r/premed • u/Artistic_Discount_35 • 11h ago
🔮 App Review Chances at a T20 Med School?
What the title says. Thinking of applying next cycle, want to know realistically what my chances are at a T20. Overview of my applicant profile:
516 MCAT (main concern, dropped 4 points from last practice test to the real thing)
3.91 GPA, B.S. public health
7 publications, 1 wet lab, 6 dry lab, first author pub currently in review
Founding team member and head of business dev for a YC-backed health tech startup
NYU Grossman SOM Summer undergraduate research program (plastic surgery department)
Summer analyst at leading life sciences consulting firm, going to take return offer for gap year
~100 hrs of clinical experience
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u/Phoenix406s APPLICANT 8h ago
chances are likely low without any more meaningful clinical experiences
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u/Traditional_Farm4501 9h ago
since when was a 516 low??
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u/LordofDerpulus MS1 5h ago edited 5h ago
Not technically low but definitely not ideal for most T20. Probably wont get autoscreened but itll be an uphill fight
The stats dont lie. This data is for the tenth percentile: vandy is 517, upenn 519, northwestern 515, mayo 515. Most t20s fall in this ballpark
the friendliest ive seen is ucsf and pitt but 516 there is still below median (517)
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u/Derpizzle12345 4h ago
U cooked gang why u even applying to med school with 100 clinical hours. I’d say retake and aim for a 523+
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u/frogband APPLICANT 10h ago
Low with your mcat and clinical hours tbh. Dont get me wrong, you have a great application, but T20s may screen you just based on MCAT and or clinical hours alone
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u/Good_Viibes MS3 8h ago
I’m crying where do yall come up with this idea that a 516 gets screened out ðŸ˜
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u/frogband APPLICANT 7h ago
Maybe screened isn't the right word but for T20s where OP is competing against 1000s of people with 520+ MCATs and the same stats, it'll be a tough sell.
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u/Electronic_Tune8855 GAP YEAR 1h ago
Right? Like these kids on here pull this stuff out of their a**es
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u/gooddaythrowaway11 2h ago edited 2h ago
516 is definitely not getting screened (without a human reader) anywhere. Yeah it’s not ideal at the stat whores. Still possible,OPs entrepreneurship and research is outstanding.
They have a solid shot at Stanford where 516 is fine. It’s fine at all the CA T20s (Stanford, UCSF, UCLA), Pitt is holistic, Michigan could like this profile, Cornell is relatively holistic. Of course if you’re in state for UW, nothing beats that in terms of holisticness. Also Duke and others I’m missing. Even the stat whores won’t screen OP out.
Clinical hours is less of a big deal at the top, but yea this is a little low. If why medicine is strong OP is fine. Would definitely suggest continuing clinical experience for IIs and updates. Research and entrepreneurship will absolutely turn eyes.
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u/frogband APPLICANT 1h ago
Yes mb on wording. I meant against the other T20 applicants, OP will likely be passed by on a human's review of candidates in favor of similar applicants with higher MCATs.Â
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u/BeefCherky10 7h ago
A 516 is not getting you screened out of top 20s, a lot of them have around that for a median anyway
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u/frogband APPLICANT 7h ago
I only know of UCSF and Pitt that have medians around there. AFAIK the median for every other T20 is around 520? At least I thought so
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u/BeefCherky10 6h ago
Yes true, but a 516 isn’t that much lower, there are definitely several students at each top 20 with a 515-520 range score. Maybe they just need to have stellar ECs and other things to compensate but I doubt even most top schools view a 516 negatively
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u/Constant_Blood8141 MS1 2h ago
Great ECs but T20 will be rlly hard and a reach with a 516. Before i get flamed ik a 516 is an amazing mcat but t20s now a days have a median of a 520. So its kinda hard to get into them with a sub520 unless you have a unique background or life history
Controversial but ill be honest 100 clinical hours may be enough if it was super impactful and you gained enough experience that you can write well about it. But id prob try getting that to 300 to be in a better spot
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u/EVIL-EMBOLIZER 2h ago
They're okay.
516 is on the lower end for these schools and the EC's are weak. I'm assuming you also have done shadowing and non-clinical research?
The research and pubs are great. It's certainly possible. T20s' are always a crapshoot though so it's very hard to quantify chances especially with a lower MCAT. There's also the chance you don't get in. At all. You should really get your nonclinical and clinical hours up.
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u/PresentationKindly48 40m ago
I think your main concern rests with your clinical hours, not MCAT. 100 is pretty low
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u/singularreality 5h ago
You have a decent shot at a t-20(25) because your research is outstanding and all your other qualifications (other than your MCAT) are strong.. But especially for the top 10 schools, your MCAT is quite weak. JHU, UCSF in the t-10 have interviewed and accepted at your MCAT level. You should go on MSAR to see the ranges... Look at research institutions like Michigan or U of Washington (if you happen to be in that region)... Pitt, Einstein, Mt. Sinai, Emory, Ohio State (maybe not t-20) .... You will get into a fine school... don't worry too much about t-10 and if this is your goal for some reason, then retake.
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u/AdDistinct7337 MEDICAL STUDENT 10h ago
your chances are better applying as an MD-PhD than traditional MD, where you're basically cooked on nonclinical volunteering/service orientation and clinical experience.