School List 3.95c&s Estimated 32 MCAT, MA resident

[neurokid2013]

Looking for any input
-3.95 for cum and sci gpa, Estimated 32 MCAT based on practice tests (could be higher), MA resident but go to LAC in pennsylvania
- neuroscience major, math minor
- 200 + hours hospice volunteer
- ~ 20 hours shadowing
- ~100 hours hospital volunteer by time of application
- President of my sorority (other clubs include best buddies, college dems, reproductive justice)
- Behavioral neurosci animal research 2.5 yrs (no pub, but can easily talk about research)
- Summer internship at Hopkins (NIH funded clinical trial, neuroimaging experience)
- Lab assistant- biology dept - 1.5 years
- Peer Tutor - all math and science - 3 years
- reqs. should be good
- summer int. lined up at clinical research lab at Boston Children's
- general jobs as barista and waitress throughout college

Need input on my list (in no particular order...)
Umass
BU
Cornell
Dartmouth
JHU
Loyola - Chicago
Temple
Tufts
UCSF
UCSD
UVM
Hofstra
Wake Forest
NYMC
Ros Frank
Rush
NYU
UAriz - Phoenix

Any input would be greatly appreciated!

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[gyngyn]

Nice list. High yield. D/C UCSF and UCSD if your MCAT is less than 34. Ditto JH, Cornell and Dartmouth. Or leave them, everyone needs a range.

 

[neurokid2013]

Any suggestions for additions?

 

[Catalystik]

I strongly suggest you try to add shadowing hours, say 30 more (which would give you the average usually listed), to include a primary care doc if not already done.

Loyola may not find much appeal in an application without substantive community service that helps those in need. Best Buddies might qualify, but you aren't specific about your level of involvement. (If it does, you might add SLU and Creighton.) Your reproductive justice work, if meant in the usual sense, might be a sensitive topic in a Jesuit institution.

I agree that much of your list is reachy. Consider looking into some of the Ohio and Michigan schools, or state a geographic preference for more ideas.

 

[neurokid2013]

I strongly suggest you try to add shadowing hours, say 30 more (which would give you the average usually listed), to include a primary care doc if not already done.

Loyola may not find much appeal in an application without substantive community service that helps those in need. Best Buddies might qualify, but you aren't specific about your level of involvement. (If it does, you might add SLU and Creighton.) Your reproductive justice work, if meant in the usual sense, might be a sensitive topic in a Jesuit institution.

I agree that much of your list is reachy. Consider looking into some of the Ohio and Michigan schools, or state a geographic preference for more ideas.

The shadowing should be doable, I'm working on increasing volunteer hours at a nearby hospital this semester, so I don't think that's out of the question.

I didn't include this initially, but as most greek organizations do, our sorority incorporates a lot of philanthropy, specifically in conjunction with Children's Miracle Network Hospitals, which may be of use in the service side of things. Best Buddies pairs students with buddies with cognitive disabilities, I've been involved in a non-leadership role for the last 2.5 years, though the time commitment isn't extensive (8 hours a month, give or take).

Ideally I'd like to go east coast or west coast, but this weakens the breadth of the list considerably. If midwest, I'd like to be in a city, nothing too rural.

 

[Catalystik]

I didn't include this initially, but as most greek organizations do, our sorority incorporates a lot of philanthropy, specifically in conjunction with Children's Miracle Network Hospitals, which may be of use in the service side of things. Best Buddies pairs students with buddies with cognitive disabilities, I've been involved in a non-leadership role for the last 2.5 years, though the time commitment isn't extensive (8 hours a month, give or take).

Hands-on service tends to impress adcomms more than fund-raising. If you've been a best buddy for 2.5 years for 8-ish hours a month during the academic year, I think you're good to go.

 

[penguinism]

Hard to say without an MCAT score. A 32 might be slightly low for some of the schools, but a 33/34+ combined with a killer GPA will make your application competitive at most places. I'd nix UCSF/UCSD and consider adding more PA schools since you have a tie to the state (and many are private or very OOS friendly).

 

[SOMBound13]

UCSF
UCSD

do these two take OOS students who don't have some link to the state or are MD/XXX?

 

[mcloaf]

do these two take OOS students who don't have some link to the state or are MD/XXX?

Well, they do accept OOS students, just at rates well, well below those for IS. I don't think the top 20 UCs care about connections to the state for OOS students since they know most people will want to live/practice there anyway, I'd guess it's more that these spots are for superstar applicants with superlative applications. You are correct, though, in that state of residence doesn't matter for MD/PhD candidates.

Using the most recent data from USNWP:

UCSF Acceptances:
IS: 5.7%
OOS: 2.5%

UCSD:
IS: 6.4%
OOS: 2.8%



I do, however, find it hilarious that UCLA's admissions website claims that residency is not a factor in admissions, yet...

IS: 5.5%
OOS: 1.6%