3.9/35 - School List

[Lambda Phage]

I'm a recent graduate from a state school and will be submitting my primary application around July 1st.

Residence: PA
State Ties: KY

Stats:

• cGPA - 3.8+
• sGPA - ~3.8
• MCAT - 35 (balanced)
• LizzyM - 73+

ECs:

• Research #1 - 340 hours (carcinogenesis)
• Research #2 - 240 hours (organic chemistry)
• Lab Assistant - 130 hours

• Clinical Volunteering - 250 hours (ED volunteering)
• Shadowing - 16 hours (primary care)

• TA - 160 hours
• Tutoring - 130 hours
• Proctoring - 20 hours

• Varsity Sport - 240 hours (at a very small school )
• Club Sport - 80 hours (transferred to a large school and continued playing my sport at the club level)

• Nonclinical Volunteering - 30 hours (teaching-related)

• Awards - Honors program, small departmental awards
• Hobbies - Sports and physical fitness

Other notes:

• Qualified for Fee Assistance (family income <55k)
• Grew up in a very rural area

School List:

• Vanderbilt
• Pittsburgh
• Virginia
• Case Western
• Baylor
• Emory
• St. Louis
• Ohio State
• Kentucky
• Cincinnati
• Jefferson
• Temple
• Drexel
• Penn State
• Louisville

Any advice on my list? Thanks for your time!

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[Goro]

You're golden...aim high! Add some more of the Ivies; all of the public schools in your home state and those elsewhere that are OOS friendly. Perhaps add Baylor and Emory

Anyway, here's my school list:

Reach:
Penn
Columbia

Target:
Vanderbilt
Duke
Pitt
Case Western Reserve
Mt. Sinai
NYU
USF

Safety:
Jefferson
Temple
Drexel
PSU
TCMC

Any advice on my list? Thanks for your time![/QUOTE]

 

[DaenarysDuhh]

I think you're set as well. You're competitive for many more reaches if you want to go for it - Yale and Hopkins are in your general geographic preference, and both towns are much nicer than reputation might indicate.

Also to answer your question - I think a varsity sport is a varsity sport - it was a big part of how you spent your time, and you had to juggle that with everything else you were doing. That makes all your work look even better.

Good luck! You are in for many successes.

 

[Lambda Phage]

Any more advice/opinions?

 

[cerno]

Have you thought about applying to more top 20/reach schools?

 

[Lambda Phage]

Have you thought about applying to more top 20/reach schools?

8 of 14 schools on my list are in the top 25 according to US News. Should I add more?

 

[DaenarysDuhh]

8 of 14 schools on my list are in the top 25 according to US News. Should I add more?

Add as many reach schools as you are willing and able to pay for. You have a good shot at any of them but you don't know where you'll hit the target, so in some ways the more the better to increase your chances. Keep your list as-is, but just add away until you have reached your $$ and time for secondaries capacity.

 

[Lambda Phage]

I have a corollary: given my stats, the fact I'm a first generation college student (does this matter?), and that my parental income is <<<80k a year, will I qualify for some scholarships?

I know Emory, Duke, Penn, and Vanderbilt like to dish out the dough; are there any other schools I should consider which have great financial aid?

 

[Lambda Phage]

I have a corollary: given my stats, the fact I'm a first generation college student (does this matter?), and that my parental income is <<<80k a year, will I qualify for some scholarships?

I know Emory, Duke, Penn, and Vanderbilt like to dish out the dough; are there any other schools I should consider which have great financial aid?

bump

 

[rodmichael82]

bump

Harvard, UCSF, Jopkins

AIM HIGH.

UVA is top 25 and in an amazing city.

 

[Lambda Phage]

Harvard, UCSF, Jopkins

AIM HIGH.

UVA is top 25 and in an amazing city.

Thank you for the suggestions!

Can anyone answer my questions about schools with great financial aid?

 

[cerno]

Thank you for the suggestions!

Can anyone answer my questions about schools with great financial aid?

Stanford, UPenn, and to a lesser extent, Duke, are fantastic from what I recall.

UPenn offers ~35 full tuition scholarships annually for a class size of ~170. I'd say that's pretty phenomenal. Source: http://www.med.upenn.edu/admiss/financial2.html

 

[Amba]

Thank you for the suggestions!

Can anyone answer my questions about schools with great financial aid?

Pritzker has a lot of money as well. Good luck next cycle

 

[Lambda Phage]

Sorry for all the questions, but here's another: Will medical schools take into account gap year plans? In other words, if I'm accepted to a year-long postbac research fellowship before submitting my app, will it carry some weight? Is there any way to indicate this sort of thing on the primary?

 

[Lambda Phage]

Sorry for all the questions, but here's another: Will medical schools take into account gap year plans? In other words, if I'm accepted to a year-long postbac research fellowship before submitting my app, will it carry some weight? Is there any way to indicate this sort of thing on the primary?

.

 

[slz1900]

Sorry for all the questions, but here's another: Will medical schools take into account gap year plans? In other words, if I'm accepted to a year-long postbac research fellowship before submitting my app, will it carry some weight? Is there any way to indicate this sort of thing on the primary?

The app now lets you list future dates, so you can put in your gap year job as an activity and indicate that it is ending a year after you apply.

 

[Lambda Phage]

Excellent! That's what I was hoping for. Thanks, slz

 

[Lambda Phage]

Bump from last year!

I changed my school list quite a bit since last summer (removed reaches and added more mid-tier schools) and added shadowing, research, and proctoring. I'm looking for any last-minute advice or school list recommendations!

 

[samsunimomo]

So you didn't end up applying last year?

 

[Lambda Phage]

So you didn't end up applying last year?

Correct.

 

[sakabato93]

Bump from last year!

I changed my school list quite a bit since last summer (removed reaches and added more mid-tier schools) and added shadowing, research, and proctoring. I'm looking for any last-minute advice or school list recommendations!

Wait, you changed the list? Is the updated version in your first post? Or are you going to post another version?

 

[Lambda Phage]

Wait, you changed the list? Is the updated version in your first post? Or are you going to post another version?

Haha sorry, I edited the original post with my updated list of schools and ECs.

 

[sakabato93]

Haha sorry, I edited the original post with my updated list of schools and ECs.

I see. You could probably add a few more top 20s. You and I have similar stats. Check out my list and see if any of those schools tickle your fancy. (I have ties with KY too!)

Consider adding NYU + Wake Forest. Possibly Northwestern as well. Do you have any regional preferences?

 

[Lambda Phage]

I see. You could probably add a few more top 20s. You and I have similar stats. Check out my list and see if any of those schools tickle your fancy. (I have ties with KY too!)

Consider adding NYU + Wake Forest. Possibly Northwestern as well. Do you have any regional preferences?

I'm not keen on New York City schools because the cost of living is too high to justify, imo. I prefer schools in PA since my residence is already established here or near southern KY since that's where the majority of my family live.

 

[sakabato93]

I'm not keen on New York City schools because the cost of living is too high to justify, imo. I prefer schools in PA since my residence is already established here or near southern KY since that's where the majority of my family live.

I see. How about NC schools like Duke or Wake Forest? Also what about Penn as a reach?

 

[Lamel]

Your current list looks fine.

Add some more reaches if you want and have the $ for it. Good luck!