could i get some help narrowing down my school list?

[Dulcina]

Well, its about that time!! Gotta narrow down my school list, and I'm having a lot of trouble.

I'd really appreciate it if I could get some help choosing some schools to cut out.

All of my info is in my MDApps, including my school list.

I've got some basic questions:

Are any shooting too low?
Too high?
Which ones are in sketchy/scary neighborhoods?
Which ones have a lot of emphasis in PBL? (I've heard USC maybe?)
Personal opinions--esp. from ppl who have visited--which ones do you like, or dont?

Thanks guys ^^

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[wammabamma]

Well, its about that time!! Gotta narrow down my school list, and I'm having a lot of trouble.

I'd really appreciate it if I could get some help choosing some schools to cut out.

All of my info is in my MDApps, including my school list.

I've got some basic questions:

Are any shooting too low?
Too high?
Which ones are in sketchy/scary neighborhoods?
Which ones have a lot of emphasis in PBL? (I've heard USC maybe?)
Personal opinions--esp. from ppl who have visited--which ones do you like, or dont?

Thanks guys ^^

get rid of:

drexel
rosalind franklin
tulane
univ of colorado
albert einstein

and i dont think you need the following, but its up to you to leave them in:

boston univ
jefferson
case
oregon hs
tufts

 

[radi0headfan]

w/ your stats, you cant be shooting too high...i would get rid of the schools below:

Albert Einstein
BU
Case Western
Brown
Drexel
Emory
Jefferson
Rosalind Franklin
Tufts
Tulane
Univ. of Colorado

 

[Dulcina]

wow thank you!! you guys agreed on so many of the schools! =)

I'll definitely cut out a large percentage of that list, thanks!!​

 

[drizzt3117]

Dulcina,

I would cut down your list a lot. If I were you, I wouldn't apply to more than 20 schools.

I would apply to CA schools (7) and then pick 10 other schools that you like in a few cities, then pick 3 other mid-tier schools in similar cities.


A good list would be something like:

UCs
Stanford
USC
Harvard
Brown
Dartmouth
Yale
Columbia
Cornell
Hopkins
Penn
Michigan
U Chicago
Northwestern
Mount Sinai
NYU

My stats are similar but somewhat lower than yours and I applied to 32 schools and got 22 interviews... I wish I would have applied to about 20.

 

[Dulcina]

Dulcina,

I would cut down your list a lot. If I were you, I wouldn't apply to more than 20 schools.

I would apply to CA schools (7) and then pick 10 other schools that you like in a few cities, then pick 3 other mid-tier schools in similar cities.


A good list would be something like:

UCs
Stanford
USC
Harvard
Brown
Dartmouth
Yale
Columbia
Cornell
Hopkins
Penn
Michigan
U Chicago
Northwestern
Mount Sinai
NYU

My stats are similar but somewhat lower than yours and I applied to 32 schools and got 22 interviews... I wish I would have applied to about 20.

Wow!! ok, that's really helpful info, I definitely don't want to go to 22 interviews. Which ones of those on your list would you say are mid-tier? Sinai and NYU? Looks like such a top-heavy list, scares me

oh and btw (and i think ive said thsi before?), awesome chickmagnet picture haha

 

[TheRealMD]

Oy, there's such a thing as actually being TOO humble.

In fact, I'd actually throw IN a school: Baylor. Not just because I'm rooting for my school (I am), or the tuition is dirt cheap (it really is), but I think you'd have an excellent shot at getting in.

Of course, if you hate Texas, SHAME ON YOU! Haha.

 

[volley1]

I pretty much agree with the 1st two posts, except Univeristy of Colorodo... it's a great school and quite hard to get into. I interviewed there, LOVED the school, was waitlisted, and then withdrew but with some doubts. I would keep it on your list.

 

[drizzt3117]

Wow!! ok, that's really helpful info, I definitely don't want to go to 22 interviews. Which ones of those on your list would you say are mid-tier? Sinai and NYU? Looks like such a top-heavy list, scares me

oh and btw (and i think ive said thsi before?), awesome chickmagnet picture haha

Prolly Sinai, NYU, and Brown (even tho it's an Ivy, and I know u go there, sorry... lol) Davis, Irvine, and USC are also mid tier although they are hard to get into because they are in CA.

With that list, you'd be separated as such:

"Tier 1" ~top 10:
Harvard
Yale
Columbia
Cornell
UCSF
Stanford
Michigan
Chicago
Penn
Hopkins
UCLA

"Tier 2" ~top 25"
Dartmouth
UCSD
Northwestern
Sinai

"Mid Tier" ~top 50"
Brown
UCI
UCD
NYU
USC


Thanks about the pic

I wouldn't worry about it being top heavy... ~3.9 from an Ivy + 39 MCAT means you're without a doubt a top tier applicant. Lower tier schools will prolly feel u won't likely attend if you don't have a good reason. During my cycle I got a top 25 acceptance in early nov and then I was innudated by low and mid tier interviews that I didn't want to go to anymore (but my stats aren't quite as high as yours) so I would aim high and you should get a lot of interest IMO. My bro had pretty similar stats to you and applied to 25 schools and got in more or less everywhere (except Pritzker, lol)

 

[drizzt3117]

I pretty much agree with the 1st two posts, except Univeristy of Colorodo... it's a great school and quite hard to get into. I interviewed there, LOVED the school, was waitlisted, and then withdrew but with some doubts. I would keep it on your list.

I'm sure Colorado is a good school... that said, it is:

#1 really expensive for OOS

#2 not close to any other school the OP would apply to

#3 not as good as a lot of in state schools the OP could probably get into and attend for less money.

 

[nontrdgsbuiucmd]

To answer your question about sketchy/scary neighborhoods:

Hopkins area is really bad per my teacher who spent a year there. He said the school was incredible, one would not want to park one's car or bring one's children anywhere outside the compound & he'd seen people shooting up etc in the immediate area.

Northwestern is downtown Chicago, good area, safe during the day & likely pretty late into the night. Transportation to & from would be very easy here, although parking in this area is really expensive, probably the el (train) is better. It's pretty safe.

U of Chicago's neighborhood is so-so, fine during the day & the immediate campus is safe probably fairly late into the evening, there are areas within 1-2 miles of campus where you would not want to be late at night. (I know this campus well)

Colorado is fine in the sense of safety, the area has a way to develop and it's somewhat isolated from everything, not close to downtown at all, but it's an enormous campus, most everybody drives. Denver's just doesn't have the level of bad neighborhoods that I've seen in larger cities.

Question for your apps: Hopkins is among the best research schools, Colorado & Oregon are among the best in primary care. Which one are you pursuing? I'd let that answer partially guide where you apply.

Finally, Ann Arbor, MI has a totally different feel than NYC. I guess you could apply to schools in both places & see what you like, but I'd think about which environment you prefer if you're looking to cut down on schools.

 

[chad5871]

This thread is best suited for the "What are my chances?" subforum, where we also place questions regarding "where do I apply?" Moving there now.

 

[SketchLazy]

Well, its about that time!! Gotta narrow down my school list, and I'm having a lot of trouble.

I'd really appreciate it if I could get some help choosing some schools to cut out.

All of my info is in my MDApps, including my school list.

I've got some basic questions:

Are any shooting too low?
Too high?
Which ones are in sketchy/scary neighborhoods?
Which ones have a lot of emphasis in PBL? (I've heard USC maybe?)
Personal opinions--esp. from ppl who have visited--which ones do you like, or dont?

Thanks guys ^^

For PBL, a couple schools on your list that use it are UCLA and UCSF. UCLA strongly emphasizes PBL and has a minimal amount of lectures which add up to about 24 hours of traditional lecturing per week.

USC is probably in one of the more questionable neighborhoods. I have some impressions about UMMS, UCSD and UCLA in my MDapps. These three are in some of the safer parts of their respective cities, but rent is also much costlier for UCSD and UCLA.

I agree with the others that U of Colorado and OHSU would probably be a waste because of instate preference and your chances at all your other schools. You look like an amazing applicant that will get into one of your top choices, so your list probably doesn't have to be exhaustive.

 

[bozz]

Dulcina,

I would cut down your list a lot. If I were you, I wouldn't apply to more than 20 schools.

I would apply to CA schools (7) and then pick 10 other schools that you like in a few cities, then pick 3 other mid-tier schools in similar cities.


A good list would be something like:

UCs
Stanford
USC
Harvard
Brown
Dartmouth
Yale
Columbia
Cornell
Hopkins
Penn
Michigan
U Chicago
Northwestern
Mount Sinai
NYU

My stats are similar but somewhat lower than yours and I applied to 32 schools and got 22 interviews... I wish I would have applied to about 20.

JESUS! How!? I'm applying to ~36 and am praying for 5 interviews >.>

 

[Dulcina]

JESUS! How!? I'm applying to ~36 and am praying for 5 interviews >.>

holy mother of god! Brown refuses to send out LORs to more than 25 schools haha, so that's my hard upper limit.

 

[Dulcina]

Question for your apps: Hopkins is among the best research schools, Colorado & Oregon are among the best in primary care. Which one are you pursuing? I'd let that answer partially guide where you apply.

Finally, Ann Arbor, MI has a totally different feel than NYC. I guess you could apply to schools in both places & see what you like, but I'd think about which environment you prefer if you're looking to cut down on schools.

thank you so much for the sketchiness info, that helps a lot =) to answer the question, I believe I'm going to pursue primary care, but I do believe that I'd enjoy clinical research, so I'm leaving it open as a possibility. I like Ann Arbor sort of environments more than NY, I guess I was just scared of cutting them. I'll cut the "lower tier" NY schools =)

 

[drizzt3117]

btw, primary care rankings don't necessarily reflect how good a school is at preparing ppl for primary care. The schools on your list are pretty good. If you want less urban environments that aren't sketchy, you could look at schools like Wisconsin, UVA, and Duke.

BTW, you were asking about doing early decision at Stanford before which is one of the most research intensive schools in the country, was that just because you're from the bay area?

 

[Dulcina]

btw, primary care rankings don't necessarily reflect how good a school is at preparing ppl for primary care. The schools on your list are pretty good. If you want less urban environments that aren't sketchy, you could look at schools like Wisconsin, UVA, and Duke.

BTW, you were asking about doing early decision at Stanford before which is one of the most research intensive schools in the country, was that just because you're from the bay area?

yeah =) <3 bay area!!!

 

[radi0headfan]

JESUS! How!? I'm applying to ~36 and am praying for 5 interviews >.>

cut down that school list mayne!!

 

[radi0headfan]

Prolly Sinai, NYU, and Brown (even tho it's an Ivy, and I know u go there, sorry... lol) Davis, Irvine, and USC are also mid tier although they are hard to get into because they are in CA.

With that list, you'd be separated as such:

"Tier 1" ~top 10:
Harvard
Yale
Columbia
Cornell
UCSF
Stanford
Michigan
Chicago
Penn
Hopkins
UCLA

"Tier 2" ~top 25"
Dartmouth
UCSD
Northwestern
Sinai

"Mid Tier" ~top 50"
Brown
UCI
UCD
NYU
USC


Thanks about the pic

I wouldn't worry about it being top heavy... ~3.9 from an Ivy + 39 MCAT means you're without a doubt a top tier applicant. Lower tier schools will prolly feel u won't likely attend if you don't have a good reason. During my cycle I got a top 25 acceptance in early nov and then I was innudated by low and mid tier interviews that I didn't want to go to anymore (but my stats aren't quite as high as yours) so I would aim high and you should get a lot of interest IMO. My bro had pretty similar stats to you and applied to 25 schools and got in more or less everywhere (except Pritzker, lol)

yea id just worry about the tier 1 schools and then use the rest of the Cali schools as your safety/mid-tier schools.. it'll save you some serious $$ and time

 

[radi0headfan]

Oy, there's such a thing as actually being TOO humble.

In fact, I'd actually throw IN a school: Baylor. Not just because I'm rooting for my school (I am), or the tuition is dirt cheap (it really is), but I think you'd have an excellent shot at getting in.

Of course, if you hate Texas, SHAME ON YOU! Haha.

and i second RealMD-- apply to Baylor!!

 

[Dulcina]

and i second RealMD-- apply to Baylor!!

it was actually on my list, but got cut bc it seemed so competitve, and money isnt a main factor. It's well known for.... surgery? Or am i way off