Advice about school list (3.9 / 38) with weak volunteering/ECs

[jncz]

Hey guys, I'm wondering what you guys think of my school list. I'm trying to finish it up before I apply and this is what I have so far.

I'm a Junior, graduating in 3 years so this semester is my last. Illinois Resident, white male, EO-2 socioeconomic status that I'll include in the app. I qualified for FAP so I can apply to 15 schools for free.

Cumulative GPA: 3.93
Science GPA: 3.90

MCAT Score: took only once, got a 38

Research
1 year neuropsychology: 6 hrs/wk
1 year biology curriculum research with professor, not a wet lab, 6 hrs/wk, no pubs/posters

Volunteering (clinical): 1.5 years at hospital ED, 3 hrs/wk

Physician shadowing
ENT surgery/30 hrs
Transplant surgery/80 hrs
Family medicine/10 hrs

Extracurricular activities
Tutoring coordinator for a large honors society, worked with disadvantaged elementary kids and college tutors
Mentor role on board of same honors society the following year
Served on committee in a student org that coordinates musical shows for students on campus, more of a thing done just for fun

Employment
3 years education policy research, ~10 hrs/wk
I'm going to work somewhere the year that I apply, what would have been my senior year

So far my list of school I'm planning to apply to is:

Reach
Northwestern
University of Chicago
Washington University in St. Louis
University of Pennsylvania
Harvard
Stanford

Non-reach
UIC
Loyola
Rush
Rosalind Franklin
Mayo
Vanderbilt
NYU
Saint Louis University
Medical College of Wisconsin

Some others I'm thinking of adding
New York Medical College
Jefferson
Temple

Let me know what you guys think!

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[Gladiolus23]

How is Mayo a non-reach school?

 

[premed1001]

-

 

[jncz]

How is Mayo a non-reach school?

I wrote this up pretty quickly. I guess Mayo would be a reach, as well as Vanderbilt now that I look at it. Thanks for pointing that out!

why have you deleted all your previous posts?

They were all in a thread where things got pretty heated and I said some things that were overly harsh so I deleted them.

 

[Entadus]

Throw in the University of Cincinnati (will be way cheaper than NYMC)

Edit: Also, your list is top heavy... you SHOULD add some of the schools you mentioned like Jeff. Consider removing a reach or two in favor of some more "mid-tier" programs

 

[jncz]

Throw in the University of Cincinnati (will be way cheaper than NYMC)

Edit: Also, your list is top heavy... you SHOULD add some of the schools you mentioned like Jeff. Consider removing a reach or two in favor of some more "mid-tier" programs

I haven't looked at University of Cincinnati, thanks!

The reason I'm hesitating on those mid-tiers is that a lot of them (like Jefferson, Georgetown, Tufts) have really dismal out of state interview percentages (less than 10% usually) which I think is because they get so many applications. Am I wrong in my reasoning that top schools with higher % interviewed and less apps would give me a better chance than simply adding more lower stat schools?

 

[DokterMom]

I'd add more in the upper mid-tier (15-35 rank) and drop 'safeties' like Rosalind Franklin, NYMC, Jefferson. Nothing against Rosy, but they're not going to waste their resources chasing an applicant who's unlikely to attend. Same with other schools with median MCAT of <33. I'd trade Penn for Pitt (you're super top-heavy and Pitt is upper-upper mid-tier) and add Michigan (OOS?) and Case.

One of the things about the 'thin air' schools (Harvard, Hopkins, Mayo) is that they like 'unique' in addition to all the usual sky-high numbers things. You look like a very strong applicant, but perhaps not so 'unique' that the dean could brag about you in a cocktail party. If Harvard's your dream, leave them in, but make sure you're well-covered in the 'just below Harvard' tier.

 

[solitarius]

Apply broadly doesn't mean applying to a ton of elite schools with some lower-tier safeties thrown in. Your list is lacking mid-tiers, and that may bite you in the butt.

Buy an MSAR. There's no way Mayo, Vanderbilt, and NYU are non-reaches for you.

 

[jncz]

I'd add more in the upper mid-tier (15-35 rank) and drop 'safeties' like Rosalind Franklin, NYMC, Jefferson. Nothing against Rosy, but they're not going to waste their resources chasing an applicant who's unlikely to attend. Same with other schools with median MCAT of <33. I'd trade Penn for Pitt (you're super top-heavy and Pitt is upper-upper mid-tier) and add Michigan (OOS?) and Case.

One of the things about the 'thin air' schools (Harvard, Hopkins, Mayo) is that they like 'unique' in addition to all the usual sky-high numbers things. You look like a very strong applicant, but perhaps not so 'unique' that the dean could brag about you in a cocktail party. If Harvard's your dream, leave them in, but make sure you're well-covered in the 'just below Harvard' tier.

Much appreciated, that's a very helpful answer!

Apply broadly doesn't mean applying to a ton of elite schools with some lower-tier safeties thrown in. Your list is lacking mid-tiers, and that may bite you in the butt.

Buy an MSAR. There's no way Mayo, Vanderbilt, and NYU are non-reaches for you.

Definitely, I addressed that a little bit higher in the thread. I have a copy of the MSAR from my FAP award, I was just counting "non-reach" as schools whose 90th percentile for MCAT wasn't higher than what I got, certainly not an airtight way to classify schools. What mid-tiers would you suggest to keep in mind? All the "middle" schools in terms of GPA/MCAT seem to have >10k applications and really low percentages of out of state students that get invited to interview/matriculate. Thanks for your input.

 

[solitarius]

With your profile, I think your Reach List is reasonable. Consider adding additional T-25 schools in the Midwest.

I think you need to overhaul the Non-Reaches and focus on upper and solid mid-tiers (USNWR #25 - #50), with a weight towards schools in the midwest. Improve your odds by finding schools whose mission / programs matches demonstrated interest proven in your background.

 

[jncz]

With your profile, I think your Reach List is reasonable. Consider adding additional T-25 schools in the Midwest.

I think you need to overhaul the Non-Reaches and focus on upper and solid mid-tiers (USNWR #25 - #50), with a weight towards schools in the midwest. Improve your odds by finding schools whose mission / programs matches demonstrated interest proven in your background.

Thanks for your help!

 

[Entadus]

I haven't looked at University of Cincinnati, thanks!

The reason I'm hesitating on those mid-tiers is that a lot of them (like Jefferson, Georgetown, Tufts) have really dismal out of state interview percentages (less than 10% usually) which I think is because they get so many applications. Am I wrong in my reasoning that top schools with higher % interviewed and less apps would give me a better chance than simply adding more lower stat schools?

A couple things:

1. With your stats, you will usually be in that top ~10% that get interviews. So no worries there.
2. Yes, you are wrong. Your chances of interview are lower at more selective schools (Mayo, Harvard, Stanford, Penn) than at some other programs like Case Western, Ohio State, Dartmouth....
3. Read the posts by Doktormom and Solitarius again.

 

[pyrrion89]

I'd add maybe 10 more schools in the top 20, maybe throw out 5 in your safeties. You seem strong. The top 5 will still be a crapshoot/reach, because their admissions are so arcane and rely a lot on their sentiment and if you have any crazy accomplishments. Good luck!

 

[5dwn7]

Will you apply to more schools than the free 15? If not, I agree that you should cut some of the schools from the top 10. Mayo is 25 on USNWR, but it is very selective (tiny class size) and known to prize very unique applicants. I might cut Mayo if you're going to keep HMS, Stanford, Penn etc, unless you have a really unique story you didn't mention and/or a really compelling reason you want to attend Mayo.

Your numbers are great, but you do look a little light on ECs and volunteering (not saying this in a box checking way but in a presenting a strong argument for your uniqueness and motivation for medicine way... hope that made sense). I think the AMCAS is going to ask for total hours again instead of hrs/week. I don't know if that will change your numbers much. It will be a matter of how you sell your story. How good do you think your LORs are?

Best of luck!

 

[jncz]

A couple things:

1. With your stats, you will usually be in that top ~10% that get interviews. So no worries there.
2. Yes, you are wrong. Your chances of interview are lower at more selective schools (Mayo, Harvard, Stanford, Penn) than at some other programs like Case Western, Ohio State, Dartmouth....
3. Read the posts by Doktormom and Solitarius again.

That's very good to know. I've been adjusting my list to include more of the popular lower stat schools and I'll keep this in mind. And I'll make sure to read those posts many times before the list is finished haha

 

[jncz]

I'd add maybe 10 more schools in the top 20, maybe throw out 5 in your safeties. You seem strong. The top 5 will still be a crapshoot/reach, because their admissions are so arcane and rely a lot on their sentiment and if you have any crazy accomplishments. Good luck!

Thanks! I skimmed through your MD apps profile and we seem to be alike in some important ways. The humble beginnings part was very interesting to me.

 

[jncz]

Will you apply to more schools than the free 15? If not, I agree that you should cut some of the schools from the top 10. Mayo is 25 on USNWR, but it is very selective (tiny class size) and known to prize very unique applicants. I might cut Mayo if you're going to keep HMS, Stanford, Penn etc, unless you have a really unique story you didn't mention and/or a really compelling reason you want to attend Mayo.

Your numbers are great, but you do look a little light on ECs and volunteering (not saying this in a box checking way but in a presenting a strong argument for your uniqueness and motivation for medicine way... hope that made sense). I think the AMCAS is going to ask for total hours again instead of hrs/week. I don't know if that will change your numbers much. It will be a matter of how you sell your story. How good do you think your LORs are?

Best of luck!

Yeah, I'm thinking of applying to 25 total, so just $350 for applications if I get all secondary waivers. What you said about ECs did make sense, thanks for your input!
Out of 5 letters, I'm expecting 2 quite good letters and 3 "just good"/average letters. I'm thinking it won't propel me anywhere but they won't work against me either.