71% chance of getting into these schools.
The lower 10,000 have about a 30% chance of getting in a school.

If your school record is solid but not stellar - your chances are very good if you do the other right things (volunteer - very good LOR's - good MCAT).

It is all up to you.

[jameslynton]

Originally Posted by ol' man

Also suggest you forget about the "top 10 school with a reputation as the hardest in the state (public)". For the schools reviewing your app, GPA is what matters, regardless of where you went.

That is correct GPA is high but there are exceptions - the lessor US schools Morehouse and Meharry take down to 2.8-2.9 gpa's each year along with the DO schools. A 3.4-3.5 from an Engineering school will be considered good for medical school if the MCAT is above > 35. There are some that say GPA is ever thing. It does help get you in the door. However, I have known of several 3.9's that did not get in US schools.

With a 3.4-3.5 don't apply to the top 10 medical schools your chances are slim - there are others that will look with favor on your application.