Feedback on School List

[cardinal2010]

I was wondering if the lovely people on this forum could give me some feedback on my school list, and reccomend any schools they think should be taken off of or added to the list. I'd much rather have too many applications and have a choice than have too few and be kicking myself.
My stats are:
CA resident
Bio major, econ minor at top 5 school
3.6 GPA
3.65 sGPA
39s MCAT (13 BS, 12VR, 14 PS)
-2 summers and 5 quarters of lab research, which will culminate in a senior thesis (no publications yet)
-Shadowed a Radiation Oncologist for ~60 hours, an IM intern for ~40 hours, and will shadow a Peds physician for ~40 hours.
-Worked in an allergy clinic mixing antigens part time for 2 summers
-Volunteer by singing in charity benefit concers ~2x per year for several years
-TA in biology lab science course
-will be a Peer Health Educator (dorm resident staff health educator) in an all frosh dorm next year.
-decent, but probably not great LORs due to being in big classes most of my career.
-Play on the rugby team and sing in a cappella groups

Now the schools

UCSF
UCLA (dream school)
UCSD
UCD
UCI
Stanford
Case Western
UChicago
Northwestern
Mt. Sinai
NYU
Columbia
Albert Einstein
Cornell
B.U
Tufts
Harvard
Penn
WashU
Pitt
UMich
Possibly Mayo and Jefferson

With my stats (great MCAT, but so so GPA), do you think this list is too top-heavy? How good a shot do you think I have at the UCs, which would be my top choice due to financial incentives? Thanks a lot for your opinions. And just to be clear, no I'm not just looking for a pat on the back, I am seriously freaking out with AAMCAS right around the corner.

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[witness23]

you def have a good shot looking at your stats but there is very little to lose by applying more broadly

 

[witness23]

where's your commitment to clinical and general volunteering? schools do grade you categorically

 

[creativekat]

If you're looking for financial incentives...Tufts is not the way to go. And I think the same with BU

Other than that WOW at your MCAT

 

[Stratego]

I'd pat you on the back for a great MCAT score, excellent physician shadowing, and above average research, but where's your personal interactions with sick people? And, you have an apparently minimum amount of community service. These latter two categories are essential unwritten requirements for applying to med school. I'm happy to see some teaching experience, some sports involvement, and activity related to the Arts. I also don't see leadership on your list, though the Peer Educator position could qualify for that.

 

[cardinal2010]

where's your commitment to clinical and general volunteering? schools do grade you categorically

Volunteering is definitely the weakest part of my application, I've done non-clinical volunteering in raising money for charities via performing in benefit concerts, but don't really have any clinical volunteering experience (save for helping the IM intern I'm shadowing whenever possible). Do you think this will hurt my chances significantly? My rationale for this (which I hope wouldn't come across as elitist in an interview) was that I believe volunteering is important, but wanted to volunteer in a capacity I was passionate about and could provide a valuable service (namely singing).

 

[Stratego]

You might be interested in this posting by a high stat person who wasn't accepted:
http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=531043

 

[cardinal2010]

You might be interested in this posting by a high stat person who wasn't accepted:
http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=531043

Thanks for the link, that was informative (albeit slightly terrifying). Hopefully my research and shadowing will keep that from happening to me, but I'm also extracting the lesson that I should apply as broadly as possible. I wonder if I should also try to spin my peer health educator role as volunteering, because it essentially is in terms of pay. (RAs make 8k per year plus free housing, Health Educators make 1k per year for arguably more work (nights in the hospital, etc.))

Also to ask one other question, I want to have my apps in on June 1st if at all possible, but I go to a quarter school, and so wont have my grades until around June 16th. Should I send in my app right away or wait for the grades to come in (I'm taking some immunology courses, but nothing required for pre-med, and it will probably have a minimal impact on GPA)

 

[Stratego]

Your GPA is good enough that I don't think you'd benefit from waiting until the next quarter grades are in. Send your transcripts as soon as AMCAS opens.

I sounds like the peer education postion won't start until too late to be included on your application (future plans don't count), but you can mention it in update letters during the cycle. If you are paid anything, it cannot be considered as "volunteer."

Maybe you can spin your assistance of the internal medicine intern into some clinical experience. What were you actually doing when you weren't passively watching?

 

[cardinal2010]

Your GPA is good enough that I don't think you'd benefit from waiting until the next quarter grades are in. Send your transcripts as soon as AMCAS opens.

I sounds like the peer education postion won't start until too late to be included on your application (future plans don't count), but you can mention it in update letters during the cycle. If you are paid anything, it cannot be considered as "volunteer."

Maybe you can spin your assistance of the internal medicine intern into some clinical experience. What were you actually doing when you weren't passively watching?

When I was shadowing, the physician let me do a lot of listening via stethoscope and conduct some aspects of the exam (to learn what he was looking for, he always re-checked the things I did obviously). I learned some of the different sounds you associate with different disorders, e.g. identifying mitral valve prolapse from the whooshing noises. I also help move patients into proper positions for parts of the exam.

For the health educator position, while I don't officially start untill next year, I have been in training for that for the past three months, so should I include it and just mention that only the training portion has been completed?

Thanks a lot for all the help and responses btw!

 

[Stratego]

1) When I was shadowing, the physician let me do a lot of listening via stethoscope and conduct some aspects of the exam (to learn what he was looking for, he always re-checked the things I did obviously). I learned some of the different sounds you associate with different disorders, e.g. identifying mitral valve prolapse from the whooshing noises. I also help move patients into proper positions for parts of the exam.

2) For the health educator position, while I don't officially start untill next year, I have been in training for that for the past three months, so should I include it and just mention that only the training portion has been completed?

1) That sounds promising. When you list it, try to break it down in terms of time you assisted, and time you shadowed. Be sure to include the intern's contact info. (And that of the other physicians you shadowed too.)

2) Yes.