MD 36O, 4.0 GPA What should my school list be?

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Hello everyone,
I am a new member and just received my MCAT score. It was 11PS/13VR/12BS/O WS. I am an Illinois resident from far southern Illinois in a rural, underserved area. I want to stay in the midwest and close to home as I hope to return to the area post-residency. I am trying to finalize my school list, and I want to make sure I am not missing out on somewhere. I have a 4.0 GPA (Chem major, bio minor) and moderate ECs. I am not looking to apply to tons of schools. I would be perfectly happy at a state school. I attended undergrad in western KY and have good connections to Louisville and UK. I also do not want to live in Chicago so that rules out a few. My schools listed in rough order of preference are...

1.) Vandy
2.) Wash U
3.) Emory
4.) Indiana
5/6) Louisville and UK
7.) Saint Louis U
8.) SIU
9.) Illinois

EC's
Volunteer Tutor (20 hours)
Published chemistry research
Presidential research fellow at my university (top 10 in each entering class)
3 years of research in bioanalytical chemistry lab (5 hours per week)
Honors student
member and officer of several honors societies
Fraternity member and officer (50+ volunteer hours)
Completed summer future physicians program at local hospital (200 hours shadowing and nurse's aid)
Award for top chemistry sophomore.
Officer of Pre-health club

LOR's
Super strong committee letter and a letter from head of presidential fellowship


Also, will my O in writing affect me at the top tier schools?

Originally Posted by IkeMan90

Hello everyone,
I am a new member and just received my MCAT score. It was 11PS/13VR/12BS/O WS. I am an Illinois resident from far southern Illinois in a rural, underserved area. I want to stay in the midwest and close to home as I hope to return to the area post-residency. I am trying to finalize my school list, and I want to make sure I am not missing out on somewhere. I have a 4.0 GPA (Chem major, bio minor) and moderate ECs. I am not looking to apply to tons of schools. I would be perfectly happy at a state school. I attended undergrad in western KY and have good connections to Louisville and UK. I also do not want to live in Chicago so that rules out a few. My schools listed in rough order of preference are...

1.) Vandy
2.) Wash U
3.) Emory
4.) Indiana
5/6) Louisville and UK
7.) Saint Louis U
8.) SIU
9.) Illinois

EC's
Volunteer Tutor (20 hours)
Published chemistry research
Presidential research fellow at my university (top 10 in each entering class)
3 years of research in bioanalytical chemistry lab (5 hours per week)
Honors student
member and officer of several honors societies
Fraternity member and officer (50+ volunteer hours)
Completed summer future physicians program at local hospital (200 hours shadowing and nurse's aid)
Award for top chemistry sophomore.
Officer of Pre-health club

LOR's
Super strong committee letter and a letter from head of presidential fellowship


Also, will my O in writing affect me at the top tier schools?

No, the O won't affect your chances. Maybe look into schools with a special program/mission for developing rural med doctors. Minnesota-Duluth, UWisconsin, UIowa come to mind.

Originally Posted by IkeMan90

Also, will my O in writing affect me at the top tier schools?

No, the writing section is generally considered to be the least important part of the MCAT. With your high score in verbal reasoning and provided you write a decent personal statement, it should be a non-issue to the adcoms.

As for adding a school or two, I would use the MSAR. Your stats are very competitive, so look for schools with mission statements that match you reasoning for becoming a doctor. Also check out what type of ECs those schools prefer -- you have a lot more research experience than community service. In fact, you might want to look into the MSTP.

Thanks for the advice. I don't necessarily want to commit to a rural track because they tend to limit you to more family medicine type goals. I hope to specialize in something so I would like to be competitive.

Bump....

Any more advice?

Originally Posted by IkeMan90

Bump....

Any more advice?

to put it simply, apply wherever you want. with your mcat and gpa you can apply anywhere you want. it'll end up being a crap shoot for the most part, but you should get an acceptance somewhere

SIU is right up your alley. they specifically look for rural illinois residents who want to serve in rural/southern illinois. no need to apply elsewhere.

Any particular reason you aren't applying to the Chicago schools?

Originally Posted by IkeMan90

Bump....

Any more advice?

Apply anywhere you want.

you can apply anywhere you want

O won't affect you at all, I got an N which is like 30th percentile, but never once was it mentioned in the app process. Writing is a useless score, half of it is graded by computer for crying out loud.

Originally Posted by mikesheree

SIU is right up your alley. they specifically look for rural illinois residents who want to serve in rural/southern illinois. no need to apply elsewhere.

SIU isn't one of my top choices by any means. I'd much rather spend my time in a state other than Illinois. Illinois politics are completely screwed up by all the crazy Chicago liberals and people are generally nicer in the south, hence my list.

Originally Posted by mimelim

Any particular reason you aren't applying to the Chicago schools?

As I mentioned, I am not a fan of Chicago or anywhere north for that matter lol. My wife made me promise not to apply to anywhere in Chicago because she really doesn't want to live there. I'm just trying to go south if I can help it.

Originally Posted by IkeMan90

As I mentioned, I am not a fan of Chicago or anywhere north for that matter lol. My wife made me promise not to apply to anywhere in Chicago because she really doesn't want to live there. I'm just trying to go south if I can help it.

Apply to any and every school you have a desire to attend, avoiding only those that make it nearly impossible for OOS applicants to get in. You are good anywhere, just don't apply to ONLY top 20 schools and you should be golden.