520 MCAT, 3.68 cGPA, 3.93 sGPA, California Non-Trad ORM, WAMC + School List Help

[impetuskrampetus]

Hi all, last year I decided to become a premed.

Previously I was at a large university in a PhD program working on engineering-like research, no publications. I got a Master's Degree in Mathematics and completed a project that is being used at a national laboratory. The project I completed involved more engineering / mathematics, but it included reading and synthesizing academic papers, as well as coming up with novel methods. I left on reasonably good terms, and my advisor agreed to write me a letter of evaluation.

Here are my stats:

MCAT: 520 (131/126/131/132)

cGPA: 3.68, including a post-bacc above 3.95 across 7 classes so far.
sGPA: 3.93

I got a C and a B- in a couple of humanities classes early on in college, which is why my "sGPA" was unaffected.
My cGPA above does *not* include classes I took in my graduate program.

Volunteering: 218 hours at a food bank, 128 hours on Crisis Text Line
Clinical experience: 488 hours as an emergency department scribe.
Shadowing: 60 hours across three specialties, including FM
"Leadership": 500 hours total tutoring, both as a personal tutor and as a teacher's assistant, but none this year.
I am an "ORM".
I have had my personal statement read by an ADCOM who commented that it is "good".

It would help to know what my chances are of acceptance. I would estimate around 70%.

I am hoping for someone to review my school list and let me know if I should add or remove schools. I have 35 schools so far which I would like to whittle down if helpful, so please let me know if I am wasting my time including any of these.

The following is my school list so far, based mainly on stats and being a California resident:

UCLA

Kaiser

UC Davis

California University of Science

Western Michigan

University of Miami

Hackensack Meridian

New York Medical College

Lewis Katz @ Temple

Drexel

University of Vermont

Eastern Virginia

Penn State

Albany

Quinipiac University

UCSC (Keck)

Boston University

UCSD

UC Irvine

University of Colorado School

University of Pittsburgh

Case Western Reserve

Brown University

Emory

University of Iowa

Albert Einstein

Dartmouth (Geisel)

University of Cincinnati

Wake Forest

Sidney Kimmel

VCU

Tufts

Oakland

George Washington

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[Mr.Smile12]

It would help to know what my chances are of acceptance. I would estimate around 70%.

Do you mean 70% chance you get one offer, or 70% of your schools on the list would offer?

What's your purpose as a physician? How does this help me make sense of your list?

 

[Faha]

Add Carle Illinois (you fit their profile) and Washington University (in St. Louis).

 

[impetuskrampetus]

Do you mean 70% chance you get one offer, or 70% of your schools on the list would offer?

What's your purpose as a physician? How does this help me make sense of your list?

Thanks for your time and for the thoughtful response.

I'm referring to a 70% chance of getting into at least one medical school, given my interviews go well. (i.e., >70% chance of getting at least 1 II, and 70% chance total of getting accepted somewhere).

My purpose as a physician is to serve others and give back, so I'm interested in schools that are more geared towards service. I think most schools fit this description, while there are a few more research-oriented schools like Stanford which I have discarded. In the end, I'm interested in any practicing specialty, whereas the idea of being a "physician scientist" is not particularly appealing. I'd be willing to participate in research in order to further my career but it is not my primary objective. I also have experience working with (and hope to continue in the future) Spanish-speaking populations, so schools like UC Davis and UCSD are better fits for me, although I recognize I cannot be choosy.

To be honest, many of the schools on my list are based off of statistics. While I would love for there to exist 35 schools within stat-range in California that perfectly match my background and interests, I can't be choosy. Based solely off of mission statement and location, my school list would be rather scarce. While I would be thrilled to go to any of the schools on my list, I would be *overjoyed* to go to one of the following schools:

UC Davis
UCSD
UC Irvine
UCLA
UCSC (Keck)
Kaiser
California University of Science
University of Colorado
Boston University

 

[impetuskrampetus]

Add Carle Illinois (you fit their profile) and Washington University (in St. Louis).

Perfect! I just looked at Carle Illinois and I would indeed fit right in. Thank you so much.

As to Washington University, they were originally on my list but I removed them since my cGPA (3.68) is below their 10th percentile (3.75). I believe this was a wise decision, do you agree?

 

[Faha]

Perfect! I just looked at Carle Illinois and I would indeed fit right in. Thank you so much.

As to Washington University, they were originally on my list but I removed them since my cGPA (3.68) is below their 10th percentile (3.75). I believe this was a wise decision, do you agree?

Washington University interviews a high percentage of applicants with 520+ MCAT scores.

 

[impetuskrampetus]

Washington University interviews a high percentage of applicants with 520+ MCAT scores.

I see, thank you, that helps. Could you please link to where you got that info (unless it's from a primary-source e.g. word of mouth)? And by "high percentage" are we talking 10% or 40% or something else?

 

[Faha]

I see, thank you, that helps. Could you please link to where you got that info (unless it's from a primary-source e.g. word of mouth)? And by "high percentage" are we talking 10% or 40% or something else?

Washington University offers interviews to almost 30% of applicants who complete secondaries (from MSAR adjusting for those who do not complete secondaries or accept interview invites).

 

[Mr.Smile12]

Also note WashU uses a recorded video interview platform before extending an interview (please confirm).