Other criteria I should be considering...?

Hey everyone...I've just discovered this forum and it seems like there's some good advice being given, which is exactly what I'm looking for.

I'm working on what schools to apply to and I've narrowed the list down to 25, which I think is too many. But at the same time, I'm scared to death of cutting any from my list! So I was wondering if there were any criteria that I have forgotten to consider that might narrow my list even further.

I've thought about (1) location, (2) cost, (3) how competitive my numbers are, (4) class size, (5) how classes are taught (lecture vs. PBL, etc.), (6) in-state vs. out-of-state, and have come up with the following 25 schools:

Stanford University School of Medicine
David Geffen School of Medicine at University of California, Los Angeles
Keck School of Medicine of University of Southern California
University of California, Davis School of Medicine
University of California, Irvine School of Medicine
University of California, San Diego School of Medicine
University of California, San Francisco School of Medicine
Yale University School of Medicine
George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences
Georgetown University School of Medicine
Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine
University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine
Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
Harvard Medical School
Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons
Mount Sinai School of Medicine
New York University School of Medicine
Weill Cornell Medical College of Cornell University
Drexel University College of Medicine
Jefferson Medical College of Thomas Jefferson University
University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine
Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University
Boston University School of Medicine
Tufts University School of Medicine
Washington University School of Medicine

I'm satisfied with my numbers (~3.96 GPA for both cumulative and BCPM, 39R MCAT, CA resident), but is this list too ambitious? What other big criteria do I need to consider? I'm afraid if I end up applying to all these schools I'm going to end up overloaded with applications to fill out and all of them may suffer as a result.

Thanks to everyone in advance!

umm as far as ECs go i have ~100 hours of shadowing, 1 year of hospital volunteering, spring break program to provide medical relief to an impoverished latin american country, 1.5 years of research with a publication, some honors (phi beta kappa, deans list, etc.), and a year of being in the university's marching band

chad5871 said:

I think you have a good list of schools. There are upper-, mid-, and low-tier schools that pick a lot of OOS applicants, which is exactly what you want. 25 should not be too much to get you too stressed out, especially since you're from CA - if you keep getting interview invites right and left you can always withdraw from the schools you're less interested in attending (as long as you already have an acceptance). Your numbers look great, but what kind of ECs do you have?

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umm as far as ECs go i have ~100 hours of shadowing, ~100 hours of hospital volunteering, spring break program to provide medical relief to an impoverished latin american country, 1.5 years of research with a publication, some honors (phi beta kappa, deans list, etc.), and a year of being in the university's marching band