Confused about applying

[narmada]

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Hi everyone,
Here are my credentials:
I am a Genetics major and biochem minor in the honors program
Science gpa: 3.5
Overall gpa: 3.7
MCAT: 37Q
Extracurriculars:
-volunteer in a hospital for 8 months
-volunteer in a museum for 3 months
-volunteer in a zoo for 3 months
-worked as a lab assistant for a year
-worked as a research assistant in a cancer bio lab for 1.5 years
-currently working as a research assistant in another lab
-teaching assistant for an intro biology class
-board member for student organization for a semester
-bioethics intern and have a research publication
-dean's list and various scholarships received
*have two W's....retook one of the classes and got an A
-lowest grade ever is a B-

I would like to apply to an MD school and I was wondering if I would be a competitive applicant? I'd really like to apply to the following schools:
-Northwestern
-University of Minnesota
-University of Chicago
-University of Wisconsin
-University of Toronto
-UNC Chapel Hill
-Drexel
-Tufts
-Columbia
-NY Medical College
-Brown University

Is this a reasonable list? Am I way out of my league? Any advice is appreciated! Thanks 🙂

 

[MattyBee]

Hi everyone,
Here are my credentials:
I am a Genetics major and biochem minor in the honors program
Science gpa: 3.5
Overall gpa: 3.7
MCAT: 37Q
Extracurriculars:
-volunteer in a hospital for 8 months
-volunteer in a museum for 3 months
-volunteer in a zoo for 3 months
-worked as a lab assistant for a year
-worked as a research assistant in a cancer bio lab for 1.5 years
-currently working as a research assistant in another lab
-teaching assistant for an intro biology class
-board member for student organization for a semester
-bioethics intern and have a research publication
-dean's list and various scholarships received
*have two W's....retook one of the classes and got an A
-lowest grade ever is a B-

I would like to apply to an MD school and I was wondering if I would be a competitive applicant? I'd really like to apply to the following schools:
-Northwestern
-University of Minnesota
-University of Chicago
-University of Wisconsin
-University of Toronto
-UNC Chapel Hill
-Drexel
-Tufts
-Columbia
-NY Medical College
-Brown University

Is this a reasonable list? Am I way out of my league? Any advice is appreciated! Thanks 🙂

I saw your post in the pre-allo forums. You should just bump your thread here if no one responds to it. They can be pretty abrasive in those forums. Although they did take it pretty easy on you. I have seen a lot worse. Haha. I did like that Short Circuit reference though.

Stats-wise you look in pretty good shape. Your sGPA is a little below average but you have a pretty impressive MCAT score to make up for that. I agree with what glasshalfMD said in your other thread.

Your list needs to be longer, but given your stats it looks fairly reasonable.

Even though you have the stats to get into any of those school I think applying with the list you proposed would be a little risky. Many of those schools particularly the University of Chicago, Northwestern, Columbia, and Brown University are pretty selective of their students. Even with the schools where your stats are above the averages it may be difficult for you. They are not guaranteed acceptances. Having higher stats may even work against you. They may not want to waste an acceptance on someone who is probably going to decline it for another school.

You should consider applying to a few more schools that are good fits for you as an applicant. Also you might want to reconsidering applying to the University of Toronto, if you are from the US (you never mentioned). To my knowledge, it is pretty hard for US citizens to break into the Canadian school system. Also in my MSAR (which is an older version) it says "Definite preference is given to Canadian residents. A maximum of seven places will be offered to applicants with student visas."

Generally speaking, I would say that you have a very good shot at getting an acceptance this cycle. Just keep in mind that the medical school admissions process tends to be a little unpredictable at times. There are plenty of people with great stats that apply with top-heavy, short lists that end up without an acceptance.

 

[tlaloc87]

Any reason why UoT is on your list? They are not very receptive to out-of-province, let alone American, applicants, and they have strict GPA requirements. [Granted the cutoff is 3.6, the odds are not in your favo(u)r with your GPA and international status.]

Also, are you from the Midwest? Or East Coast? It seems like a strange mix of schools unless you have a desire to be in a specific part of the country.

 

[sector9]

Also in my MSAR (which is an older version) it says "Definite preference is given to Canadian residents. A maximum of seven places will be offered to applicants with student visas."

The 2011-2012 and 2012-2013 MSARs both state the same thing about only offering 7 spots for student visa holders