3.8 GPA, 36 MCAT, CA resident

[athletechamp]

Removing info to retain confidentiality

Potential Schools:
UCLA
UCR
UCI
UCSF
Stanford
KECK USC
UC DAVIS
Loma Linda
Columbia
NYU
DUKE
vanderbilt
University of Arizona
Dartmouth
Brown
Uniformed Services
Albert Einstein
Baylor
Southwestern Methodist
Washington St Louis

Harvard
University of Nevada School of Medicine
University of Washington School of Medicine
San Antonio
University of North Carolina Chapel Hill
John Hopkins
Yale
U-Penn
Texas A&M
UT Houston
University of Oregon

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[athletechamp]

pls someone help me lol

 

[lmn]

Check UCR mission and see if you fit it, same with Loma Linda. Drop Brown due to BS/MD. Check with how friendly schools are to some OOS, your stats are good, but you may want to use that slot for a better chance. You should have a good amount of interviews, best of luck

 

[Beth_W737]

Being from CA I'd add some more mid tiers, your stats are great but it's not always a guarantee and your list is pretty top heavy.

 

[athletechamp]

Definitely agree with Brown being dropped! I'll check into Loma Linda and UCR, thank you

How do you pick mid tier schools based off of your stats? Does that mean picking schools that you are 2 MCAT and .2 GPA above? I am having a hard time with this.

 

[athletechamp]

Oh I should also add that I did purchase the MSAR and have been looking at that site as well.

 

[lmn]

I'd first sort schools that are within +/- 3 LizzyM scores above and below yours, then take out non-OOS and non-mission schools. Then pick out a good distribution of schools close to your stats, a few safeties, and a couple of reaches.

 

[athletechamp]

Sorry, I have only seen the word LizzyM on this site and have never known what it means. I looked it up and saw the formula is GPAx10 +MCAT, is that correct? That makes me 74? And then I just look at this old excel sheet I found (does it matter if it is not that new?) and compare?

 

[lmn]

Sorry, I have only seen the word LizzyM on this site and have never known what it means. I looked it up and saw the formula is GPAx10 +MCAT, is that correct? That makes me 74? And then I just look at this old excel sheet I found (does it matter if it is not that new?) and compare?

Older would be slightly less accurate, I would use it as a general tool and then once you start narrowing it down maybe replace the stats with the more accurate MSAR averages.

 

[el_duderino]

Sorry, I have only seen the word LizzyM on this site and have never known what it means. I looked it up and saw the formula is GPAx10 +MCAT, is that correct? That makes me 74? And then I just look at this old excel sheet I found (does it matter if it is not that new?) and compare?

Pretty much. Use those LizzyM scores, the 10-90th percentile scores in the MSAR, and the OOS admission percentage to narrow down your list.

 

[athletechamp]

Alright I will rework my list now and post again? You guys are so awesome for helping out a total stranger

 

[athletechamp]

I'd first sort schools that are within +/- 3 LizzyM scores above and below yours, then take out non-OOS and non-mission schools. Then pick out a good distribution of schools close to your stats, a few safeties, and a couple of reaches.

So I looked at the schools and picked the ones +/- 3 points above my score, which I found to be 75. None of them really sound "safe" to me:

Washington U
Yale
Northwestern
U of Chicago
Johns Hopkins
Harvard
Cornell
Baylor
U of Michigan
Mayo
Columbia
Mt. Sinai
Duke
U of Pittsburgh
Stanford
UCSD
UCSF
Emory
Tufts
NYU
U of Pennsylvania
Brown
Vanderbilt
U of Colorado
Dartmouth
Einstein
U of Rochester
Case Western
Ohio State


UT Southwestern was on this list was taken off because of OOS trouble (getting the hang of this). So does this list look balanced? Or should I go lower than 3 Lizzy M?

 

[breaklinedestroyed]

Check UCR mission and see if you fit it, same with Loma Linda. Drop Brown due to BS/MD. Check with how friendly schools are to some OOS, your stats are good, but you may want to use that slot for a better chance. You should have a good amount of interviews, best of luck

Can you explalin further about dropping Brown due to BS/MD? Not sure what that means.

 

[el_duderino]

A large portion of Brown matriculants come from the combined program.

 

[ciestar]

Drop UWash.
Unless you're from WWAMI, they're not OOS friendly at all.

I believe Colorado is similar in their unfriendliness towards OOS. (Nevada too?).

And the bs/md thing is a bachelors-md program. So naturally, brown favors it's own undergrads.

 

[ciestar]

And what were your grades like at other schools? That does factor into your gpa. (Could bring it up or down, which could skew your LizzyM).

But in my opinion (and I'm no expert) that your second list is way too top heavy.

 

[lmn]

Drop UWash.
Unless you're from WWAMI, they're not OOS friendly at all.

I believe Colorado is similar in their unfriendliness towards OOS. (Nevada too?).

And the bs/md thing is a bachelors-md program. So naturally, brown favors it's own undergrads.

Depends on what the OP wants in terms of chances, I believe UColorado has some seats set aside for outstanding OOS applicants but they are few. Not the best chances for sure, but some people really want to chase those possibilities for a variety of reasons

 

[ciestar]

Depends on what the OP wants in terms of chances, I believe UColorado has some seats set aside for outstanding OOS applicants but they are few. Not the best chances for sure, but some people really want to chase those possibilities for a variety of reasons

Well if OP is interested in the school then by all means apply, there are just potentially higher yield possibilities out there.

 

[athletechamp]

And what were your grades like at other schools? That does factor into your gpa. (Could bring it up or down, which could skew your LizzyM).

But in my opinion (and I'm no expert) that your second list is way too top heavy.

They were 3 classes (2 state and 1 junior college taken during high school), all were A's.

My app just got verified so in the end my overall is a 3.82. slightly moved it up .

Also yeah I feel like it is top heavy, I just don't know at which point I am applying to schools that believe I won't go to their school and just won't accept me because of that. any advice?

 

[athletechamp]

Depends on what the OP wants in terms of chances, I believe UColorado has some seats set aside for outstanding OOS applicants but they are few. Not the best chances for sure, but some people really want to chase those possibilities for a variety of reasons

I was considering that school because I spent the majority of my childhood in Colorado before moving to CA, so I wonder if they will consider that all. But yeah mostly this school choice was based off of sentimental reasons, not because it was rational haha

 

[heat98989]

Caribbean?

 

[Lamel]

So I looked at the schools and picked the ones +/- 3 points above my score, which I found to be 75. None of them really sound "safe" to me:

Washington U
Yale
Northwestern
U of Chicago
Johns Hopkins
Harvard
Cornell
Baylor
U of Michigan
Mayo
Columbia
Mt. Sinai
Duke
U of Pittsburgh
Stanford
UCSD
UCSF
Emory
Tufts
NYU
U of Pennsylvania
Brown
Vanderbilt
U of Colorado
Dartmouth
Einstein
U of Rochester
Case Western
Ohio State


UT Southwestern was on this list was taken off because of OOS trouble (getting the hang of this). So does this list look balanced? Or should I go lower than 3 Lizzy M?

Out of these, I would pick ~10-15 schools that you actually want to go to (make sure to pick from the top of the list, middle, and bottom). Then I would add some more mid tiers/safety schools that are 3+ pts lower than your LizzyM (~5). Plus I assume you are adding all the Cali schools as well. Your list should be good.

 

[athletechamp]

Out of these, I would pick ~10-15 schools that you actually want to go to (make sure to pick from the top of the list, middle, and bottom). Then I would add some more mid tiers/safety schools that are 3+ pts lower than your LizzyM (~5). Plus I assume you are adding all the Cali schools as well. Your list should be good.

Alright awesome thank you

 

[Corvid]

A large portion of Brown matriculants come from the combined program.

Looking at their website, 2017's entering class consisted of: 63 people who applied just through AMCAS, 45 who were part of their PMLE program (BS to MD), 10 from some random post-bac thing, 2 from some random "Early Identification" program. So slightly over half the class still come from the normal application process. That's not terrible at all (in fact, it definitely rivals the OOS acceptance rates of a large number of state schools). I'd say Brown is still a viable choice for OP.

source: http://brown.edu/academics/medical/admission/class-profile

 

[sat0ri]

List sucks...

 

[athletechamp]

This is the list I'm looking at now:

Harvard
Baylor
Uniformed Services
Columbia
UCLA
UCR
UCD
UCI
UCSF
Stanford
USC
Loma Linda
Vanderbilt
Dartmouth
University of Oregon
John Hopkins
George Washington
Drexel
University of Nevada
University of Virginia

 

[Corvid]

List sucks...

It isn't a perfect list of course, but that's why he's asking for help here.

OP (@athletechamp )

You do need to add some 32-34 schools. I would consider St. Louis University (SLU) and Medical College of Wisconsin. Those are some good mid-tiers that a lot of people skip out on (myself included the first time I applied!)

 

[sat0ri]

It isn't a perfect list of course, but that's why he's asking for help here.

I was only kidding because s/he (but my strong inclination is that this is rather a she than he) said "Let me know if you think my list sucks." I just think it's funny people write things like that, as if they honestly meant it. The stats are great however, and should make for an interesting cycle. I wouldn't write like that ("I'd probably made a ton of mistakes") unless in friendly company (which SDN generally is), but it would be good to be aware of how you present yourself--so I'm writing this off as me trying to help.

 

[Corvid]

I was only kidding because s/he (but my strong inclination is that this is rather a she than he) said "Let me know if you think my list sucks." I just think it's funny people write things like that, as if they honestly meant it. The stats are great however, and should make for an interesting cycle. I wouldn't write like that ("I'd probably made a ton of mistakes") unless in friendly company (which SDN generally is), but it would be good to be aware of how you present yourself--so I'm writing this off as me trying to help.

I didn't catch that part in the original post. Without the context I missed, it just seemed like you answered honestly, but harshly lol. No worries, I agree with you

 

[nemo123]

I'd get rid of GW. They get tons of applicants. It would be better to sub it with another school. I would also get rid of Loma Linda, unless you think you fit their mission.

Your list is awfully top heavy, especially since you come from CA. You should try to add some more mid-tiers like Einstein.

 

[athletechamp]

I was only kidding because s/he (but my strong inclination is that this is rather a she than he) said "Let me know if you think my list sucks." I just think it's funny people write things like that, as if they honestly meant it. The stats are great however, and should make for an interesting cycle. I wouldn't write like that ("I'd probably made a ton of mistakes") unless in friendly company (which SDN generally is), but it would be good to be aware of how you present yourself--so I'm writing this off as me trying to help.

I really do want to hear if my list "sucks," because outside of SDN the only advice I get for med schools is too ballsy in my opinion, that apparently a lot of people agree with on SDN. However I do agree that the way I wrote was not a good way to present myself, I didn't want to come off too confident but I did that incorrectly. I do appreciate the help.

It isn't a perfect list of course, but that's why he's asking for help here.

OP (@athletechamp )

You do need to add some 32-34 schools. I would consider St. Louis University (SLU) and Medical College of Wisconsin. Those are some good mid-tiers that a lot of people skip out on (myself included the first time I applied!)

I'd get rid of GW. They get tons of applicants. It would be better to sub it with another school. I would also get rid of Loma Linda, unless you think you fit their mission.

Your list is awfully top heavy, especially since you come from CA. You should try to add some more mid-tiers like Einstein.

I can't remove Loma Linda at this point but GW I will take out, and replace with St. Louis and/or Wisconsin. Will adding those make the list better overall or do I need to add more than 2 of those schools? Are the last three schools on my list considered mid-tier?

 

[Corvid]

I really do want to hear if my list "sucks," because outside of SDN the only advice I get for med schools is too ballsy in my opinion, that apparently a lot of people agree with on SDN. However I do agree that the way I wrote was not a good way to present myself, I didn't want to come off too confident but I did that incorrectly. I do appreciate the help.





I can't remove Loma Linda at this point but GW I will take out, and replace with St. Louis and/or Wisconsin. Will adding those make the list better overall or do I need to add more than 2 of those schools? Are the last three schools on my list considered mid-tier?

I would try to add at least 5 schools like St. Louis and Wisconsin (5 is just an arbitrary number that I came up with by the way), so I would add those two and three more after that. I saw that you do have the MSAR. So go ahead and sort the schools by MCAT percentile, and start looking at the schools with MCAT medians around 32-34. Make sure you pick OOS friendly schools, schools with reasonable tuitions (unless finances are no problem for you), and schools in locations that you wouldn't mind spending 4 years in. If your app is still being processed you have time to explore your options in this regard.