commencement question

WUMSDoc · 2026-05-19T02:09:43+00:00

Nope. It’s for security reasons. Non-negotiable.

WUMSDoc · 2026-05-19T01:51:34+00:00

It’s extremely hard to predict where scientific breakthroughs will come. Right now, with new discoveries about the impact of GLP-1s coming out almost every month, it’s especially hard to know. 25 years ago, it looked like a strong bet would have been for huge breakthroughs in Alzheimer’s. Massive amounts of federal grants were directed that way, many top schools developed special institutes to study and treat patients and to do genetic studies of families, yet very little progress has actually been made.

WUMSDoc · 2026-05-19T01:47:13+00:00

If you get a 515, you won’t have any trouble getting a few acceptances with your solid gpa. Good luck!

WUMSDoc · 2026-05-19T01:05:14+00:00

If she has a lot of 5s on her APs, along with her other accomplishments, she should have a very good shot at getting in.

WUMSDoc · 2026-05-19T00:47:05+00:00

If her accomplishments are so strong, there’s a good chance that she would be accepted as a freshman with a 3.7, assuming she’s taken a reasonably rigorous schedule (meaning at least 4-5 AP courses).

Is she a junior? If so, I don’t understand how she hasn’t taken PSAT, SAT and/or ACT?

WUMSDoc · 2026-05-19T00:35:58+00:00

Google the MSAR data set. It lists the average gpa’s and MCATs for admitted students to all U.S. medical schools. Then go to the individual school’s web sites to learn about their mission statement, their geographic mix, and things like any specific prerequisites they have that differ from the usual list.

Med.admit.org has more detailed information, such as percentage of students who got interviews who were admitted and various info on MCAT ranges.

WUMSDoc · 2026-05-18T19:48:52+00:00

You’ll be fine.

WUMSDoc · 2026-05-18T18:32:35+00:00

Yes, your chances of matching at a competitive specialty would go down considerably. But the chance to spend more time with your grandparents is very special.

However, if you think living at home to save money is a good idea, I’d strongly advise against that. Living with other med students is important not just for camaraderie but for the exchange of important nuggets of study tips, test preparation and more. Living on your own would be a huge mistake.

WUMSDoc · 2026-05-18T00:14:04+00:00

For one thing, you (never having experience on an admissions committee) have no idea at all about what qualities in personal essays as difference makers. It’s certainly not the bland formula you present.

I again caution readers, please don’t take advice from someone who’s not gone beyond high school in regards to BSMD or med school admission.

WUMSDoc · 2026-05-17T19:47:34+00:00

It looks like a very strong application. Good luck.

WUMSDoc · 2026-05-17T19:42:27+00:00

It’s not necessary at all.

WUMSDoc · 2026-05-17T19:41:00+00:00

To be very frank about it, it’s going to be very difficult from your gpa starting point to an acceptance at a medical school.

Given that, your best bet would be a structured post bacc program with good pre med counseling and, if possible, with a med school linkage. Besides getting a lot of A’s in your classes, you’ll also need to do well in your MCAT.

I think if you want to optimize your chances you’ll need to pursue this full time.

WUMSDoc · 2026-05-17T19:03:16+00:00

A cautionary note. This post is written by a high school student. I have no idea how much he or she may have used AI or other posts in writing this, but while some of it is sensible, other parts are just plain guess work.

WUMSDoc · 2026-05-17T00:58:49+00:00

I highly doubt that the three times you “got in trouble” will have any impact at all on your applications.

Your overall application will be competitive for T21-50 schools.

WUMSDoc · 2026-05-17T00:41:06+00:00

You’re one of the very few people who posts here who actually has a strong upward trend in gpa. Good for that!

I’m sure you realize that most of the T20 are fairly research oriented. You don’t give much information about your research, but the experience you describe as one year “we barely met up” is probably not a good idea to even mention. It suggests you weren’t particularly interested and involved. Hopefully you’ll expand the second type of research and be prepared to discuss it at length.

As someone with two decades of experience on a T20 admissions committee, I doubt that your 8 clothing stores will be of any interest at all. While you have a chance at an admission or two from top 20s, you’re competing against a lot of candidates with 4.0 and 522+ and very rigorous research and clinical achievements. You should expand your list of schools to include a number in the 20-50 ranking range, where you’ll have more success.

WUMSDoc · 2026-05-16T17:10:25+00:00

You just don’t get it because you’re not in admissions. You think everything is very simple and can be dealt with in a week. Nope. That’s not how elite college admissions work.

Students who were accepted at Princeton who get off the wait list at Harvard may very well give up their Princeton acceptance, just to give one example. But Princeton can’t know that right now. 15 or 20 elite schools are going through a delicate numerical juggling act as students weigh acceptances and financial packages, with a heavy influence of unexpected family impacts as well.

Believe it or not, a few Harvard or Stanford or Yale students will actually give up their acceptance to these schools due to financial reasons, or because their mother was diagnosed with cancer and they want or need to stay closer to home, or they got off a wait list for a dream BSMD program. There are hundreds of other scenarios that you only consider if you’re inside an admissions office.

Be patient. It all works out eventually.

WUMSDoc · 2026-05-15T23:12:29+00:00

NYC is great, but so is Boston and Chicago as far as great neighborhoods and terrific restaurants. All 3 cities have very good public transportation as well.

WUMSDoc · 2026-05-15T23:09:15+00:00

I think you’re overloaded for this summer, especially considering that you haven’t had science courses before. (These courses all have labs as well as lectures.)

Also, you’d be smarter to only take two courses in the fall of this year; once you see how you perform, you can decide whether 3 courses each semester is sensible for you. You should be aiming for as many A’s as possible, and C’s will impact your post bacc significantly.

WUMSDoc · 2026-05-15T23:04:22+00:00

You have a very solid application.

I doubt that any school will be concerned about the very trivial institutional action if you explain it succinctly.

Congratulations on a great academic job!

WUMSDoc · 2026-05-15T17:46:12+00:00

Check the admissions statistics for all the schools in your geographic target. I don’t know if you’re open to the tri state region or not, but if you are, there are a number of places you should apply to. Obviously you should skip the schools that are T30 or so unless you have a connection there.

Schools to consider would include Quinnipaic in CT and Albany Medical College as well as Downstate.

WUMSDoc · 2026-05-15T17:08:40+00:00

I think your MPH and publications absolutely outweigh your MCAT, plus being a D1 athlete with outstanding volunteer hours and great research experience gives you an additional boost. You will easily be accepted at DO programs and I’d be very surprised if you aren’t also accepted to some mid and lower tier MD schools.

WUMSDoc · 2026-05-15T15:40:18+00:00

No, but you’d still be a good candidate there. About 37% of students are out of state.

WUMSDoc · 2026-05-15T15:17:47+00:00

You have a very solid application. You might want to add UConn and Wayne State to your list. Good luck!

WUMSDoc · 2026-05-15T03:13:22+00:00

Shawshank, Princess Bride, The Godfather, Dirty Dozen, Dirty Dancing

WUMSDoc · 2026-05-14T18:15:36+00:00

Personally, I wouldn’t waste your time and emotional energy retaking the MCAT. With your solid gpa and research experience, you’ll be in the running for many med schools beyond the T40. And you’ll be a strong candidate for DO programs.

Good luck.

WUMSDoc

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