Help with School List. GPA: 3.75, MCAT: 28, good clinical ex. and EC's

[UMU1030]

Help me with my schools list SDN,

I hope to apply to both MD and DO but I would prefer to apply to under 20 schools. I really like the osteopathic philosophy and I would be more than happy to go DO. I also see a DO for back problems associated with a leg-length discrepancy and have a good relationship with a DO at my job. I realize that MD may be a more straightforward route because I wouldn't have to worry about possibly having to take two different standardized exams, but I also realize that my current stats are below average for MD, so I have to choose schools wisely.

My credentials:
-Graduate Class of 2012, BS in Biology
-cGPA: 3.75, sGPA:3.55, MCAT: 28 - 9/9/10 distribution (don't plant to retake)
-1000+ hours work experience as nurse's aide (still employed)
-100 hours of shadowing different healthcare professionals through college practicum (2012)
-about 50 hours shadowing a general surgeon (2010)
-about 30 hours shadowing a hospitalist (2012)
-two summers of full-time employment at a construction company, as a painter (2009 and 2010)
-non-clinical research studying visual systems and visual communication in lizards (summer of 2011 and senior thesis)
-honors thesis
-sophomore research project combining in biological illustration
-presented both sophomore and thesis at campus symposium and sophomore project was featured in a student gallery
-4 year member in Converging Technologies Scholars group (interdisciplinary research and coursework, NSF funded)
-Founded, managed, and lived in a "Religious Diversity" Theme House at my college for 2 years. The house is still in existence after my graduation.
-75+ hours of volunteering at hospital radiology dept. as transporter (2010)
-Hobbies: art (trained in egg tempera religious iconography and have written several icons for churches), tennis, hiking/camping, studying religion
-Born in Ukraine. Moved to the US for an operation in Sept. 1998, to fix a leg length discrepancy. Became a US citizen on July 4, 2012. Bilingual (native language is Ukrainian).

I think my extracurriculars are great but the MCAT score is the drag on my resume. I actually put in a lot of effort into studying for this exam and even delayed my application further. I planed on only taking it once and my score is not surprising based on my practice exams (averaged about a 26 over 7 practice exams, high of 30).

Specialties that currently appeal to me: PM&R, orthopedics, family medicine, rheumatology, and pediatrics. Nevertheless, I am open to anything and realize that my preferences could change.

Schools list:
In-state MD:
SUNY Upstate
SUNY Stony Brook
SUNY Buffalo
SUNY Downstate
Rochester
Albany
NY Medical College
Hofstra

Out-of-state MD:
U of Wisconsin
Wake Forest
U of Miami
Creighton
Loyola

In-state DO:
NYCOM

Out-of-state DO:
UNECOM
NSU-COM
OU-HCOM
LECOM-B
PCOM
LMU-DCOM
VCOM
WVSOM
CU-SOM
MU-COM
KYCOM

The DO schools are listed more or less in the order that I currently like them, but the MD list is not arranged in any special way. I should mention that I also do have a meaningful connection to Florida, as I originally had my leg operations in Tampa, FL.
I'm not sure if I should even apply to some of those very competitive out of state schools, as they may just screen out my application based of MCAT. Also, could I cut some DO schools off my list and still be safe? I would like to keep DO programs that have good OMM departments.
I really need to get in on this next cycle and maybe it's better for me to be safe with my choices. Will I have a shot at in-state MD's with my GPA and EC's?

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[UMU1030]

I should also mention that I'm so paranoid about this process because of the terrible experience I had applying as an undergrad. I applied to 14 schools as the valedictorian of my class, but a very low SAT (1600 on 3 parts!). I was told by my advisors that I would be fine since English was not my native language but only one school ended up taking a shot on me, and it was an SAT optional school. All of my so called "back-up" in-state schools rejected me, but I'm really glad that things worked out the way they did and my undergrad college was the perfect fit for me.

 

[as1212559]

Good lists, good chances.

Feel free to drop KYCOM (big preference for local students) and WVSOM (crazy OoS tuition).

 

[UMU1030]

Need more advice. Cutting out KYCOM and WVSOM seems very reasonable. What do people think of the two new DO schools? How about my 5 OoS MD schools? Are my chances there too low to invest the time and money for applications? Should I apply to more DO schools instead of those OoS MD schools?

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[as1212559]

Don't know much about CUSOM. MUCOM on paper sounds like a decent school but unless you are specifically interested then I don't think it's necessary to apply there. Your stats and such are plenty competitive for the other DO schools on your list. You will have success, especially if you apply early.

If you drop KYCOM, WVSOM, and at least CUSOM your list will be a little thin for DO so I would recommend adding UMDNJ-SOM and KCOM (strong OMM department by all accounts). You could also research DMUCOM, CCOM, and KCUMB. You are pretty much competitive at all DO schools.

Dunno as much about the MD side but it looks like a reasonable list to me, could perhaps be added to if you wanted. You probably have a decent shot at a state school or two.