Applying to Stanford Med - chances?

[jcmw]

Hi everyone,

 

I just finished my 3rd year in pharmacology at UBC, and I'm currently completing my 11-month internship at Roche Pharmaceuticals. I will graduating from my Honours program in may 2010, and wish to enter Med school the same year in September. My approximate GPAs are cGPA = 3.86, BCPM GPA = 3.89, but I haven't taken the MCAT yet. What are my chances of getting into Stanford Med?

 

Does Stanford require extensive research background for med school entrance? Do you think I will have enough research experience with an 11-month research job plus my Honours thesis? Also, what would be a safe MCAT score to "guarantee" an interview?

 

Stanford is my first choice because I'm currently working right next (approx 3-4 miles) to the campus, and I absolutely love the campus environment! I am enjoying the research I'm doing at the moment, and would love to go to a competitive med school which excels in research as well i.e. stanford.

 

On the other hand, if I don't make it into Stanford, I wish to enter the top-tier med schools in US (Harvard, Yale, Duke, UW of St. Louis...) and want to know if I should even give them a try with my stats. What else should I do to make my application package look more appealing? Thanks for any advice

[futuredoc]

I would say that you have a decent shot depending on your EC's and the MCAT. American schools apparently adore the MCAT so I would aim for at least a 38. Anybody else care to comment?

[Alastriss]

You can't say at least a 38.

 

To 'guarantee' an interview, you need to say at least a 40!!! The point is - you really can't guarantee an interview. How much better is a 38 than a 39? At that range of scores it's a lot of luck - You may have been very familiar with a passage that someone else wasn't.

 

Their average accepted applicants (not matriculants) is 12 11 12. Your GPA is solid and that counts for Stanford as well. Your research is adequate, but do you have any abstracts/conference presentations?

 

You have to keep in mind that a 35 mcat will fly if your:

1)GPA is high - in your case it is, so thats fine

2)Your research experience is adequate - Publications or 3)presentations/different fields (clinical, biomedical, basic sciences

4)Your ECs are stellar - Lots of ECs you are committed to, lots of variety.

5)Your LORs are stellar

 

 

If any of the following is less than ideal for a top tier school like stanford, then more and more is needed to compensate on the MCAT side of things.

Because its very rare to have all 5 items up to the ideal - we say at least 35+ on premed101 to factor in that compensation.

 

So ultimately it depends on you. If you have #2-5 in good order, you will need a 35/36. If not, then maybe futuredoc is right - you may need closer to a 38 to have a great shot at an interview.

[xylem29]

I remember reading that Standford is not that "friendly" towards Canadians.

[jcmw]

Hi. Thanks for all the replies so far.

 

I don't know if I will have my name in publications, but I will probably do quite a few presentations to present my data to my research department in the next couple of months. Do these presentations count as conference presentations?

 

My ECs are not great, to be honest. I've joined 2 clubs in the 2 years and acted as a volunteering executive to help organize events such as senior home visits, charity contests, and such. I have had 1 year of volunteering experience at the ER and occassionally acted as the translator there. I've also done some volunteering way back in high school, such as helping disabled children. Prior to going on this internship, I've worked as a pharmacy assistant in the neighborhood (part-time) for 2 years. I've completed RCM Gr.10 Piano (but haven't entered any competitions) and was the lead 2nd violinist in my high school's orchestra for a few years (where WE as a group won a few awards in some music festivals.) This year's plans include volunteering at a nearby hospital and also joining the volleyball team at my company. That pretty much sums up all my ECs. What other activities should I pursue to strengthen my profile?

 

I believe I'll have very good LORs from my faculty profs (since we're a small class of 18, and they're suppose to love us all lol) and I'll probably get a good one from my supervisor at Roche.

 

As for the MCAT, I hope *crosses fingers* that I'll be able to do well by taking TPR course (damn it's $1899!!!).

 

xylem29: what was the unfriendlyness towards Canadians about? i'm dying to know!

 

Any other input is greatly appreciated

[In_Valid]

Hi everyone,

 

I just finished my 3rd year in pharmacology at UBC, and I'm currently completing my 11-month internship at Roche Pharmaceuticals. I will graduating from my Honours program in may 2010, and wish to enter Med school the same year in September. My approximate GPAs are cGPA = 3.86, BCPM GPA = 3.89, but I haven't taken the MCAT yet. What are my chances of getting into Stanford Med?

 

Does Stanford require extensive research background for med school entrance? Do you think I will have enough research experience with an 11-month research job plus my Honours thesis? Also, what would be a safe MCAT score to "guarantee" an interview?

 

Stanford is my first choice because I'm currently working right next (approx 3-4 miles) to the campus, and I absolutely love the campus environment! I am enjoying the research I'm doing at the moment, and would love to go to a competitive med school which excels in research as well i.e. stanford.

 

On the other hand, if I don't make it into Stanford, I wish to enter the top-tier med schools in US (Harvard, Yale, Duke, UW of St. Louis...) and want to know if I should even give them a try with my stats. What else should I do to make my application package look more appealing? Thanks for any advice

 

Getting into medical schools in the US is difficult for Canadians. So for top tier schools unless you have a 42T MCAT and an 4.0 AMCAS GPA I wouldn't bother. If you were an American, I would say, yes, you have a chance.

 

But you never know, if you work hard on the MCAT, maybe you will get that 40+.

[In_Valid]

Hi. Thanks for all the replies so far.

 

I don't know if I will have my name in publications, but I will probably do quite a few presentations to present my data to my research department in the next couple of months. Do these presentations count as conference presentations?

 

My ECs are not great, to be honest. I've joined 2 clubs in the 2 years and acted as a volunteering executive to help organize events such as senior home visits, charity contests, and such. I have had 1 year of volunteering experience at the ER and occassionally acted as the translator there. I've also done some volunteering way back in high school, such as helping disabled children. Prior to going on this internship, I've worked as a pharmacy assistant in the neighborhood (part-time) for 2 years. I've completed RCM Gr.10 Piano (but haven't entered any competitions) and was the lead 2nd violinist in my high school's orchestra for a few years (where WE as a group won a few awards in some music festivals.) This year's plans include volunteering at a nearby hospital and also joining the volleyball team at my company. That pretty much sums up all my ECs. What other activities should I pursue to strengthen my profile?

 

I believe I'll have very good LORs from my faculty profs (since we're a small class of 18, and they're suppose to love us all lol) and I'll probably get a good one from my supervisor at Roche.

 

As for the MCAT, I hope *crosses fingers* that I'll be able to do well by taking TPR course (damn it's $1899!!!).

 

xylem29: what was the unfriendlyness towards Canadians about? i'm dying to know!

 

Any other input is greatly appreciated

 

He means that American schools have preference for American citizens. Just because you are above the admissions average doesn't mean you will get in. You have to be significantly above.

 

For top tier medical schools, the average MCAT is like 35-37. So for those schools I would say you need a 40+.

[KennethToronto]

Even for exceptional applicants who have already written the MCAT, I would say their chances of getting into a school like Stanford are slim. When you apply, you quickly realize just how many exceptional applicants there are, all vying for far too few seats. There's no guarantee, other than the fact for every spot at Stanford, you can be sure there are 10 people each with awesome grades,MCATs,research,etc trying to get it. There's also an element of chance involved.

 

Write your MCAT and then take it from there.

[Madz25]

I would say you need a very good MCAT - high 30s at least. I disagree with the statement that you need a 42T or around that to be considered. Yes, top tier schools are tough to get into but not impossible. Most top tier schools are private schools - they want the BEST students and hence dont give preference if you're in-state or out of state. I think the same rule applies to Canadians - yes there may be a slight disadvantage but not exceptionally so. A classmate of mine at UofT interviewed at Harvard and UPenn for dentistry (ok, yes, it's not medicine but if anyone has looked at stats of dental school admissions they are insane!)- both are top tier schools.

 

My point is, it's not impossible. Try to get at least an MCAT score in the high 30s. Top tier schools like to see research so make sure you have that.

[Guest begaster]

Yeah, most of the top-tiers are private schools which have no preference for Americans over Canadians, from what I've heard/understood. With well below a 4.0 and 42T, I was recommended by an adcom over at sdn to apply to any of the top-20 private schools I wanted, as I would be competitive.

[Alastriss]

All the schools I have sent emails have mentioned that Canadian applicants are not even slightly disadvantaged just by virtue of them being from canada. You are classified with all the other applicants out there, except for those who come from reputable US schools (top 10) who have an edge over anyone because of their undergraduate university. I think that the 'word' on these forums about canadians having it tougher is just a fudge factor.

 

With that said, you don't need at least a 42T. You face the difficulty that everyone else faces out there - you need to have all aspects of your application be stellar. Getting the 35 MCAT which is the school average will NOT mean that you will get in, it will simply mean that if you were go get rejected, it was probably not because of your Mcat. Since it is hard to have everything in your application be superstellar, we would ALL recommend getting high 30s. That way should anything be less than ideal, it may be overlooked due to an exceptionally high mcat.

 

If I were you, I'd work on getting exceptional ECs and Research. I've heard of many successful applicants that GPA and MCATs are over-rated and are often given too much attention. Get your 35+ and move on. Top tier schools (and this is from a successful applicant) want students who can bring something to the class and to the institution - whether it be an original idea pertaining to research, global health, etc. Starting a club dedicated to promoting something globally, or doing independent research is probably one key factor to your success. I know i personally would rather have the aforementioned and a 35-36 rather than just a 42T or whatever.

[Alastriss]

Getting into medical schools in the US is difficult for Canadians. So for top tier schools unless you have a 42T MCAT and an 4.0 AMCAS GPA I wouldn't bother. If you were an American, I would say, yes, you have a chance.

 

But you never know, if you work hard on the MCAT, maybe you will get that 40+.

 

I know of a couple that got into Yale, one that got into harvard, another that got into columbia and Wash U at St louis, and none of them had higher than a 39 mcat. They all did however make significant differences in their communities and big accomplishments in research. They received no hostility or discouragement regarding their canadian status and lack of american status.

[In_Valid]

All the schools I have sent emails have mentioned that Canadian applicants are not even slightly disadvantaged just by virtue of them being from canada. You are classified with all the other applicants out there, except for those who come from reputable US schools (top 10) who have an edge over anyone because of their undergraduate university. I think that the 'word' on these forums about canadians having it tougher is just a fudge factor.

 

With that said, you don't need at least a 42T. You face the difficulty that everyone else faces out there - you need to have all aspects of your application be stellar. Getting the 35 MCAT which is the school average will NOT mean that you will get in, it will simply mean that if you were go get rejected, it was probably not because of your Mcat. Since it is hard to have everything in your application be superstellar, we would ALL recommend getting high 30s. That way should anything be less than ideal, it may be overlooked due to an exceptionally high mcat.

 

If I were you, I'd work on getting exceptional ECs and Research. I've heard of many successful applicants that GPA and MCATs are over-rated and are often given too much attention. Get your 35+ and move on. Top tier schools (and this is from a successful applicant) want students who can bring something to the class and to the institution - whether it be an original idea pertaining to research, global health, etc. Starting a club dedicated to promoting something globally, or doing independent research is probably one key factor to your success. I know i personally would rather have the aforementioned and a 35-36 rather than just a 42T or whatever.

 

is that right? I've known several people who have applied to those schools and none of them even got an interview.

[Alastriss]

is that right? I've known several people who have applied to those schools and none of them even got an interview.

 

What part?

 

If its about the people that I know, then yeah. One had several pubs and did research abroad and got Columbia. Others I know that got into Harvard and Yale Did significant volunteering abroad, but started programs that made some serious differences in these communities overseas. There comes a point where the numbers just don't matter as much anymore.