Hey SDN, I am having trouble formulating a school list due to my unbalanced MCAT and my unranked state school undergrad. Money is an issue for me, so I really want to keep my list around 20 or less. Here are my stats:
Year in school: Rising senior
Biology major, Chemistry and Philosophy minors
MCAT: 516 (125(!)/131/128/132)
GPA: 3.97
Research: 1500 hours by the end of my undergrad career, worked in the same lab for two years now and have worked on multiple projects. Currently working on an NIH-funded grant that should be published in the next year. Have one poster at my undergrad’s conference and one poster (fourth author) at a national conference (not presented by me)
Volunteering (clinical): 60 hours as a patient greeter/guide in major hospital
Volunteering (nonclinical): 150 hours at animal shelter over the course of a year, 50 hours at senior center over a summer, 30 hours as tutor in student-athlete study hall (one semester), 30 hours as a debate tournament judge (annually), 30 hours at middle-school sports camp for girls
Shadowing: 60 hours, 52 with a neurologist over the course of a year and a half, 8 with a primary care physician
Extracurriculars: Three-sport division one athlete (cross country, indoor track, outdoor track) with multiple conference accolades including several scoring finishes and podium finishes, winner of a major academic conference award only given to one person in the sport that year, Phi Eta Sigma honor society, Student Athlete Advisory Committee representative
Employment History: 600 hours in patient transporter at inner-city hospital over summer and winter breaks, 400 hours as running store employee over summer break after freshman year
Immediate family members in medicine: Yes, older sister (attended KU)
Interested in practicing in an urban setting and pursuing joint MD/MPH
Going off of Wedgedawg's system, I found that if applying to 20 schools, I should apply to 6 category 1, 6 category 2, 5 category 3, 3 category 4-7.
Here's what I have:
Category 1: WUSTL (already paid for, long shot but some from my UG have gotten interviews), Penn, Duke, Harvard, Yale, Vandy (since they screen secondaries why not)
Category 2: Michigan, Northwestern, Baylor, Mayo, Case, Emory
Category 3: Ohio State, Einstein, Hofstra?, UVA?
Category 4-7: Mizzou (already paid for), KU(already paid for), Wisconsin, Iowa, Miami, SLU (already paid for), Creighton, BU?
I'm worried this may be too top-heavy. Let me know if you have any suggestions on narrowing down the list or see any red flags.
Year in school: Rising senior
Biology major, Chemistry and Philosophy minors
MCAT: 516 (125(!)/131/128/132)
GPA: 3.97
Research: 1500 hours by the end of my undergrad career, worked in the same lab for two years now and have worked on multiple projects. Currently working on an NIH-funded grant that should be published in the next year. Have one poster at my undergrad’s conference and one poster (fourth author) at a national conference (not presented by me)
Volunteering (clinical): 60 hours as a patient greeter/guide in major hospital
Volunteering (nonclinical): 150 hours at animal shelter over the course of a year, 50 hours at senior center over a summer, 30 hours as tutor in student-athlete study hall (one semester), 30 hours as a debate tournament judge (annually), 30 hours at middle-school sports camp for girls
Shadowing: 60 hours, 52 with a neurologist over the course of a year and a half, 8 with a primary care physician
Extracurriculars: Three-sport division one athlete (cross country, indoor track, outdoor track) with multiple conference accolades including several scoring finishes and podium finishes, winner of a major academic conference award only given to one person in the sport that year, Phi Eta Sigma honor society, Student Athlete Advisory Committee representative
Employment History: 600 hours in patient transporter at inner-city hospital over summer and winter breaks, 400 hours as running store employee over summer break after freshman year
Immediate family members in medicine: Yes, older sister (attended KU)
Interested in practicing in an urban setting and pursuing joint MD/MPH
Going off of Wedgedawg's system, I found that if applying to 20 schools, I should apply to 6 category 1, 6 category 2, 5 category 3, 3 category 4-7.
Here's what I have:
Category 1: WUSTL (already paid for, long shot but some from my UG have gotten interviews), Penn, Duke, Harvard, Yale, Vandy (since they screen secondaries why not)
Category 2: Michigan, Northwestern, Baylor, Mayo, Case, Emory
Category 3: Ohio State, Einstein, Hofstra?, UVA?
Category 4-7: Mizzou (already paid for), KU(already paid for), Wisconsin, Iowa, Miami, SLU (already paid for), Creighton, BU?
I'm worried this may be too top-heavy. Let me know if you have any suggestions on narrowing down the list or see any red flags.
Last edited:
