About to submit AMCAS, finalizing school list

[jae9970]

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i know some people will go "here we go, yet another school list thread" but here it is anyways..

Here is my brief profile:

Pennsylvania resident
over-represented group
state university, majored in mechanical engineering
GPA: 3.77
MCAT: 30O
Experiences: little shadowing, some volunteering at Red Cross, a couple of professional project / presentation on medical devices, and one summer of biomedical research

Schools:

Albert Einstein
Albany
Boston
Case Western
Dartmouth
UCLA: David Geffen
Drexel
George Washington
Georgetown
Howard
Jefferson
Mayo
New York Medical College
Penn State Hershey
St. Louis (SLU)
SUNY Upstate
Temple
Ohio State
University of Miami
Tufts
UMDNJ (both Robert Wood Johnson and NJ Med School)
University of Iowa
University of Maryland
University of Minnesota (Minneapolis)
University of Pittsburgh
University of Virginia
University of Wisconsin
Wake Forest



Right now, I think I'm applying to way too many schools. Definitely need to trim the list down. Could you help me eliminate some schools? I'm definitely submitting my primary within 24 hours.

Thank you!

 

[postbacker]

Here's 3 to knock off your list: U Maryland is very tough on OOS. U Miami, although private, shows distinct preferences for in-state (per their website)...Howard not very likely unless you are URM interested in underserved populations...

 

[jae9970]

Here's 3 to knock off your list: U Maryland is very tough on OOS. U Miami, although private, shows distinct preferences for in-state (per their website)...Howard not very likely unless you are URM interested in underserved populations...

good information, thanks!

 

[trichomoniasis]

add USC Keck if you want a realistic shot at California

 

[jae9970]

add USC Keck if you want a realistic shot at California

Does USC Keck admit more OOS applicants than UCLA?

Also, is it more competitive?

Lastly, does USC Keck screen applicants pre-secondary?

 

[trichomoniasis]

Does USC Keck admit more OOS applicants than UCLA?

Also, is it more competitive?

Lastly, does USC Keck screen applicants pre-secondary?

yes

no

not sure

 

[jae9970]

yes

no

not sure

hmm.. ok

well i was going to apply to one school in California, so I picked UCLA but actually USC Keck might be a better choice

 

[trichomoniasis]

hmm.. ok

well i was going to apply to one school in California, so I picked UCLA but actually USC Keck might be a better choice

do both. apply to every school you'd be happy to end up at. If you'd be happy at 50 different schools, apply to those 50. If there's only 8 specific schools that you can see yourself attending, only apply to those 8.

Primaries and secondaries are dirty cheap compared to how much you'll be spending your first year of med school alone, traveling to interviews can get expensive, but still, nowhere near the $30k-70k your first year is going to cost. Get a credit card.

 

[jae9970]

do both. apply to every school you'd be happy to end up at. If you'd be happy at 50 different schools, apply to those 50. If there's only 8 specific schools that you can see yourself attending, only apply to those 8.

Primaries and secondaries are dirty cheap compared to how much you'll be spending your first year of med school alone, traveling to interviews can get expensive, but still, nowhere near the $30k-70k your first year is going to cost. Get a credit card.

i wouldnt want to apply at every school that i didn't mind attending, that would be way too many

if i wanted to apply to either USC Keck or UCLA, what would you recommend based on my OOS status and my numbers?

BTW i really appreciate your input.

 

[LiBeBCNOF]

according to what i've heard, usc doesn't screen pre-secondary and ucla definitely does. also, being a california public school, ucla is much much harder from out of state than usc. so i'd go with usc. 🙂

 

[abcxyz0123]

i wouldnt want to apply at every school that i didn't mind attending, that would be way too many

if i wanted to apply to either USC Keck or UCLA, what would you recommend based on my OOS status and my numbers?

BTW i really appreciate your input.

dude, not to be rude, but this is common sense. ucla is a public school (thus it will hold most of its seats for in-state students) and USC is a private school. which do you think is the better school for an out of stater?

 

[nick_carraway]

do both. apply to every school you'd be happy to end up at. If you'd be happy at 50 different schools, apply to those 50. If there's only 8 specific schools that you can see yourself attending, only apply to those 8.

Primaries and secondaries are dirty cheap compared to how much you'll be spending your first year of med school alone, traveling to interviews can get expensive, but still, nowhere near the $30k-70k your first year is going to cost. Get a credit card.

I agree with this advice. I feel like I'm rejecting myself for the schools by limiting my choices and I'm glad to see someone on SDN agrees that 50 schools--while painful to apply to--is worth it if you get in at the end.

 

[muruKun]

i wouldnt want to apply at every school that i didn't mind attending, that would be way too many

if i wanted to apply to either USC Keck or UCLA, what would you recommend based on my OOS status and my numbers?

BTW i really appreciate your input.

this data is for 2006-2007

USC out of total 162, 46 were OOS GPA Median : 3.68 MCAT Median 33

UCLA out of total 169, 19 were OOS GPA Median : 3.82 MCAT Median 35

If I had to choose one, I would apply to USC if I were you.

 

[jae9970]

thanks people!

 

[jae9970]

how about Boston vs Tufts?

any comments regarding this?

 

[trichomoniasis]

tufts

BU gets like 17 thousand applications (roughly)

 

[jae9970]

tufts

BU gets like 17 thousand applications (roughly)

there must be a reason so many people apply there.. is it an OOS friendly school?

 

[trichomoniasis]

there must be a reason so many people apply there.. is it an OOS friendly school?

sort of, but not after you factor in the 17,000 other OOS people applying there. Plus they interview a ton of people, so you'll spend the $$ to interview and still not have a decent shot at getting in.

 

[jae9970]

sort of, but not after you factor in the 17,000 other OOS people applying there. Plus they interview a ton of people, so you'll spend the $$ to interview and still not have a decent shot at getting in.

i see, thank you for your valuable information, trichomoniasis 😀