Brief Profile:
I am currently a science teacher; before that, I was an undergraduate studying biological chemistry and theoretical physics. I have done research in biochemistry, medicinal chemistry, quantum physics and mathematical modeling of biological systems (specifically, the fractal dynamics of tumor growth). I have also run a few marathons, climbed a few mountains, lived in a few countries - and not a bit of it was as difficult or mind-blowing as teaching in an inner city school. After I complete my teaching commitment, I hope to attend medical school, perform meaningful scientific research and spend some of my life helping humans and advancing medicine.
// Applications //
Application Cycle One: 06/20/2011
Undergraduate college: Southern Oregon University
Undergraduate Area of study: Biological/Life Sciences
Total MCAT SCORE: 520
MCAT Section Scores:
B/B 130,
C/P 132,
CARS 129
Overall GPA: 3.86
Science GPA: 3.90
Summary of Application Experience
In short:
I applied like most stressed, worried and confused pre-meds: to a wide swathe of schools selected for a wide variety of reasons, ranging from substantive knowledge to having simply heard of the place. In late September, as the invites started coming in, I had a profound realization that, more than anything, I wanted to return to live on the west coast. I only applied to 4 west coast schools (OHSU, Stanford, USC, and UCSD), so at first I was quite worried. However, after being accepted to USC early on, I canceled most of my other interviews because 1) I did not have the $ or energy to fly all across the U.S. and 2) I did not really want to live in most of these places. (Hence what may seem inexplicable to many SDN med applicants: Canceled WashU? Canceled UMich? Wth?)
At this point, out of 22 schools, I received 14 interviews, 3 rejections, and 5 schools have not sent me anything. I only attended 5 interviews, and I was accepted at 3 of these schools (I have yet to hear back from OHSU).
Signifier took the old MCAT and scored a 37 which is in the 98th percentile of all old scores.
We converted this to a 520 on the updated scale which is in the 98th percentile of the updated MCAT. We also converted Signifier’s section scores as follows:
Signifier scored a 12 on the Biological Science section of the old MCAT which is approximately equal to a 130 on the Biological and Biochemical Foundations of Living Systems.
Signifier scored a 14 on the Physical Science section of the old MCAT which is approximately equal to a 132 on the Chemical and Physical Foundations of Biological Systems.
Signifier scored a 11 on the Verbal Reasoning section of the old MCAT which is approximately equal to a 129 on the Critical Analysis and Reasoning Skills.
