Help me cut down my school list from 25 to 20!

[Dro133]

Hey all! I am a first-time applicant with a slightly non-traditional background. Before I post my stats, I want to say that with my GPA, I know these are technically all "reach" schools for me - that is why I am casting a VERY wide net. But, I do want to cut my list of schools down by at least 5, so any comments/suggestions are welcome!

Residence: AZ
Top 15 private undergrad institution
cGPA: 3.3 (upward trend)
sGPA: 3.2
gGPA: 4.0 (science-heavy master's degree from a large public university)
MCAT: 33 (12 BS, 11 PS, 10 V)

Solid EC's, letters, and PS. Lots of research and volunteering, and a bit of shadowing.

Here is my current school list:

Albany Medical College
Creighton
Drexel
Eastern Virginia Medical School
George Washington U
Loyola Stritch - Chicago
Mayo
Medical College of Wisconsin
New York Medical College
Oakland University - Michigan
Penn State University
Rush University - Chicago
St. Louis University
Thomas Jefferson
Temple
Tulane
UACOM - Tucson
UACOM - Phx
Virginia Tech
Wake Forest
Rosalin Franklin - Chicago
University of Vermont
Virginia Commonwealth
Hofstra
Miami

Note: I understand Mayo is a pipe dream, but I felt the need to include at least one "elite" school, and I have heard that as far as the top schools go, Mayo places less of an emphasis on numbers. Of course, I have no idea whether or not this is true.

Thanks for reading.

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[Goro]

Goro suggests that if you want a dream school on your list, it's far easier to simply flush your app money down the toilet.

I suggest:

Albany Medical College
Creighton
Drexel
Eastern Virginia Medical School
Loyola Stritch - Chicago
Medical College of Wisconsin
New York Medical College
Oakland University - Michigan
Penn State University
Rush University - Chicago
St. Louis University
Thomas Jefferson
Temple
Tulane
UACOM - Tucson
UACOM - Phx
Virginia Tech
Wake Forest
Rosalin Franklin - Chicago
Virginia Commonwealth

 

[talinnlove]

Hey all! I am a first-time applicant with a slightly non-traditional background. Before I post my stats, I want to say that with my GPA, I know these are technically all "reach" schools for me - that is why I am casting a VERY wide net. But, I do want to cut my list of schools down by at least 5, so any comments/suggestions are welcome!

Residence: AZ
Top 15 private undergrad institution
cGPA: 3.3 (upward trend)
sGPA: 3.2
gGPA: 4.0 (science-heavy master's degree from a large public university)
MCAT: 33 (12 BS, 11 PS, 10 V)

Solid EC's, letters, and PS. Lots of research and volunteering, and a bit of shadowing.

Here is my current school list:

Albany Medical College
Creighton
Drexel
Eastern Virginia Medical School
George Washington U
Loyola Stritch - Chicago
Mayo
Medical College of Wisconsin
New York Medical College
Oakland University - Michigan
Penn State University
Rush University - Chicago
St. Louis University
Thomas Jefferson
Temple
Tulane
UACOM - Tucson
UACOM - Phx
Virginia Tech
Wake Forest
Rosalin Franklin - Chicago
University of Vermont
Virginia Commonwealth
Hofstra
Miami

Note: I understand Mayo is a pipe dream, but I felt the need to include at least one "elite" school, and I have heard that as far as the top schools go, Mayo places less of an emphasis on numbers. Of course, I have no idea whether or not this is true.

Thanks for reading.

I see you're an AZ resident, but the first thought that comes to mind is that Arizona-Phoenix has a physiology requirement that some applicants overlook (first bullet point in the "biology-related" section of the first table). That might be an easy way to remove one from the list if you don't have that on your transcript.

That said, GPA is your limiting factor here, so your most out-of-range schools are [Mayo, of course, but that's a reach], MC Wisconsin, SLU, Creighton, Penn State, and GWU - but it seems like you have the MSAR based on your list, so you may know that already.

The only thing I can add is that I don't see Quinnipiac on your list, so perhaps exchange that one for one of your higher GPA schools.