MD HELP - School List Difficulty

[Hansel123]

Hi all,
I'm stuck in a tough spot and hope some people on SDN might be able to give some advice.

Things to know about me:
- I only want to pursue MD schools, so no reason to suggest DO schools. If you think my application needs some work to be competitive at MD schools, suggest things I can do to improve my app. Any advice is appreciated.
- I just took the MCAT in August. Scores are released September 8th. According to my many practice test scores and how I feel about the test, I should score around 508-511 (30 - 32 equivalent). I'm erring on the side of caution with my predicted MCAT score relative to how I did on practice tests. Obviously this isn't guaranteed, but it's all I can work with so please assume this score range is accurate. I have already been verified and am currently working on secondaries to my state schools.


Stats:
- GPA: cGPA: 3.49 sGPA: 3.38
- MCAT: (assumed) 508-511
- Undergrad at top 15 private institution. It may be helpful to know about ~75+% of students from my institution with my cGPA get into an MD.
- ECs: Excellent. 3 Publications (not including one first author pub that I just submitted, so should be able to update schools with this once it's accepted). Also presenting at prestigious conference in fall of this year as first author of poster. Tons of clinical volunteering hours, shadowing, other ECs, etc., etc.
- LORs: Should be excellent as well.
- I'm a first-generation college student, which I've heard is an advantage for some schools. Does anyone know schools in particular where this may be an advantage?
- Not a URM

School list:
Assuming time and cost of apps is not an obstacle, please help me with my school list. I'm considering applying to ~40+ schools. I know this is a lot of time and money, but I'm confident I can get it done by about the time my MCAT scores come back (Sept. 8th). Which schools on my current list would you recommend removing? Also, please recommend any schools you would consider adding? Thank you for any help/advice.

Here's my list:
- (My 7 FL state schools - doing these secondaries first and are currently the only schools I have applied to)

Others:
1. Albany Medical School
2. Boston University School of Medicine
3. California Northstate
4. Creighton
5. Drexel
6. Eastern Virginia
7. George Washington
8. Georgetown
9. Hofstra
10. Jefferson
11. Loyola
12. Marshall
13. Medical College of Wisconsin
14. Michigan State University
15. New York Medical College
16. Oakland Beaumont
17. Pennsylvania State University College of Medicine
18. Quinnipiac
19. Rosalind
20. Rush
21. Rutgers
22. St. Louis University School of Medicine
23. Temple
24. The Commonwealth Medical College
25. Tufts
26. Tulane
27. University of Arizona College of Medicine
28. University of Cincinnati
29. University of Iowa College of Medicine
30. University of Louisville
31. University of Maryland
32. University of Missouri-Kansas
33. University of Pittsburgh
34. University of South Carolina-Greenville
35. University of Vermont
36. Virginia Commonwealth
37. Wake Forest
38. Wayne State University
39. West Virginia University School of Medicine (state-ties)
40. Western Michigan

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[GrapesofRath]

I don't usually comment on these WAMC threads without an MCAT score and you are on the late side of things but what I did was scratch out the schools that are a waste of money for you and leave out the ones that can be worth consideration. You don't need me to tell you your odds are best with Florida schools. This is all MCAT score dependent and you really want to apply as soon as possible. I would recommend pursuing some post-bacc classes during your application cycle to raise your GPA if you can in case you are a re-applicant next cycle.


Albany Medical School
4. Creighton
5. Drexel
6. Eastern Virginia
7. George Washington
8. Georgetown
10. Jefferson
11. Loyola
13. Medical College of Wisconsin
15. New York Medical College
16. Oakland Beaumont
17. Pennsylvania State University College of Medicine
18. Quinnipiac
19. Rosalind
20. Rush
22. St. Louis University School of Medicine
23. Temple
24. The Commonwealth Medical College
25. Tufts
26. Tulane
35. University of Vermont
36. Virginia Commonwealth
37. Wake Forest
39. West Virginia University School of Medicine (state-ties)
40. Western Michigan

 

[md-2020]

I suggest waiting until next cycle so you don't have to rush thru everything w/o an MCAT score. Also it is getting late and your numbers don't bode well for a late app.

 

[Hansel123]

@GrapesofRath: Thank you for your response. I can definitely understand how doing WAMC threads without MCAT scores can seem pointless. Again, I'm erring on the side of caution with my predicted scores and it's definitely hard selecting schools without a score. Your school list suggestions help and I will look into post-bacc classes next spring to help raise my GPA. I do have one follow-up question that you might be able to help with. Out of the schools you left on my list, are there any secondaries you would recommend prioritizing? As you implied, time is critical and as soon as I'm done with my state school secondaries I'm not really sure how to best prioritize the rest. Any suggestions on how to do this or does it not really matter? Thanks!

@md-2020: I have thought about waiting until next cycle. I reasoned it's best to go ahead and give it a shot this cycle, considering I'm already verified and have my state schools' secondaries and could have everything in by Sept 8th (I know this is still relatively late). Aside from the cost of apps, is there any disadvantage by giving it a shot this cycle to all the other schools? I'm not sure how re-applicants are viewed and I wouldn't want to hurt my chances at all these schools if being a re-applicant next cycle is a disadvantage. Thanks!

 

[md-2020]

@md-2020: I have thought about waiting until next cycle. I reasoned it's best to go ahead and give it a shot this cycle, considering I'm already verified and have my state schools' secondaries and could have everything in by Sept 8th (I know this is still relatively late). Aside from the cost of apps, is there any disadvantage by giving it a shot this cycle to all the other schools? I'm not sure how re-applicants are viewed and I wouldn't want to hurt my chances at all these schools if being a re-applicant next cycle is a disadvantage. Thanks!

Re-applicants are almost always at a disadvantage, as you have to show significant growth from when the school first rejected you. Hence my suggestion to wait for your MCAT (an unknown quantity at this point), and prepare a better, more timely app for next cycle.

 

[GrapesofRath]

Re-applicants are almost always at a disadvantage, as you have to show significant growth from when the school first rejected you. Hence my suggestion to wait for your MCAT (an unknown quantity at this point), and prepare a better, more timely app for next cycle.

This is the key point. Don't apply until you can go ahead with your best app even if it means waiting a year.

 

[Hansel123]

Ok. That is really helpful advice. Thank you both. Given that I already submitted secondaries to FSU, FIU, and USF, I think I'll stop working on the rest of my state schools secondaries and wait till next cycle. Hopefully I still have a shot at these even if my MCAT comes back in the relatively low, cautious range that I projected.

Pretty frustrating to wait an entire cycle, but hopefully it's for the best!

 

[gyngyn]

Ok. That is really helpful advice. Thank you both. Given that I already submitted secondaries to FSU, FIU, and USF, I think I'll stop working on the rest of my state schools secondaries and wait till next cycle. Hopefully I still have a shot at these even if my MCAT comes back in the relatively low, cautious range that I projected.

Pretty frustrating to wait an entire cycle, but hopefully it's for the best!

You will be considered a re-applicant to all the schools you have indicated on your AMCAS application, even if you do not return the secondary.

 

[Hansel123]

@gyngyn: Ok, that is good to know. I will finish the few remaining state school secondaries. Thanks!