First time applicant. Please help with my school list

[Jamrock91]

Hi all,

I am writing here (First post ever) because I wanted to seek some help in constructing a school list.

I am a 25 y/o African American male, who graduated from a top college in NYC. My undergrad performance was pretty mediocre with a 3.51 cGPA and a 3.68 sGPA. I double-majored in Psychology and Spanish, and I have my Masters in Public Health. I have also been a registered nurse for 2 years. I took the MCAT two times, first time was a 21 (6,7,8) in 2013... I basically winged this exam since my mother had just passed away and my daughter was born around this time..... and then my most recent score was a 523 (130,130,131,132). I am a NY State resident so I will probably apply to all state schools. My reach/dream school is Columbia, so I will probably apply there.

I also saved up quite a bit while working as a nurse, so I am hoping to apply to about 30 schools.

Current list:

SUNY Buffalo
SUNY Upstate
SUNY Downstate
Stony brook
Hofstra
NYMC
Albany Medical College
Mount Sinai
Columbia
NYU
Albert Einstein
Weil Cornell
Drexel
Jefferson
UCONN
Quinnipiac
UPenn
Rutgers
George Washington
Georgetown
UPITT
TCMC
Temple


Any suggestions of improvement for my list? What schools would you add or take off?



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[coffeeandcodeine]

I'm sure the adcoms will drop in soon to tell you you're golden, and to aim high!

You have the makings of an awesome application -- outstanding MCAT, solid GPA, lots of clinical experience from the sound of it. However, the strength of your application does potentially hinge on one thing -- volunteer experience. If you have significant volunteer experience, you can basically apply anywhere you want. And I'd start with the very top -- Harvard, Johns Hopkins, UCSF, etc. But if you haven't done much/any volunteering, I'd get started now, and make sure to get a couple hundred hours in before application time. It's easy to do, it's rewarding, and it will infinitely improve your chances at med school.

Anyway, whenever you end up applying, I'm sure you'll have an amazing cycle. Good luck!