Reapplicant needing advice on school choice

[canemdhopeful]

I am having a bit of trouble when it comes to choosing schools to apply to for this cycle and I was hoping for some feedback. I applied to 17 MD schools in the 2016 cycle and I am currently on two waitlists, one middle priority and one unspecified.
A little about myself:
I am a PA resident and I graduated in 2015 from a school in Florida.
I had a 3.7 cGPA with a 3.55 sGPA. I have a well defined upward trend however, excluding freshman year it would be about a 3.85 for both GPAs.
517 MCAT (130 Chemical and Physical, 127 CARS, 131 Biological and Biochemical, 129 Psych/Soc)
About 325 hours physician shadowing
About 200 hours clinical volunteering and counting, I add about 4 each week (all new since last cycle)
About 90 hours of miscellaneous non-clinical volunteering when I was an undergrad. I plan on getting involved during the upcoming year as well, ideally after the rush of secondaries.
Worked as a Wet Chemistry Technician for 3 months in my gap year while I was waiting for a better opportunity. Started in February as a research technician and I've put in about 600 hours thus far. I am working on having my first paper published as first author by July or August.

I'm planning on applying to 20 MD schools and 5 DO schools for the 2015 cycle, I'm thinking:
MD: Drexel, Jefferson, Temple, Penn, Penn State, Pitt, Colorado, Miami, UVA, VCU, TCMC, Tufts, Emory, Dartmouth, USC, Loyola, NY Medical College, Quinnipiac, and two others that I have yet to decide, maybe Vermont, USF or Maryland. My advisor mentioned Alabama Birmingham but it doesn't look all that promising out of state.
DO: PCOM, NYIT College of Medicine, Tuoro NY, Nova Southeastern and Rowan

I'd appreciate any advice out deletions or additions to the list I've formed. Biggest problem for me is picking the right out of state schools. Additionally, about nine of the MD schools I am applying to are schools that I applied to last cycle. I am wondering if I am at a fundamental disadvantage with these programs because of that although I believe I have substantially improved my experiences since last year.

Thanks for reading, any ideas would be much appreciated.

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[gyngyn]

At which of these are you a re-applicant?

 

[canemdhopeful]

At which of these are you a re-applicant?

I would be a re-applying to Drexel, Colorado, Temple, Jefferson, Penn State, Miami, UVA, VCU, Tufts, and Maryland if I include it in my list. Drexel and Colorado are the schools at which I have been wait-listed.

 

[gyngyn]

I would be a re-applying to Drexel, Colorado, Temple, Jefferson, Penn State, Miami, UVA, VCU, Tufts, and Maryland if I include it in my list. Drexel and Colorado are the schools at which I have been wait-listed.

If you submitted secondaries before September, I would consider eliminating Maryland and Miami.

 

[canemdhopeful]

If you submitted secondaries before September, I would consider eliminating Maryland and Miami.

Thank you for the advice. I believe I submitted these secondaries in late August. However, Miami was my undergraduate institution and I believe a significant number of their students went to Miami as undergrads. Do you believe this would warrant inclusion in my list?

 

[GrapesofRath]

If you're from the Western/Central half of PA add WVU. Marshall might be worth a look although these stats are pretty outside the range of what they usually target. USF's program in Bethlehem particularly if you are on the eastern half of the state is another option Id seriously consider.

None of these options on your list are "bad" options but you can optimize things some. Tufts or Miami as a reapp, NYMC and Quinnipac probably arent the highest yield options. Particularly if you arent from the Philly region, I dont think Maryland is the best use of an app as a reapplicant either. UVA, Emory, Dartmouth and Keck are ok but if your goal is to simply find the 15-20 MD schools your most likely to get a II can probably find better options(I might remove 2)

IMHO Schools that are OOS friendly with an MCAT median around 33 that get <10k apps might be the highest yield options for you(Cincinnati, Tulane, SLU etc).

You are pretty likely to get a II at TCMC if you apply this cycle. I am a little surprised you only went 1/4 in even getting a II out of Jefferson, Penn St, Temple and Drexel particularly if you are from the relative Philadelphia area.

If you submitted secondaries before September, I would consider eliminating Maryland and Miami.

Do you think schools are more likely to give a reapplicant consideration if they simply applied late to their school last cycle(regardless of if OP did)? They were less likely to get a "real" shot at being truly considered but at the same time applying late doesnt exactly highlight the most positive characteristics which is why I ask. A school like Maryland only gets 5,000 apps a year so they might not be as likely to give a cursory/superficial glance to a late app a school at >10k apps might due to time constraints of having to go through such high volume of applications.

 

[canemdhopeful]

Particularly if you are from the Western half of PA WVU should be on your list. Marshall might be worth a look although these stats are pretty outside the range of what they usually target.

None of these options on your list are terrible options but you can optimize things some. Tufts or Miami as a reapp, NYMC and Quinnipac probably arent the highest yield options. Particularly if you arent from the Philly region, I dont think Maryland is the best use of an app as a reapplicant either. UVA, Emory, Dartmouth and Keck are ok but you can probably find schools more likely to give you a II if that's what you are looking for. Emory and Keck are at over 90 OOS apps/matriculant, and Dartmouth has a small class size.(Id probably swap out 2 or more of them).

IMHO Schools that are OOS friendly with an MCAT median around 33 that get <10k apps might be the highest yield options for you(Cincinnati, Tulane, SLU etc).

You are pretty likely to get a II at TCMC if you apply this cycle. I am a little surprised you only went 1/4 in even getting a II out of Jefferson, Penn St, Temple and Drexel particularly if you are from the relative Philadelphia area.

Thank you for the advice. I will definitely look to replace some of the schools that you suggest I swap out. As a Miami undergrad I feel I should keep it but I will look to replace some of those lower yield options with some of your suggestions.

I am a Philly area resident and I would think that my lack of II's at the Philly schools would have to be because my ECs were not as strong last time. All of my clinical volunteering and research is new and continuing so I hope these new endeavors will help me to be a little more successful this time around in my hometown.

 

[gyngyn]

Thank you for the advice. I believe I submitted these secondaries in late August. However, Miami was my undergraduate institution and I believe a significant number of their students went to Miami as undergrads. Do you believe this would warrant inclusion in my list?

Yes, you should always include the medical school associated with your undergrad.