School list: 3.99 GPA, 35 MCAT

[CCrown]

Submitting the AMCAS application this week: I'm a CA resident, so I'm applying to a number of schools.
3.99 cGPA
4.00 sGPA
35 MCAT

Here's my definite choices:
Baylor
Indiana (strong ties to state)
Johns Hopkins
Loma Linda
Mayo
Stanford
UCLA
UCSD
UCSF
UC Davis
UC Irvine
UC Riverside
University of Illinois - Chicago (also strong ties to state)
USC
USF Health Morsani


These are schools I'm interested in, but looking to narrow down the list:
Brown
Dartmouth
Florida International University
Thomas Jefferson
Loyola
Medical College of Wisconsin
Mount Sinai
Northwestern
Saint Louis
Temple
University of Miami
University of Arizona-Phoenix
University of Arizona-Tucson
University of Central Florida
Virginia Commonwealth

Any advice on choosing from this second list would be really appreciated! In particular, I'm looking to make sure my choices aren't too top-heavy.

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[lmn]

Check if you fit the missions' of UCR and Loma Linda. Overall I think you should increase your list to be more top/upper tier oriented. Your stats are strong (hopefully your EC's as well), you should aim high, some schools with stats much lower than yours will assume you would jump ship for a higher ranked program in an instant and thus may not really consider you.

 

[Goro]

Goro suggests, based upon your numbers:

UCSD
UCSF
UCD
UCLA
UCR and/or UCI: only if you fit their missions.
Baylor
Rochester
U CO
U NV (maybe)
Emory
Vanderbilt
NYU
U Penn
Duke
Indiana
Johns Hopkins
Loma Linda (but read their student policies!)
Mayo
Stanford
University of Illinois - Chicago (also strong ties to state)
USC
USF Health Morsani
Dartmouth
Florida International University
Thomas Jefferson
Loyola
Medical College of Wisconsin
Mount Sinai
Einstein
Northwestern
Saint Louis
University of Miami
University of Arizona-Phoenix
University of Arizona-Tucson
University of Central Florida
Virginia Commonwealth

 

[CCrown]

Thanks for the advice from both! I am familiar with both Loma Linda and UCR; I'll have to look more closely at UCI.

I'm curious, Goro, if you meant I should apply to ALL of those schools or consider adding only some of them. Is it advisable to apply to 35 med schools (and still be able to write quality secondaries)?

 

[Abstractions]

What are your EC's? You're applying top heavy and although your stats are solid, they are a dime-a-dozen at top 25 schools and you need strong ec's to back them up.

 

[CCrown]

As for ECs, I have the standard "requirements":
Clinical volunteering: 200hrs
Shadowing: ~60hrs: shadowed the same doctor since my freshman year
Leadership: Club President for one club (with the club as an officer since my freshman year) and officer for another club
Work: T.A. for science classes, and Lab Worker
Research: 1 year, presented at a major national conference (poster and talk). No publication though
International: 3 week medical mission overseas
Other: Intramural athletics

-On top of this, the most unique EC - without revealing too much that could be identifying - is several thousand hours of an artistic endeavor.

Rec letters are strong.