average (below average?) success story
Hey y'all, I've been a frequent stalker of this page and r/premed during my pre-med years and applied last cycle. I wanted to share my success story since a lot of the posts on here seem to skew towards the extremes (i.e. "I had a 3.2 GPA and got accepted at Harvard!" or "I had a 528 MCAT and got rejected everywhere!"). While I'm not saying these extremes don't happen, I wanted to share my ~average~ or even ~below average~ stats and application experience, for those who don't see themselves represented in some of the other posts on here.
MCAT: 511 cGPA: 3.78 sGPA: 3.49
Research: 360 hours
Clinical Experience: Rural Cardiology Scribe 450hrs, Shadowing 85hrs, Rural Healthcare Field Experience 30hrs, Burn Unit Volunteer 25hrs, Surgical Dermatology MA 1660hrs (during gap year)
Schools applied to: 27 (17 MD, 10 DO)
Interviews: 10
Acceptances: 5 (1MD, 4 DO)
What helped me: I applied to schools where my experiences fit their mission, giving me strong talking points on essays and interviews. Though my sGPA is low, I had a really strong upward trend (Fr 3.04, So 3.31, Jr 3.63, Sr 4.0). Also, talking to adcoms, I've learned that not all GPAs are created equal. I went to a relatively competitive undergrad program (a public Ivy), and I think the rigor of my undergrad was factored in to my app, and gives my poor start more context. Lastly, I had diverse interests and pursued these through varied ECs in college, regardless of whether or not I thought they'd help me get into medical school. Including things like minoring in history, tutoring at a Title I middle school and leadership in my sorority and campus ministry. I think all of this demonstrated I was well-rounded and goal-oriented -- in life, not just in my academic pursuits.
To everyone applying-- good luck! This process is imperfect, but I truly believe that it rewards those who put forth the effort. Don't lose yourself in this crazy application process, and remember there's more to you than the letters behind your name! I'll try my best to respond to any comments/questions!