3.91 cGPA 3.98 sGPA predicted MCAT 35-38ish

[VanillaDLite]

Hey guys!

New to this forum here. I'm about to apply to this 2014 cycle and trying to finalize my list of schools. Any feedback/suggestions are welcome!

Background Info
Biology Major - Neurobiology Concentration
Graduated 1 semester early from an Ivy League school.
Asian, CA resident
Taking a gap year before applying to medical school.

My EC's are:

Clinical Experiences
35~ hrs Shadowing vascular surgeon & radiologist
30~hrs Externship / shadowing at a Nuclear Medicine Clinic
15 hrs Shadowing in a neurosurgery department in China
40+ hrs Volunteering at the ER and the ICU at local hospital back home (will be doing more this summer)
40 hrs Volunteering at ER at local hospital near campus


Research Experiences
4 semesters working on a project team in a sleep lab on campus
3 semesters working with a graduate student in a neurobio/psychology lab. Got my name on one abstract haha.
250+ hrs Working over the summer and winter break at a neurobiology lab at a UC.


Other Activities
Served as worship leader for both my Christian fellowship and the local church on campus.
Interned for two semester in the campus's Asian American student agency group as a small team leader.
Served as Teaching Assistant for one semester in an introductory biology course.
Went on a short term mission trip to an inner city neighborhood to help teach children.
Worked as a summer camp counselor / ESL teacher for 3 summers
Part of a dance group on campus.

I'll be working in an Americorp program to mentor children for my gap year.

Edit: My MCAT score is 37.

Here's my updated list of potential schools to apply to:

Johns Hopkins
UCSF
UCSD
UCLA
UCI
UC Davis
UC Riverside
Harvard
UPenn
Duke
Mayo Clinic
Wash in St. Louis
Stanford
Baylor
Yale
University of Chicago
USC
Northwestern
Mt. Sinai
NYU
Vanderbilt
Emory




I know my EC's are not that impressive given the caliber of some people here on this forum, so if you folks have any suggestions for what to work on I would really appreciate it!

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[red doctober]

It's highly dependent on your MCAT. If you get a 38, then your list seems fine. If you get a 32, then it's top heavy. I would take off Texas A&M and University of Washington because of their IS-selectivity.

 

[October88]

If you take those off your list I would add a few more schoolsin their place. It is hard to say which ones not knowing your MCAT.

As for other suggestions I would do some clinical volunteering in your gap year, which I think will be totally manageable (I did AmeriCorps too and volunteered an additional 3 nights a week). Your clinical volunteering is low and a lot of the top schools waitlist people and expect them to send in update letters and I think that that would help you.

 

[rodmichael82]

I would add some safeties in there too.

 

[VanillaDLite]

What are some safeties that you would suggest? I've been looking around the forum and it seems this list might be a little top heavy, but I also know most state-schools are not very OOS-friendly. I would like to stay on the west coast as much as possible.

 

[khrisskhoras]

Take Univ of Washington off your list for starters. UW is 100% in-state

Add Emory, it could be a safety if you get a 38

 

[October88]

Take Univ of Washington off your list for starters. UW is 100% in-state

Add Emory, it could be a safety if you get a 38

I don't think university of Washington is 100 percent is.

But there are plently of safeties you could add. Which is smart not knowing your mcat score.

What I would do if I were you is apply to those top schools now and if your mcat score is lower than you expect add some more schools like USC, Arizona, slu, tufts... there are plenty of schools you could ladder if your mcaat is lower than what you expect.

I added a few schools on second thought a month or so affter I submitted my app and still got interviews ay most of them

 

[Goro]

I've seen people on this forum with numbers like yours merely get waitlisted precisely because of the low number of hours of volunteering. You've got to bring those numbers up. Otherwise, list looks fine, especially if you can score in high 30s. Keep in mind that most of the schools on your list have MCAT avgs around 36+. Good luck!

Hey guys!

New to this forum here. I'm about to apply to this 2014 cycle and trying to finalize my list of schools. Any feedback/suggestions are welcome!

Background Info
Biology Major - Neurobiology Concentration
Graduated 1 semester early from an Ivy League school.
Asian, CA resident
Taking a gap year before applying to medical school.

My EC's are:

Clinical Experiences
35~ hrs Shadowing vascular surgeon & radiologist
30~hrs Externship / shadowing at a Nuclear Medicine Clinic
15 hrs Shadowing in a neurosurgery department in China
40+ hrs Volunteering at the ER and the ICU at local hospital back home (will be doing more this summer)
40 hrs Volunteering at ER at local hospital near campus


Research Experiences
4 semesters working on a project team in a sleep lab on campus
3 semesters working with a graduate student in a neurobio/psychology lab. Got my name on one abstract haha.
250+ hrs Working over the summer and winter break at a neurobiology lab at a UC.


Other Activities
Served as worship leader for both my Christian fellowship and the local church on campus.
Interned for two semester in the campus's Asian American student agency group as a small team leader.
Served as Teaching Assistant for one semester in an introductory biology course.
Went on a short term mission trip to an inner city neighborhood to help teach children.
Worked as a summer camp counselor / ESL teacher for 3 summers
Part of a dance group on campus.

I'll be working in an Americorp program to mentor children for my gap year.

Took my MCAT in early May, I've been getting consistent 38's on my practice tests, but I guess you never know for sure until you get your results back.

Here's my current list of potential schools to apply to:
Johns Hopkins
UCSF
UCSD
UCLA
UCI
UC Davis
UC Riverside
Harvard
UPenn
Duke
Mayo Clinic
Wash in St. Louis
Stanford
Baylor
Yale
University of Chicago
USC
University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas
Loma Linda
Northwestern
Mt. Sinai
Texas A&M
NYU
University of Washington



I know my EC's are not that impressive given the caliber of some people here on this forum, so if you folks have any suggestions for what to work on I would really appreciate it!

 

[VanillaDLite]

Thanks for the feedback guys, I really appreciate it! Just curious, what would be a competitive number of volunteering hours to shoot for? Especially for the upper-tier schools.

Once again, thanks!

 

[October88]

Thanks for the feedback guys, I really appreciate it! Just curious, what would be a competitive number of volunteering hours to shoot for? Especially for the upper-tier schools.

Once again, thanks!

I think the average applicant aiming to go to a low tier to midtier school has about 150 hours.

I think yo be more competitive maybe double that. But you also need to be really passionate about it and show that. Like I had more than 1400 hours which is way more than expected and got a lotvof love from top schools but it was the best part of my life/ week.

I would aim to find some position you really love so you aren't counting the numbers of hours you need to clock in to be competitive at Harvard or Mayo but some place where you really do make a difference and your interviewers will see that.

Sorry for the blabering but those are my thoughts.

 

[VanillaDLite]

Just got my MCAT results in today. 37. Does this change anything?

 

[October88]

Congrats!!!! That is awesome!!!!

So is your current list what is posted in the original thread?

 

[VanillaDLite]

I just updated my school list. I know this is still probably top heavy, but I figured go big or go home (lol. i.e. reapply I guess), plus I think I would actually want to go to these schools (yes i know who wouldn't, but I meant either location/curriculum-wise). Also, I'm still debating between NYU and Albert Einstein since they are similar to me location-wise and both are pretty great, although I guess NYU is more attractive since I'd rather be in Manhattan than the Bronx haha. If you guys think I'm outta my mind please let me know haha!

Also thanks for the feedback! I just resumed volunteering back home at my local hospital, and will definitely keep the adcoms updated. Another thing how much does it matter between what you do in your gap year? My parents are pressuring me to find a research job instead of pursuing AmeriCorp. Which does med school tend to look more favorably upon (all other things being equal)?

 

[gyngyn]

I just updated my school list. I know this is still probably top heavy, but I figured go big or go home (lol. i.e. reapply I guess), plus I think I would actually want to go to these schools (yes i know who wouldn't, but I meant either location/curriculum-wise). Also, I'm still debating between NYU and Albert Einstein since they are similar to me location-wise and both are pretty great, although I guess NYU is more attractive since I'd rather be in Manhattan than the Bronx haha. If you guys think I'm outta my mind please let me know haha!

Also thanks for the feedback! I just resumed volunteering back home at my local hospital, and will definitely keep the adcoms updated. Another thing how much does it matter between what you do in your gap year? My parents are pressuring me to find a research job instead of pursuing AmeriCorp. Which does med school tend to look more favorably upon (all other things being equal)?

Americorp. Your list is fine.

 

[October88]

I did americorps for two years simply because I really loved the opportunity and a lot of the top schools I interviewed at were really interested in my experience which was not even medically related.

I feel like more people do research between gap years so I don't think that would help you stand out much especially if you already have done research.