Help With School List! (3.5 / 40 MCAT)

[lmaozedong]

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Hi guys!
I'm submitting my AMCAS sometime within the next week so I just wanted a bit of help finalizing my school list before I blow like $600 in fees.

I have a 3.52 and ~about the same in BCPM GPA I believe--not EXACTLY sure how to calculate this but just by eyeballing my science/non-science grades seem to be similar. Maybe like a 3.45 BCPM. I go to an Ivy League school--I'm not sure how much school reputation matters in applying to med school, though.

My MCAT is BS:14 PS:14 VR: 12 WS: R

In terms of ECs, I've been really involved in my church leadership, as well as participated in various community service organizations. I've also worked in a lab for a couple of years, and am working at the NIH currently. I've had some experience in clinical volunteering this summer and will be volunteering at a hospital this next year as well. I'd say that my ECs are overall pretty normal for a med school applicant--although I am volunteering abroad this summer too, which I'm pretty excited about!

My recs will probably be pretty good. I'm getting two from my professors, one from my pastor and one from my PI at the NIH.

Here's my current list:
Einstein
Boston University
Columbia
UCLA
Georgetown
Jefferson
Sinai
NYU
Northwestern
Stanford
Temple
Tufts
UCSF
UCSD
UCI
Penn
Cornell
Yale

That's 19 schools--which I realize is a lot! But I'm having trouble pruning it. Whenever I want to take schools off my list, I tend to want to trim from the bottom instead of the top--but I also feel my list may be too top heavy already! Please help--thanks! Also--I am a CA resident, which explains all the UCs on this list.

 

[swamprat]

I think its a little too top heavy.. great job on the mcat but your gpa is on the lower end and either way you want to have some "safety" schools

correction: WAY to top heavy if your bcpm is 3.45

 

[JJMrK]

Congratulations on that MCAT score, but your GPA is below average.

-Throw UC Davis on there.

-Consider adding 2-3 schools like SLU, Creighton, NYMC, Tulane, Drexel, Penn State, etc.

 

[veaselhaufen]

Yeah, keep that list and add to 2-3 more drexel, NYMC type schools. I would definitely not trim to less than 19

 

[lmaozedong]

I have been thinking about adding Drexel on my list so I think I may do that and maybe add another safety or two--keep the suggestions coming! My main criteria for selecting medical schools is that they must be at least somewhat accessible to a city.. which would be why Davis is not on my list. But I mean, given my list right now, is there a significant chance I won't get into any of the medical schools I apply to? I mean obviously, I want to make sure I get in somewhere but I want to minimize application costs if possible 😉. I hear 19 or 20 is just about the upper limit of schools you want to be applying to. In August I'm going to be out of town for a couple of weeks so I won't REALLY have as much time as I'd like for secondaries as well, and I want to keep the quality of those secondaries as high as possible.

Also, I'm wondering--how much slack (if any) do I get for going to a very prestigious school in my GPA? My school really doesn't inflate GPA very much and given the level of competition, I feel like it would be a bit silly if a 3.5 at my school was looked at as the equivalent as a 3.5 everywhere else.

 

[veaselhaufen]

I think youll get in somewhere with your stellar MCAT if the rest of your application is good. It's really hard to predict where because of the really high MCAT and the fairly low GPA. Be aware the UC-Davis medical school is in Sacramento and I think it would be wise toa pply there. What ivy by the way?

 

[lmaozedong]

I'm going to Penn--yeah. I'm a bit worried about the strange split between MCAT/GPA. I mean my grades have been pretty good (3.7ish) except for my sophomore year--particularly my second semester which I pretty much bombed. I'm hoping they see it more as a blip more than anything else.

But if LizzyM is to be believed, my overall stats should put me at "above average" at pretty much everywhere except WashU--but honestly, I don't really trust LizzyM particularly in situations like mine, where the MCAT is in that region where a few questions could have made a significant difference in my MCAT score.

Anyway, when I say city, I don't mean like Sacramento (nothing against Sacramento but..)--I mean like a big city like Philly or NYC or SF. Anyway, thanks for your help!

 

[JJMrK]

I have been thinking about adding Drexel on my list so I think I may do that and maybe add another safety or two--keep the suggestions coming! My main criteria for selecting medical schools is that they must be at least somewhat accessible to a city.. which would be why Davis is not on my list. But I mean, given my list right now, is there a significant chance I won't get into any of the medical schools I apply to? I mean obviously, I want to make sure I get in somewhere but I want to minimize application costs if possible 😉. I hear 19 or 20 is just about the upper limit of schools you want to be applying to. In August I'm going to be out of town for a couple of weeks so I won't REALLY have as much time as I'd like for secondaries as well, and I want to keep the quality of those secondaries as high as possible.

Also, I'm wondering--how much slack (if any) do I get for going to a very prestigious school in my GPA? My school really doesn't inflate GPA very much and given the level of competition, I feel like it would be a bit silly if a 3.5 at my school was looked at as the equivalent as a 3.5 everywhere else.

1. If you don't apply to Davis it's your loss. I'm not sure why you wouldn't as it's your state school and you've got a great shot at getting in.

2. Many people apply to 30+ schools; I'm not saying you should, but it is doable.

3. You won't get much slack for your GPA, if any. Schools want to see excellent numbers no matter where you go. Of course, your 3.5 might look better than a 3.5 from a state school, but it isn't going to look better than a higher GPA from a "lesser" school.

I'm going to Penn--yeah. I'm a bit worried about the strange split between MCAT/GPA. I mean my grades have been pretty good (3.7ish) except for my sophomore year--particularly my second semester which I pretty much bombed. I'm hoping they see it more as a blip more than anything else.

But if LizzyM is to be believed, my overall stats should put me at "above average" at pretty much everywhere except WashU--but honestly, I don't really trust LizzyM particularly in situations like mine, where the MCAT is in that region where a few questions could have made a significant difference in my MCAT score.

Anyway, when I say city, I don't mean like Sacramento (nothing against Sacramento but..)--I mean like a big city like Philly or NYC or SF. Anyway, thanks for your help!

1. I don't think LizzyM scores work well with very high or very low numbers. Your LizzyM score would make you equivalent to someone with a 3.8 and 37, and I don't think that's the case.

2. Again, I think it would be pretty foolish not to apply to Davis. But, do what you want.

 

[Bayl]

I'm going to Penn--yeah. I'm a bit worried about the strange split between MCAT/GPA. I mean my grades have been pretty good (3.7ish) except for my sophomore year--particularly my second semester which I pretty much bombed. I'm hoping they see it more as a blip more than anything else.

But if LizzyM is to be believed, my overall stats should put me at "above average" at pretty much everywhere except WashU--but honestly, I don't really trust LizzyM particularly in situations like mine, where the MCAT is in that region where a few questions could have made a significant difference in my MCAT score.

Anyway, when I say city, I don't mean like Sacramento (nothing against Sacramento but..)--I mean like a big city like Philly or NYC or SF. Anyway, thanks for your help!

I don't have much experience since I have yet to apply. But from going through other SDM posts, I think you should aim for 20+ schools. The process is so random that you will not get in many said safeties and high chance schools. The top schools reject and waitlist 90% of the applicants they interview, that is plenty of gpa 3.8+ and mcat 39+. Adding a few more schools that you will be 100% sure you can get into will give you an ease of mind and some interview practice if nothing else.
I read that case western university has high mcat bias, so I would add it to the list. Good luck!

 

[cardinal2010]

Hi guys!
I'm submitting my AMCAS sometime within the next week so I just wanted a bit of help finalizing my school list before I blow like $600 in fees.

I have a 3.52 and ~about the same in BCPM GPA I believe--not EXACTLY sure how to calculate this but just by eyeballing my science/non-science grades seem to be similar. Maybe like a 3.45 BCPM. I go to an Ivy League school--I'm not sure how much school reputation matters in applying to med school, though.

My MCAT is BS:14 PS:14 VR: 12 WS: R

In terms of ECs, I've been really involved in my church leadership, as well as participated in various community service organizations. I've also worked in a lab for a couple of years, and am working at the NIH currently. I've had some experience in clinical volunteering this summer and will be volunteering at a hospital this next year as well. I'd say that my ECs are overall pretty normal for a med school applicant--although I am volunteering abroad this summer too, which I'm pretty excited about!

My recs will probably be pretty good. I'm getting two from my professors, one from my pastor and one from my PI at the NIH.

Here's my current list:
Einstein
Boston University
Columbia
UCLA
Georgetown
Jefferson
Sinai
NYU
Northwestern
Stanford
Temple
Tufts
UCSF
UCSD
UCI
Penn
Cornell
Yale

That's 19 schools--which I realize is a lot! But I'm having trouble pruning it. Whenever I want to take schools off my list, I tend to want to trim from the bottom instead of the top--but I also feel my list may be too top heavy already! Please help--thanks! Also--I am a CA resident, which explains all the UCs on this list.

I'm in a similar albeit slightly less extreme situation than you with a 3.6 cGPA and a 39 MCAT. and Lo and Behold, my list (that i submitted yesterday) was near Identical. I had

Einstein
Boston University
Columbia
UCLA
Jefferson
Sinai
NYU
Northwestern
Stanford
Temple
Tufts
UCSF
UCSD
UCI
Penn
Cornell
UCD
Baylor
USC
Uchicago
UPitt
Harvard
UMich

If I were you, I would echo the recommendation to add a few more mid-tier/mid-top tier schools. Davis, SLU, Drexel, Pitt are all good choices.


Good Luck to us!

 

[lmaozedong]

Hey--yeah, I don't think my score/GPA is equivalent of a 38/3.7 but I'm hoping it's somewhat equivalent to a 36/3.7 or so--which would put me about at the median at the mid-top tier schools I'm looking at.

Here's a more finalized version of my schools:

Einstein
BU
Columbia
UCLA
Drexel
GWU
Georgetown
Jefferson
USC
Sinai
NYMC
NYU
Northwestern
Temple
Tufts
UCSD
UCSF
UCI
UPenn
UChicago
Brown
Cornell
Yale

Hopefully this list is a little more balanced 🙂

Cardinal2010: Good to know I'm not completely crazy! Good luck to both of us 😉

 

[mmmcdowe]

Hey--yeah, I don't think my score/GPA is equivalent of a 38/3.7 but I'm hoping it's somewhat equivalent to a 36/3.7 or so--which would put me about at the median at the mid-top tier schools I'm looking at.

Here's a more finalized version of my schools:

Einstein
BU
Columbia
UCLA
Drexel
GWU
Georgetown
Jefferson
USC
Sinai
NYMC
NYU
Northwestern
Temple
Tufts
UCSD
UCSF
UCI
UPenn
UChicago
Brown
Cornell
Yale

Hopefully this list is a little more balanced 🙂

Cardinal2010: Good to know I'm not completely crazy! Good luck to both of us 😉

I think your GPA is fine, personally, and I think you should put Harvard and WashU on your list. Harvard doesn't have a real secondary, so its not going to be time consumig. I would consider adding Case Western simply because they are known for taking high MCAT low GPA. Just switch it if there is a school on your list that isn't that desirable.