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[RaitonKirin]

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[MaxPlancker]

Apply your heart out, you're competitive anywhere, but my guess is you'll land at an upper-mid tier, perhaps not top 5, due to your ECs unless you are a complete charmer in the interview.

 

[RaitonKirin]

Apply your heart out, you're competitive anywhere, but my guess is you'll land at an upper-mid tier, perhaps not top 5, due to your ECs unless you are a complete charmer in the interview.

Thank you! I'm wondering if I should even bother applying to some of the super top schools. I don't even want to go to most of them (Vanderbilt and the UCs are my top choices), but they're pretty much the only places where my stats match up to the medians.

 

[Faha]

You have a good list and should receive several interviews. You could add these schools:
Kaiser
California University
Washington University
Pittsburgh
Mount Sinai
Duke
U Chicago

 

[MaxPlancker]

Thank you! I'm wondering if I should even bother applying to some of the super top schools. I don't even want to go to most of them (Vanderbilt and the UCs are my top choices), but they're pretty much the only places where my stats match up to the medians.

As long as there are no huge financial barriers to the application fee, I think you should because you never know, someone may see your app and really like it. The process can be very random, and you have potential for any school, so I would apply so you have no What If? regrets later on.

 

[deleted966008]

Add Northwestern and WashU if interested

 

[Walter Raleigh]

I might honestly suggest another gap year, and that you absolutely need more clinical and nonclinical volunteering, as well as primary care shadowing. You might even consider something like Americorps or City Year. ECs are extremely bare-bones. @Goro, any thoughts?

 

[deleted966008]

I might honestly suggest another gap year, and that you absolutely need more clinical and nonclinical volunteering, as well as primary care shadowing. You might even consider something like Americorps or City Year. ECs are extremely bare-bones. @Goro, any thoughts?

I agree with Walt. If you can handle waiting a year to beef up your ECs, you could compete for a T5 acceptance with those stats.

You’ve spent over 20x more time in the lab than the clinic. The “Why Not PhD” question will be unavoidable at interviews as things currently stand.

 

[Walter Raleigh]

Yep. Even if OP had 200 hours each of clinical and nonclinical volunteering, they might be okay. As it is, it's a crapshoot as to whether OP could get in this year. MD/PhD programs might be more forgiving of the low volunteer hours, given the research productivity and rockstar stats...but it's still a crapshoot. Good luck.

 

[Goro]

Not really sure how to strike a balance so that my list is not too top heavy but also to avoid getting yield protected because of my stats. My EC's aren't amazing. I'm also not sure if I should add way more schools since I'm from California, and whether those should be more target or safety schools. Any advice is greatly appreciated.

1. cGPA: 3.95 sGPA: 4.0
2. MCAT: 524 (131/130/131/132)
3. Residence: CA
4. Race: Asian
5. Undergrad: UC
6. Clinical experience
   1. 120 hours volunteering at psychiatry department
7. Research experience
   1. 3000 hours in three different labs
   2. Fifth author pub in an obscure journal + 1 poster presentation at second lab, second author on a review in third lab (approved, pending publication)
8. Shadowing experience
   1. 40 hours shadowing in gastroenterology
9. Non-clinical volunteering
   1. Weakest point, just started, will have 30 hours by primary and will continue
10. Other extracurricular activities
    1. TA for 550 hours

School List:

Harvard
NYU
Stanford
Yale
Cornell
Vanderbilt
Dartmouth
USC
Hofstra
Boston University
Case Western
UCSF
UCLA
UCSD
UC Davis
UC Irvine

Take a gap year. This isn't the application of somebody who dearly wants to be a doctor, this is the application of somebody who dearly wants to do research.

 

[Walter Raleigh]

@Goro: out of curiosity, would your school interview or accept this applicant as he is?

 

[Goro]

@Goro: out of curiosity, would your school interview or accept this applicant as he is?

Interview, yes.
Accept???? Only if s/he can demonstrate that they're not a lab rat.

 

[Walter Raleigh]

Yeah. A gap year would do wonders and we highly recommend it. Getting another 200 hours each of clinical and nonclinical volunteering would make you a competitive applicant at top-20 schools. As it is, it's a crapshoot as to whether you'd get in anywhere. You might, but you'd be selling yourself short by applying now.

 

[dodolol21]

I disagree with a lot of people here. No need for gap year unless dead set on T10. Since you only want Vandy+UCs really, I'll tell you I had plenty of friends who had T20 stats but very weak ECs and they got in just because of the way they presented their ECs/story. Its not so much what you do but how you present it

 

[chemdoctor]

I don't think you'll NEED a gap year. Be presentable in interviews. If you want really competitive schools then you'll need a gap year for some clinical volunteering

 

[RaitonKirin]

Thanks everyone, I think I'll still apply this year but I will keep building my EC's while applying in case I need to reapply. I want to start med school already and I just don't want to wait another year haha. For this cycle, I'll focus on presentation as best as I can. Thanks again

 

[Kracin]

N=1.

I applied this year with a similar application. I got a full-tuition scholarship to T20. Definitely hurt me in the T10s.