Additional Schools

[Darkskies]

I have a 3.47 GPA(some C- in pre-req courses that were retaken for As) from a top 40 school and a 32 MCAT(PS:9 VR:11 BS:12). I am so far applying to 25 schools but it seems like the price for the primary is less than I had expected. Are there any other reasonable or low tier schools I should include(and still not get overwhelmed with lengthy secondaries)? I am a NY state resident. Below are the schools I have selected on my AMCAS so far:
NYMC
SUNY Upstate
SUNY Downstate
SUNY Buffalo
Hofstra
Stonybrook
Albany Medical College
University of Rochester
EVMS
Rosalind Franklin
Drexel
Temple
Jefferson
Commonwealth Medical College
Tulane
Tufts
Virginia Commonwealth
Virginia Tech Carilion
Louisville
Michigan State
Wayne State
Oakland University William Beaumont
Creighton
George Washington
University of Vermont

Thanks for everyone's advice in advance!

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[TriagePreMed]

Low chances at almost all those schools. You should apply to DO. At 3.47, you're at the DO average.

 

[Darkskies]

Low chances at almost all those schools. You should apply to DO. At 3.47, you're at the DO average.

Don't I have a 50/50 shot since my MCAT is a 32R? I already am applying to DO schools as well.

 

[aSagacious]

That looks like a reasonable list to me (you've already added most of the lower tier / less competitive schools). Add a handful of DO schools and you should be all set (as far as giving yourself the best odds, not guaranteeing an acceptance ).

 

[TriagePreMed]

Don't I have a 50/50 shot since my MCAT is a 32R? I already am applying to DO schools as well.

I'm actually very skeptical about those scores. The more I see people here applying with your stats are typically those that have done post-baccalaureate work or are non-trads. Maybe a lot of them got in-state love. I do encourage you to apply, but you're definitely below the average at all the schools you posted.

 

[sector9]

I would go ahead and apply to MD. Your GPA isn't THAT bad. After all, the new schools usually aim for about a 3.5/30 for their first few classes so you're right there. And you have those new schools on your list.

 

[TriagePreMed]

I would go ahead and apply to MD. Your GPA isn't THAT bad. After all, the new schools usually aim for about a 3.5/30 for their first few classes so you're right there. And you have those new schools on your list.

On second thought, I agree that his GPA is not that bad for MD. His chances would be acceptable, but I still think hitting the DO average means he should apply to DO schools as well.

 

[sector9]

On second thought, I agree that his GPA is not that bad for MD. His chances would be acceptable, but I still think hitting the DO average means he should apply to DO schools as well.

Agreed. I forgot to mention that, but the OP already said he is applying DO as well.

The missing piece is EC's. Subpar GPA with bad EC's will doom your app, but decent and higher EC's should hopefully get you some love at state schools and new schools. Care to comment on your EC's , OP?

 

[Darkskies]

Agreed. I forgot to mention that, but the OP already said he is applying DO as well.

The missing piece is EC's. Subpar GPA with bad EC's will doom your app, but decent and higher EC's should hopefully get you some love at state schools and new schools. Care to comment on your EC's , OP?

Yeah, I actually feel that my ECs are kind of mediocre. The one I really have going for me is the fact that I am a near-fluent Spanish speaker(self-taught and not Hispanic) and have always loved language learning. Below are the ECs I've listed on my AMCAS.

Freshman Fellow(leadership, living in Freshman quarters and providing support)
200+ hours of Volunteering
65 hours of Physician Shadowing
Pet World Employee
Volunteer with outdoor chores for the elderly
Spanish Tutoring
Laboratory Assistant
1 semester of independent research
Film Interest Floor member
Kumon Math and Reading Center Employee(tutoring and grading)

How do those look?

 

[Darkskies]

You seem like a pretty well rounded individual with interests both in medicine and outside of it. You speaking Spanish nearly fluently without being a native speaker is something fantastic. It shows you care about other cultures as well as a good memorization skills.

I, overall, like your chances after this.

Thanks! Do you think there are any other MD AMCAS schools I might have a chance at that I should add? I'm willing to move to any area of the country so I'm wondering if I might be able to add some relatively unknown, 'backwoods' schools that also do not have too much of an in-state bias.

 

[Darkskies]

If that's the case, you might want to apply to some of the Puerto Rican schools. They are full MD AMCAS LCME schools. Being that you come from a non-Hispanic background, they would probably enjoy the diversity you bring to them.

Don't the Puerto Rican schools have the same repute as DO schools though? If not, I might actually apply then.

 

[TriagePreMed]

Don't the Puerto Rican schools have the same repute as DO schools though? If not, I might actually apply then.

It depends what you mean by "reputation." If you mean that some people that don't understand how medical school work may see that as getting a lesser degree, that's true, but seriously, how many of those same people know what Rosalind Franklin and Wayne State are? If you are wondering if you'll be treated the exact same way as other MD's during residency applications and residency, the answer is that they are on par. If you see their match lists, you will find Dermatologists, Neurosurgeons, Plastics, and ENT.

 

[miketour]

Don't the Puerto Rican schools have the same repute as DO schools though? If not, I might actually apply then.

I think it is a consensus here on SDN that you should shy away from Caribbean schools as there are a bunch of hoops you have to jump through to become a practicing physician here in the US. Personally, I would wait another year and beef up my EC's and GPA before I applied to Caribbean schools. However, I think your stats are worth a shot this time around. Good luck!

 

[TriagePreMed]

I think it is a consensus here on SDN that you should shy away from Caribbean schools as there are a bunch of hoops you have to jump through to become a practicing physician here in the US. Personally, I would wait another year and beef up my EC's and GPA before I applied to Caribbean schools. However, I think your stats are worth a shot this time around. Good luck!

Puerto Rican schools are not Caribbean schools. They are 100% equivalent and treated the same way as US schools.

 

[Whatyousay]

Yeah, I actually feel that my ECs are kind of mediocre.

Freshman Fellow(leadership, living in Freshman quarters and providing support)
200+ hours of Volunteering
65 hours of Physician Shadowing
Pet World Employee
Volunteer with outdoor chores for the elderly
Spanish Tutoring
Laboratory Assistant
1 semester of independent research
Film Interest Floor member
Kumon Math and Reading Center Employee(tutoring and grading)

How do those look?

This constitutes mediocre nowadays? Your ECs are probably above average, with the exception of research.

 

[Darkskies]

This constitutes mediocre nowadays? Your ECs are probably above average, with the exception of research.

Haha. I suppose being addicted to SDN has made me think the standards are higher than they really are?

So graduating with an MD from a Puerto Rican LCME accredited school would be viewed to be on par to other MD schools when applying for residency? Is this the same for Howard and Morehouse too? If so then that's interesting because all of those schools have average GPA and MCAT scores that are lower than many DO schools.

What about West Virginia and University of Alabama? Are both of those schools open to OOS applicants? Thanks!

 

[TriagePreMed]

Haha. I suppose being addicted to SDN has made me think the standards are higher than they really are?

So graduating with an MD from a Puerto Rican LCME accredited school would be viewed to be on par to other MD schools when applying for residency? Is this the same for Howard and Morehouse too? If so then that's interesting because all of those schools have average GPA and MCAT scores that are lower than many DO schools.

What about West Virginia and University of Alabama? Are both of those schools open to OOS applicants? Thanks!

Howard and Morehouse are the same as well, but they could potentially be harder to get into since they screen heavily for folks that are interested in working with the underclass. Any school under LCME = Any other school under LCME.

 

[Darkskies]

Thanks for the replies. Does anyone think it might be a good idea to add University of Alabama and/or West Virginia? Any other schools?

 

[Darkskies]

Anyone? I'm mainly wondering whether the University of Alabama and West Virginia would be good schools to add.

 

[Darkskies]

Anyone? I'm mainly wondering whether the University of Alabama and West Virginia would be good schools to add.

Wow..No one at all?

 

[Stewabeet]

https://www.amherst.edu/campuslife/careers/students/gradstudy/health/guide/part2/appendix

According to this site, OOSers are far less likely to matriculant to UAB. I'm a TN resident. I could compare that for you to East TN State, which know more about. As you can see from that chart, they had less OOSers apply but about the same % matriculate. ETSU pretty heavily selects for Tennesseans (maaaaybe being a bit nicer to people from areas close to East TN).

In contrast, WVU had higher % OOSers apply than either of those schools, but also had a markedly higher rate of matriculation. So I'd guess that they might be more OOS friendly.

But of course, you have to bear in mind that these represent matriculants, not admittees...

 

[jkchang10]

hey OP i was just wondering, which schools of those above give preference to NY state residents?

I'm just wondering cause I'm a florida resident and I'm in the same boat as you as far as looking for more med schools to apply to...

And to help out with the search, these are the schools I applied to last year (im a reapplicant) but had no luck because I applied late and had a low MCAT. I feel like you might have a shot at some of these schools seeing your ECs and decent MCAT. I'm reapplying much earlier and hopefully with a higher MCAT (score pending- 6-28). BTW im not a URM.

1. Albany
2. Albert Einstein
3. Boston U
4. Creighton
5. Dartmouth
6. Drexel
7. FIU (State pref)
8. FAU (State Pref)
9. FSU (State Pref)
10. George Washington
11. Georgetown
12. Howard (probably shouldn't apply here again should I?)
13. Loma Linda
14. Loyola
15. Mayo
16. Med College of Wisconsin
17. Meharry (probably shouldn't apply here again should I?)
18. NYMC
19. Penn St
20. Rosalind Franklin
21. St. Louis
22. Stanford
23. UM (State pref)
24. UAB (Parents went to UAB for PHDs)
25. UCF (State Pref)
26. UF (state Pref)
27. USF (State pref)
28. Wake Forest

hope this helps!

 

[jkchang10]

https://www.amherst.edu/campuslife/careers/students/gradstudy/health/guide/part2/appendix

According to this site, OOSers are far less likely to matriculant to UAB. I'm a TN resident. I could compare that for you to East TN State, which know more about. As you can see from that chart, they had less OOSers apply but about the same % matriculate. ETSU pretty heavily selects for Tennesseans (maaaaybe being a bit nicer to people from areas close to East TN).

In contrast, WVU had higher % OOSers apply than either of those schools, but also had a markedly higher rate of matriculation. So I'd guess that they might be more OOS friendly.

But of course, you have to bear in mind that these represent matriculants, not admittees...

That is an AWESOME graphic stewabeet, but does anyone have a more recent one? That one is from 06-07 =/

 

[V5RED]

hey OP i was just wondering, which schools of those above give preference to NY state residents?

Google the schools and check their websites. Every time I checked a New York medical school, the answer to this question was on the website.

 

[Darkskies]

hey OP i was just wondering, which schools of those above give preference to NY state residents?

I'm just wondering cause I'm a florida resident and I'm in the same boat as you as far as looking for more med schools to apply to...

And to help out with the search, these are the schools I applied to last year (im a reapplicant) but had no luck because I applied late and had a low MCAT. I feel like you might have a shot at some of these schools seeing your ECs and decent MCAT. I'm reapplying much earlier and hopefully with a higher MCAT (score pending- 6-28). BTW im not a URM.

1. Albany
2. Albert Einstein
3. Boston U
4. Creighton
5. Dartmouth
6. Drexel
7. FIU (State pref)
8. FAU (State Pref)
9. FSU (State Pref)
10. George Washington
11. Georgetown
12. Howard (probably shouldn't apply here again should I?)
13. Loma Linda
14. Loyola
15. Mayo
16. Med College of Wisconsin
17. Meharry (probably shouldn't apply here again should I?)
18. NYMC
19. Penn St
20. Rosalind Franklin
21. St. Louis
22. Stanford
23. UM (State pref)
24. UAB (Parents went to UAB for PHDs)
25. UCF (State Pref)
26. UF (state Pref)
27. USF (State pref)
28. Wake Forest

hope this helps!

Thanks! I think NYMC and Albany Medical College are the two NY state schools on my list that don't give(or give only slight) preference to NY state residents. Both are private institutions. Really, even the state schools in NY don't give much preference to in-staters which is a shame for NY staters(including me lol) but should prove helpful to you if you're looking for oos friendly schools.

For some reason I heard that U of Alabama has recently become much more open to oos applicants. Is this true?

 

[Darkskies]

I hate somewhat diverting the topic but how many DO schools should I apply to to more or less guarantee an acceptance? I definitely do not want to wait out another year. The DO schools I'm applying to are listed below.
NYCOM
PCOM
UMDNJ-SOM
TCOM
DMU
AZCOM
Nova Southeastern
KCUMB

Are these 8 schools sufficient or should I add more(I'd rather not). My AACOMAS GPA I think is a 3.74 nonscience and a 3.64 science and my MCAT is a 32 as stated before. Thanks!

 

[TriagePreMed]

I hate somewhat diverting the topic but how many DO schools should I apply to to more or less guarantee an acceptance? I definitely do not want to wait out another year. The DO schools I'm applying to are listed below.
NYCOM
PCOM
UMDNJ-SOM
TCOM
DMU
AZCOM
Nova Southeastern
KCUMB

Are these 8 schools sufficient or should I add more(I'd rather not). My AACOMAS GPA I think is a 3.74 nonscience and a 3.64 science and my MCAT is a 32 as stated before. Thanks!

PCOM and TCOM have a lot of regional bias, so I'd spend my money on WesternU and CCOM if I were you.

 

[Darkskies]

PCOM and TCOM have a lot of regional bias, so I'd spend my money on WesternU and CCOM if I were you.

But is that a good list for more or less guaranteeing a DO acceptance? I didn't know PCOM had regional bias..That's interesting. TCOM might have regional bias but 10% of the class can be made up of oos and my stats are significantly higher than their median(I think)...

 

[TriagePreMed]

But is that a good list for more or less guaranteeing a DO acceptance? I didn't know PCOM had regional bias..That's interesting. TCOM might have regional bias but 10% of the class can be made up of oos and my stats are significantly higher than their median(I think)...

While that's true, you still have greater chances at the other schools. If you want safety, add LECOM-E and B.

 

[Darkskies]

Ok. My cumulative AACOMAS GPA is a 3.63 and science GPA is a 3.57. Are those good numbers coupled with a 32 MCAT for DO schools?

 

[ethiobirds]

Ok. My cumulative AACOMAS GPA is a 3.63 and science GPA is a 3.57. Are those good numbers coupled with a 32 MCAT for DO schools?

Simply put, yes. Well above DO averages, and your ECs put you in good stead.