Building school list: 522/3.95

[Glassdyr]

Hi, everyone! I'm a little overwhelmed in picking a school list and I'd like some feedback. I'd really like early clinical training as I love hands-on experience. I'm interested in anesthesiology, emergency medicine, critical care, ortho, and maybe psychiatry, with a pipe dream of aerospace med. I'm strongly interested in international programs like global health. I have no location or class size preference. I'm not very enthusiastic about research -- at all -- and am trying to avoid a required research project, but I'll do it if I have to. I'm poor too and am looking for lower tuition haha, hence why I'm applying majority public in-state.

In-state:
UCD
UCI
UCR
UCSD
UCSF
UCLA
Cal University Sciences/Math
Cal Northstate
Stanford
Kaiser Permanente

OOS:
Rush
NYU Grossman
Mich State
Mayo Alix
WashU
UTSA (my hometown)
UA Tucson
U Minnesota Twin Cities
UNC
Baylor

For my ECs, I have a literature review (250-300hrs) published on rural healthcare and have extensive work with transgender/queer people, as I'm transgender myself. I'm from a rural NorCal family background as well. UC Davis is my alma mater and I'm hoping to push these two aspects in my application to them. I have ~250hrs research lab with experience as a research associate trainer, >1000hrs EMT experience, a few medical humanities publications, 100hrs clinical volunteering, 25hrs shadowing.

Truthfully, I didn't think I'd make it this far in my pre-med suffering, and now I'm at the doorstep for this cycle and have no idea where to go from here.

Thanks for any advice. I appreciate it.

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[grist]

You don't explicitly mention non-clinical volunteering, but assuming you have reasonable hours (100+) I think you're competitive everywhere. Will leave it to adcoms to comment on the whole of the school list but consider adding Vanderbilt. 1 year preclinical and on the wards from day 1 sounds like something you'd like. Don't be afraid to reach for top schools—the majority of private and OOS public schools have tuition hovering tuition around the $60k to $70k mark, but top schools have more money to throw around for aid. Good luck!

 

[JohnJacobJingleheimer]

First off, I want to comment on your comment about research. I think you need to decide sooner than later if research will be a part of your 4 years, that way you can take this into consideration when choosing where you will spend your 4 years. If you don't want to do research, that's fine, just know that you should be taking specialties like ortho off your list of possibilities in the same fashion that you will eliminate schools with research requirements.

Regarding your school list: On paper, you are qualified to apply any and everywhere. You are at or above par, in terms of stats, at every school in the country. Stats are the easiest way to gauge your competitiveness when making a school list. Your EC's are also very important, but there is no real baseline for you to compare to and thus gauge competitiveness at any given school. Personally, if I were you, I'd be applying to at least half of the top 20's. Aside from the fact that the schools have the reputations they do as a reflection of the resources they have to offer, there's a lot of talk going on about prestige and how your school's reputation might be more heavily considered for residency match now that step 1 is P/F. Personally, I want to be as competitive as an applicant during match as possible, so that all doors are open to me. If going to a big name school will give my app a bump come match, so be it. Again, the doors these schools can open won't matter if you are going to opt to close them yourself by not doing research and such. In fact, research funding is most typically one of the major advantages that the highly ranked schools have to offer. My point is, you are competitive enough to apply anywhere; however, what really matters is the advantages each school has to offer and whether or not you plan to take advantage of them.

 

[LizzyM]

A few ideas that came to mind given your interests went out the window when you mentioned not wanting to do research because some of the top schools require a thesis or similar research work. That said, take a look at some schools that will offer an option of a thesis on a topic in bioethics (are you down on wet lab work or all research?) Also, given your rural background, ask yourself hard questions about how comfortable you'd be in a hyper-urban environment.

 

[Goro]

Hi, everyone! I'm a little overwhelmed in picking a school list and I'd like some feedback. I'd really like early clinical training as I love hands-on experience. I'm interested in anesthesiology, emergency medicine, critical care, ortho, and maybe psychiatry, with a pipe dream of aerospace med. I'm strongly interested in international programs like global health. I have no location or class size preference. I'm not very enthusiastic about research -- at all -- and am trying to avoid a required research project, but I'll do it if I have to. I'm poor too and am looking for lower tuition haha, hence why I'm applying majority public in-state.

I suggest:
NYU
Columbia
JHU
U Penn
WashU
Northwestern
Vanderbilt
Harvard
Yale
Cornell
U Chicago
Mayo
Case
Stanford
Duke
Sinai
U VA
BU
Baylor
Pitt
ALL UCs, but UCR only IF you’re from the Inland Empire
UTSW
USC/Keck
U MI
Rochester
Hofstra
Ohio State
U Cincy
Dartmouth
Western MI
USF Morsani
SUNY-SB
Brown
U MA
U IA
Albert Einstein
Emory
Tufts
NYU-LI
Jefferson
Miami
SLU
U WI
U CO
U VM

 

[gyngyn]

I recommend that you delete Northstate.

 

[wysdoc]

If you're going to apply on TMDSAS, UTMB also has some tie-ins to Aerospace medicine residency programs.
It would be something to ask about at an interview or town hall meeting.

 

[Glassdyr]

Thank you for your replies. I'm giving research a second look; maybe I've been too harsh. Clinical research and epidemiological studies seem more interesting and more my speed. Is there a difference between a thesis and a research project? Yale requires the submission of a thesis, while Stanford requires just a "research project" in their Scholarly Concentration program. It's something I clearly need to meditate on.

As to my rural background, I've lived in many places and was happy in all of them, from 500-person towns to megacities. I only mentioned my rural background as it's unique, as most pre-meds come from suburbs.

@grist I was eyeballing Vanderbilt based on that but waffled due to tuition. I'll apply to them and hope I can get some good financial aid from them.

@gyngyn I would, honestly, like to take off Northstate. I was only applying to them and California University because they're in-state. I don't see much in their curriculum that interests me. Would it be wise to take them off and lose an application to these schools, with their heavy in-state bias?

@wysdoc Thank you for the tip on UTMB!! I'll look into them!

 

[LunaOri]

Harvard has early clinical. UVM is very trans-friendly (expensive tuition for OOS, but good with financial aid).

 

[gyngyn]

@gyngyn I would, honestly, like to take off Northstate. I was only applying to them and California University because they're in-state. I don't see much in their curriculum that interests me. Would it be wise to take them off and lose an application to these schools, with their heavy in-state bias?

This is the worst MD school in the country. You deserve better.
There are several threads in which their extreme deficits are discussed.
Here is the most recent: California Northstate University College of Medicine(CNUCOM): Avoid this school at all costs!
...and an article: LCME Denies Full Accreditation for CNUCOM

 

[Mr.Smile12]

It's a little late to ask that you follow the WAMC template. Have you connected with the Medical Student Pride Alliance and AMSA about schools that are supportive for transgender students and people?

 

[Glassdyr]

It's a little late to ask that you follow the WAMC template. Have you connected with the Medical Student Pride Alliance and AMSA about schools that are supportive for transgender students and people?

Apologies. I didn't consider this a WAMC post so I didn't look in that forum, but I see now that this belongs there. I'll be more selective where I put my threads in the future. If a mod is floating around, they could move this thread to that subforum.

Interesting note about the pride alliance. I haven't looked into them. I'll emphasize schools with chapters as I refine my list. Thank you.

I was looking at UVM -- Vermont is one of my most favorite places on Earth -- but balked at the cost.

I still feel like I'm swimming in schools, though. I've ran through enough admissions blurbs that they're all starting to sound the same, with none sounding unique. I almost wish I scored lower on the MCAT so I could have a few places I can't apply to. I'm definitely emphasizing financial aid programs.