Help in Finalizing the School List (3.96/522)

[Guruji1947]

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Hello everyone- please let me know the areas of improvement to apply for the 25-26 cycle. I will be graduating in May 2025. Thanks in advance.

1. cGPA: 3.96 ; sGPA: 3.93
2. MCAT: 522 (130/131/130/131)
3. State of residence: California
4. Ethnicity and/or race: ORM
5. Undergraduate institution: T10
6. Clinical experience: 2000+

7. Research: 600 hours in two Labs
8. Shadowing: 175 hours
9. Non-clinical volunteering:

1. 160 hours of HelpLine Specialist, National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI)

10. Other extracurricular activities (including athletics, military service, gap year activities, leadership, teaching, etc)

1. 230 hours of TA (leadership)

11. Presentations:

12. Relevant honors or awards:

13. Anything else not listed you think might be important

• 50 hours of Crisis Counselor, Trevor Project (not going to list in primary activities. May use it for secondaries)

Any help in finalizing the School List is greatly appreciated:

Albert Einstein
Boston
Brown
Columbia
Cleveland Clinic
Duke
Emory
Geisel at Dartmouth
Georgetown
Harvard
Mount Sinai
Johns Hopkins
Kaiser Permanente
Keck (USC)
Mayo Clinic
NYU Grossman
Northwestern Feinberg
Perelman -UPenn
Stanford
Brown
Tufts
Tulane
University of Colorado
UC Davis
UC Irvine
UCLA -David Geffen
UC San Diego
UCSF
University of Chicago
University of Michigan
University of Virginia
University of Pittsburgh
University of Rochester
University of Maryland
Vanderbilt
Washington University in St. Louis
Weill Cornell
Yale

Thank you all.

 

[LunaOri]

You’re a star! No need for improvements.

 

[LunaOri]

If you are looking at Brown and Tufts, you might also add UMass to your list; they are super friendly to high-stats OOS applicants.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

I don't think you have significant deficiencies other than an explanation of your purpose as a physician and mission fit with the schools on your list. Your accomplishments speak towards a strong interest in mental health and wellness, which covers most schools so it doesn't help you with "mission fit" as much, so you have the temptation of applying to over 50 schools, which I would not recommend because you are such a strong candidate.

Prioritize what experiences you feel offer complimentary value to each school's curricula. Some programs will value your patient advocate experience (your MME #1 listed) and incorporate it into their curricula. Do you know which schools, should you want to continue to help a family navigate the healthcare system at least for 2-3 years?

What type of student mental wellness support are you looking for? What student-organized activities (or even professional society activities) do you find appealing (at which schools)? Are you interested in gender-affirming mental health care? What schools approach that topic or can help you leverage your accomplishments further?

Do your homework beyond the MSAR, start looking over last cycle's secondary prompts and any clues from school-specific threads from this year's and last year's applicants. Leverage your networking to get the scoop on the schools you wish to place in your top tier.

As they say, "you got this" (or at least all holiday break to start).

Building Your Best School List | SDN

Your success in any application cycle depends on how well you match a school’s metrics profile and the schools where you send your application - your

www.studentdoctor.net

Beyond MSAR: Additional Resources for Building Your School List | SDN

Compilations like the MSAR, the ChooseDO, the VMSAR, or the ADEA DSE are essential tools to compare your application profile against historical trends,

www.studentdoctor.net

 

[Guruji1947]

I don't think you have significant deficiencies other than an explanation of your purpose as a physician and mission fit with the schools on your list. Your accomplishments speak towards a strong interest in mental health and wellness, which covers most schools so it doesn't help you with "mission fit" as much, so you have the temptation of applying to over 50 schools, which I would not recommend because you are such a strong candidate.

Prioritize what experiences you feel offer complimentary value to each school's curricula. Some programs will value your patient advocate experience (your MME #1 listed) and incorporate it into their curricula. Do you know which schools, should you want to continue to help a family navigate the healthcare system at least for 2-3 years?

What type of student mental wellness support are you looking for? What student-organized activities (or even professional society activities) do you find appealing (at which schools)? Are you interested in gender-affirming mental health care? What schools approach that topic or can help you leverage your accomplishments further?

Do your homework beyond the MSAR, start looking over last cycle's secondary prompts and any clues from school-specific threads from this year's and last year's applicants. Leverage your networking to get the scoop on the schools you wish to place in your top tier.

As they say, "you got this" (or at least all holiday break to start).

Building Your Best School List | SDN

Your success in any application cycle depends on how well you match a school’s metrics profile and the schools where you send your application - your

www.studentdoctor.net

Beyond MSAR: Additional Resources for Building Your School List | SDN

Compilations like the MSAR, the ChooseDO, the VMSAR, or the ADEA DSE are essential tools to compare your application profile against historical trends,

www.studentdoctor.net

Thank you for the constructive suggestions.

 

[LindaAccepted]

Thank you for the constructive suggestions.

I would add a couple of suggestions for you to consider (after your weigh @Mr.Smile12's recommendations) in choosing where to apply and ultimately where to attend.

1. What do you prefer? Close to family or a little more distant? Big city or small? Do you have a significant other whom you want to consider? Warm climate or cold? Assuming the program meets your academic and professional needs, choose a med school that also meets your personal needs.
2. If you have direction within medicine, consider residency placement in the specialties that you are inclined to. Obviously, you can still change your mind as you go through med school, but if you continue to be primarily interested in those specialties, you'll be better positioned for residency applications.

 

[JimKimSlim]

I think the best thing you can do right now is start working on your personal statement now, like right now, and get them vetted by your schools writing center. You already have a great stats, but the only piece that I was surprised not to see on such stellar app is lack of publications and presentations. Remember that publication (not submission)
weighs way more than presentations and that’s the only thing I see that may need improvement. Great list though but I always tell this to everyone on this form: it wouldn’t hurt to add more safety schools just to be safe.