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School List Help Please!!! 4.0 GPA 34 MCAT
- Thread starter dreamer67
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you are golden 
apply wherever you want...i don't really think you need safeties. but try state schools like ohio state (which has an amazing md program) and unc for safety. you are def going to get in somewhere if you apply to like 6 or 7 schools. any study tips for ochem and the mcat? a 4.0 gpa is stellar!
apply wherever you want...i don't really think you need safeties. but try state schools like ohio state (which has an amazing md program) and unc for safety. you are def going to get in somewhere if you apply to like 6 or 7 schools. any study tips for ochem and the mcat? a 4.0 gpa is stellar!
G
gmcguitar4
you are golden
This is wrong. You always need safeties. There are have been many people with your stats or better that have had no acceptances in a cycle. I would say add 2-3 more safeties to help ensure this does not happen..you never know!
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+1
You need to add a few more safeties. A 4.0/34 certainly is a strong score set, but it in no way guarantees admission to schools in the Top 30, which is mostly all that you have listed. Do yourself a favor and add 2-3 safety schools that you like, you won't regret it.
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I mean, really safe are schools like drexel, meharry, evms, etc.
mid-tier schools that are safer than some of the ones you got that I would add are Wake Forest, VCU, maybe WVU.
Also, in regards to your reach schools, just curious.. you don't like Duke?
I haven't thought much about Duke. I might just have Johns Hopkins and Harvard as my real "reaches" since the other schools I listed all fell under "go for it" and a few were "high chance." Still searching for "safeties" that would make a good fit.
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I think you have a fair spread of schools. If you are interested in Philadelphia at all, Jefferson, Temple and Drexel are good to add. A 34 is on the lower end of the super top tier schools, but the higher ranked schools on your list should hopefully be in your reach provided you have a compelling personal statement and experiences.
I will also add that there is a significant chance that the lower ranked schools generally seen as safeties will overlook your application due to your actually pretty decent stats.
Ok thanks! When looking at the MSAR should I just focus on the median MCAT, or should I be taking my lower BS score in to consideration? All of the schools on my list had medians at 35 or below I believe (I don't think I have any super top tiers on my list?)
"lower" BS? come on now.
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10 is a good, not great score. It won't wow the top schools but it shouldn't hold you back either. The MSAR should also have 10-90th percentiles for those scores which should give you a broader idea of the people they accept. Your score is relatively even so I wouldn't worry about it too much.
I mentioned super top tier, but wasn't referring to the schools in your list. I think you have a pretty good selection right now. That said, if you have the time/money/willpower to apply to the top 10 schools, you should go for it anyway. While your MCAT may be lower than the median for most of those schools, thats not to say they don't accept people with 34's. As I mentioned before, as long as you have a compelling story/personal statement, you can still stand out.
My BS score is in the bottom 10% for nearly every school on my list, so I guess I would consider it a lower score.
So as long as a 10 in BS is within the bottom 10% I should be okay to apply to that school? Johns Hopkins, which I originally wanted to apply to as a reach school, has a bottom 10% of an 11, so I crossed that off my list. I could potentially still apply to Harvard though (which I think I will), since there bottom 10% is a 10.
How many schools would you recommend? My list right now is at 19-20 (plus Harvard=20-21). Is this too many? I may have to add a few more safe schools to this, so I am not sure if I am getting into too many schools.
Also, I am a NH resident, so no state school. I can PM you more details, but I think I will stand out in a few ways, but I am not really sure how significant these things would be. Already submitted the primary so I should be early too! (Just one regret so far haha)
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I applied to about that many schools. The thing about the application process is that is such a poopshow that you never know how it's goign to work out. Mid-tier schools might outright reject you while top-tier schools might find something interesting in your application and interview you anyway. Apply to top-tier schools that you like, and hope for the best. No guarantees that it will work out, but might as well give it a shot if you can afford it/have the time for it. JHU might be out of reach of your BS score, but something else in your application might wow them, you never know.
As for breakdown score, I would focus more on your total score than your breakdown. The 34 number is far more important than the 10 breakdown in BS