Feedback on list of schools?

[anriar]

Howdy,

This will be my second time applying, and I think I picked schools pretty poorly last year. My list was top heavy and I was overly focused on how much I was going to have to pay.

My stats:

Ohio Resident
Male
URM
cGPA: 3.48
sGPA: 3.24
Graduated with a Bachelor's in Microbiology in May
Will graduate with a Master's in Microbiology this coming May
MCAT: 37P (14 Bio, 12 Phys, 11 Verbal)
1.5 years as a volunteer in an clinic
1 month shadowing a neonatologist (2x per week)
1 month internship at a teaching hospital in Lima, Peru
Other extracurriculars focused on political activism, especially regarding healthcare reform and anti war activism

My Schools:

Ohio State
U Cincinnati
U Toledo
Case Western
Northeastern Ohio Universities
Wright State
Harvard
Columbia
Duke
U Pittsburgh
Tufts
Dartmouth
Brown
GWU
Tulane
Boston University
NYMC
Drexel

Do y'all think I should apply to more? Less? Any particular schools you think I missed or should cut?

Thanks in advance!

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[XVivo]

It looks better than your list from last year, there is definitely much more variety. It also looks like you got a fair amount interview offers last year, how did you think your interviews went?

 

[anriar]

It looks better than your list from last year, there is definitely much more variety. It also looks like you got a fair amount interview offers last year, how did you think your interviews went?

I thought all of them went well except for Cincinnati - I walked out of that one knowing it probably wasn't going to happen.

 

[foofish]

Aside from interview performance, another thing to consider and revamp is your personal statement...having a compelling (and new) PS can help you get more interviews and serve as a spring-board for conversation within the interview.

Also, I saw in your profile what you wrote about Paul Farmer. Did you actually end up working with him or is that your goal? More importantly, is this in your PS or an interview topic? If you actually worked with him, that's great and ignore the rest of the paragraph. But if it's a long-term goal, I'd steer (far, far) away from mentioning it in your PS/interviews...Paul Farmer is one of the most common and done-to-death PS/interview topics in the medical application process. Having the inspiration and goals are fantastic, don't get me wrong (and I loved MBM). But what I'm saying is that if it is actually something meaningful to you there are better ways to relate wanting to work in global/public health when it comes to your application...medical schools want to hear about YOU and your fresh ideas and don't want to read/hear the 13486th retelling of how Mountains Beyond Mountains made them want to be doctor (even if it's true).

 

[anriar]

Aside from interview performance, another thing to consider and revamp is your personal statement...having a compelling (and new) PS can help you get more interviews and serve as a spring-board for conversation within the interview.

Also, I saw in your profile what you wrote about Paul Farmer. Did you actually end up working with him or is that your goal? More importantly, is this in your PS or an interview topic? If you actually worked with him, that's great and ignore the rest of the paragraph. But if it's a long-term goal, I'd steer (far, far) away from mentioning it in your PS/interviews...Paul Farmer is one of the most common and done-to-death PS/interview topics in the medical application process. Having the inspiration and goals are fantastic, don't get me wrong (and I loved MBM). But what I'm saying is that if it is actually something meaningful to you there are better ways to relate wanting to work in global/public health when it comes to your application...medical schools want to hear about YOU and your fresh ideas and don't want to read/hear the 13486th retelling of how Mountains Beyond Mountains made them want to be doctor (even if it's true).

Yeah that's pretty solid advice. I actually did a study abroad in Central America where we critically evaluated NGO's and grassroots development in the region, and we read excerpts from Infections and Inequalities...I didn't end up reading MBM until after I'd read both Infections and Inequalities and Pathologies of Power. In the interviews that asked what kind of medicine I wanted to practice, I mostly stuck to discussing NHSC and working with immigrant communities in underserved areas.

 

[JJMrK]

Moving to WAMC.