School List? (CA Resident, c3.97, s3.95, 40)

[phuynh94]

Hi all,

Firstly, Happy 2015! I will be applying to medical school during the 2015-2016 Cycle. I am trying to come up with a school list, and would really appreciate your input!

PROFILE
Demographic: Asian, 20 y/o female, CA resident
cGPA: 3.97
sGPA: 3.95
School: CA Private Institution
MCAT: 40 (13P/12V/15B)
Will be graduating this spring to save on tuition costs, and will thus be taking a gap year

ACTIVITIES (as noted by this summer)

• Research Assistant, Psych Lab (3 years, ~750 hrs, no summers): 2nd author publication pending, 1st author is another student who graduated last year
• Research Assistant, Hospital Emergency Department (1.5 years, ~480 hrs, no summers): just started conducting a pilot study, shadowed residents and attendings while waiting to enroll patients, publication unlikely
• Resident Assistant, for both freshman and upperclassmen (2 years, ~2100 hrs in logged activities/duties [everyday tasks not included], no summers): won RA of the Month, duties included policy enforcement, value-based programming, crisis response, peer counseling, etc
• Student Worker/Peer Health Educator, Student Wellness Resource Room (2 years, ~640 hrs, no summers): administrative duties, peer counseling on issues related to sexual health and mindfulness
• Volunteer (2 years, ~200 hrs, no summers): lunch packing and distribution to the homeless & working poor. as well as miscellaneous service programs for my hall
• Owner/Designer, Online Business (3 years, on and off, so about ~800-900 hours): started off as a hobby, then launched an Etsy shop because I didn't want a "typical" part time job in college; will most likely commit to this full time during my gap year and transition from Etsy to my own website
• Shadowing (~200-300 hrs, including some of the time spent during my clinical research shifts): EM, FM, pediatrics, OB/GYN, psychiatry (indirectly via ED consults)

TLDR: Pretty "cookie cutter"-ish, with maybe the exception of Etsy and being an RA. That said, I am passionate about all of my activities, and I hope my enthusiasm shines through in my app!

GAP YEAR
Most likely working on my business full time, just to see where that takes me. It's stress relieving, and I want to see what I can do when I don't really have any academic obligations (other than the app cycle!) vying for my time. I am also seeking opportunities in research or hospital work, but most places where I live requires a 2 year commitment or special license. Scribe positions may pop up in May, but I can't count on it.

SCHOOL LIST:
I know that this list is very top heavy (and thus, why I need your help!). Ideally, I would like to keep my list short (15-20 schools max), but am flexible. As a CA resident, I would love to stay in state, but I also don't want to lose a chance at any of the big merit scholarships and educational opportunities out there. (And I really need help choosing safety schools...)

1. Baylor
2. Columbia
3. Drexel
4. Duke
5. Harvard
6. John Hopkins
7. Mayo
8. NYU
9. Stanford
10. UC Davis
11. UC Irvine
12. UCLA
13. UCSD
14. UCSF
15. U Chicago
16. U Michigan
17. U Penn
18. Keck
19. U Vermont
20. Vanderbilt
21. Washington U, St. Louis
22. Yale

Thank you all very much for your help! I really appreciate it!

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[Doug Underhill]

Seems like a good list. You are a five-star prospect with all-around incredible stats: the kind of applicant we all aspire to be but just aren't talented enough to emulate.

 

[alpinism]

Looks good.

As I'm sure you're aware, the list is basically all T25 with a few other schools here or there.

You could add a few mid tier schools with solid research in preferred locations and still keep the list at 20.

Id keep the CA schools and also your top 10 (non CA T25 research schools) then fill in the rest with mid/low tier safeties.

Do you really want to go to Drexel and Vermont over other schools like BU, Ohio State, Cincinnati, Dartmouth, Einstein, Rochester, or Jefferson?

You can also search school specific threads to see which mid tier schools give out the most scholarships.

 

[MaxPlancker]

I agree you are a great applicant but nothing sticks out so the top 10 will be a gamble. Definitely add a few mid-tiers you would like to attend. However, even if you keep your current list, you will get in somewhere. I've seen a lot of cases where Cali schools just pass over applicants that are so strong numbers-wise that they are likely move out of state.

 

[Banco]

If you're gonna pick a safety in Philly I'd rather choose Jefferson or Temple or Drexel.

But your chances are excellent either way.

 

[phuynh94]

Thank you all very much for your input! I will definitely look more closely into adding some mid-tier range schools, and getting rid of a few schools from my current list.

• I will not be applying to Ohio State because I would not have fulfilled its Anatomy requirement, although I do like its Lead Serve curriculum.
• I will take a second look at BU, Einstein, Rochester, and Jefferson. I believed something made me cross them off my list, but I can't think of it at the top of my head.
• I initially had Dartmouth on my list, but I didn't consider it a "mid-tier" school by any means In comparison to the other Ivies, nothing drew me to Dartmouth in particular.
• What really drew me to Vermont was its integrated curriculum, but I'll reconsider this!

Thank you again! Any and all suggestions are appreciated!

 

[EvenStevens]

Thank you all very much for your input! I will definitely look more closely into adding some mid-tier range schools, and getting rid of a few schools from my current list.

• I will not be applying to Ohio State because I would not have fulfilled its Anatomy requirement!

• I think i read somewhere on here that OSU offers a online anatomy class for people in your position, maybe look into that?

 

[phuynh94]

• I think i read somewhere on here that OSU offers a online anatomy class for people in your position, maybe look into that?

Ohhhh, I'll definitely look into that. Thank you for pointing this out!

 

[phuynh94]

I managed to revisit a portion of my school list. Please keep adding suggestions!

1. Baylor
2. Columbia
3. Drexel (too many applicants? mine might be lost in the crowd...too close to letter grades for my liking)
4. Duke
5. Harvard
6. John Hopkins
7. Mayo
8. Mt Sinai (due to curriculum, missions, merit aid possibility)
9. NYU
10. Rochester (double helix curriculum, merit aid possibility)
11. Stanford (no merit aid possible, no real reason to apply here and HMS, UCSF is already in the same region & similar caliber)
12. UC Davis
13. UC Irvine
14. UCLA
15. UCSD
16. UCSF
17. UCR (parents are pushing for this one, since it's local, but I highly doubt I meet its mission to recruiting physicians who serve in the Inland Empire...)
18. U Chicago
19. U Michigan
20. U Miami (due to weather, unique grading scale of "hidden percentiles", merit aid possibility)
21. U Penn
22. USC Keck
23. U Vermont (still thinking about this one...like the curriculum through)
24. Vanderbilt
25. Washington U, St. Louis
26. Yale (the grading system is nice, but it's not a huge draw, and I'm definitely already applying to too many T10 schools)