3.88 cGPA, 33S School List

[brandonh4]

Hi guys. I'm very new (and bad) at this - I used the school selection excel to generate my school list, but I have no idea if it's too top heavy or what. As a side note, I have FAP, so my budget easily allows for 25-30 schools.

Stats: 22 yrs old, 3.88 cGPA, 3.83 BCPM, 33S (10 PS/10 VR/13 BS) from UC Irvine (CA Resident)

Some notable EC's:
-Clinical: ~600 hrs Emergency Department volunteer (4 yrs), ~100 hrs free health clinic volunteer (1 yr). NO SHADOWING (uh oh!)
-Research: 2 labs over 3 years. Presented poster at national research conference (was awarded a travel award by a pharmaceutical company to do so), along with various uni presentations.
-Leadership: Started a weightlifting club on campus, over 60 members now. Also am Vice President for an undergrad pre-med club.
-Hobbies: Powerlifting, held 3 state records for about 9 months. Avid dog walker (not srs).

There's some more in research, employment, and awards, but I figure I'll end it here for brevity's sake. LOR's probably pretty good.

School List:
Hopeful
1) UCSD
2) UCSF
3) Brown
4) Vanderbilt
5) Harvard
6) Johns Hopkins
7) Stanford
8) Mayo
9) NYU
10) Duke

Go For It
1) UC Irvine
2) UCLA
3) U of Southern California
4) U of Miami
5) Ohio State
6) Case Western
7) SUNY Downstate
8) U of Florida
9) U of Colorado
10) Dartmouth

High Chance
1) UC Davis
2) Loma Linda
3) U of Central Florida
4) Georgetown
5) Creighton
6) Temple
7) U of Vermont
8) Loyola

Any guidance much appreciated.

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[yellowperil]

Consider buying the MSAR around $20 and select the schools from there. Try to get shadowing at least 50 hours. You have great stats, MCAT and EC's.
oh, how many pounds can you lift and what was your state record?

 

[brandonh4]

Consider buying the MSAR around $20 and select the schools from there. Try to get shadowing at least 50 hours. You have great stats, MCAT and EC's.
oh, how many pounds can you lift and what was your state record?

It was about an 1100 total at ~180# bw. The records were for squat, deadlift, and total (I suck at bench). It was a new federation, which is why the records were easily gotten and summarily defeated.

 

[eeeyooore]

you obviously have a *strong* profile but UVM and georgetown are definitely not high probability schools. You have a lot of public schools listed. Have you looked at the percentage of out of state students? Personally, I would replace a couple schools like U of Miami and U of Florida with Tufts, Tulane, etc. It is fine to apply to a lot of reaches but compared to ppl that they interview your stats a probably a little lower. Also, if you actually apply to 30 schools, you will be paying about 4 grand in apps. And you will have to work twice as hard as other people on your secondaries. I applied to a lot of schools and would strongly advise applying to 8 schools max per reach, hopeful and go for it.

 

[brandonh4]

you obviously have a *strong* profile but UVM and georgetown are definitely not high probability schools. You have a lot of public schools listed. Have you looked at the percentage of out of state students? Personally, I would replace a couple schools like U of Miami and U of Florida with Tufts, Tulane, etc. It is fine to apply to a lot of reaches but compared to ppl that they interview your stats a probably a little lower. Also, if you actually apply to 30 schools, you will be paying about 4 grand in apps. And you will have to work twice as hard as other people on your secondaries. I applied to a lot of schools and would strongly advise applying to 8 schools max per reach, hopeful and go for it.

Thanks. I haven't had a chance to refine my school list using MSAR, and I didn't even notice I was mostly public. Figured this was a good place to start in case I had gross errors.

In terms of secondaries, my plan is to app for 25-30 primaries. If I get too many secondaries back I can be selective about which to actually submit.

 

[brandonh4]

Sorry, another question: I know it won't make a big difference in the long run, but a friend suggested I stall my primary submission until maybe June 15, since my stats aren't stellar, to avoid the first wave of gunners. Is that the conventional wisdom here too?

 

[CopaceticOne]

Sorry, another question: I know it won't make a big difference in the long run, but a friend suggested I stall my primary submission until maybe June 15, since my stats aren't stellar, to avoid the first wave of gunners. Is that the conventional wisdom here too?

No, as soon as your app is done submit it. Who knows how long the verification process will take and most schools now are rolling admission. Early & well prepared = best.

 

[Hemorrage]

Sorry, another question: I know it won't make a big difference in the long run, but a friend suggested I stall my primary submission until maybe June 15, since my stats aren't stellar, to avoid the first wave of gunners. Is that the conventional wisdom here too?

no, you should only delay if your taking time to write your essays carefully

 

[Cynicalbrit]

I see you have Loma Linda on your list. Unless you are a highly religious Seventh-Day Adventist, I would recommend that you strike it from your list. They are a highly religious institution and require all students to sign a "lifestyle agreement."
Further, I would recommend that you do not apply to Georgetown, as they get 10,000+ applications every year. It seems everyone applies there as a safety/fit.
I understand that having a fee waver means that you need to worry much less about the cost of applying, but I still think applying to 30 schools is a bit excessive. With a fee waver, I would try and get it down to around 20. The best advice I can give is do not apply to a school that you wouldn't attend if accepted.
Finally, try to focus your application on what makes you different from other applicants. There are some things that are expected of everyone (like shadowing, clinical exp., volunteering, etc.), and you should make sure that you have those, but if you want to get into a highly selective school, you need the person reading your application to notice you. I'm not sure if that made sense, but it's close enough.

PS: Do some shadowing. Not having any may raise a red flag on your application, and even a little bit at the last minute is better than nothing. Try and shadow at least one primary care and at least one specialist.

 

[brandonh4]

I see you have Loma Linda on your list. Unless you are a highly religious Seventh-Day Adventist, I would recommend that you strike it from your list. They are a highly religious institution and require all students to sign a "lifestyle agreement."
Further, I would recommend that you do not apply to Georgetown, as they get 10,000+ applications every year. It seems everyone applies there as a safety/fit.
I understand that having a fee waver means that you need to worry much less about the cost of applying, but I still think applying to 30 schools is a bit excessive. With a fee waver, I would try and get it down to around 20. The best advice I can give is do not apply to a school that you wouldn't attend if accepted.
Finally, try to focus your application on what makes you different from other applicants. There are some things that are expected of everyone (like shadowing, clinical exp., volunteering, etc.), and you should make sure that you have those, but if you want to get into a highly selective school, you need the person reading your application to notice you. I'm not sure if that made sense, but it's close enough.

PS: Do some shadowing. Not having any may raise a red flag on your application, and even a little bit at the last minute is better than nothing. Try and shadow at least one primary care and at least one specialist.

Thanks for your advice. I know shadowing is a huge component - somehow it never materialized for me. I'm currently building a relationship with an ortho I hope to shadow over the summer, but I always had pretty great clinical exposure that allowed me to see a lot of medical practice. A great LOR from the clinical management hopefully makes up for it too. Are you guys recommending I postpone submitting my primary until I have some shadowing? I always figured I could just send update letters to the schools who accept them.