MD 3.75, 28/33, CA Resident with a School list - Chances, suggestions?

[Chuckindor]

Hey Everyone!

Preemptive thank you for the read and the advice!

Stats:
cGPA: 3.8. sGPA: 3.75, MCAT: 28/33 (retake)

ECs:

- CNA certified in 2009. Worked as a CNA full time for one year and part time for 4 years in Alzheimer/Dementia ALFs. (while in school)

- 2 years as a caregiver in various nursing homes/private care (while in school)

- 1+ years Active/Prominent Volunteer Role in Elder Advocacy Non-Profit Group (ongoing)

- Resident Adviser for 2 years in college

- 1 year undergrad research at prominent research facility

-Smattering of undergrad Volunteer work

- Currently a Lab Manager at a Cancer Research Institute at Ivy League University. Currently leading/conducting independent publishable research (not to be published fully before application).

I am a California resident, I went to a good UC school for undergrad and graduated last year. I have a very solid Personal Statement and 3 great rec letters. My focus is heavy on Geriatric Care / Primary Care, and this is reflected over the last 5 years of volunteer/work as a CNA and elder advocate. I see so many conflicting stories of success and failure in these threads, and I am concerned that my numbers may put me toward the bottom of the pile as a serious applicant. I've put together a list of ~20 schools that I am considering. If any of you have any helpful insight as to my chances at these schools, or any others, please let me know. I feel like I may be reaching a lot here, and I don't want to limit my chances by putting together a poor list.

I really appreciate your time and help!

School List:

UC Davis
UCLA
UCSD
UC Irvine
UC Riverside
USC
OHSU (I have connections that would bump the low OOS stat)
University of Washington
University of Colorado
Brown
University of Massachusetts
Tufts
University of Illinois
University of Minnesota
Boston University
Rosalind Franklin
University of Alabama
University of Wisconsin Madison
Albert Einstein
Duke


Thank you again! Please let me know what y'all think.

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[gyngyn]

Delete UW (as you are not WWAMI).
I'd make sure that your connections are recognized at OHSU.
Delete UMass (OOS matriculants were MD/PhD).
UCR is low yield if you have no demonstrated commitment to the IE.

 

[Vain Brother]

agree with @gyngyn's suggestions

you're a fine candidate, but even most very good CA applicants end up having to matriculate OOS. your list is a bit top-heavy and has too many public schools

consider deleting: UW, Umass, UCR (if not IE), alabama, colorado, brown (very few seats and they prefer non-trads), illinois...ok i'm getting tired of this basically most of the non-CA public schools you listed. use the MSAR!

is there a geographical area you prefer (other than CA of course)? any other preferences?

 

[Chuckindor]

agree with @gyngyn's suggestions

you're a fine candidate, but even most very good CA applicants end up having to matriculate OOS. your list is a bit top-heavy and has too many public schools

consider deleting: UW, Umass, UCR (if not IE), alabama, colorado, brown (very few seats and they prefer non-trads), illinois...ok i'm getting tired of this basically most of the non-CA public schools you listed. use the MSAR!

is there a geographical area you prefer (other than CA of course)? any other preferences?

@Vain Brother - Thank you for your response! That is a helpful bit of info. I have a follow-up question: What types of schools should I be looking into further? Why are the non-CA public schools something that I should stay clear of? Is it that the public schools tend to prefer IS applicants, rather than OOS, or is it a stats issue? I did use MSAR when compiling this list, and a lot of the OOS public schools which I listed above fall right at or near my numbers. Is there something else I should be looking at here?

Other than CA, I'd really like to stay West Coast, but I'm very open to location. I picked Alabama, Colorado, etc. because those are states in which I have ties and would like to settle down in and those are schools that have elements that I like.

Thank you again!

 

[Chuckindor]

Delete UW (as you are not WWAMI).
I'd make sure that your connections are recognized at OHSU.
Delete UMass (OOS matriculants were MD/PhD).
UCR is low yield if you have no demonstrated commitment to the IE.

@gyngyn - Thank you for the UMass tip! I did not know that. Strike that one from my list. That will save me some time on secondaries.

 

[Vain Brother]

@Vain Brother - Thank you for your response! That is a helpful bit of info. I have a follow-up question: What types of schools should I be looking into further? Why are the non-CA public schools something that I should stay clear of? Is it that the public schools tend to prefer IS applicants, rather than OOS, or is it a stats issue? I did use MSAR when compiling this list, and a lot of the OOS public schools which I listed above fall right at or near my numbers. Is there something else I should be looking at here?

Other than CA, I'd really like to stay West Coast, but I'm very open to location. I picked Alabama, Colorado, etc. because those are states in which I have ties and would like to settle down in and those are schools that have elements that I like.

Thank you again!

the former -- most public schools prefer their own residents. take alabama for example. they interviewed 61% of their in-state applicants, but only 4% of out-of state applicants. clearly the bar is much higher for an out-of-state applicant. these percentages will vary depending on the school, so that's where your MSAR research comes in. it's OK to throw in a few of these, but if the majority of your list are these state schools, you're not maximizing your interview chances.

the schools you most want to look at, outside of the california schools, are the private schools with median stats at or below yours

 

[Chuckindor]

the former -- most public schools prefer their own residents. take alabama for example. they interviewed 61% of their in-state applicants, but only 4% of out-of state applicants. clearly the bar is much higher for an out-of-state applicant. these percentages will vary depending on the school, so that's where your MSAR research comes in. it's OK to throw in a few of these, but if the majority of your list are these state schools, you're not maximizing your interview chances.

the schools you most want to look at, outside of the california schools, are the private schools with median stats at or below yours

That makes sense. So in that case I could add to my list:

Saint Louis U
Tulane
Georgetown
George Washington
New York Medical College
Albany

I know very little about these schools as of yet, but I feel like these are more in line with the advice you've just provided. I'll read up on these.

Thank you!

 

[gyngyn]

That makes sense. So in that case I could add to my list:

Saint Louis U
Tulane
Georgetown
George Washington
New York Medical College
Albany

I know very little about these schools as of yet, but I feel like these are more in line with the advice you've just provided. I'll read up on these.

Thank you!

Except that GT gets 13K+ and GW gets 14K+ applications!

 

[Faha]

That makes sense. So in that case I could add to my list:

Saint Louis U
Tulane
Georgetown
George Washington
New York Medical College
Albany

I know very little about these schools as of yet, but I feel like these are more in line with the advice you've just provided. I'll read up on these.

Thank you!

In addition to these consider adding
Quinnipiac
Hofstra
Drexel
Temple
Jefferson
Penn State
Oakland Beaumont
Western Michigan
Loyola
Rosalind Franklin
Creighton
Any new private MD schools that open in 2016