3.59 cGPA, 3.65 sGPA, 517 MCAT - school list

[CavsFan2016]

Thank you for taking the time to read this in advance! Need some serious guidance on my school list:

• Graduated May 2015 with a BS in Neuroscience from well-respected liberal arts college

• Country/state of residence: USA/Ohio

• Cumulative GPA: 3.59

• Science GPA: 3.65

• MCAT Score: 517 (130/126/130/131) 96th percentile – retake, 1st attempt on old MCAT: 27 (10/9/8) 61st percentile

• Research – 2-year independent research project within biology department on campus, no publications yet but poster presentation at a conference in Washington, DC

• Volunteering (clinical) – (300 hours) Received $4,000 grant to travel to California and work in an outpatient cardiovascular clinic for one summer.

• Physician shadowing – (175 hours) Participated in a 4-week clinical rotation program – shadowed plastic surgery, cardiology, orthopedic surgery and otolaryngology

• Non-clinical volunteering: (200 hours) Worked as the lead Volunteer Coordinator for my local Red Cross Chapter, organized multiple fundraisers and drives in my area

• Extracurricular activities (900+ hours) 2-year varsity soccer player, quit to focus on academics and created Club Soccer Team on campus for last 2 years. (150 hours) Peer tutor on campus for 3 years

• Employment history: (1500+ hours) Worked as a full-time scribe in a local emergency department for the past 12 months.

Here's my school list:

In-state:
OSU
UC
Case Western
Wright State
Northeast Ohio
University of Toledo

Out-of state:
NY Med
Drexel
St. Louis University
Loyola
Rush
Wake Forest
Tulane
Albany

"Reach" schools:
University of Miami
Georgetown
Tufts
Emory
Boston University
Rochester
Albert Einstein
Dartmouth
Brown



too many reaches? What do you guys think - all feedback is appreciated!

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[Faha]

You have a good list and should receive several interviews. Include your reach schools.

 

[CavsFan2016]

You have a good list and should receive several interviews. Include your reach schools.

Thank you! Are there any other reach schools I should include given my stats?

 

[Faha]

Thank you! Are there any other reach schools I should include given my stats?

You can consider Einstein, Rochester,Tufts and BU

 

[CavsFan2016]

bump. Would anyone else be willing to give me their opinion on this list?

 

[GrapesofRath]

Looks fine. You can definitely get better bang for your buck if you want though from some of these OOS schools by swapping out Drexel Gtown NYMC Rush and Albany unless something specifically draws you to those schools to want to apply to them.

I would add IU also btw. Loyola and SLU tend to average multiple MCAT scores as part of their policy from what I've heard( Cincy as well but Id still apply there regardless. Ive heard a bunch of conflicting things about whether Rush does or doesn't)

 

[CavsFan2016]

Looks fine. You can definitely get better bang for your buck if you want though our of some of these OOS schools by swapping out Drexel NYMC Rush and Albany unless something specifically draws you to those schools to want to apply to them.

I would add IU also btw. Loyola and SLU tend to average multiple MCAT scores as part of their policy from what I've heard( Cincy as well but Id still apply there regardless)

~ Thanks for the reply. I'm applying to Drexel because I have a friend there who really enjoys it there and he told me to apply. I'm applying to NYCM, Rush and Albany because I like the location and they seem to fit my stats well. Ideally, these are safety schools in case my other schools fall through.

~ I will look into IU, thank you! That's too bad to hear about Loyola, SLU and Cincy.

 

[GrapesofRath]

~ Thanks for the reply. I'm applying to Drexel because I have a friend there who really enjoys it there and he told me to apply. I'm applying to NYCM, Rush and Albany because I like the location and they seem to fit my stats well. Ideally, these are safety schools in case my other schools fall through.

~ I will look into IU, thank you! That's too bad to hear about Loyola, SLU and Cincy.

Yeah those really aren't safety choices at all. Your odds are better at schools that get fewer apps and have a much better OOS app/matriculant ratio(ie Creighton, Oakland etc). Your 2nd MCAT is also hovering around Rush's and NYMC's 90th percentile

 

[CavsFan2016]

Yeah those really aren't safety choices at all. Your odds are better at schools that get fewer apps and have a much better OOS app/matriculant ratio(ie Creighton, Oakland etc). Your 2nd MCAT is also hovering around Rush's and NYMC's 90th percentile

I was looking more at which schools have a high proportion of OOS for their matriculating class.

Also, are you saying my score of 517 will hurt my chances at Rush and NYMC?

 

[GrapesofRath]

I was looking more at which schools have a high proportion of OOS for their matriculating class.

Also, are you saying my score of 517 will hurt my chances at Rush and NYMC?

It's hard to say with the MCAT for Rush and NYMC. It's not out of the realm of possibility a 517 gets targeted by these schools that have 90+ OOS apps/matriculant with a 35 90th percentile MCATs as a lower yield applicant. They just need a way to stratify such a large number of apps and the MCAT is a common way to get this done. On top of that the average matriculant at Rush has about 800 service hours and 1800 clinical hours: you aren't around that area.

Here is what I would do to figure out the highest yield OOS schools personally: Calculate their OOS app/matriculant ratio. IT serves as a good proxy for how high vs low yield these types of schools often are.

Couple examples
Rush: 122 OOS apps/matriculant
GW: 93 OOS apps/matriculant(NYMC is around the same number)

These aren't good ratios. And this is despite the fact GW is 95% OOS. You gotta factor in class size and how many apps they get.

Here would be examples of a few more favorable options:
Oakland: 51 OOS apps/matriculant
Tulane: 59 OOS apps/matriculant. For Tulane it'll depend on how they view the multiple scores but if they give more weight to the 517 you are in the perfect range they target for more traditional apps like you.

If your goal for OOS is to solely find some schools you can use as "backup" options this is how I would go about doing it. These are often the ones that are most likely to interview you.

 

[CavsFan2016]

It's hard to say with the MCAT for Rush and NYMC. It's not out of the realm of possibility a 517 gets targeted by these schools that have 90+ OOS apps/matriculant with a 35 90th percentile MCATs as a lower yield applicant. They just need a way to stratify such a large number of apps and the MCAT is a common way to get this done. On top of that the average matriculant at Rush has about 800 service hours and 1800 clinical hours: you aren't around that area.

Here is what I would do to figure out the highest yield OOS schools personally: Calculate their OOS app/matriculant ratio. IT serves as a good proxy for how high vs low yield these types of schools often are.

Couple examples
Rush: 122 OOS apps/matriculant
GW: 93 OOS apps/matriculant(NYMC is around the same number)

These aren't good ratios. And this is despite the fact GW is 95% OOS. You gotta factor in class size and how many apps they get.

Here would be examples of a few more favorable options:
Oakland: 51 OOS apps/matriculant
Tulane: 59 OOS apps/matriculant. For Tulane it'll depend on how they view the multiple scores but if they give more weight to the 517 you are in the perfect range they target for more traditional apps like you.

If your goal for OOS is to solely find some schools you can use as "backup" options this is how I would go about doing it. These are often the ones that are most likely to interview you.

Thank you so much for explaining this to me. The whole process can be so difficult to understand at times, I appreciate your help.