School list help

[jaywhyy]

Asian, CA Resident, UC Berkeley
GPA and sGPA: 3.96 (molec bio major)
MCAT: 40 (14PS, 11VR, 15BS)

ECs:
~2000 hrs of basic research over 2 years: Honors thesis, speaker at 2 symposiums, SURF Fellow

~150 hours of ER volunteering over 1 year
~150 hours of hospital gift shop volunteering over 1 year

2 semesters of Bio TAing (~7 hrs a week)
Tutoring (~1 to 2 hrs a week)

Hope to get a little shadowing in and submit my app w/n the first two weeks of June.

School list as of now:
In-state: UCSD, UCI, UC Riverside, UCLA, USC, UCSF, UCD, Stanford
Out-of-state: Yale (probably not, chances too low/don't like New Haven), U Chicago, Northwestern, Johns Hopkins (probably not, chances too low/not a fan of Baltimore), Harvard (probably not, chances too low), Boston U, Tufts, U Michigan, Columbia, NYU, Mt Sinai, U Penn, Pitts

Would like input on some OOS safety schools I could add, as my list seems top heavy, and my ECs are a bit lacking.

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[October88]

You are right your ecs other than research are pretty average especially for the top schools you have listed.

Some schools that come to mind are case, Dartmouth, bu, Albert Einstein....

I would still apply to your probably not schools unless you would not live in those places at all.

I would definitely try to get your app in asap because the longer you wait the longer it could take to get verified.

 

[tarheel1408]

The only weaknesses I see in your application is a small number of volunteer hours and lack of shadowing, but that can be more than mitigated by doing one of two things:

1. Taking some time to bolster that part of your application.
2. Applying MD/PhD.

MD/PhD programs don't value volunteering as much as they do research and you have more research than you can shake a stick at. With that GPA/MCAT and that research, I'd say you're very competitive at any MD/PhD program in the country.

You will need to get some shadowing in, though.

 

[jaywhyy]

The only weaknesses I see in your application is a small number of volunteer hours and lack of shadowing, but that can be more than mitigated by doing one of two things:

1. Taking some time to bolster that part of your application.
2. Applying MD/PhD.

MD/PhD programs don't value volunteering as much as they do research and you have more research than you can shake a stick at. With that GPA/MCAT and that research, I'd say you're very competitive at any MD/PhD program in the country.

You will need to get some shadowing in, though.

I'm not too interested in taking another year off nor in most MD/PhD programs (I don't want to live outside of CA for longer than 4 years).

 

[Goro]

Wow! How does it feel to be in the top 1% of all students? Your ECs seem fine to me. In the absolute worst-case scenarios, where you get rejected because of some lack in your ECs (can't imagine what), you have a year to work them.

I haven't a clue as to why you're saying your chances are low for the Ivies....you're above avg for them!

Suggest aiming high and adding USC to the list, along with Duke, Wake-Forest, UTx Southwestern, Baylor, Loyola, U NV, U AZ, U WA, U CO, OR State, Wash U, maybe Rush and NYU. Loma Linda only if you match their mission.

Good luck!


School list as of now:
In-state: UCSD, UCI, UC Riverside, UCLA, USC, UCSF, UCD, Stanford


Out-of-state: Yale (probably not, chances too low/don't like New Haven), U Chicago, Northwestern, Johns Hopkins (probably not, chances too low/not a fan of Baltimore), Harvard (probably not, chances too low), Boston U, Tufts, U Michigan, Columbia, NYU, Mt Sinai, U Penn, Pitts

 

[dahassa]

Obv your MCAT/GPA are killer. Your research experience is great. I think overall your volunteering is fine. The only thing that seems to be missing is shadowing (which you plan on doing) and some leaderships positions. Your EC don't stand out, however, I truly think you can mitigate this with a great personal statement/secondary essays/polished activities list. Try to use the essays to tie everything together and make yourself seem unique. With that being said, if you are good at interviewing and are successful at creating a polished app/essays, you should have a great cycle. Run through the top 20-30 medical schools and narrow the list to schools you like, schools that don't favor in state, places you could see yourself, ect. Your list is very top heavy (top 10s), but you didn't include many schools in the top 20-30.

If you really want to, apply to 2-3 out of state low tier schools, but you really don't have to. If you apply smart and spend time on your application, you should end up at a 25 school. You have the research, GPA, MCAT. Now you just have to market yourself. Good luck.