Balanced School List for High Stat Applicant (CA, 3.8/524)

[Snootboop]

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Hey everyone, would appreciate some feedback on my list. I know my stats let me apply to top schools but I want to know if my list is too top heavy or not top heavy enough. Thanks!

1. cGPA and sGPA ~ 3.8
2. MCAT: 524
3. Residence: CA
4. Race: ORM
5. Undergrad in CA, Graduated in 2018
6. Clinical Experience: 550 hours volunteer medical assistant, 150 hours hospital volunteer, 150 hours children's hospital volunteer
7. Research: 500 hours psychology research, presented poster at national conference
8. Shadowing: ~40 hours across multiple specialties
9. Nonclinical volunteering: 150 hours tutoring underserved, 60 hours in health center medical records department
10. Extracurriculars: couple of hobbies, nothing crazy
11. Other stuff: 400 hours summer internship at engineering company

School List:
UC Davis
UCLA
UCSD
UCSF
UC Irvine
Cal U Med
USC
Pittsburgh
NYU
Vanderbilt
Northwestern
U Chicago
Washington U
Cornell
U Michigan
U Virginia
Boston U
U Cincinnati
Einstein
Case Western
Dartmouth
Rochester
U Iowa
Dartmouth
Jefferson
Ohio State
Ofstra
Emory
SLU
Western Michigan
MCW

Aiming for 25-30 schools (gotta love CA). I avoided powerhouses like Harvard since I don't think my application excels as much in areas other than stats but I'm open to suggestions for schools to cut or add. Mainly just want a balanced school list to maximize my chances. Thanks again!

 

[Faha]

You should receive several interviews from your list. You could remove MCW, Iowa and Western Michigan.

 

[Snootboop]

You should receive several interviews from your list. You could remove MCW, Iowa and Western Michigan.

Glad to hear it! Just curious, why do you think those schools could be removed? Is it mainly because of stat difference?

 

[gyngyn]

Glad to hear it! Just curious, why do you think those schools could be removed? Is it mainly because of stat difference?

You are just as unlikely to get an interview at a school where your stats are above the 90th percentile as below the 10th. ...except IS publics!
Delete Cal Med, SLU, W MI, MCW, Jeff, Iowa... Swap Penn for Pitt. If Cornell, why not Columbia?
You don't seem quirky enough for Dartmouth.

 

[Snootboop]

You are just as unlikely to get an interview at a school where your stats are above the 90th percentile as below the 10th. ...except IS publics!
Delete Cal Med, SLU, W MI, MCW, Jeff, Iowa... Swap Penn for Pitt. If Cornell, why not Columbia?
You don't seem quirky enough for Dartmouth.

I see, that's good to know. I wasn't too sure how much of an issue that would be.
Why the switch for Penn?
Re why not Columbia: I heard some negative impressions of the school that made me a bit wary but if you think its a good fit maybe I should shoot my shot anyway
Definitely not very quirky. I suppose Dartmouth emphasises that more than I thought.
I'm worried with those changes my list might be too top heavy and I'll have to face the lottery that is applying to top 20's. Do you have any suggestions for any upper mid tier schools that may balance this out or is that not necessary?
Thanks for the suggestions and sorry about all the questions. It's not that I doubt your advice (in fact it's very helpful). This list is very important to get right so I want to be thorough!

 

[gyngyn]

I'm worried with those changes my list might be too top heavy and I'll have to face the lottery that is applying to top 20's.

That's is what your state publics are for! Oh wait, California...
Go back to the MSAR and find every private school with an MCAT median close to 520.
Top heavy is your target.

 

[Goro]

Hey everyone, would appreciate some feedback on my list. I know my stats let me apply to top schools but I want to know if my list is too top heavy or not top heavy enough. Thanks!

1. cGPA and sGPA ~ 3.8
2. MCAT: 524
3. Residence: CA
4. Race: ORM
5. Undergrad in CA, Graduated in 2018
6. Clinical Experience: 550 hours volunteer medical assistant, 150 hours hospital volunteer, 150 hours children's hospital volunteer
7. Research: 500 hours psychology research, presented poster at national conference
8. Shadowing: ~40 hours across multiple specialties
9. Nonclinical volunteering: 150 hours tutoring underserved, 60 hours in health center medical records department
10. Extracurriculars: couple of hobbies, nothing crazy
11. Other stuff: 400 hours summer internship at engineering company

School List:
UC Davis
UCLA
UCSD
UCSF
UC Irvine
Cal U Med
Kaiser
USC
Pittsburgh
NYU
Vanderbilt
Northwestern
U Chicago
Washington U
Cornell
U Michigan
U Virginia
Boston U
U Cincinnati
Einstein
Case Western
Dartmouth
Rochester
Dartmouth
Ohio State
Hofstra
Emory
SLU OR Western Michigan OR U Iowa OR Jefferson
Add all Manhattan Titans, U VM, Baylor, Vandy, JHU, Stanford

My mods to your list above

 

[Walter Raleigh]

Add Harvard and Yale if you want: you're competitive there.

 

[Snootboop]

Thank you everyone for the help! I feel like I have a solid grasp on a list now 🙂