3.85/520 Reapplicant: Help with School List

[fortnite_king]

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Hi everyone!
I'm anticipating having to reapply the next cycle and I would greatly appreciate advice on a school list. I graduated from a decent state school and already took a gap year before applying the first time, so I'll have taken 2 gap years before applying the second time.
Some basic information about me:
-cGPA: 3.87, sGPA 3.81,
-MCAT: 132/127/130/131
-ORM, male
-Clinical experience: had about 3000 when I applied

• Emergency room scribe for 800 hours
• ENT scribe for 2200 hours (I listed hours that I would have gotten during the interview cycle until expected matriculation)
• NO shadowing

-Research experience: about 850 hours

• 700 hours performing on campus research in a biology lab. I didn't have a publication but I did have a presentation
• 150 hours as a research assistant in an emergency room research program - I was basically one of 20 data collectors for clinical research

-Volunteering: 330 hours

• 180 hours tutoring low SES students in math subjects
• 150 hours with a club I helped co-found (was vice president as well) - tutoring low SES students in science subjects
• NO clinical volunteering

-Miscellaneous

• Held a leadership position and was a personal trainer on the campus gym
• Teaching Assistant for an upper level biology class
• I ended up submitting secondaries later than I would have liked: mid - late August, all within 2 weeks of receiving them.
• INSTITUTIONAL ACTION: I was placed on housing probation after having my friends call an ambulance on me during my freshman year, even though I didn't end up going to the hospital. I've been really worried about this but my pre-med advisor and a former member of an admissions committee told me it would have negligible impact on my application. Any thoughts/prior experience?

Schools I applied to the first time: Cornell, Pitt, Mt. Sinai, Case Western, Emory, USC Keck, Ohio State, Maryland, George Washington, Rochester, Albert Einstein, Dartmouth, Tufts, Thomas Jefferson, Wake Forest, Vermont

• In hindsight, this school list was a too top heavy and I depended too much on stats to determine my school list.

Activities I plan to add to my application for my reapplication:

• Volunteer at local blood drives
• Virtual volunteer talking with elderly individuals who have been isolated due to COVID
• Shadowing (hopefully)

Any advice on school lists/anything else would be greatly appreciated!

 

[Banco]

Did you get interviews?

 

[fortnite_king]

Did you get interviews?

Yeah I interviewed at Jefferson and vermont

 

[Banco]

Yeah I interviewed at Jefferson and vermont

Wait list or rejected?


It's a bit bizarre that you only got 2 interviews. You have a strong application, at least on paper. How were essays? LORs? Did you apply to your own state school?


Frankly I don't think your list is too top heavy. I think you should have applied to more schools at the Pitt/Cornell/Sinai tier as you have a lot of research experience and the stats to play ball at that tier - you may be a better fit there honestly.

 

[Faha]

Where is your state of residence ? Are you on the waitlist at Jefferson or Vermont ?

 

[fortnite_king]

Wait list or rejected?


It's a bit bizarre that you only got 2 interviews. You have a strong application, at least on paper. How were essays? LORs? Did you apply to your own state school?


Frankly I don't think your list is too top heavy. I think you should have applied to more schools at the Pitt/Cornell/Sinai tier as you have a lot of research experience and the stats to play ball at that tier - you may be a better fit there honestly.

HPWL at Jefferson and waiting on vermont - at the vermont interview they did tell us that they waitlist a lot of their applicants to begin with. I'm guessing that's where I'll end up because their interview caught me off guard and I'd rather apply sooner this time than later.
I've been told that my personal statement is "good" but not excellent by members of admissions committees (one is a family friend and another is a third party advisor I paid for because I got a bit neurotic in december haha). For my secondaries, I thought I put in lots of effort into each one since I only applied to 17 schools but maybe they could be better?
I did apply to my own state school and didn't get an interview which was bizarre. Even my undergraduate advisor thought I was an excellent candidate
I think my LORs were pretty strong but then again I can never find out
Regarding my school list, I remember my advisor saying I was out of contention for schools such as northwestern and pitt when my gpa dropped from high 3.9s to my current gpa and another advisor I met with said I should apply to more schools with mcat scores in the 511-513 range just to be safe. Maybe a combination of more high tier and more safeties the next time around?
Also just the Clarify my friends called the ambulance because I was drunk so I got written up for underage drinking/intoxication

 

[fortnite_king]

Where is your state of residence ? Are you on the waitlist at Jefferson or Vermont ?

HPWL at Jefferson and waiting on vermont!
I currently live in Maryland

 

[Faha]

If you need to reapply I suggest these schools:
Jefferson
Vermont
Maryland
Quinnipiac
Rochester
Hofstra
Einstein
Seton Hall
Pittsburgh
Ohio State
Cincinnati
West Virginia
Virginia Commonwealth
Eastern Virginia
Miami
USF Morsani
Vanderbilt
Tulane
Washington University
St. Louis
Western Michigan

 

[fortnite_king]

If you need to reapply I suggest these schools:
Jefferson
Vermont
Maryland
Quinnipiac
Rochester
Hofstra
Einstein
Seton Hall
Pittsburgh
Ohio State
Cincinnati
West Virginia
Virginia Commonwealth
Eastern Virginia
Miami
USF Morsani
Vanderbilt
Tulane
Washington University
St. Louis
Western Michigan

I appreciate it! I've started drafting a school list just in case and I'm glad to see many overlapping schools on our list.

I also wanted to ask if my alcohol institutional action severely impacts my admissions chances or not?

 

[Faha]

I appreciate it! I've started drafting a school list just in case and I'm glad to see many overlapping schools on our list.

I also wanted to ask if my alcohol institutional action severely impacts my admissions chances or not?

No, not at most schools.