Realisitc shot at the low/mid-tiers??

[Mcatz1188]

Hey guys, I've been here before and gotten some feedback, but now that I've sent in my secondaries to most of the schools that I'm applying to, I'd just like some input on whether or not I should expect interviews and/or acceptances.

Small liberal arts college (top 30)

cGPA: 3.47 sGPA: 3.36 --Very strong upward grade trend (3.6 junior year, 3.85 senior year)

MCAT: 31Q (10, 10, 11)

EC: lot of shadowing, lot of research, 1 publication, 1 pending publication, some leadership which also contained community service...I'm taking a gap year this year and doing clinical research at a big research hospital. I think that I've shown a lot of dedication to research especially in neuroscience. Started my own company back in high school.

Good LORs (I think)
Strong personal statement

I'm applying to:
Both UMDNJ's
Cooper
Drexel
Temple
NYMC
SUNY upstate
Buffalo
ALbany
VCU
Rosalind Franklin
Commonwealth
Hofstra
Oakland

Your guys' input would be valuable for me.

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[Tapepsi]

Your MCAT, EC's, and research sound good. Your GPA is holding you back a little but I think you still have a shot. If you're planning on applying to the Commonwealth in PA I will repeat what I said to someone else:

I would advise against applying to Commonwealth in PA (TCMC). As someone who applied and interviewed there, I would say that they're running into a lot of problems right now (several of these include: dean being asked to leave, financial probation, LCME denying request for class expansion). Their class size is only 65 with the majority being IS. Even though they are a private school they are only looking for applicants who want to practice in Pennsylvania (northeastern PA specifically).

Bottom line: Don't waste your time sending your primary app there.

That is, of course, assuming you aren't a PA resident.

As for the rest of your list, I can't give you any further advice unless you tell me what your state of residency is (especially for schools like upstate).

 

[Mcatz1188]

I am a NJ resident. Good to know about Commonwealth though, thanks.

 

[Tapepsi]

Since you're not a NY resident, I'd say that if you were to apply to a SUNY I'd pick downstate. Upstate has a lot more IS preference (the OOS matriculants are usually only in the teens). Downstate still has heavy IS preference, but have a higher # of OOS matriculants.

I'd say replace TCMC with Penn State (another PA school). AI don't know where you live in NJ, but there's a good chance that you might be a reasonable distance away from Hershey, PA. Your GPA is considered low for them, but your MCAT and EC's are great. Even though it's a state school half of class is reserved for OOSers (and for a class of ~140 that's not bad). A soon-to-be first year myself, I also found out that they like applicants with a background in research (since every student is required to do research during med school).