Deciding where to apply

[angelstar0614]

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I'm currently a junior with my heart set on a MD/PhD program entering in 2008. I'm currently trying to decide where to apply. I took the Aug 06 MCAT, got a 32Q, and am going for another try at the MCAT in July to improve VR mainly. I'm hoping to get into the mid to upper 30's with any luck. I'm a chemical engineering and bio double major, 4.0 GPA as of yet, and done 1 semester + 1 yr + 1 summer + current year research. I'm trying to narrow my list of schools to apply to down to 6 or 7, so ANY help or advice would be appreciated.

Here's what I'm looking at:

Med. Univ. of SC - def applying (close to home)
Duke - most likely applying
Emory - most likely
Cornell Tri-I - likely
WashU - likely
UNC Chapel Hill - likely
Tufts - likely
UVA - likely
Northwestern - maybe
UPenn or UPitt - maybe
Stanford - maybe

Any suggestions?

 

[gbwillner]

I'm currently a junior with my heart set on a MD/PhD program entering in 2008. I'm currently trying to decide where to apply. I took the Aug 06 MCAT, got a 32Q, and am going for another try at the MCAT in July to improve VR mainly. I'm hoping to get into the mid to upper 30's with any luck. I'm a chemical engineering and bio double major, 4.0 GPA as of yet, and done 1 semester + 1 yr + 1 summer + current year research. I'm trying to narrow my list of schools to apply to down to 6 or 7, so ANY help or advice would be appreciated.

Here's what I'm looking at:

Med. Univ. of SC - def applying (close to home)
Duke - most likely applying
Emory - most likely
Cornell Tri-I - likely
WashU - likely
UNC Chapel Hill - likely
Tufts - likely
UVA - likely
Northwestern - maybe
UPenn or UPitt - maybe
Stanford - maybe

Any suggestions?

What is the quality of your undergraduate institution? That will definitely matter when applying to places like Penn. What kind of research experience do you have? Any publications/presentations?

Narrowing down to 6/7 schools sounds foolish to me- you should try to narrow it down to 16 or 17. A 32 MCAT is below average for MSTP. I'm not sure I would bother trying to retake the MCAT- it won't wipe out your previous score and you could make it worse. Start off with a large number of programs, then narrow down AFTER you get secondaries/interviews.

/my 2 cents (7th yr MSTP)

 

[solitude]

What is the quality of your undergraduate institution? That will definitely matter when applying to places like Penn. What kind of research experience do you have? Any publications/presentations?

Narrowing down to 6/7 schools sounds foolish to me- you should try to narrow it down to 16 or 17. A 32 MCAT is below average for MSTP. I'm not sure I would bother trying to retake the MCAT- it won't wipe out your previous score and you could make it worse. Start off with a large number of programs, then narrow down AFTER you get secondaries/interviews.

/my 2 cents (7th yr MSTP)

My two cents:

I would have to disagree about the MCAT: because your score is below average at many of the schools on your list, I think retaking is a good idea. Study hard and you can increase it from a 32. It's all about practice tests. Check out the MCAT forum, if you haven't already, for a ton of great advice.

The consensus on this forum is that undergrad institution does matter, but there are many examples of applicants from "less prestigious" undergrads that get into great places like Penn. One of the mods on this forum might chime in with his own story: he went to a state school, received little encouragement, had no publications, and yet was accepted to Penn. So I wouldn't worry about your undergrad too much--there's nothing you can do about it at this point.

Agree about applying to about 15ish schools. It's just hard to predict how anyone will do in the process, which is why most people apply to between 10 and 20 schools. If money is really a factor, perhaps throw in more "sure bets" and remove a few of the reaches. I think my profile and yours are very similar (see my mdapps in my signature), and I'm shooting for 10-13 schools.

PM me or post if you have more specific questions about which schools. Good luck!

 

[Neuronix]

One of the mods on this forum might chime in with his own story: he went to a state school, received little encouragement, had no publications, and yet was accepted to Penn.

That's me 😉 It's hard to make direct comparisons to me sometimes because my application was unique in a few ways and it was a somewhat less competitive year for Penn (I got off the waitlist in June, as did people from the Tier 2 waitlist that nobody usually comes off of), but that being said I got accepted to Northwestern (and some higher ranked places) in the first round and was ready and happy to go there. That's not to say gbwillner is incorrect. The undergrad name does come into play in admissions here, but it's only a minor part of an application. Publications do help, but probably >50% (with nothing but gut feeling to back this up) don't have pubs coming in. Of course all this may change in the future... We're having an unexpectedly competitive year, with not just more applicants, but really competitive applicants. Anyone who has interviewed or will interview will notice our groups are really big and this is why. I wonder if this will continue and if this is a national trend.

That all being said, I otherwise agree with what everyone else is saying. I think you're selling yourself short. Apply to like 20 schools, including the big names, and I think you'll get some pretty good acceptances since you have all that research (and will have more by the time you matriculate). With a mid to high 30s MCAT score you're probably setting yourself up for top-10 programs. But even with your MCAT as it is you might land in that range.

 

[gbwillner]

What is the quality of your undergraduate institution? That will definitely matter when applying to places like Penn. What kind of research experience do you have? Any publications/presentations?

Narrowing down to 6/7 schools sounds foolish to me- you should try to narrow it down to 16 or 17. A 32 MCAT is below average for MSTP. I'm not sure I would bother trying to retake the MCAT- it won't wipe out your previous score and you could make it worse. Start off with a large number of programs, then narrow down AFTER you get secondaries/interviews.

/my 2 cents (7th yr MSTP)

Just to clarify:
I am not at all saying that you can't get in to Penn without going to an Ivy league school. I do mean that you will be at a disadvantage when compared to students from those schools with similar scores. This is not to say that you will not be accepted over these students either.
Many Ivy leage programs have a admissions "score" they look for, which typically consists of GPA(X) x MCAT(Y) x school(Z). This may either give you a ranking for admissions or simply get you to the interview process. Penn had this system when I applied (8 years ago!). When I interviewed at Harvard I was the ONLY person in the room NOT from an Ivy League school.
My point: don't be discouraged from applying to places like Penn or other top programs. Just make sure you apply to other places as well, and to enough programs (that you would consider going to) so that you will get in somewhere. A lot of this process is pure chance- and you whant the statistics in your favor.