3.87/521 Community College Transfer School List

[YoungMoneyMint]

I am a low-income/first-gen White (North African) student from CA that attends a lower-ranked UC after transferring from a CC (I failed 2 classes in my freshman year (non-science classes), but have gotten a 4.0 in every semester after that, so I have managed to get my cGPA up to a 3.86 and my sGPA up to a 3.95. Any recommendations about what schools I should be applying to would be much appreciated.

EC's:
Research:
2 REUs (one of which was online last year) (900 hours)

2 poster presentations (1 at a national Immunology conference)

2 years of bioinformatics research (300 hours)

1 semester of bench research (150 hours)

Clinical Experience:
Medical Assistant at a (small) Neurology clinic (650 hours)

Hospital Volunteer (150 hours)

Shadowing various docs for 50 hours

Volunteering:
Working for the National Health Corps/AmeriCorps as a vaccine ambassador/clothing drive coordinator at a free clinic (1700 hours)

Worked for a charity geared towards raising money for refugees (100 hours)

Food Bank Volunteer (150 hours)


Leadership/Work Experience:
Mentor for Underprivileged High School students (500 hours over 1 summer)

Co-creator of website dedicated to raising awareness for BLM protests (100 hours)

Co-creator of interactive maps dedicated to raising awareness about fracking waste in drinking water nationwide (120 hours)

Wrote a proposal to increase COVID-19 vaccination in underserved parts of the Central Valley (120 hours)

Miscellaneous/Hobbies/Awards:
Outstanding Graduating Undergraduate Award

Captain of intramural soccer team (2 semesters)

I produce/make hip-hop songs

I am currently planning to apply to all of the UCs (except UCR), USC-Keck, UCincinnati (I did an REU w/ Cincinnati Children's) and Dartmouth, but I was hoping for some more recommendations about where I should be applying out-of-state. I don't want to make my list too top-heavy.

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[YoungMoneyMint]

@Goro @gyngyn

 

[Mr.Smile12]

What part of California do you grow up?

 

[YoungMoneyMint]

@Mr.Smile12 I didn't grow up in California, but I've lived in Sacramento for the past 6 years (both before and after college). Why do you ask?

 

[YoungMoneyMint]

@Faha

 

[Goro]

I suggest:
NYU
Columbia
JHU
U Penn
WashU
Northwestern
Vanderbilt
Harvard
Yale
Cornell
U Chicago
Mayo
Case
Stanford
Duke
Sinai
U VA
BU
Baylor
Pitt
ALL UCs, but UCR only IF you’re from the Inland Empire
UTSW
USC/Keck
U MI
Rochester
Hofstra
Ohio State
U Cincy
Dartmouth
Western MI
USF Morsani
SUNY-SB
Brown
U MA
U IA
Albert Einstein
Emory
Tufts
NYU-LI
Jefferson
Miami
SLU
U WI
U CO
U VM

 

[Faha]

@Faha

@Goro has given you a good list of schools to apply to.

 

[YoungMoneyMint]

@LizzyM Any suggestions would be highly appreciated!

 

[LizzyM]

Narrow Goro's list to 20 schools you'd be happy to attend if each were your only offer. Don't let yourself get burnt out with too many secondaries and interviews as you are likely to be invited for many interviews. There is no such thing as "top heavy" for a 3.87/521 who started out from a position of disadvantage and who has ticked all the boxes (and then some).

 

[YoungMoneyMint]

@LizzyM Thank you so much for the kind words! I will spend the next couple of weeks looking at the MSAR and building a school list, and I’ll tag you in my next post for feedback. Hope you have a wonderful rest of your day

 

[YoungMoneyMint]

@LizzyM @Mr.Smile12 @KnightDoc @LindaAccepted I've spent the last couple of days going through MSAR and selecting schools that accept (or at least, don't outright reject) CC credits. I also used the WedgeDawg system (WARS score = 93), which I used to construct this rough list (in order of preference). Please advise! Thanks in advance.

UCSF
Stanford
UCSD
Cornell
Harvard
Duke
Emory
Columbia
Yale
JHU
WUSTL
Chicago
UCLA
Pitt
USC
Northwestern
Mt Sinai
Case
Dartmouth
Hofstra
Rochester
UC Davis
Kaiser

 

[KnightDoc]

@LizzyM @Mr.Smile12 @KnightDoc @LindaAccepted I've spent the last couple of days going through MSAR and selecting schools that accept (or at least, don't outright reject) CC credits. I also used the WedgeDawg system (WARS score = 93), which I used to construct this rough list (in order of preference). Please advise! Thanks in advance.

UCSF
Stanford
UCSD
Cornell
Harvard
Duke
Emory
Columbia
Yale
JHU
WUSTL
Chicago
UCLA
Pitt
USC
Northwestern
Mt Sinai
Case
Dartmouth
Hofstra
Rochester
UC Davis
Kaiser

I'm not an adcom, and am very flattered to be included in such esteemed company.

I can tell you, after spending the past 3 years on SDN, that @Faha is the super-stud school list guru, and if he is endorsing @Goro's list, that would be good enough for me. @Goro had more lower tier schools on his list than you have on yours (basically none!). I add a few of them back, and not adhere so closely to the WARS score, because its value depends on how accurately you are subjectively evaluating your experiences, and you just never know.

@LizzyM is also a VERY highly respected SDN adcom, so you have to take everything she says very seriously. With respect to her advice regarding cutting the list down, it is solid on its face, and there is a 99% chance she is correct, but, as a fellow applicant, I also fully understand the anxiety we all have until we receive our first II, and then our first A , because nobody, not even @LizzyM, really knows what's going to happen with an application until it happens.

As a result, given how crazy competitive things are nowadays, if you have the time and money, I wouldn't blame you for exceeding 20 applications. You can always withdraw some later if the cycle goes as well as @LizzyM thinks it will. JMHO, as an applicant, not an expert. Good luck!!

 

[LizzyM]

Ha! I was just writing to reiterate my advice to cut the list to 20. Prioritize and be ready to interview quite a few times in the fall. (With any luck we'll still be doing virtual interviews and you won't have to travel and spend an overnight on most interviews.)

 

[Mr.Smile12]

Yes, your value is higher than you perceive. Do some networking with students who attend schools near the top of your list. It's up to you to decide which schools will really support your journey. Connect with student leaders of AMSA, SNMA, and other special interest groups such as for residencies. Find out if each school has accepted students with similar journeys as yours. Consider advice from any connections you have with the NHSC/Americorps.

Make the schools want you before you submit your application so you can narrow down your list.

 

[YoungMoneyMint]

@KnightDoc I've decided to take your advice (and LizzyM's by keeping the list at ~20), and replace a few of the T10 schools on my list with lower-ranked schools. Would you say Temple, Cincy (I did a SURF program at Cincy Children's, so I have ties) and Thomas Jefferson would qualify?

 

[KnightDoc]

@KnightDoc I've decided to take your advice (and LizzyM's by keeping the list at ~20), and replace a few of the T10 schools on my list with lower-ranked schools. Would you say Temple, Cincy (I did a SURF program at Cincy Children's, so I have ties) and Thomas Jefferson would qualify?

Of course, it's totally up to you. They are all fine schools. Just be careful, because schools like Temple and Jefferson are considered "low yield" because they attract a TON of applicants relative to their ranking, and are therefore way more difficult to get into than you would think based on their profile.

Also, I honestly wouldn't keep the list at ~20. I was also originally shooting for around 20 schools. Like many people, I got nervous because I had no idea how my cycle would go, so, instead of swapping out some higher tier schools for lower tier ones, I just added the lower tier ones!

I'm not low income/first gen, and my ECs aren't as impressive as yours, but my strategy served me well. I received IIs at all tiers of school (ironically, a lot less in the middle than at the top or bottom!). Even in hindsight, though, there is no pattern that could be used to predict where I'd be successful (other than my state schools), so I'm glad I didn't just randomly cut out some schools. If I had, it would have been pure luck deciding whether I would have had all the IIs I ended up with, or only a small fraction of them. If I had cut out the wrong schools, I'd have been left with nothing but my state schools, which I never would have cut under any circumstance.

@LizzyM's faith in you is probably very well placed, and you will very likely do way better than I did, but I think it will prove to be very cheap insurance to apply to a few more schools, rather than limiting yourself to an arbitrary number. Again, you just never know until the As start rolling in. I think you should keep everything you currently have on your list, and just add 5-10 more from @Goro's list that are lower ranked. The 3 you asked about are a good start.

 

[LindaAccepted]

@LizzyM @Mr.Smile12 @KnightDoc @LindaAccepted I've spent the last couple of days going through MSAR and selecting schools that accept (or at least, don't outright reject) CC credits. I also used the WedgeDawg system (WARS score = 93), which I used to construct this rough list (in order of preference). Please advise! Thanks in advance.

UCSF
Stanford
UCSD
Cornell
Harvard
Duke
Emory
Columbia
Yale
JHU
WUSTL
Chicago
UCLA
Pitt
USC
Northwestern
Mt Sinai
Case
Dartmouth
Hofstra
Rochester
UC Davis
Kaiser

You have a good list here, and I too am flattered to be put in the company you put me. I can understand why you want to apply to KP, but it is very hard to get into.