OK I'm ready to play the odds game...

I would REALLY like to get into one of these schools:

CALIFORNIA
·Loma Linda School of Medicine
·Stanford University
·University of California, Davis
·University of California, Irvine
·University of California, Los Angeles
·University of California, San Diego
·University of California, San Francisco
·University of Southern California Keck School of Medicine

HAWAII
·University of Hawaii

OREGON
·Oregon Health Sciences University

What are my odds of being accepted to one of the above schools?

My stats:

4 years at a California State University
Overall GPA: 3.92
BCPM GPA: 3.91
MCAT: PS 13, VR 10, BS 9, WS O, Overall-32O
Approximately 75 hours of critical care volunteer work (all clinical)
Yearly Mexico mission trip for the last 4 years over spring break

Both Hawai'i and Oregon dont take very many out of staters.

Your stats are good though and I wouldn't be surprised if you get into a UC, but then again I wouldn't be surprised if you didn't. The UCs are notoriously picky for state schools. I would definitely add some more OOS schools, preferably private ones that dont care what state you live in.

OK I'm ready to play the odds game...

I would REALLY like to get into one of these schools:

CALIFORNIA
·Loma Linda School of Medicine
·Stanford University
·University of California, Davis
·University of California, Irvine
·University of California, Los Angeles
·University of California, San Diego
·University of California, San Francisco
·University of Southern California Keck School of Medicine

HAWAII
·University of Hawaii

OREGON
·Oregon Health Sciences University

What are my odds of being accepted to one of the above schools?

My stats:

4 years at a California State University
Overall GPA: 3.92
BCPM GPA: 3.91
MCAT: PS 13, VR 10, BS 9, WS O, Overall-32O
Approximately 75 hours of critical care volunteer work (all clinical)
Yearly Mexico mission trip for the last 4 years over spring break

You don't have a chance at UH, and you will definitely need to apply more broadly. Do you have more EC's than that?

You have good grades and a decent MCAT, but the MCAT may be a limiting factor at some schools (it will be for me too).

I think your best chance(s) will be at USC and Loma Linda, but I agree with what Raryn said...

I'm not sure how accurate this calculator is, but according to http://www.studentdoc.com/medfind.html it is easier for me to get into UH than it is to get into Stanford, UCLA, UCSF, or USC, which is why I had planned on applying there.

I would really like to stay in California and I am incredibly hesitant to move far away from it since I plan on getting married in a year and she doesn't really want to go to places like Texas, New York, Louisiana, or Michigan, but could tolerate going to Hawaii or Oregon. Are there any other "west coast" schools that I should consider?

I'm not sure how accurate this calculator is, but according to http://www.studentdoc.com/medfind.html it is easier for me to get into UH than it is to get into Stanford, UCLA, UCSF, or USC, which is why I had planned on applying there.

I would really like to stay in California and I am incredibly hesitant to move far away from it since I plan on getting married in a year and she doesn't really want to go to places like Texas, New York, Louisiana, or Michigan, but could tolerate going to Hawaii or Oregon. Are there any other "west coast" schools that I should consider?

Despite medfind's usefulness, you need to realize that certain schools accept their in state applications over out of state (OOS) applicants regardless of your qualifications. Another great west coast school that doesn't traditionally accept OOS'ers is UW. According to my MSAR, OOS matriculants make up <10% of the entering class.

As far as the marriage thing goes, I am in sort of the same boat as you.

However, your gf/fiance needs to understand that getting into medical school is a big crap shoot. You NEED to apply broadly and you go where ever you can get in.

Despite medfind's usefulness, you need to realize that certain schools accept their in state applications over out of state (OOS) applicants regardless of your qualifications. Another great west coast school that doesn't traditionally accept OOS'ers is UW. According to my MSAR, OOS matriculants make up <10% of the entering class.
Yeah I agree that I probably don't have a chance at UW. However, it looks like Hawaii accepts 22.6% of OOS applicants and Oregon accepts 31.4% out of state.

What about Nevada? I had not considered it before because medfind showed it as an impossible school for me to get in to due to being out of state, but the MSAR shows a 17.7% out of state acceptance for Nevada, should I consider applying there?

Also, is it worth it to try applying to Texas schools?


As far as the marriage thing goes, I am in sort of the same boat as you.

However, your gf/fiance needs to understand that getting into medical school is a big crap shoot. You NEED to apply broadly and you go where ever you can get in.

Yeah it sucks because I am really asking a lot from her. She will have 2 years left in college when we move, so wherever we end up we'll have to find a college for her nearby to finish up her bachelor's degree. California schools would be the best for this because she is going to a California State University school right now, which would make everything a more smooth transition (going from one CSU to another elsewhere in the state). Unfortunately, CA schools are so hard to get into (even for an in-state applicant), so it really has me worried I won't get in anywhere.

Yeah I agree that I probably don't have a chance at UW. However, it looks like Hawaii accepts 22.6% of OOS applicants and Oregon accepts 31.4% out of state.

What about Nevada? I had not considered it before because medfind showed it as an impossible school for me to get in to due to being out of state, but the MSAR shows a 17.7% out of state acceptance for Nevada, should I consider applying there?


UNR does accept some OOSers, but pretty much one from schools that have no med school. The main exception is they do accept californians that live on the eastern side of the sierra nevadas, but there are very few towns that are like that.


Also, is it worth it to try applying to Texas schools?

Its another application and they are all very picky about out of state applicants. Even the private school receives public funding and is encouraged not to take out of staters.


Yeah it sucks because I am really asking a lot from her. She will have 2 years left in college when we move, so wherever we end up we'll have to find a college for her nearby to finish up her bachelor's degree. California schools would be the best for this because she is going to a California State University school right now, which would make everything a more smooth transition (going from one CSU to another elsewhere in the state). Unfortunately, CA schools are so hard to get into (even for an in-state applicant), so it really has me worried I won't get in anywhere.

Its a crapshoot, and while your numbers aren't bad, they by no means guarantee you'll get in to a CA school. You could always just try a limited number of schools this year and try again the next, or rather be safe than sorry and apply to east coast schools as well. Alternatively, if you really want to stay in CA, you're practically a shoe-in for the two CA DO schools.

OK, well I ultimately decided to go ahead and limit the number of schools I am applying to this year to the California, Oregon, and Hawaii schools. If I don't get it this cycle, I'll apply more broadly and add in DO schools next time.

I now have an MDapps at http://www.mdapplicants.com/viewprofile.php?id=10797 that outlines my EC's and scores.

Since I posted this I started teaching an MCAT course for Kaplan, so I included that on my AMCAS. Hopefully that may impress someone in Admissions at some of these schools...

With my mission work and decent GPA/MCAT, what do you think my chances will be of at least getting in at Loma Linda (I'm not a Seventh Day Adventist)?

edit:

Also, I've been asked by several people why I chose Hawaii and Oregon to add to my list. According to the "School Selector" spreadsheet, my schools fall in this fashion:

"Hopeful":
UCSD
UCSF

"Go For It":
USC
UCLA
UH
OHSU

"High Chance":
UCD
UCI
Loma Linda

Do my "High Chance" schools mean that I have more than a 75% chance of getting an interview or something along those lines?

While I know SDN and other websites have all these nice "high" "low" "go for it" type categories... one of my good friends who just got accepted to UCSF did NOT get a secondary to UC Davis... so sometimes your backups turn out to not really back you up at all. I agree apply more broadly and got for it! Your have good stats.

Don't apply to Loma Linda if you are not a Seventh-Day Adventist. They are really cold to people who are not; my girlfriend's cousin said it was the worst interview experience she has ever had.

UCSD and UCSF are really big on research experience, obviously, so it would definitely help if you had a good amount under your belt.

Don't apply to Loma Linda if you are not a Seventh-Day Adventist. They are really cold to people who are not; my girlfriend's cousin said it was the worst interview experience she has ever had.
Well, that's good to know. Unfortunately, I have already applied. However, I think with my stats and my missions experience (with a non-denominational church), they may consider me although I am not Seventh-Day Adventist.


UCSD and UCSF are really big on research experience, obviously, so it would definitely help if you had a good amount under your belt.
Yeah, this is one thing I lack. I literally have no research experience. I think I may try to get in on a research project next year (just in case I don't get in this cycle). Hopefully UCSF will give me some additional attention for volunteering at their teaching hospital in Fresno. All the doctors I saw had "UCSF" badges on the sleeve.

Well just for an update, I've gotten an interview invite for University of Hawaii (go figure!) and the only UC secondary I've received so far is from UC Davis (probably my top choice).

Should I be worried that I haven't gotten any more interview invites from the other UC schools?

Does anyone know what general percentage of people invited to an interview will ultimately be accepted?