Application Cycle One: 2003

• Undergraduate college: University of Waterloo
• Undergraduate Area of study: Physical Sciences

• Institution: Univ of California Berkeley
• Area of Study: Physical Sciences
• Degree Obtained: PhD

• Total MCAT SCORE: 523
• MCAT Section Scores: B/B 131, C/P 130, CARS 130   Detailed Breakdown
• Overall GPA: 3.57
• Science GPA: 3.50

Summary of Application Experience

Very pleased by my experiences the first time around.

Had to make a very difficult decision between paying tuition at CU or going to DMU for free for 4 years. Family illness made location a very important factor, and I was not looking forward to moving to Des Moines, then having to move again after 2 years for rotations.

What I learned:
- I only applied to places that I would enjoy living in and liked the sound of their programs. 10 AMCAS and 4 AACOMAS schools were plenty.
- having a Jan. acceptance from state school made it easy to decline interviews and withdraw. I really believe in making prompt decisions and clearing out the system so everything moves more smoothly.
- state schools will interview and accept out-of-state students with good MCAT scores, but tuition is very expensive (esp. if you are out-of-state for 4 years) and financial aid is severely limited.
- April MCAT would have improved my chances at UCSF and Mayo. August was too late.
- check prereqs carefully, especially if you are working and can't take a lot of courses in the year between applying and starting med school. Schools are really inflexible (e.g. can't substitute micro for 1 semester of gen bio). Getting into anatomy & physio classes anywhere is difficult.
- if applying MD and DO, consider sending in the AACOMAS application later (October). Some of the DO schools are very quick to turn around an application and will be asking you for a seat deposit (up to $2000) before you have even heard from the MD schools.