MD 3.45cGPA/3.44sGPA 35MCAT, Need critique on school list

[Ryzyn]

Hello! Recently I received by MCAT score which I am very happy of and have decided to redo my school list(I was banking on a 31).

Brief summary:
NY Resident
3.45 cGPA 3.44 sGPA, 35 MCAT
Currently in my junior year of a BS in Pharmaceutical Science
Deans list 4/5 semesters; My first term of sophomore year I received a 2.9 because I spread myself too thin with schoolwork, research, and a job, but bounced back to 3.6 next semester along with a 3.8 in my last semester.
Research work in Molecular Biology 3 years, 1 Poster, multiple presentations, paper to be published this summer. 2 Summer Research Grants awarded to do research over the summer. Will complete an undergraduate research thesis by senior year.
EMT-B with ~42 hrs/month for 1 year
~200 Hours of hospital volunteering, 20 Hrs of Shadowing Emergency Physician(DO)
Maintained position in student government for 1 year.
Peer Mentor to 7th Grade science enrichment program.


Schools: I'm looking at staying in the Northeast, and applying MD schools.
Columbia
Cornell-Weill
Johns Hopkins
Boston
Tufts
Mt. Sinai
NYU
Pittsburgh
Einstein
Albany
Stony Brook
SUNY Downstate
NY MC
Loyola
Northwestern

How does this look so far? Is it too top-heavy, do I even have a chance at top tier schools? Any cuts, additions, comments appreciated!

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[BestDoctorEver]

Hello! Recently I received by MCAT score which I am very happy of and have decided to redo my school list(I was banking on a 31).

Brief summary:
NY Resident
3.45 cGPA 3.44 sGPA, 35 MCAT
Currently in my junior year of a BS in Pharmaceutical Science
Deans list 4/5 semesters; My first term of sophomore year I received a 2.9 because I spread myself too thin with schoolwork, research, and a job, but bounced back to 3.6 next semester along with a 3.8 in my last semester.
Research work in Molecular Biology 3 years, 1 Poster, multiple presentations, paper to be published this summer. 2 Summer Research Grants awarded to do research over the summer. Will complete an undergraduate research thesis by senior year.
EMT-B with ~42 hrs/month for 1 year
~200 Hours of hospital volunteering, 20 Hrs of Shadowing Emergency Physician(DO)
Maintained position in student government for 1 year.
Peer Mentor to 7th Grade science enrichment program.


Schools: I'm looking at staying in the Northeast, and applying MD schools.
Columbia
Cornell-Weill
Johns Hopkins
Boston
Tufts
Mt. Sinai
NYU
Pittsburgh
Einstein
Albany
Stony Brook
SUNY Downstate
NY MC
Loyola
Northwestern

How does this look so far? Is it too top-heavy, do I even have a chance at top tier schools? Any cuts, additions, comments appreciated!

Too top heavy IMO. I would take out a few reaches (3-4) and add 6-8 mid-to-low tier. This process is crazy! Don't be TOO cocky...

 

[Utenation]

Hello! Recently I received by MCAT score which I am very happy of and have decided to redo my school list(I was banking on a 31).

Brief summary:
NY Resident
3.45 cGPA 3.44 sGPA, 35 MCAT
Currently in my junior year of a BS in Pharmaceutical Science
Deans list 4/5 semesters; My first term of sophomore year I received a 2.9 because I spread myself too thin with schoolwork, research, and a job, but bounced back to 3.6 next semester along with a 3.8 in my last semester.
Research work in Molecular Biology 3 years, 1 Poster, multiple presentations, paper to be published this summer. 2 Summer Research Grants awarded to do research over the summer. Will complete an undergraduate research thesis by senior year.
EMT-B with ~42 hrs/month for 1 year
~200 Hours of hospital volunteering, 20 Hrs of Shadowing Emergency Physician(DO)
Maintained position in student government for 1 year.
Peer Mentor to 7th Grade science enrichment program.


Schools: I'm looking at staying in the Northeast, and applying MD schools.
Columbia
Cornell-Weill
Johns Hopkins
Boston
Tufts
Mt. Sinai
NYU
Pittsburgh
Einstein
Albany
Stony Brook
SUNY Downstate
NY MC
Loyola
Northwestern

How does this look so far? Is it too top-heavy, do I even have a chance at top tier schools? Any cuts, additions, comments appreciated!

Well done on the MCAT score! That's great. I do think you're still a little top heavy. Not a ton, but a little. I'd keep your current schools on the list and add about 5-8 more mid-lower level tier schools.

Also, do you have more shadowing experience than just 20 hours of a DO? If so, I would recommend getting ~50 hours shadowing an MD fast.

Congratulations getting this far!

 

[Ryzyn]

Too top heavy IMO. I would take out a few reaches (3-4) and add 6-8 mid-to-low tier. This process is crazy! Don't be TOO cocky...

Which schools would you think are too much of a reach?

Well done on the MCAT score! That's great. I do think you're still a little top heavy. Not a ton, but a little. I'd keep your current schools on the list and add about 5-8 more mid-lower level tier schools.

Also, do you have more shadowing experience than just 20 hours of a DO? If so, I would recommend getting ~50 hours shadowing an MD fast.

Congratulations getting this far!

Thanks! In the process of looking at the stats of the schools on the MSAR to get a better feel of what I should add. Do you know of any schools I don't have on my list that I should add?

I was trying to schedule some MD shadowing during spring break, but my plans just changed, so I have to portion them out during the following weekends. Isn't ~50 hours a little too much though? My med school adviser said that shadowing is the least important part of my application, but I don't trust him too much.

He also said to keep my list of schools at 12 max because he doesn't think its practical to complete all the secondaries within the two week time limit that they send them out in(His words). Any thoughts?

 

[Utenation]

Which schools would you think are too much of a reach?

I think your GPA might be below the 10th percentile for Hopkins and Cornell, but I could be wrong because my MSAR subscription expired. You might be just above it...

Thanks! In the process of looking at the stats of the schools on the MSAR to get a better feel of what I should add. Do you know of any schools I don't have on my list that I should add?

You've got options so it's really up to where you want to live for at least four years.

I was trying to schedule some MD shadowing during spring break, but my plans just changed, so I have to portion them out during the following weekends. Isn't ~50 hours a little too much though? My med school adviser said that shadowing is the least important part of my application, but I don't trust him too much.

If you feel like 50 is a bit much then go for less, but it is important. I wouldn't trust that advice from him. My shadowing experiences gave me stuff to talk about in my interviews. A lot of interview questions are directed toward your experiences shadowing. If you have shadowed a fair amount then you will sound natural/confident in your answers and that is a big deal.

He also said to keep my list of schools at 12 max because he doesn't think its practical to complete all the secondaries within the two week time limit that they send them out in(His words). Any thoughts?

This is where SDN is amazing. People post the secondary questions for each school on http://forums.studentdoctor.net/forums/allopathic-school-specific-discussions.962/ so you can have the questions answered before you even get the secondaries. If you are applying early then you can look at last years questions. The questions rarely change and if they do, it's usually not by much.

 

[BestDoctorEver]

Which schools would you think are too much of a reach?

I would take out Cornell, JHU and either Northwestern or Pittsburg and using the MSAR to add 6-8 low-to-mid tiers

 

[Ryzyn]

Updated my list . New schools are in blue. 22 seems high though, Any further suggestions?

NY
Columbia
Mt. Sinai
NYU
Einstein
Albany
Stony Brook
SUNY Downstate
NY MC
SUNY Upstate
Hofstra
Buffalo
NYIT

IL
Loyola
Northwestern
Rush
CMS Franklin

MA
Boston
Tufts

PA
Jefferson
Drexel
Temple

RI
Brown-Alpert

 

[BestDoctorEver]

Updated my list . New schools are in blue. 22 seems high though, Any further suggestions?

NY
Columbia
Mt. Sinai
NYU
Einstein
Albany
Stony Brook
SUNY Downstate
NY MC
SUNY Upstate
Hofstra
Buffalo
NYIT

IL
Loyola
Northwestern
Rush
CMS Franklin

MA
Boston
Tufts

PA
Jefferson
Drexel
Temple

RI
Brown-Alpert

This is a good list... You should have a successful cycle with this list...

 

[ThisCouldBeYou]

Skip Brown. They tend to accept students in their BA program. Columbia sounds great, doesn't it? Except they'll ax you with that gpa. Same thing for the first four schools listed, Columbia, Einstein, NYU, and Mt Sinai. Not sure if you've been referring to the MSAR, but go there and take a look. Which schools' mission fits?

 

[Bru]

Probably not worth the time to do an entire DO application just for NYIT.