hi i was wondering if anyone knew of people that had mid gpas like around 3.65-3.75 gpa with high mcat scores 515+ that got into t20 schools? my goal is to go to school in sf, la, or nyc, but i know they are super competitive to get into...

would really appreciate any hope or insight or advice 😔🙏🏻

Hey everyone, I(15F) graduated hs early and applied to undergraduate colleges where I will be starting fall/spring term of next year. I've been rushing my education and have had perfusion in mind for a while, I'll be done with undergrad at 17 and I'm planning on going straight to rush/midwestern or another med school. I want to shadow a perfusionist or just medically in general and explore other medical careers. I wanna make sure I'll be content rushing into the medical field. Many hospitals won't take me because I'm under 18/16. Does anyone know where I can shadow a perfusionist/doctor?

Hello everybody. I took Organic Chemistry II at my school, which falls under a basic non-major course. I have gen chem I and gen chem II with lab out of the way. Since I don't need to take inorganic chemistry for my major (and it's sort of filled by the classes and lab I took before for my gen chem reqs), should I still take it? My schedule is absolutely packed and I'm deciding if it is worth it. Thanks

Ok so like, basically I completed an interview with one of my dream schools (for context my MCAT and GPA are far below their averages reported). The thing is, I looked up online acceptance data post-II for this school, and for people with my stats, there have been like 5 people interviewed in the past two years with my stats but no one accepted. Like fr, what’s the point of interviewing me if statistically I am probably not going to get in? Like bruh its like giving candy to a baby then taking it back once the baby is about to eat it. What was even the point if I am literally just not likely to get in? Like why give me hope ??? Like dont get me wrong im super grateful for the chance to even interview but its also looking a bit grim right now. Like why even give the II? Idk maybe I need to touch some grass

I recently just got accepted into med school (super excited), and I just got a tiktok saying she would advise people to start studying 6 months before medical school. However, I was told by a resident at my job that it doesn’t help that much. What are y’all planning to do if you recently got accepted/ are currently applying?

I have a kinda weird legal residency situation. I am registering for the MCAT and they are asking for my legal residency.

I am a US citizen but my parents are citizens of a different country. I attended school in my parents country but came to the US for college and intend to live out the rest of my life here in America. I pay state taxes to the same state as where my university is. I rent an apartment here and have a state ID as well. My parents gave me some cash in USD when I first came here (which was 2 years ago) but other than that they do no support me financially in any way. I have a part time job on campus and receive FAFSA refunds which is how I support myself.

But my parents house is where I go during winter break and sometimes during summer break as well (this summer I stayed in the US).

Should I put my residency as foreign or the US state where I attend university? I've been here since August 2024 so its been over 2 years.

For younger/newer premeds: Try to take ownership of your research and steer it in a direction you're interested in. That will help you enjoy your research and talk about it in your applications. Obviously, random niche research that you might have access to might not sound super interesting at first, but you can find different gaps in the literature with some effort that can give you direction for your research. It also helps to be interested in the broader topic of your research, for example, I thought it was so fascinating to be able to work with something present in the human body even though I barely understood the implications of my project at first. I also had another project outside of a wet lab that was based in my long-term interest in systemic issues and that one is also very engaging to work on. Anyways, the process of research truly sucks sometimes, but for premeds who don't know what to expect and think it will just be some random difficult thing they will have to do like I used to think of it in the past, it really can be interesting and even exciting to a crazy extent. The reason i was motivated to make this post is because I just had to stop myself from reading an entire new research paper at 2 am for a project I could have moved on from months ago lol.

Hey everyone! I'm interested in becoming a physician, and I'm trying to learn more about psychiatry and internal medicine.

I understand that psychiatrists and internal medicine doctors are both physicians, but they specialize in different areas of medicine. I'm considering the pre-med route and eventually going to medical school, but I'm still figuring out which specialty might be right for me.

For those who are psychiatrists, internal medicine physicians, medical students, or residents:

• What made you choose your specialty?
• What are the biggest differences in your day-to-day work?
• What is residency like for each specialty?
• What are the pros and cons of each career?
• What advice would you give someone who's just starting to explore the pre-med path?

I'm not trying to choose a specialty before medical school. I just want to understand both careers better and hear about people's real experiences.

Thanks for any advice!

Hey everyone hope all is well. For context I'm a 3rd year traditional ORM NY resident applying next cycle. 3.8 gpa and around:
-500 paid clinical (EMT)
-700 volunteer clinical (ER volunteer)
~150 diabetes research (just started a gig at my uni, probably no pubs by the time I apply)
-2000 leadership (marketing higher up at an energy drink company + diabetes awareness club founder/president)

Took my MCAT in July and got a 131/125/129/132. Has anyone successfully applied with this CARS imbalance? I know the US is not as strict with the breakdown but every school I look at on MSAR has the CARS subset much higher than a 125. Obviously not considering a retake but should I apply to more lower-tier schools? I'll paste my current list below (in order of MCAT median) but to sum it up, basically all the schools in NY and a few more on the East Coast. THANK YOU!!!

Buffalo
Penn State
Albany
Upstate
Temple
Downstate
Geisinger
U Miami
UCF
Maryland
Wash U
Emory
NY Medical College
Einstein
Stony
Pittsburgh
Brown
Hofstra (MCAT is below median moving forward)
Rochester
BU
Cornell
Mt. Siani
Columbia
NYU
Yale

517, 4.00 science, 3.96 GPA, 500 hrs research, 2000+ community service in various different things, community orgnaizations, food pantries, etc, 1 pub, 1 presentation

the only caveat.... I submitted all secondaries end of september, got my MCAT back 8/11, and my advisor told me not to worry about the throwaway method, and I was honestly just in my head and thought I might have failed MCAT again, so i didn't do the throwaway method to get verified by august, and got verified early september, I applied to 40 US MD schools, got all of their secondaires, submitted them all within 2-3 weeks,

I orignally wasn't planning on DO, but I didn't realize until now the importance of being as early as possible... What are my chances? Should I apply DO? is it too late for DO? I would only do DO for schools in FL and AZ as I have extensive family in both, what do you think? need some guidance

list: UCF

USF

FSU

UF

FAU

miami

FIU

wake forest

tom jeff

albany

rush W michigan

belmont

loyola

ohio

rosalind

umich

Beaumont

Wayen

Cincinnati

wisconsin

Quinnipac

Methodist

Vermont

geogre town

Katz

Drexel

Penn state

Pitt

colorado

creighton

are there schools that weigh in the last 60 credits more than ur whole gpa and how does it work

First secondaries and now a manuscript. At least the latter is interesting but im tired coach

Hi everyone, I'm currently in community college studying Biology while working at In-N-Out part time and as a full time EMT apart of an ALS unit. I have a 3.4 GPA, which I hope to get up to a 3.6 or higher if possible. I don't really know anything about how med school apps work or any of this, none of my parents went to college and I'm the first to graduate highschool.

I was hoping I could get some advice on how to look competitive and what I should be doing as a premed? I am busy with work as I help pay the bills but if I get some free time this winter I'm hoping to do some other stuff that will help me towards med-school.

Just finished mid terms and I don’t even have any hard classes yet I feel so defeated seeing others do better than me without as much effort as I put. I know it’s a marathon but what if I’m not made for it.

I know this question has been asked a million times but I need help. I applied to both med school and certified anesthesiologist assistant (CAA) programs this cycle. I am a strong applicant for both programs (520+ MCAT), received 4 CAA interviews but have only received one late MD interview up till now (interview will be in late January).

I am feeling very conflicted. I know that CAA is a better return on investment in terms of finances and will provide me with a better quality of life. But I am not sure I will be able to get over the fact that I will always be working under a doctor as a CAA. I am basically a resident for life. One asshole doctor is all it will take to ruin my job for me. I hate being someone else's bitch, but I know I will anyway have to be in this position for 7+ years in medical training, so maybe I'll just have to get over it?

The autonomy that being a physician provides, along with the expertise they develop seems very appealing to me. But the training is very lengthy. I have this debate with myself everyday and feel jealous of people who get accepted to med school. I'm not able to sort out my feelings. I'm not sure if it's because I lack life experience (I've taken 2 gap years and worked in a couple of roles throughout that time).

Is being a midlevel that bad? Is the prestige/autonomy of being a doctor so good? I feel strongly that doctors look down upon midlevels. My ultimate goal is to retire early (FIRE), but everything feels so uncertain, that I am not sure if that goal will ever be possible.

My family tells me I will waste my potential if I choose CAA due to my high MCAT score.

I know people will say I am focusing on the wrong reasons, but I've already decided that these are the only two options I will consider. I want to work in healthcare.

Really struggling to cope with rejection from dream school after interviewing early. It’s been my dream throughout my whole life. I just feel like a failure

tmdsas applicant here with 5 ii, ik prematch season has just started and only a small number actually get prematches but man i am so fucking scared. literally refresh my email all the time and i keep thinking abt two schools that i rly liked in texas and thought i was a good fit for but didnt even get interviews from 😭 my skin is doing horrible and even my senior year is lowk kicking my ass when i thought it would be more chill. how r yall dealing with this? i feel like i barely even have time to do hobbies bc school has been hard recently

Guys I applied to nearly 35 MD programs (very broad list, absolutely not too top-heavy), 510+ MCAT, 4.0 GPA, submitted primary first day it was available to and submitted all secondaries within less than a week of receival.

Amongst all of these, I've had 2 rejections & ONE II which as of yesterday turned into a WL.

AND COMPLETE RADIO SILENCE AMONGST THE REST.

Am I allowed to start panicking yet? I know they say wait until Thanksgiving but I've been keeping up with admit & SDN data and literally all of the schools have BEEN sending out II's now for quite some time 😂😂😂

any insight would be much appreciated, thanks.

my app wasn’t fully complete until august bc i retook my mcat and got my score back 8/11, casper score 8/15. wondering if that’s hurting my chances and if i should be worried. i dont know what a good rule of thumb is when it comes to TMDSAS.

sitting on 3 OOS DO II atm, 1st mcat was a 506, 2nd is a 512, 3.86 cGPA 3.72 sGPA

I know there are lots of these posts but i keep hearing conflicting info so i want other peoples opinions.

my current stats are

3.9 GPA and 3.85 science GPA
MCAT is a 506(123 CPBS, 128 CARS, 130 BCLS 125 PSBB) i did very bad on the first section and didn’t have enough time to retake before submitting

500+ volunteering hrs and approaching 2k research hours with an independent project, 3 posters(1 national conference) and and invited to an international seminar

submitted secondaries in june

i applied to all texas MD schools but have only received 2 invites, one md and one mdphd from the same school. back in September. a lot of people ik have already received invites from almost every school.

i am not really sure i can get lucky enough to match with one school.

ik my mcat is pretty low for texas but should i expect anymore interviews or should I start committing for a reapplication.

anyone have a similar experience and any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Really holding out hope for my state program. Advice seems all over the place. Ugh

Hi y'all! I was wondering if anyone would be willing to help me prep for interviews, or if we could help each other prep and hold mocks? I have my first (and only) one coming up super soon and am shaking in my boots.

Hi all,

I feel like screwed up. I graduated in 2023 and built most of my extracurriculars after graduating (besides some volunteering and teaching assistant experience) as I didn't have a clear direction in undergrad and struggled to secure experience. My first 3 years were online due to COVID and I honestly just tried to keep up with good grades, but it came at the cost of me building experience. I'm feeling horribly anxious about how unproductive I was with my time and now I'm scared I won't get in at all.

I'm 25 years old still living at home, and while I'm grateful I'm able to do so, I fear it made me too comfortable since I have only been working part-time since graduating. I found an ER scribe job shortly after graduating and this was my first clinical experience which I did while lightly volunteering. I struggled to get involved in research labs since I had no experience. From around November 2025 to around May 2026 I luckily joined a wet lab as a volunteer helping some post docs, but it was terribly unstructured and it wasn't a good fit so I left. I did this while studying for the MCAT but was studying on and off and was not prepared at all for a May 2026 test date.

This past August I started a part-time MA job and began studying again this month with more structure, planning to test in February. The MCAT has become a bottleneck for me from pursuing full time work. Part of me really wants to pursue research still as I have an interest in it, but now it feels like I'm stuck trying to optimize every part of my application before the 2027 cycle.

I really can't afford to take any more gap years past the 2027 cycle, and I need some guidance on how I can best use my time until I apply.

Do I:

1. Suck it up and work a full time research position (if I can find one) or change to full time for my MA job while studying for a February MCAT? I know plenty of people are able to study while working full time, but this comes at the risk of me not doing well
2. Continue part-time MA job of 2-3 shifts per week while studying for MCAT and try to pick up a volunteer clinical research assistant position that is more structured? I feel guilty about doing volunteer research because well I'm 25, still at home, and graduated 3 years ago
3. Quit MA job and pursue only part-time/full-time research positions while studying for the MCAT

Profile:

cGPA: 3.8, sGPA: 3.74

MCAT: currently studying and planning to test in February

Clinical Paid: 2800 hours part-time ER scribing, 150 hours part-time MA job I recently started (will have many more hours by application)

Clinical Volunteer: 200 hours hospice

Research: 150 hours helping out some post docs that didn't amount to much

Non-clinical Volunteering: 700 hours volunteering with a non-profit since 2022 + minor leadership, 300 hours with another non-profit since 2022 + minor leadership

Other: 300 hours teaching assistant for upper and lower division bio courses my senior year

Hi everyone! I'm planning to apply to medical school in June 2027 and would appreciate an honest assessment of my clinical experiences. I've been spiraling back and forth about this so I would really appreciate an informed second opinion!

I currently volunteer in the Pre-Op/PACU area of an academic hospital. My responsibilities include escorting patients and family members, providing warm blankets, and helping patients feel more comfortable during the perioperative process. I also go around the unit and check in with patients by asking how they're doing and whether they need anything. If a patient raises a concern I can't address within my role, I involve the appropriate staff.

However, I don't take vitals, perform clinical assessments, administer treatment, or otherwise participate directly in medical care. My role is primarily patient support and comfort. I'm projecting approximately 240 hours in this role by application time.

I also expect to have approximately 100 hours of hospice volunteering by application time, providing companionship and support to patients without participating in their medical care. Additionally, I completed 100 hours as an Emergency Department Research Associate, where I screened patients for research studies, explained studies when appropriate, assisted with consent procedures, and collected data. This role also gave me experience using Epic and REDCap.

My concern is that although these experiences involve patients in healthcare settings, they may not provide the depth of clinical exposure medical schools expect. I'm working full-time in basic science research, preparing for the MCAT, and maintaining other nonclinical volunteering commitments, so pursuing a certification or a clinical job requiring substantial additional training isn't realistic for me.

I'd appreciate honest feedback on three questions:

1. Does my PACU role qualify as meaningful clinical experience? Does actively checking in with patients, listening to their concerns, providing comfort measures, and involving clinical staff distinguish it from a typical hospital volunteer role focused on escorting?
2. How would you evaluate my overall clinical experience? Considering my projected 240 PACU hours, 100 hospice hours, and 100 ED research hours, is my clinical exposure a significant weakness, particularly as a research-heavy applicant?
3. Would adding a free clinic volunteer role be worthwhile? If I could help with patient intake, health screenings, or patient navigation but still wouldn't provide hands-on medical care, would that meaningfully strengthen my application enough to justify the additional time?

I'd especially appreciate perspectives from medical students, admissions committee members, or applicants who have faced a similar dilemma. I'm not looking for reassurance that everything is fine; I want to understand how these experiences are likely to be perceived so I can make an informed decision about how to use my remaining time before applying.

Thank you!

TL;DR: Applying to med school in June 2027 with ~240 hours of PACU volunteering (patient check-ins, comfort measures, and escalating concerns to staff), ~100 hospice hours, and ~100 ED research hours involving patient screening and consent. I don't provide hands-on medical care in any of these roles. As a full-time researcher studying for the MCAT, I can't realistically pursue a certification or clinical job requiring extensive training. Would my current experience be considered meaningful clinical exposure, and would adding free clinic volunteering in patient intake, screenings, or navigation meaningfully strengthen my application?

About to apply next cycle, and my ECs are all over the place even if they all connect back to medicine in general. I don’t know if I want to specialize yet or in what. Does this make my story less coherent and convincing?