Help with making a school list?

[TBRBiosadist]

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So I'm starting to put together my application and I have access to MSAR, but I just don't know where to start when there are so many possible choices. HELP!
General stats about myself
Junior Molecular Biology Major/ Chem minor
cGPA 3.99
sGPA 4.00
MCAT: 35 (14/11/10) I think....
2 years research experience at University (no publish, poster presentation)
Research program for 8 weeks this summer
1 year surgeon shadowing
1 year hospital volunteering
3 years volunteer experience/community service (awarded by county for contribution)
Honors, and a bunch of societies.
Several leadership positions non-medical
Several big extracurriculars non-medical

California Native, white, low income and labeled as such by AAMC as in the "AAMC Minority Medical Student Applicant Registry"

US Med Schools only, preference towards schools near largish cities.

MD application

Looking for 5 reach schools, 10 competitive schools, and 5 low reach safety schools.

I probably forgot something, but in general that is it. All volunteer positions are ongoing.


EDIT: I FORGOT WORK EXPERIENCE LOL

Own my own business for 4 years now, also worked as a tutor and as an internship coordinator at my uni

Also head of public relations for my Uni's honors society

 

[Hospitalized]

So I'm starting to put together my application and I have access to MSAR, but I just don't know where to start when there are so many possible choices. HELP!
General stats about myself
Junior Molecular Biology Major/ Chem minor
cGPA 3.99
sGPA 4.00
MCAT: 35 (14/11/10) I think....
2 years research experience at University (no publish, poster presentation)
Research program for 8 weeks this summer
1 year surgeon shadowing
1 year hospital volunteering
3 years volunteer experience/community service (awarded by county for contribution)
Honors, and a bunch of societies.
Several leadership positions non-medical
Several big extracurriculars non-medical

California Native, white, low income and labeled as such by AAMC as in the "AAMC Minority Medical Student Applicant Registry"

US Med Schools only, preference towards schools near largish cities.

MD application

Looking for 5 reach schools, 10 competitive schools, and 5 low reach safety schools.

I probably forgot something, but in general that is it. All volunteer positions are ongoing.


EDIT: I FORGOT WORK EXPERIENCE LOL

Own my own business for 4 years now, also worked as a tutor and as an internship coordinator at my uni

Also head of public relations for my Uni's honors society

This is not against you personally, I'm just branding this comment for SDN users with high marks in general. How come you can't come up with a school list? Look at the statistics, you have the MSAR. Apply where you are competitive and where you want to go. Read the mission statements. Consider things that are important to you like cost, location, research opportunities, etc. This site does not contain your personality. We cannot get inside your head and say what will be the best fit for who you are. At the end of the day, this is a decision that you make. Where will YOU be happy?

Anyways, rant over. It's really difficult to tell where you will fit in on paper, but there is a very high chance you will be matriculating somewhere with the quality of your application.

 

[WedgeDawg]

Here is my advice for creating a school list, assuming you have general knowledge about how competitive your application is and how competitive individual schools are.

1. Pick a target number of schools to hit. This will just be a general benchmark and should not be strictly adhered to without an extremely good reason. You appear to have picked 20 as a target number. This is a bit low, but if you apply methodically, it should be alright.

2. Go through a listing of all medical schools (I used US News for convenience, but the MSAR is also a good source - I wouldn't use a source other than these two, though) and write down any school you will possibly be interested in.

3. Take this list of schools and organize them into Reach, Target, "Safety". If you want, you can add High Reach as well.

4. Look at the distribution of schools you've picked and see if it is appropriate for the level of competitiveness of your application. If you are unsure, you could consider using the resource in my signature to get you started.

5. Start crossing schools off your list in each category until you come up with a list that has an appropriate distribution and number. Don't be afraid to deviate from your original target number, but to not go too low or too high.

6. This is when you present your school list to SDN and ask for feedback. With this feedback you tweak your list until you deem it satisfactory.

 

[TBRBiosadist]

Here is my advice for creating a school list, assuming you have general knowledge about how competitive your application is and how competitive individual schools are.

1. Pick a target number of schools to hit. This will just be a general benchmark and should not be strictly adhered to without an extremely good reason. You appear to have picked 20 as a target number. This is a bit low, but if you apply methodically, it should be alright.

2. Go through a listing of all medical schools (I used US News for convenience, but the MSAR is also a good source - I wouldn't use a source other than these two, though) and write down any school you will possibly be interested in.

3. Take this list of schools and organize them into Reach, Target, "Safety". If you want, you can add High Reach as well.

4. Look at the distribution of schools you've picked and see if it is appropriate for the level of competitiveness of your application. If you are unsure, you could consider using the resource in my signature to get you started.

5. Start crossing schools off your list in each category until you come up with a list that has an appropriate distribution and number. Don't be afraid to deviate from your original target number, but to not go too low or too high.

6. This is when you present your school list to SDN and ask for feedback. With this feedback you tweak your list until you deem it satisfactory.

Thank you! Ill probably sit down one night for the entire night hopped up on caffiene and scrawl through schools to decide which ones I should apply to. And is 20 actually low? I was under the impression it was average.

 

[Hospitalized]

Thank you! Ill probably sit down one night for the entire night hopped up on caffiene and scrawl through schools to decide which ones I should apply to. And is 20 actually low? I was under the impression it was average.

With your stats, I think you'll find it difficult to narrow it down to just 20. Research the secondaries per school and make sure you don't get too deep there. Honestly, someone with your stats and applying very intelligently, you could get accepted if you applied to <10 schools. But, there is no reason to take chances with this process. It's best to just cast a wide net.