What are my chances? Advice appreciated!

[UCStudent]

Hi All! I'm a 3rd Year Chemistry/Biochemistry student from the University of Chicago. Below is a short list of my specs and the schools I'm considering applying to. If anyone could help me get a feel for my chances at the following schools, I'd greatly appreciate it!

Major: Chemistry and Biochemsitry
State of Residency: Ohio
University of Chicago

Cumulative GPA: 3.70
Science GPA: 3.71

MCAT:
Verbal Reasoning: 10
Physical Science: 14
Biological Science: 13
Writing Sample: R

Total: 37R

Shadowing Hours: 4-5 months of shadowing + clinical experience = 100 or so hours

Research: Team coordinator for the UC Synthetic Biology Team: worked with student-run research group. No PhDs or Post-docs were aiding us...it was composed of 2nd, 3rd, and 4th year students...so we had to get our own funding and write our own grants and what not.

Currently work on prostate cancer research: androgen deprivation therapy research. Mostly data analysis and in-clinic duties. Working on this for about 4 months now, and will continue over the summer

Volunteering: Comer Children's Hospital Volunteer: 2-3 years, for 4 hours a week.

Outside community service: As a team coordinator, also had to give genetic engineering presentations to high schools. Did this for about a summer and 2 quarters. Most of the schools were located in the Hyde Park community in the suburbs of Chicago.

(the following teaching things were done during school breaks)
Teach a 2-3 week after school program for organic chemistry for high school students in columbus, Ohio: 2 hours a week. Basically an intro-course for fun. Did this during my freshmen and soph years at UChicago.

Gave guest lectures/mentored the math club at a high school in Columbus, Ohio. 2 hours a week for about 2-3 weeks. Did this during my freshmen year at Uchicago.

I guess extracurricular/interests are minor, but i'll list them anyway:
Piano, dance, chess, shaolin martial arts, and soccer.

The following are the schools I'm thinking of applying to: Let me know what you think and which ones fall under reach, in range, and safety (or whatever the categories are called hahaha).

Yale
Columbia
Ohio State University
Case Western
Northwestern
NYU
Tufts
Brown
USC
Stanford
Albany
Uchicago
University of Cinncinati
Cornell
Albert Einstein College of Medicine
Dartmouth
Emory

That's all I have for now. I realize it's pretty darn top-heavy. I guess it's cause I'm really lost as to where I stand...so a reality check would be nice hahaha. Thanks for your help guys!

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[Catalystik]

How many years of research have you done? Any Presentations/Posters off campus? And Publications?

Assuming substantive research, you pretty much have a shot at any school you'd like to apply to, including Wash U and UChicago (both a tiny reach).

Yale, NU, Stanford, Sinai, Cornell, Columbia are in your target zone.

Case, Emory, Ohio State, Dartmouth, Einstein, are a bit below with Brown, which seemingly prefers regional applicants.

USC, Tufts, Cincinnati, Einstein should be pretty safe.

And Albany is super safe.

 

[UCStudent]

How many years of research have you done? Any Presentations/Posters off campus? And Publications?

Assuming substantive research, you pretty much have a shot at any school you'd like to apply to, including Wash U and UChicago (both a tiny reach).

Yale, NU, Stanford, Sinai, Cornell, Columbia are in your target zone.

Case, Emory, Ohio State, Dartmouth, Einstein, are a bit below with Brown, which seemingly prefers regional applicants.

USC, Tufts, Cincinnati, Einstein should be pretty safe.

And Albany is super safe.

hahah umm...what entails "substantial"?

So, here's the thing. I did one year of biochemistry research in my senior year in high school on drug delivery mechanisms and presented that stuff at state competitions. But since it's hs, i don't think they care much

My college research is composed of one year with the synthetic biology team, and now i'm working on the prostate cancer research. I don't have any publications, and haven't done any poster presentations as of yet except at a competition for synthetic biology at MIT. So my research is (i think) small or at least average. I expect to have it pick up heavily during the summer as I get into this new research job. This is the part I'm really worried about.

I took the risk of trying to co-lead the student run synthetic biology team cause I thought it'd be really different from other research jobs: which it was. Had to write my own grants for team members to support them financially and construct our own protocols during lab (which resulted in a lot of failure since it was just a bunch of undergrads doing it). However, it didn't really put me in the position to do any publications or work with any professors...so I'm wondering if that hurt me hahaha >.< Guess we'll find out.

 

[mspeedwagon]

Unless you are from RI or a Brown alum you will NOT get into Brown. Save the money and apply somewhere else. I think your list of schools is pretty good. Your research is a little lacking, but you have managed to avoid the heavy research schools for the most part.

How many years of research have you done? Any Presentations/Posters off campus? And Publications?

Assuming substantive research, you pretty much have a shot at any school you'd like to apply to, including Wash U and UChicago (both a tiny reach).

Yale, NU, Stanford, Sinai, Cornell, Columbia are in your target zone.

Case, Emory, Ohio State, Dartmouth, Einstein, are a bit below with Brown, which seemingly prefers regional applicants.

USC, Tufts, Cincinnati, Einstein should be pretty safe.

And Albany is super safe.

 

[UCStudent]

bump >.<. Any additional input would be great =]

 

[Catalystik]

hahah umm...what entails "substantial"?

So, here's the thing. I did one year of biochemistry research in my senior year in high school on drug delivery mechanisms and presented that stuff at state competitions. But since it's hs, i don't think they care much

My college research is composed of one year with the synthetic biology team, and now i'm working on the prostate cancer research. I don't have any publications, and haven't done any poster presentations as of yet except at a competition for synthetic biology at MIT. So my research is (i think) small or at least average. I expect to have it pick up heavily during the summer as I get into this new research job. This is the part I'm really worried about.

I took the risk of trying to co-lead the student run synthetic biology team cause I thought it'd be really different from other research jobs: which it was. Had to write my own grants for team members to support them financially and construct our own protocols during lab (which resulted in a lot of failure since it was just a bunch of undergrads doing it). However, it didn't really put me in the position to do any publications or work with any professors...so I'm wondering if that hurt me hahaha >.< Guess we'll find out.

I'd have said "substantial" would mean 2+ years of research where you gained a detailed understanding of a scholarly method of study that would result in potentially publishable addition to human knowledge.

You were dismissive of your co-leader postion, but actually writing your own grants and constructing the protocols is excellent experience, and if there was a leadership component in there as well, you actually have something to describe about the experience that a research school would consider important, perhaps under the Leadership category.

But perhaps your true Research experience will start with the new gig, now of four months duration.

On a side note, I have a question about UChicago if you don't mind. If one wants to find free parking along Midway Plaisance (near the hospital), would a 6:30 am arrival arrival still find some spots open? At what time do spots disappear? I've heard the parking garage is very expensive for a day. I'm asking on behalf of someone who'd like to do an away rotation there.

 

[UCStudent]

I'd have said "substantial" would mean 2+ years of research where you gained a detailed understanding of a scholarly method of study that would result in potentially publishable addition to human knowledge.

You were dismissive of your co-leader postion, but actually writing your own grants and constructing the protocols is excellent experience, and if there was a leadership component in there as well, you actually have something to describe about the experience that a research school would consider important, perhaps under the Leadership category.

But perhaps your true Research experience will start with the new gig, now of four months duration.

On a side note, I have a question about UChicago if you don't mind. If one wants to find free parking along Midway Plaisance (near the hospital), would a 6:30 am arrival arrival still find some spots open? At what time do spots disappear? I've heard the parking garage is very expensive for a day. I'm asking on behalf of someone who'd like to do an away rotation there.

Thanks for the input! I agree that my real research will begin this summer..and hopefully i'll have had enough experience to have something to talk about during the interviews. Also, I feel a bit better now about the co-leader experience: i'll keep those points in mind.

In response to your question, 6:30 am is early enough: there are usually plenty of spots open throughout the day...parking is usually not a problem. However, depending on when you do your rotations (weekend vs weekday) it'll change. Weekdays tend to be a lot more full...but 6:30 should still be fine. Weekends are less crowded and thus Ok for parking.

You can also park along Ellis if you want to be near the hospital. This street is usually where all the hospital employees park, or along 59th street. I'm confident that if you arrive at 6:30, you'll have no trouble finding a space.

 

[Catalystik]

In response to your question, 6:30 am is early enough: there are usually plenty of spots open throughout the day...parking is usually not a problem. However, depending on when you do your rotations (weekend vs weekday) it'll change. Weekdays tend to be a lot more full...but 6:30 should still be fine. Weekends are less crowded and thus Ok for parking.

You can also park along Ellis if you want to be near the hospital. This street is usually where all the hospital employees park, or along 59th street. I'm confident that if you arrive at 6:30, you'll have no trouble finding a space.

Thanks for the information. I'll pass it on.

 

[UCStudent]

Unless you are from RI or a Brown alum you will NOT get into Brown. Save the money and apply somewhere else. I think your list of schools is pretty good. Your research is a little lacking, but you have managed to avoid the heavy research schools for the most part.

Thanks! Yeah, my pre-medical advisor also proposed the same concerns with Brown. I think I will remove that from my list and apply elsewhere.

Does leadership usually make an OK supplement/substitute for lacking research? I don't really have a good idea of how the research-heavy medical schools will view my application and how they weigh these things "against" other ECs

 

[UCStudent]

So my stats above are still the same...but here's my final list that i'm hoping to change one more time. Please let me know again which you guys think are my reaches, in target zone, and safeties. This top-heaviness is freaking me hahaha

Boston University
Case Western
Columbia University College of P&S
Dartmouth
Harvard
Johns Hopkins
Keck USC
Mount Sinai
NYU
Northwestern
Stanford
Ohio State University
Tufts
UCLA
UCSD
UCSF
UCLA
UChicago
U of Cinncinati
UMichigan
UPenn
U of Washington
Weill Medical College of Cornell
Yale

 

[Catalystik]

So my stats above are still the same...but here's my final list that i'm hoping to change one more time. Please let me know again which you guys think are my reaches, in target zone, and safeties. This top-heaviness is freaking me hahaha

Boston University
Case Western
Columbia University College of P&S
Dartmouth
Harvard
Johns Hopkins
Keck USC
Mount Sinai
NYU
Northwestern
Stanford
Ohio State University
Tufts
UCLA
UCSD
UCSF
UCLA
UChicago
U of Cinncinati
UMichigan
UPenn
U of Washington
Weill Medical College of Cornell
Yale

With just one year of research experience, do you want to reconsider any of the bolded?

And did you mean UWashington (regional OOSer preference) or WashU?

You listed UCLA twice.

 

[UCStudent]

With just one year of research experience, do you want to reconsider any of the bolded?

And did you mean UWashington (regional OOSer preference) or WashU?

You listed UCLA twice.

I meant U Washington. I'm not a fan of the st. louis area, so I didn't want to apply there. And oops about the listing twice, i'll change that.

So I'm guessing my current work in prostate cancer research (going on about 3 months now?) is probably going to not count...which I was hoping it would by the time interviews or what not come around. I was also hoping that the leadership aspects would help with the lacking of another year of research? Not too sure if that works. If i were to cut down on the research institutions that are bolded above, which ones would probably not harp as much on the lack of research? Thanks for your help.

 

[jbz24]

Also there are no "true" safeties listed there, which you may want to add a couple of.

 

[UCStudent]

Also there are no "true" safeties listed there, which you may want to add a couple of.

OSU and U Cinn, with in-state residency, were the ones I was hoping to be somewhat safe. I'll probably reconsider Albany and Einstein as safeties, unless these are also not considered within that area.

Any suggestions on safeties to consider?

 

[UCStudent]

bump

 

[mspeedwagon]

Definitely add them back. As it now stands your list is too top heavy.

OSU and U Cinn, with in-state residency, were the ones I was hoping to be somewhat safe. I'll probably reconsider Albany and Einstein as safeties, unless these are also not considered within that area.

Any suggestions on safeties to consider?