Help me with MSTP School List

[cheerios123]

Hi, I'm going to be applying next cycle. My cGPA is 3.73 and MCAT is 521. For my research experience, I have 2 first author publications, oral presentation at an international conference, and a research award. I have about 100 hours of clinical volunteering and shadowing. I have found a non-profit and have tons of leadership experience. I am primarily in ophthalmology research, regenerative medicine, and gene therapy Could you help me with a MSTP school list?

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[mdphd_applicant]

You should check out the WARS or LizzyM number system to help you figure out your school's split. Also talk to your PI abt strong programs in the fields you're interested in.

 

[VioletAdventuring]

I think it's hard to judge how competitive you'd be for certain programs based on the information given. It doesn't seem like your raw stats would hold you back (assuming your sGPA is not a big departure from your cGPA). I'm no expert, but here are some ideas about programs based on your broad research interests to get you started:

Duke - Started the "Regeneration Next Initiative", many P.I.s in the field of regenerative medicine, plus the Duke University Eye Center is well-respected in Ophthalmology

Mayo - Regenerative Medicine Minnesota grant funding, has an impressive Center for Regenerative Medicine. This was recently published about integrating regenerative medicine into curriculum (Regenerative medicine curriculum for next-generation physicians)

University of Minnesota - Ditto on the funding, has the Minnesota Stem Cell Institute, had a couple major pubs in the field recently

Hopkins - Has the Wilmer Eye Institute, Center for Stem Cells and Ocular Regenerative Medicine, tons of research opportunities

A good place to start is to look at publications that interest you in the field. By casually checking the author information each time you read a paper, you may get a better sense for which programs have several potential research mentors that suit you. I also second @mdphd_applicant 's suggestion to have a chat with your PI. Best of luck!

 

[kepler16b]

Based on stats and your publications, I think you're competitive for any school! I wouldn't bother with WARS, just match schools based on research interests.

 

[inode]

I agree with the others that your stats are competitive for any school. Just go with your research interests. If you've already done a lot of research in those fields, you should have a fairly good idea of which institutions the leading PIs in those fields are at.
Also, consider where you want to be for the next 8+ years: west coast vs. east coast vs. mid west, etc.

 

[cheerios123]

I'm a bit worried about my cGPA for many of choices which have strong ophthalmology programs (Wilmer, Harvard, UCLA, Duke, etc). Do you guys think I should aim for "less" competitive schools?

 

[kepler16b]

I'm a bit worried about my cGPA for many of choices which have strong ophthalmology programs (Wilmer, Harvard, UCLA, Duke, etc). Do you guys think I should aim for "less" competitive schools?

You might be competitive for those schools but by no means should you only apply to top tier schools.

 

[inode]

I'm a bit worried about my cGPA for many of choices which have strong ophthalmology programs (Wilmer, Harvard, UCLA, Duke, etc). Do you guys think I should aim for "less" competitive schools?

Your cGPA isn't bad -- it's not the thing that's going to make you stand out but it's not going to keep you out of anywhere. I had the same cGPA and MCAT as you, and top schools like UCLA, UCSF, Stanford, and Harvard all gave me MSTP interviews and I eventually got into one of my top choices. Apply to all the "competitive schools" that you would like to attend -- don't set your sights on only 3 or 4 top schools (there are so many great med schools in the country!), but at the same time, don't go applying to a bunch of "less competitive schools" just because you think you're not competitive enough. Personally, I think if you were to apply to all the top 20 schools, you'd be pretty likely to get into at least one of them.

 

[cheerios123]

Okay, thanks! How many schools do you recommend applying to? I was thinking around 25

 

[inode]

Okay, thanks! How many schools do you recommend applying to? I was thinking around 25

Up to you. 1) Are all these 25 schools schools that you can see yourself being happy at? 2) Do you think you can handle writing & paying for 25 secondaries? If so, go for it -- you can always decline interviews if you get too many invites.

Personally, I think ~16 is a more reasonable number (fyi, I only applied to 11, although there were some great schools I definitely should have included on my list and, if I had the bandwidth, would have loved to check out).