Where could I apply and have a chance?

Hi Alyssa, welcome to SDN . . . .

Are there any particular regions of the country in which you're interested? I'm sure that if you had a particular location in mind, we'd be able to offer you more specific advice.

You can try <a href="http://www.usnews.com." target="_blank">www.usnews.com.</a> This site has a function allowing you to search for medical schools and to pull up information on them regarding the statistics for admissions last year, plus other information. You can also do a general search by geographic area, if you'd find this helpful.

I do want to congratulate you on your MCAT score, which I'm sure will work to your benefit to counteract your GPA. You're still making a wise decision by investigating schools that admit students with lower GPAs, but don't be disheartened! Do you mind if I ask, is there a trend in your transcript? Do your grades improve across the years? That will probably help you.

Best of luck to you!

If you can't find average GPA in the MSAR, you may be able to find it on a school's admission web site. Your premed advisor is probably a good source for how past students from your school have fared with stats similar to yours. Finally, these average GPAs and MCATs are only that, average. It is okay to apply to a few schools that have higher average GPAs. You might be surprised with the results. I know (as an applicant this year), some of the schools I thought would interview me haven't asked yet, while others that I didn't think would, have sent me invites. The process doesn't make that much sense sometimes. Try your best to pick reasonable schools, but don't over analyze.

I guess I would agree with serpiente and MorningLight. You should be competitive at a variety of schools with those MCAT scores. That GPA will be a problem if you wanted to apply to really competitive schools, but your MCATs more than make up for it.

Just make sure you apply to a variety of reasonable schools, and you should get a bunch of interviews. Schools tend to pay more attention to the MCAT than GPA, anyway. At least that's my understanding...

Usually the best choice is your local state school, wherever that is. They usually will have preferential treatment for in-state applicants.

Best of luck!

Agree with what has been said. Your MCATs are great and your GPA is low but not a disaster. I'd call it even money. You will, numerically at least, be competitive at lots of "top 50" of schools - but perhaps not at "top 20" schools. Of course, a lot will depend on the quality of your GPA (where you went to school) and your ECs...Good luck.

Yeah, where's that GPA from? No one can you any sort of meaningful advice without that info. There's a big difference between a 3.1 GPA from Fresno City College and from MIT.

Why do you guys always pick on Fresno City College? Not that it's my alma matter or anything, but you need a bit of variety here! People from Fresno will be afraid to post...

But assuming your degree isn't from Fresno, if you have a lot of research or clinical experience in your background, that might go a long ways to making the adcom forget about the GPA. Just agreeing with jargon124...

I pick on it because it is my alma mater. There are challenging courses there, particularly ochem...but outside of the sciences and math...A's are handed out like water (cheaper bottled water anyways.)

I would say that would make a big difference - I don't know the exact standards at Hopkins, but with a well known school (especially in medicine), a low GPA is easily forgiven!

You might have a shot at a top 20 school. It's almost a given that you'll get in somewhere with a degree from Hopkins and a 34 MCAT.

None - the whole Fresno City College thing makes more sense now.

not to be the only negative one posting a reply here, but as someone who has gone through this application process before, my experience is that grades count for more than MCATs. yes, both are very important and yes, the MCAT is supposedly the 'great equalizer', but there's no getting around the fact that your GPA reflects four years-worth of effort (while the MCAT is a single day) as well as your ability to handle advanced coursework, and a 3.1 is way below the average for med schools. i've watched plenty of older friends go through this process and those with high GPAs but lower MCATs fare way, way better than those with lower GPAs but fantastic MCATs. your MCAT score is great, but it won't cancel out your GPA. i pretty strongly disagree with brandonite's post above: to be honest, i think the only way you'd have a shot at a top 20 is with a tremendous amount of luck and some connections. i'm not saying this to be harsh--it's just that a 3.1 is pretty hard to overlook. i can think of many people i know who graduated with similar GPAs from top schools with 34+ MCATs who didn't get in *anywhere*.

BUT, the fact that your GPA is from hopkins will help, since that's recognized as a great school with grade deflation. also, as someone else noted, has your GPA consistently hovered around a 3.1, has it bounced around a lot, or does this reflect a gradual improving trend (which will score big points)? also, do you have a lot of research experience? outstanding volunteer experience? these things may help to outweigh your GPA in certain schools, namely those who aim to look at the whole package. unfortunately many schools will make initial objective cut-offs based on numbers, and you may not make this first cut--this is why your GPA needs to be higher from the get-go.

as for applying, you don't state where you're from, but definitely apply to your state school!! also aim for lower-tier schools. sure, throw in a few higher ranked ones, because you never know, but i would focus on the lower-ranked schools. but if you want to improve your chances even further, i would strongly recommend getting a masters degree to prove to adcoms that you can handle graduate-level work (which is what will be doubted based on your GPA). it's a pretty common route for those who want to improve their GPAs--heck, that's what i decided to do between the first time i applied and now.

anyway, my point isn't to discourage you, but rather to let you know what i've gone through. the thing that matters most in applying to med school is persistence. you can PM me if you want any more info...

whatever you decide to do, good luck!

Well, point taken. A 3.1 is a low GPA. I just think that a 34 MCAT and a Hopkins degree would be more important. However, at top 20 schools, it might be too much to overlook. You seem to have more experience in this area.

Regardless, with some strong research or clinical experience, I think you should be able to get in somewhere without worrying about masters level courses. I know that Duke won't interview people will less than a 3.2 GPA - that seems to imply that the will interview people with a GPA greater than 3.2, which isn't too far from yours (and Duke is incredibly competitive!).

Anyway, sanflea seems to have more background in this area, so I'll back off...

I recommend this site: <a href="http://www.studentdoc.com/medfind.html" target="_blank">http://www.studentdoc.com/medfind.html</a>
I can't believe it hasn't been mentioned! Keep in mind that not all schools are listed. It is a great starting point, though.

Yup. From the Duke Supplemental Application website:

" Attention Applicants:

Because of the delays to the opening of AMCAS application processing, Duke University School of Medicine has suspended its preliminary screen of applications to facilitate submission of applications. This means that all applicants who have indicated Duke University on their designation list will be offered the opportunity to submit a Duke supplemental application.

Please bear in mind, however, that absent unusual circumstances, those applications with an overall (cumulative) GPA &lt; 3.2 are generally not favorably reviewed. Please take this into consideration when deciding whether to proceed further with completion and submission of this application."

gobears,

It factors in residency, so reagional bias is included.

I don't think it matters if you have a 13 or 15. Both are kick a$$, and you probably get mad statistical props for earning any # that high.

It seems to work well, in my opinion. I'd advise labeling the "less competitive schools" reach schools. Label the "competitive schools" competitive schools and label the "very competitive schools" safety schools. Lump them categorically and take the given #s with a grain of salt.

Yeah...13's and 15's aren't that different statistically either by number of problems missed or what percentile you're in. Wonderful to see that my 30 is "competitive" at Harvard. Now I've just got to get that common cold vaccine to market and I'm set....

none - you're funny

Just a note - it also factors state residency into account.

I don't know if I'd take that site too seriously. It only takes into account your numbers. If you're just the average applicant (who is?) maybe, but other things do count. An undergrad degree from Hopkins, for example, should be a positive factor. It seems to me that the most useful aspect of this site is the state residency factor. Maybe some of those people who apply out of state to schools that NEVER take out of staters (ie UCDavis) could save themselves some money.