Building School List, Please Help!

[Warbury]

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Hi, I'm compiling a school list but for some specific schools, I'm conflicted on whether to include them or not because of conflicting or lacking information. I don't see many posts online regarding them.​

For example, WVU is OOS-friendly, and I'm competitive stat-wise, but the catch is that they're mainly concerned with OOS on the east coast (according to MSAR). I'm a CA resident, but my application is geared toward rural medicine so I was wondering if I should still apply there? Here are some others:

- Geisinger: has a good II% but their class has a deceptively low OOS/IS ratio.
- Rush: I have good service hours, but would I still match their mission by being research-focused?
- Cooper-Rowan: OOS-public, slight preference but I'm unsure about their mission. I'm stuck between this one and Geisinger.
- Brown: Also deceptive: Only 76 viable MD seats (due to Bacc/MD), but I heard they favor Ivy League applicants??



Stats:

ORM (mixed), CA resident, Mission: Rural-care focused, research-geared PS, neuroscience

3.62 cGPA (strong upward trend: 3.2 cGPA in community college -> 3.79 in uni), 3.58 sGPA
513 MCAT

2730 Research
1150 Paid Clinical
860 Clinical Service
960 non-clinical service
100 Social Justice
160 Shadowing
2 local presentations
1 thesis/literature review
1 accepted pub -> still in publishing + future global conference

Current MD List:
Belmont
UCR
CUSM
V-Tech
Rosalind
WMich
Vermont
UMich
Temple
OUWB
Roseman
Drexel
Creighton
Tulane
Quinnipiac
Hackensack
EVMS
UCI
UCSD
Methodist
Alice Walton
Dartmouth-Geisel
Wake Forest

WVU?
Geisinger?
Rush?
Brown?
Cooper-Rowan?

As a reapplicant, I don't want to apply to more than 26 MD schools (because of budget + DO), so I'm also trying to be specific regarding the school's mission and noting any rural-focused or research-focused schools in particular. I should also note that I'm applying to both md/phd, so some schools are not on this list.

Thank you in advance.

 

[Faha]

What is the breakdown by hours and activities for your non clinical volunteering? The OOS for WVU, Cooper and Geisinger are mainly from bordering states.

 

[Med Ed]

So you have tons of research, and are concurrently applying MD/PhD, but your application is geared towards rural medicine. Interesting combo.

WVU wants graduates who will work in the surrounding region (Appalachia). If you have no ties or experiences there I would not waste the application.

You have a below average GPA and slightly above average MCAT. If you are pondering a few extra schools consider Albany, NYMC, VCU, SLU, and MCW.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

What is your understanding of "rural"? What immersive experiences have you had living in Appalachia/West Virginia?

I concur with @Med Ed: you seem to be throwing spaghetti and ice cream against the walls. You give no details that help me connect any of these dots together. Where did you apply last cycle, and what feedback have you received?

 

[Warbury]

What is your understanding of "rural"? What immersive experiences have you had living in Appalachia/West Virginia?

I concur with @Med Ed: you seem to be throwing spaghetti and ice cream against the walls. You give no details that help me connect any of these dots together. Where did you apply last cycle, and what feedback have you received?

For WVU, I have no ties there directly. To shed some more light, my interest in rural medicine stems less from having grown up in a rural community myself (I do talk about family ties) and more from my experiences working with rural populations and my research interests. My research is essentially tied to helping make healthcare more accessible to those communities.

For my previous cycle, I received multiple interviews but was ultimately waitlisted. Most of my applications were not completed until Late August/September. Also, my writing was very generic and had almost no stories, according to my peer reviewers. My school list consisted primarily of the schools I listed above.

For this cycle, I've rewritten my primary based on my reviewer comments, and they said it's significantly improved. I've already submitted my primary in the first week and hope to complete secondaries by July 1st, and I plan to apply to DO schools as well this time around.

 

[Warbury]

So you have tons of research, and are concurrently applying MD/PhD, but your application is geared towards rural medicine. Interesting combo.

WVU wants graduates who will work in the surrounding region (Appalachia). If you have no ties or experiences there I would not waste the application.

You have a below average GPA and slightly above average MCAT. If you are pondering a few extra schools consider Albany, NYMC, VCU, SLU, and MCW.

Thanks for the advice. Regarding NYMC, their MCAT range jumped since the previous cycle. I'm at their 10th % mark; would it still be viable to apply there? And regarding SLU, my 3.62 GPA doesn't even reach the 0th %, while the 3.79 uni GPA is 10th %.

 

[Warbury]

What is the breakdown by hours and activities for your non clinical volunteering? The OOS for WVU, Cooper and Geisinger are mainly from bordering states.

I've received an II from Geisinger last cycle and was waitlisted.

Regarding non-clinical service breakdown:
- 138 hours of Gardening/Food Distribution to students and unhoused
- 29 hours of teaching/mentoring high school children in neuroscience and research (I had a lot of experiences to write about)
- 732 hours cooking and serving meals to those experiencing food insecurity, including refugee advocacy

And unsure if this counts, but I did volunteer work during my social justice advocacy activity.

Edit: I just realized I forgot to include 60 hours of volunteering in gardening/food distribution for this year in my primary...

 

[Faha]

I suggest these schools with your stats:
Belmont
UCR (only if you are from that region)
CUSM
V-Tech
Rosalind
WMich
Vermont
Temple
OUWB
Roseman
Drexel
Creighton
Tulane
Quinnipiac
Hackensack
EVMS
UCI
UCSD
Methodist
Alice Walton
Wake Forest
Geisinger
California Northstate
Jefferson
Medical College Wisconsin
Rush
Wayne State
UMass
Albany
New York Medical College

 

[Goro]

A lot of donations on your list.

I recommend:
Albany
Alice Walton
Belmont
CNU
CMHS
Creighton
Dartmouth
Drexel
EVMS
Jefferson
Loyola
MCW
Miami
Netter
Nova MD
NYMC
NYU-LI
Oakland-B
Penn State
Rosy Franklin
Roseman
Rush
Temple
Tufts
Tulane
VCU
Wayne State
U VM
UCSF (maybe)
UCD
Uniformed Services University/Hebert (just be aware of the military service commitment)
VCU
Wake Forest
Wayne State

Any DO program. Include PacNW and all CA DO schools.
I can't recommend LMU, SOMA, Noorda, RVU, BCOM, ICOM and LUCOM, for different reasons. Avoid those new schools that haven't graduated a class yet, if at all possible.

 

[Warbury]

A lot of donations on your list.

I recommend:
Albany
Alice Walton
Belmont
CNU
CMHS
Creighton
Dartmouth
Drexel
EVMS
Jefferson
Loyola
MCW
Miami
Netter
Nova MD
NYMC
NYU-LI
Oakland-B
Penn State
Rosy Franklin
Roseman
Rush
Temple
Tufts
Tulane
VCU
Wayne State
U VM
UCSF (maybe)
UCD
Uniformed Services University/Hebert (just be aware of the military service commitment)
VCU
Wake Forest
Wayne State

Any DO program. Include PacNW and all CA DO schools.
I can't recommend LMU, SOMA, Noorda, RVU, BCOM, ICOM and LUCOM, for different reasons. Avoid those new schools that haven't graduated a class yet, if at all possible.

Thank you for the suggestions. Would you also recommend Geisinger? I've received an II -> W in the past cycle.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

Thank you for the suggestions. Would you also recommend Geisinger? I've received an II -> W in the past cycle.

Is there a reason why you wouldn't include them?

 

[Warbury]

Is there a reason why you wouldn't include them?

My MCAT for this cycle reaches 25th percentile, and only 28% of their final class is OOS (even though there is no II bias). Also, I'm prioritizing other schools where I statistically have better odds.

 

[Goro]

Thank you for the suggestions. Would you also recommend Geisinger? I've received an II -> W in the past cycle.

Geisinger seems to like people fromt he Scranton area. Do you know what your hook was for the II?

I'm inclined to answer no to your question, alas.