another help me with my school list thread

[35m]

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Well, I have gotten over my bad attitude, and written a decent personal statement so I am ready to apply.

My Stats: 3.85 gpa, 35m mcat, graduated in 2 years instead of 4, my only EC during college was 24 hours of shadowing. I applied last year but did not get in anywhere.

If I get in this cycle, I will end up in the class in which I would have been in if I had applied and been accepted during my "Junior year" and graduated in 4 years like a normal person.

Last year I applied to:

University of Louisville
Indiana University
Medical College of Wisconsin
Mayo
Vanderbilt
Emory
Dartmouth
Johns Hopkins
University of Michigan
University of Pennsylvania

I interviewed at Indiana University, MCW, and Louisville, but was rejected by everyone.

I have not done any school work during the past year, but I have done some EC's.

Now my EC's are:

24 hours of shadowing

EMT Basic certification course

Emergency department orderly since Dec 2006 working 18 hours per week.

Volunteer Firefighter since Oct 2006, 4 hours per week

Volunteer at Soup Kitchen 4 hours per week since January 2007

I do not have any feel for how competitive I will be? Are my EC's still below average as a whole?

My list now is:

Indiana University
MCW
University of Louisville
Mayo
Dartmouth
Tulane
Washington University St. Louis
George Washington
Drexel

I am still waiting for my transcripts, so I have not submitted yet, and I would like recommendations for which schools I should add or drop from my list.

 

[tacrum43]

It seems an obvious suggestion, but apply to more schools! Your list seems kind of random too. What is your theory in selecting schools?

With your excellent MCAT and GPA, schools with lower average stats might think you weren't interested. So, applying to additional medium/medium-high ranked schools like BU, Georgetown, USC, UVA, Wake Forest, Ohio State, Case Western, NYU, etc. might be good. Also be sure to apply to all of your state schools (unless you would rather not go to med school than go there). Your increased medical exposure and community service looks good too. You might also see if you can talk to one of the Deans of the schools you interviewed at to see why you weren't accepted (lack of EC's, interviewing skills were lacking, a bad LOR, etc.)

Applying as early as possible helps a lot too!

 

[35m]

My reasoning:

Indiana University: my state school, which is not a bad one.

MCW: less competitive, large private school, and I liked the atmosphere surrounding the school when I interviewed there.

University of Louisville: Closest school to my hometown in Indiana. Out of state, but a lot of my family members went to Med school there so our family has somewhat of a tradition (grandfather, father, aunts and uncles, me?). I perceived a fun loving, trash talking, high school like attitude among the students there, which I might enjoy.

Mayo: Dream of cheap tuition at an excellent school, also the location is desirable to me as I am afraid of highly urban areas.

Dartmouth: I love the outdoors and being away from big cities. (the school is supposed to be nice too)

Tulane: my sister will be starting undergrad there next fall

Washington University St. Louis: I attended a summer program (non-medically related) there while I was in high school.

George Washington and Drexel: private schools at which I should be a competitive applicant

 

[Funky]

I think you could ask one of those schools you interviewed with to ask why you were rejected. I think they could give you better insight than what we could give you.

 

[nlax30]

I remember your original thread, so congrats on the whole attitude thing! lol... I think that was going to be one of the biggest challenges you had. And you now have some good ECs, at least in my mind. Especially being an orderly since December, will show you know sort of what it's like "in the trenches", plus you've been doing it for some time now so it shows that you were able to stick with something not so glamorous for a while.

Anyway, you've got good scores and some decent ECs now. At this point just work on coming across well at the interviews. I can't help a whole lot with narrowing down which schools to apply to but if you're willing to move then I'd also recommend applying to some more just to help your chances.

 

[skoutt]

Your stats are impressive. And, your dedication to a medical education really shows by re-applying. If you apply early, I'm sure you'll get in. I'm off to MCW this Fall. I highly recommend the school. People are friendly and the area is very nice (I grew up around there.)

 

[Orthodoc40]

Your list does seem a little random. What about Iowa?? Great school, I've heard.

Get an MSAR and fill out your list a bit. Also, apply early and get your secondaries in early.

Have you called the schools that interviewed you and asked for feedback?
That's one of the best ways to see what you should improve. If you graduated in 2 years and not 4, they just might feel you're kinda young, need more clinical exposure, or something like this.