3.95 GPA and 39S MCAT. Having trouble finding a balance with schools

[psu1226]

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So I think my application is pretty good.

Bioengineering major
Business law minor
From Northeast
3.95 GPA
39S MCAT
LORs from research advisor, bioengineering prof./advisor, finance prof., ochem lab prof
Two semesters of hospital volunteering
Four week mission trip to Peru this summer
Studied abroad in Europe for a summer
Researched at a medical school last summer
Doing research in bioe this summer for an undergraduate thesis
Active participation in a one particular EC dedicated to fund raising for children
Been horseback riding for years, and was on my school's team briefly

I've been setting my sights pretty high as far as schools go, but I want to make sure I'm being realistic and hurting myself.

I'm thinking:
UVA
UCSF
Stanford
Cornell
UPenn
Wake Forest
Washington U
U of Chicago
Harvard
Vanderbilt
Emory

Any help would be greatly appreciated! I just need some insight that isn't the generic stuff the pre-med committee tells me.

 

[CaliGirl14]

Never hurts to have reach/safety schools 🙂 What about your state schools? Shadowing? Leadership? Nice numbers!

 

[Catalystik]

Keeping in mind that you'll be primarily judged by the Experiences listed on the application and not on those planned for the future, do you really want the majority of your schools to be strong research schools when you've only completed one summer of research? Top schools aim to train future leaders in medicine. Be sure that your activities reflect that potential. Be sure that you include more realistic choices if you don't have the necessary ECs.

Alternatively (unless you failed to mention a lot of pertinent information), if you are ambitious to attend a top school, consider beefing up your activities for a year before applying.

 

[reddoc]

Your basic stats are very good but EC activities are on the weak side. Your list is very top heavy. With your EC, I would not get overconfident. I would add several more schools in the mid range and a couple of lower tier schools as well. Start with instate publics. I would avoid schools that place a premium on community service/volunteering such as GT, GW, loyola, USC. Wake is also a school that is tricky to predict and high scores will not automatically get you considered particularly if you are not from NC.

 

[Lil Mick]

You'll need more leadership and clinical experience for a very strong application to those schools. If you wait a year and really focus on that, you'll probably have an excellent chance at most of those schools. As is, your state school might be a good safety (probably get in somewhere if you apply to reach, average, and safety schools).

 

[psu1226]

Thanks for all the advice. I totally spaced on a couple points of my app.

I participated in a leadership program during my freshman year
I was also a "facilitator" for a study group for the women in engineering program
I was also an orientation mentor for the incoming freshman two years (ran icebreakers and such for a group of ~fifteen students)
Active member of my college's recruitment team for all three years so far (gave lots of tours, talked on panels)

But I did want to ask about the research thing. I have one summer in pharmacology research (+ a LOR), one semester doing computer programming for a biology professor (good talking point if nothing else, it involved antique books), and one semester so far in a bioe lab

Also, another question about future activities. Makes sense that they wouldn't be included in case you don't complete them, but I realized I can include them in mentioning the scholarships I received to do them (both research this summer and medical work in Peru). Will this make sense/help at all?

Definitely think I'm going to add instates to my list. Thanks again!

 

[Catalystik]

Also, another question about future activities. Makes sense that they wouldn't be included in case you don't complete them, but I realized I can include them in mentioning the scholarships I received to do them (both research this summer and medical work in Peru). Will this make sense/help at all?

Good strategic thinking!