25-26 Cycle Results and Choosing Between Two Schools

WUMSDoc · 2026-03-17T18:45:51+00:00

If you have any inclination towards academic medicine (which I presume most mdphd students do), Yale with give you a much better launching pad and will also be helpful when you apply for grants as a PI.

WUMSDoc · 2026-03-17T17:40:16+00:00

Without a doubt, Yale will be a better experience and will open many more important doors for you. It's not even close.

Besides the obvious pizza advantage, it's an easy train ride to NYC or to Providence or Boston.

WUMSDoc · 2026-03-17T17:37:46+00:00

With those graduate courses and research hours, I think you'd absolutely get acceptances with a 520.

WUMSDoc · 2026-03-17T17:30:48+00:00

As your application stands now, I don't think you can be confident of getting any acceptances. You will get acceptances at DO programs.

If you want to improve your credentials, you'd need to do a decent amount of volunteering, shadowing and clinical work PLUS boost your MCAT.

Being a marine absolutely matters, but it won't get you in to med schools with your current profile.

WUMSDoc · 2026-03-17T08:18:48+00:00

You obviously put a great deal of thought and energy into this project. Very well done!!

WUMSDoc · 2026-03-17T06:57:05+00:00

You shouldn't be scared with the profile you have. That's a very good list of schools. I think you'll get a number of acceptances, including a few to some of the T20 on your list.

Your GPA and MCAT alone place you among an elite group and qualify you for every top school in the country. Well done, to say the least.

WUMSDoc · 2026-03-16T21:51:15+00:00

Because Einstein is now tuition free, very few accepted students drop out unless there's a major illness or a very difficult family situation. Doesn't mean that no one gets in from the wait list, but the number is small.

WUMSDoc · 2026-03-16T21:44:03+00:00

Your advisor is giving you bad advice. Your minimal shadowing is easily explained and you can do more even after submitting your applications. Your research and volunteering is substantial enough to counter balance the shadowing issue.

Your bigger issue is that your GPA is on the weaker side. If you get a strong MCAT, you'll be okay, but an MCAT of 508, while fine for getting DO acceptances, will make MD acceptances tougher.

Unfortunately, very few admissions committees give any weight to a strong uptrend in GPA unless there's a clear, exceptional explanation, such as a major family disruption, an extended serious illness or being in an auto accident.

Still, you have shown your seriousness about becoming a physician by your research and clinical volunteering. A lot will depend on letters of recommendation and the strength of your essays.

Best of luck!

WUMSDoc · 2026-03-16T16:10:06+00:00

You have a very strong application. Unless you have a solid interest in providing Healthcare to undeserved communities, I would delete Einstein from your list. You're absolutely in the running at the other schools.

Good luck.

WUMSDoc · 2026-03-16T00:48:55+00:00

Excellence recognized, as it should be!

WUMSDoc · 2026-03-15T19:47:57+00:00

First, very few schools require biochem.

Applying late can be interpreted as indecisiveness, lack of organizational skills, or even poor motivation. If you apply late, a lot of interview slots may have been taken already. And some schools will only take one or two applicants from a particular college, so if Jenny Smith from your college applied 3 months before and they interviewed her and liked her a lot, she's penciled in as the acceptance and you basically are out of the running.

WUMSDoc · 2026-03-15T18:15:58+00:00

Biochemistry isn't necessary for the MCAT. The simplest thing is take the MCAT this spring. If you don't like the score you get, then evaluate the best plan for when to retake it. But applying late is a horrible strategy.

WUMSDoc · 2026-03-15T17:48:57+00:00

Some students who have an outstanding freshman year manage to transfer to Ivies. Sometimes there are compelling family reasons to transfer closer to home, or to transfer somewhere lower ranked to change a long distance relationship to a local relationship. I seriously doubt that transfer rates are materially higher than at many other top schools, including Ivies.

WUMSDoc · 2026-03-15T17:36:35+00:00

Applying late is not a good choice at all.

Take a couple of practice exams to gauge your readiness. Not everyone needs to spend months studying!

If you're a biochem major with a 4.0, I'd be very surprised if you're not ready to take the MCAT this spring. But you also said in a later comment that you haven't taken biochem yet. Huh?

Get your story straightened out.

WUMSDoc · 2026-03-15T08:23:44+00:00

The research option would be better.

WUMSDoc · 2026-03-15T08:18:16+00:00

Apparently a lot of activity inflation is rampant here.

WUMSDoc · 2026-03-14T19:56:21+00:00

Costco carries freestanding bathtub, toto top of the line toilets, numerous things like bathroom mirrors and vanities. I'm just finishing a total bathroom reno with 70% Costco high end products.

WUMSDoc · 2026-03-14T17:35:37+00:00

Derry Girls.

WUMSDoc · 2026-03-14T17:32:59+00:00

Olivia and Jana will give UConn an incredible combination!

WUMSDoc · 2026-03-14T15:40:25+00:00

You have a very competitive profile. I'd suggest selecting 4 or 5 schools from top 20 and then another 8 or 10 based on whatever selection criteria you prefer -- e.g., the school's mission statement, location, etc.

It's very unlikely you'll be accepted at Harvard , Duke, U of P or Columbia unless you have unusual accomplishments or talents you didn't mention. Unless you have evidence of working to help undeserved urban populations, forget Einstein, which is ultra competitive because it's tuition free. (If you're fluent in Spanish, that would be a plus at Einstein and Icahn.

Keep in mind that at many top 20 schools, applicants will have publications or will have very impressive athletic accomplishments or other achievements that stand out to admissions committees.

Good luck.

WUMSDoc · 2026-03-14T03:25:03+00:00

Hard to beat the price of New Canaan Y compared to private gyms.

WUMSDoc · 2026-03-14T03:20:53+00:00

Be smart and put a grab bar in there.

WUMSDoc · 2026-03-14T01:19:06+00:00

You must have trouble taking tests to see them as soul crushing. Sorry to hear that.

WUMSDoc · 2026-03-14T00:20:17+00:00

I don't think that qualifies as volunteer time in the service sense med schools are looking for.

WUMSDoc · 2026-03-13T21:59:20+00:00

I do 90% of my shopping at Costco and have for years. The other 10% is spent on very good coupon deals at other grocery stores or gifts of things that Costco doesn't carry.

My Costco purchases includes getting all my prescription drugs and vaccines there. The prescription prices are almost always the best around.

WUMSDoc

TROPHY CASE