What schools to not bother with, based on my stats.

[comaprison]

So my primary applications are complete, but my list of schools is much too long and I want to do something about that before AMCAS submissions open on the coming Monday. Otherwise I will be neck-deep in secondaries. I want to consider removing schools that I probably have little/no shot at by virtue of either GPA/MCAT. I may also want to add any schools I have missed that I am a good fit for. Any feedback welcomed.

Profile:

Canadian citizen on F1 visa. No greencard.

2014 graduate of a top 5 ranked university (US News & World), committee letter from them, etc.

GPA: 3.37

MCAT: 32S - 11P 11V 10B

ECs:

1 year of tutoring child outpatients once a week at a hospital's dept of child psychiatry

1 year of weekly volunteering at the hospital's emergency department

Began part-time work as research assistant at an on-campus bio sci research lab as of Feb (~14 hours a week) but switched to full-time as of May (~40 hours a week). Switching back to part time (10-15 hours a week) in September and continuing until graduation.


Alright now hold your breath... (edited list)


George Washington University Sch of Med & Hlth Sci
Georgetown University School of Medicine
Tulane University School of Medicine
Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Scien
University of Colorado School of Medicine
University of Connecticut School of Medicine
Boston University School of Medicine
Tufts University School of Medicine
University of Minnesota Medical School-Minneapolis/Duluth
Saint Louis University School of Medicine
Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth
Albert Einstein College of Medicine
New York Medical College
SUNY Upstate Medical University
University of North Carolina School of Medicine
Jefferson Medical Coll. of Thomas Jefferson Univ.
Pennsylvania State University College of Medicine
Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University
Medical College of Wisconsin
Medical College of Georgia at Georgia Regents University
Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicin
Creighton University School of Medicine
Keck Sch. of Med.University of Southern California
Mayo Medical School
Emory University School of Medicine
University of Maryland School of Medicine
Wake Forest School of Medicine of Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center
University of California, Davis School of Medicine
Vanderbilt University School of Medicine
LSU School of Medicine in New Orleans
University of Utah School of Medicine
Wayne State University School of Medicine
University of Louisville School of Medicine
East TN State U., James H. Quillen Coll. of Med.
University of Hawaii John A. Burns Sch. of Med.
Central Michigan University College of Medicine
Howard University
Loma Linda University School of Medicine
Michigan State University
Oakland University William Beaumont School of Medicine
University of Kentucky College of Medicine
UMDNJ- Robert Wood Johnson Medical School
UMDNJ-New Jersey Medical School

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[deleted480308]

By the msar and remove all the schools with 90% in state students

 

[Catalystik]

I may also want to add any schools I have missed that I am a good fit for.

You might want to consider adding some DO med schools, for which your stats are a better fit.

Download this google.doc spreadsheet data (an SDN collaborative effort from 6/2011), so you can fill in your own stats (on the “Your Stats” sheet at the very bottom), and it will tell you for which US med schools you’re competitive. You'll have to eliminate those that don't take Canadians based on other info you can access.
*
https://spreadsheets.google.com/spr...Ex2MjlBTDE0bXFXNGFZczZqYTZKb2c&hl=en_US#gid=0
*

 

[Goro]

Can't comment on immigration status, but some schools will probably want either green card or citizenship. I doubt if you'll be able to get loans if you're on an F1.

Your GPA is significantly lower than the avg matriculant,while MCAT is avg.

My list below (at best):

George Washington University Sch of Med & Hlth Sci
Georgetown University School of Medicine
Tulane University School of Medicine
Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Scien
Saint Louis University School of Medicine
New York Medical College
Jefferson Medical Coll. of Thomas Jefferson Univ.
Medical College of Wisconsin
Creighton University School of Medicine

 

[hippocratic57]

Cut Northwestern, they have a high GPA screen.

 

[comaprison]

Wouldn't need any loans. And I am hoping the caliber of my uni would count for something, but I respect your disagreement on that.

Can't comment on immigration status, but some schools will probably want either green card or citizenship. I doubt if you'll be able to get loans if you're on an F1.

Your GPA is significantly lower than the avg matriculant,while MCAT is avg.

My list below (at best):

George Washington University Sch of Med & Hlth Sci
Georgetown University School of Medicine
Tulane University School of Medicine
Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Scien
Saint Louis University School of Medicine
New York Medical College
Jefferson Medical Coll. of Thomas Jefferson Univ.
Medical College of Wisconsin
Creighton University School of Medicine

Cut Northwestern, they have a high GPA screen.

Done

 

[gyngyn]

I wish the application system was more regulated so that they can't just demand secondaries from all applicants


We don't demand secondaries. We expect you do the research that will result in a thoughtful list.

Did you check the MSAR for each of your schools to evaluate the median stats and and proportion of international students accepted? For example, USC matriculated 1 of 303 international applicants and has a median MCAT of 34 and gpa of 3.7. Davis admitted 0 of 99 and has a median gpa of 3.7. UCSF!? These, among many others, appear very low yield for your particular situation.

 

[TexasSurgeon]

You might want to consider adding some DO med schools, for which your stats are a better fit.

Download this google.doc spreadsheet data (an SDN collaborative effort from 6/2011), so you can fill in your own stats (on the “Your Stats” sheet at the very bottom), and it will tell you for which US med schools you’re competitive. You'll have to eliminate those that don't take Canadians based on other info you can access.
*
https://spreadsheets.google.com/spr...Ex2MjlBTDE0bXFXNGFZczZqYTZKb2c&hl=en_US#gid=0
*

Any idea when this will be updated?

 

[aspiring20]

OP, i am gonna be up front about this.

your stats of 3.37 and 32 MCAT is a bit borderline for even low/mid tier MD schools. your list contain a bunch of top-tier reach schools, and frankly, many of them are out of your league. your ECs also look below average, and your international status will not do you any favors.

for top tiers, a 3.8 and 36 are the norm for US applicants. of course, you can get in with lower stats if your ECs are particularly strong and unique.

like some of the others have posted, get rid of most/all the top tiers and add it more safeties/DO schools.

i am a very optimistic person on SDN (much more so than most), and while an MD acceptance is certainly possible for you, you'll be facing an uphill battle.

best of luck!

 

[Catalystik]

Any idea when this will be updated?

When the SDN community generates enough support for an overall update that the work of each individual participant will not be excessive. And when one/some spreadsheet-savvy members get editor privileges from paul411, who holds it now.

If you would like to update individual schools in which you have an interest, you can do so now by emailing the changes to paul411 (with your link to publically available data) or getting approval to make the changes yourself from him.

 

[TexasSurgeon]

When the SDN community generates enough support for an overall update that the work of each individual participant will not be excessive. And when one/some spreadsheet-savvy members get editor privileges from paul411, who holds it now.

If you would like to update individual schools in which you have an interest, you can do so now by emailing the changes to paul411 (with your link to publically available data) or getting approval to make the changes yourself from him.

I see. Is there a place we can get this data from or is it just from MSAR stuff?

I'll try and see what I can do

EDIT: Have you found people who have relied on this excel spreadsheet to have real success for those schools that list "Go for it"?

 

[aspiring20]

OP, it seems that your EDITED list still contains 40-50 schools? while i am all for applying broadly, this is way too many and ultimately futile.

edit out all the top tiers and schools that receive 10,000+ applications. look for schools with lower average stats and for schools that are friendly towards international applicants. 30 schools should be plenty.

and let me be frank with you again, a 3.37/32 for an international applicant means you'll have a difficult road ahead of you. i recommend retaking that MCAT for a 35+ and beefing up your ECs.

good luck!

 

[Catalystik]

1) I see. Is there a place we can get this data from or is it just from MSAR stuff?

2) Have you found people who have relied on this excel spreadsheet to have real success for those schools that list "Go for it"?

1) The current data location, from schools' websites, is cited at the end of each line. The MSAR was not used, as it violates their copyright to cite them (or so they claim) and uses acceptee data. The data provided is matriculant data.

2) This is a guideline, not a guarantee. It does not take into account your ECs, fitness to mission, LORs, legal issues, and interview skills.