516, 3.99 GPA; what schools should I apply to?

[koster35]

---

Members don't see this ad.

Hi all,

I’m a caucasian male from BYU in Utah. I have a 516 and 3.99 GPA.

I have good leadership experiences. I have 800+ hours working as a CNA at a hospital. I have volunteered the last three years as a CNA at a volunteer clinic for those under the poverty line (totaling 150 hours). I have also volunteered at the hospital ER with transporting patients (150 hours or so).
I have been doing mentored research for the last two years and recently won a grant for one of my projects.

I’m really struggling with knowing which schools I should apply to...

U of Utah
USC
U of Colorado
Tulane
New York medical college
Cincinnati
Ohio state
Oklahoma
Florida university
USF
UCF
Miami
Emory
Loma Linda
California Irvine
UNLV
U of Nevada reno
Arizona Phoenix
George washinngton
Georgetown
Rochester
Jefferson
Tufts
St. Louis
Iowa

5 Texas schools (not Baylor)

And some stretch schools:
Casewestern
Stanford
Duke
U of Michigan
Dartmouth
Brown

My questions are these:

1. Should I add any schools?
2. Should I remove any schools?
3. Should I even bother applying to those stretch schools?
4. How many schools should I apply to?

Thank you!!!

 

[deleted972488]

Some of the schools on your list don’t take many out of state applicants. Most of the schools on your “stretch” list aren’t really reaches for you, so you should apply to them.

 

[koster35]

Some of the schools on your list don’t take many out of state applicants. Most of the schools on your “stretch” list aren’t really reaches for you, so you should apply to them.

I listed some schools that have low oos like Arizona and Nevada because they accept more out of Utah, from what I understand.

And I listed Brown and Dartmouth under stretch since they still don’t accept a lot of oos (despite their median being a 516). I’ve never met or heard of anyone who’s been accepted to them.

Do you think I have a chance at Stanford? Or do they accept most of their people from other top-tier schools? I just don’t want to waste money if there isn’t a chance.

 

[RNthenDoc]

I know someone with similar stats to you who got interviews at multiple Ivy schools.

I say, shoot your shot. HMS, Hopkins et al. are a stretch, but if I were you I’d shoot a shot!

 

[lalalallala]

With your app I think you should be aiming higher - I think you have a decent shot at UVA/Case/Dartmouth type schools. Stanford is probably a reach unless you have something really interesting about you, but if you love it there then apply.

You should go on MSAR (Medical School Admissions Requirements) and look at how many OOS people are being accepted and what the OOS GPA and OOS MCAT are for each of the schools on your list. Look at how few OOS people Oklahoma accepted for example (they interviewed 1.8% of OOS applicants vs 72% of IS applicants - for me this sort of information says I shouldn't bother applying there as an OOS applicant without strong connections to the school/state).

Lastly, I would say try to figure out what sort of school is the best fit for you. Do you want a research powerhouse? Is your app going to be centered around patient care/community service? Are you looking for a city school or not? What sort of students would be fit in the best with? Trying to figure out what your priorities are and what schools also prioritize those things is very important. Brown and Dartmouth are a very different fit than Duke or Stanford for example. You don't want to waste time/money applying to schools where you don't fit or where you don't have a legitimate chance of getting in.

 

[koster35]

Advice noted! I’ll drop Oklahoma and double check the rest. Thanks for your responses!

So what do you think about a list like this for reach schools:

Duke
Mt. Sinai
Dartmouth
Brown
Mayo

And possibly Stanford and Harvard...

Also, do you think I have enough safety schools?

 

[907914]

With your app, I would add reaches if you want a shot because you have a small chance however I would not remove any safety schools as your higher up shot is not high

 

[Goro]

I suggest

U of Utah
USC
U of Colorado
Tulane
Cincinnati
Ohio state
USF
UCF
Miami
Emory
Loma Linda (only if you are SDA)
Rochester
Jefferson
Tufts
St. Louis
Iowa
Case western
Duke
U of Michigan
Dartmouth

ADD
Emory
Hofstra
Einstein
Pitt
Mayo
BU
U VM

I recommend applying to 20 to 30 schools

 

[PapaGuava]

Thread moved to the WAMC subsection.

 

[koster35]

@Goro @Faha
And anyone else!

I’m considering adding some of these schools. Which do you think are reasonable and which should I remove?

Baylor
UVA
Georgetown
GW
Cornell
Mt. Sinai
Brown

Thank you so much!!!

 

[Faha]

@Goro @Faha
And anyone else!

I’m considering adding some of these schools. Which do you think are reasonable and which should I remove?

Baylor
UVA
Georgetown
GW
Cornell
Mt. Sinai
Brown

Thank you so much!!!

They are all reasonable but Texas matriculated only 31 non residents last year.

 

[MyOdyssey]

@Goro @Faha
And anyone else!

I’m considering adding some of these schools. Which do you think are reasonable and which should I remove?

Baylor
UVA
Georgetown
GW
Cornell
Mt. Sinai
Brown

Thank you so much!!!

I'm just a premed but I've read many WAMC threads and something that comes up a lot is that Brown heavily favors its own - its own BS/MD students, its own undergrads and possibly students from Rhode Island and/or neighboring states.

It might be worth your while to search this forum to see past comments about Brown and its inward looking admissions policies.

Consider adding Boston University. I didn't see it on your lists.

 

[Goro]

Remove:
Georgetown
GW
Brown

 

[Engrailed]

Remove:
Georgetown
GW
Brown

curious what your reasoning is for this?

 

[Goro]

curious what your reasoning is for this?

GW and and GWU will resource protect you. they know from historic data that candidates of your caliber go elsewhere.
Brown highly favors their own UGs. They like inbreeding.