EC's for Top Schools?

[Gaian]

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[IJumpYouJumpJack]

Maybe increase your non-clinical volunteering. I had similar stats as you but I had a lot more non-clinical volunteering hours and I think that helped me get interviews

 

[Gaian]

Bump?

 

[coffeeandcodeine]

If you're aiming for the top, they love to see strong research and service to the less fortunate. I agree with the above poster -- strengthening your non-clinical volunteer work would be excellent for your app. Make sure you get an excellent letter from one of the PIs you've worked with. Everything else looks pretty great. Your stats are awesome, congratulations! Just remember that while it's okay to aim high, its also a really good idea to have a number of solid mid and lower tier schools on your list as safeties. That said, I think you have an excellent shot at the Top 20.

 

[Goro]

I agree with your assessment that your ECs are indeed weak. Triple them if you want to aim high.

Sophomore, ORM, New Jersey Resident, State school
3.94 sGPA, 3.95 cGPA, Biomedical Engineering major
520 MCAT (129/132/130/129)

ECs:
-Clinical volunteering: 250 hours as a volunteer EMT in a city, 150 hours in the ER enrolling patients in research studies, 50 hours in the PACU at local hospital
-Non-clinical Volunteering: 100 hours at a local homeless shelter
-Research: 500 hours over the past 2 years in 3 labs. I have had individual projects in all three labs and I hope to publish from one of those labs within the next year. I haven't published anything yet, and I only have 1 poster presentation at a conference in my school so far. I have taken an active role in all the labs I've been in and I can talk about my research in detail and with passion, but I honestly haven't produced much so far.
-Shadowing various specialities for about 100 hours
-Editor for school magazine: 100 hours editing articles and advising writers
-Associate editor for a national undergraduate science magazine
-Various miscellaneous hobbies that have not yielded any awards

Other WAMC threads and WedgeDawg's calculator recommend that I should aim for top schools. I am a bit dubious of the idea that my EC's match up with the profiles of students accepted to those schools. What else should I be doing over the next year or so to be competitive for top schools?

 

[Gaian]

I agree with your assessment that your ECs are indeed weak. Triple them if you want to aim high.

Thanks for the advice, I will definitely try to beef up my involvement and hours in my volunteering.

How much would you say having a stand out EC is valued by top schools? I could steadily volunteer for the next year, but I have a sinking feeling that my app wouldn't really wow adcoms if I just did that. That feeling may just be a product of reading far too many excellent applications on here, but is it fair to say I'd really need to stick out in some way, on top of the additional volunteering, to really have a good shot?

 

[mwsapphire]

I agree with your assessment that your ECs are indeed weak. Triple them if you want to aim high.

Triple them???? I really hope that's an exaggeration.... ( I've just started resume building a few months ago)

 

[efle]

Volunteering looks fine to me, but the research will be on the light side for the tip top names if you're presenting yourself as that kind of applicant. Only 100 hours in your biggest non-premed EC?

 

[Goro]

Just do what you love, and lov what you do.

Thanks for the advice, I will definitely try to beef up my involvement and hours in my volunteering.

How much would you say having a stand out EC is valued by top schools? I could steadily volunteer for the next year, but I have a sinking feeling that my app wouldn't really wow adcoms if I just did that. That feeling may just be a product of reading far too many excellent applications on here, but is it fair to say I'd really need to stick out in some way, on top of the additional volunteering, to really have a good shot?

Fully admit that my data is based upon a small n, but the gestalt I get from SDNers who get into top schools (Harvard/Stanford class) is that they have hundreds, if not 1000s of hours in patient contact and/or service to others.

Triple them???? I really hope that's an exaggeration.... ( I've just started resume building a few months ago)

 

[Gaian]

I'm still deciding on a school list and I'd really appreciate some more input from adcoms. @gyngyn @LizzyM
Here is my preliminary school list:

Harvard
Stanford
Hopkins
UCSF
Penn
WashU
Yale
Columbia
Duke
Chicago
Michigan
Mayo
Vanderbilt
Pitt
Cornell
Northwestern
Mt. Sinai
Mayo
Case Western
RWJ
Rowan
UVA
Ohio State
Brown
Seton Hall (?)
Boston
Drexel

 

[gyngyn]

Seton Hall, Drexel and Brown are pretty low yield.
Apply to all your state schools.
You should get enough interviews for success.

 

[LizzyM]

Cut that list in half to do justice to the secondaries and to handle the number of interviews you'll be invited to. Seriously, cut it in half. Choose based on where you'd like to be... I think you can go anywhere and will be someone who has 6 offers (if you interview well, if you don't interview well you may have zero but it won't be for lack of applications). Do more of whatever you love because that is what will shine through ... don't do more because you want to check a box.

 

[WedgeDawg]

All the NJ schools + all top 20s other than UCLA/UCSD/UWash/schools in Texas + 3-5 mid tiers (Rochester, Einstein, Hofstra, USC-Keck, UVA, etc) and you're good to go. Don't apply to more than 25 schools.


Basically the list you have is fine other than remove Brown, Boston U, Drexel, and Mayo and add 2 of the schools I mentioned above, and you should be set. You have Mayo listed twice, btw.