MD 3.9/37 Looking for some school list assistance

[ResidencyHopeful123]

Thanks for the help everyone!

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[determinedPreMed]

Hey,

Your stats are very good and you look like a solid ready-to-g0 applicant.

I would make sure that your recommenders include the fact that your group is close to publication. This is assuming at least one of your recommenders is your research advisor, which I hope is the case. Also, you can include it in your Experiences section when you are talking about your research. Just be forthright and mention that the writing process has begun. Furthermore, you can mention it to schools during the interview process.

Your list looks good, but if you want to be absolutely certain that you don't do a gap year then I would add some more safety schools like Albany Medical College, The Commonwealth Medical College, Virginia Tech, and New York Medical College. These are just as safeties.

Good luck! You should have a very good application cycle.

If you get a chance, can you please answer my chances question? Thank you!
http://forums.studentdoctor.net/threads/interesting-journey-grade-trend-chances.1127514/

 

[Goro]

You're golden:

Suggest adding WashU, Harvard, U Penn, Yale, NYU, Sinai, Einstein, U Miami, Tulane, Loyola, USC, Stanford, U IA, U ILL, U WI, U MI, U VA, Mayo. Forget Brown, they prefer their own UGs, and Dartmouth like non-trads.

Reaches: Johns Hopkins, Yale, Duke, UChicago, Vanderbilt, UPitt

Matches (hopefully): Baylor, Emory, Case Western, Boston University,

Safeties (if there is such a thing): UNMC (home state), St. Louis University, Creighton

You don't, because it's easy to say "in progress", or "submitted". Wait for "in press".

- How can I communicate that I will be published in the upcoming year? As I mentioned, my project has really progressed over the past 2 years, and we've begun the writing process.

 

[ResidencyHopeful123]

Thanks for the recommendations Goro! Assuming that the paper does go out next year, can I still update schools once it hits the press?

My P.I. suggested throwing in a little "paper is coming" mention when describing the research experience for this reason. I can understand why you would advise against this though (as you are right, nothing is certain till it is actually accepted).

 

[breakintheroof]

Thanks for the recommendations Goro! Assuming that the paper does go out next year, can I still update schools once it hits the press?

My P.I. suggested throwing in a little "paper is coming" mention when describing the research experience for this reason. I can understand why you would advise against this though (as you are right, nothing is certain till it is actually accepted).

First, congratulations on your strong application, @AnophelesGambiae. I agree that you should do well.

Good news, bad news about the publication. Bad news first: @Goro knows best, adcoms won't be impressed by your word that it's on the way. Good news: Publications aren't all that important for applying to medical school. The fact that you have taken a leadership role in the project, however, will benefit you when you write about it authoritatively in your essays, when you talk about it in interviews with excitement and passion, and when your PI praises your initiative in her/his letter. When the paper gets accepted, you can send an update letter to those schools that accept them.

Regarding your school list. I second Goro regarding the New England schools, and I'll go a step further: All four that you've included add up to less than meets the eye when it comes to broadening your application. BU and Tufts get 10,000+ applications, so they may triage their interview invitations to high-stat applicants. Brown has few spots for regular applicants given their reliance on non-AMCAS programs. And Dartmouth is small and, by reputation, heavily non-trad. Keep Baylor, Emory, and Case, and throw in some of Goro's, like Einstein, USC, and UVA. For your "safeties," I'd also double-check that Tennessee is OOS-friendly, and that Creighton (a Jesuit school) will take a look at someone like you who has strong research (edit: never mind, I see you're from Nebraska, you would know better than me).

One final point while I'm here: What does EMR stand for in your post? I typically see it as an abbreviation for "electronic medical record," so I was confused by your description. It sounds like it is some sort of emergency response designation, like EMT or first responder? Maybe I'm the only one who doesn't know what it is, but I'd just be sure to make that clear.

Good luck!

 

[Doug Underhill]

U Tennessee HSC is not really OOS-friendly. This is good for me, because you have better stats than me and I want to go there. Tulane has an emphasis on research and would be a decent safety, but USC seemingly prefers Californians. SLU and Miami might be good picks for safeties.

 

[ResidencyHopeful123]

Thanks for the replies everyone!

@breakintheroof, Thanks for letting me know about the pubs. I will refrain from mentioning it on my application. Hopefully, I'll be able to update schools once the paper goes out. As for BU and Tufts, wouldn't it benefit me if they only give interview invites to high stat applicants (unless by high stats, we're talking MCATs above 40)?

As for EMR, you are correct. It stands for "Emergency Medical Responder". It's basically a First Responder certification. While I don't use the certification in its intended purpose, it did afford me sufficient medical knowledge such that I can work with patients at a free clinic.

@Doug Underhill, thanks for the information. I always thought that USC was different from other California schools (in that it's more accepting of OOS applicants). I could be off base with this though.

 

[breakintheroof]

Thanks for the replies everyone!

@breakintheroof, Thanks for letting me know about the pubs. I will refrain from mentioning it on my application. Hopefully, I'll be able to update schools once the paper goes out. As for BU and Tufts, wouldn't it benefit me if they only give interview invites to high stat applicants (unless by high stats, we're talking MCATs above 40)?

Pardon me, that part of my post was unclear. I meant that while your stats are high for them, they get so many applications that they can't interview a very high percentage, and they may not interview all of the strong candidates they get. That's not to say you wouldn't have a chance there, just a somewhat smaller one than elsewhere. (Plus, both are expensive, so if you do well elsewhere, you may not choose them.) Fine to include as long as you don't count on them for much.

 

[gyngyn]

@Doug Underhill, thanks for the information. I always thought that USC was different from other California schools (in that it's more accepting of OOS applicants). I could be off base with this though.

The only CA schools with an actual preference for CA applicants are UCR and UCD.
I recommend you stop calling them "pubs."

 

[ResidencyHopeful123]

@gyngyn, Apologies, wasn't trying to diminish the value of publications. Writing this on my phone, so was going for something short!

 

[gyngyn]

@gyngyn, Apologies, wasn't trying to diminish the value of publications. Writing this on my phone, so was going for something short!

Sorry for being peevish...

 

[CaliforniaDreamer]

As for EMR, you are correct. It stands for "Emergency Medical Responder". It's basically a First Responder certification. While I don't use the certification in its intended purpose, it did afford me sufficient medical knowledge such that I can work with patients at a free clinic.

I am still not really sure what this is, I do the same thing (intake patients, take vitals, do blood glucose tests, present to the docs, etc) and no one I work with has even heard of an EMR certification. This is in california so maybe it is different here?

 

[ResidencyHopeful123]

@CaliforniaDreamer, here is the web page for the certification:

https://www.nremt.org/nremt/about/reg_1st_history.asp

I hope this helps! It's basically a step below EMT, and is often called a "first responder".