MD Help with school list/Holes in my application?

[jambajuice271]

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Hey, so it would be awesome if I could get some feedback on my school list, I'm a bit worried that I applied to too many reach/too few "safer" schools. I would also appreciate it if anybody could look for potential weak spots in my application that I should keep in mind. Thanks in advance for looking this over!

Just to give a bit of background, here are my stats:

Year in school: Rising Senior

Major: Biochem

Country/state of residence: MA, but I moved there during college, so no in-state residency 🙁

cGPA: 3.68

sGPA: 3.78

GPA trend: upwards

MCAT Score: 520

Research: 500hrs of breast cancer research in a BME lab (no publications), 300hrs health care policy/public health research (will likely get 2nd author within the year)

Volunteering (clinical) – ongoing, but 80hrs so far at a children's hospital

Non-clinical volunteering: I started and lead an environmental education club (400hrs) that works in underserved neighborhoods.

Shadowing experience: 200 hrs, breast oncology (20), leukemia/lymphoma oncology (20), ER (30), orthopedic surgery (130)

Extracurricular activities: Ultimate frisbee team (1500hrs), campus radio station (100hrs)

Employment history: 150hrs working night shifts during the school year as a part-time caregiver

Immediate family members in medicine? nope

Specialty of interest: Not dead set on anything, but I like oncology and pediatrics

School List:
Weill Cornell
Stanford
Penn
UCSF
UCLA
WashU
UNC
Baylor
Northwestern
Vandy
Colorado
Minnesota
Tufts
Michigan
Pitt
Cincinnati
UMass
BU

How does my school list look/should I add more lower ranked schools? Are there any glaring holes in my application I should be wary of? Any help is much appreciated!

 

[Faha]

UNC and Minnesota accept few non residents with no connections to the state. Add a few more schools such as:
Vermont
Einstein
Mount Sinai
Hofstra
Jefferson
Tulane

 

[Goro]

I suggest:

Wash U
U Chcago
U Penn
NYU
Vanderbilt
Columbia
Sinai
Cornell
Northwestern
Case
Harvard
Yale
Stanford
JHU
U VA
U MI
U VM
U WI
U Cincy
Ohio State
U IA
UCSF
UCLA,
Miami
Tulane
Albert Einstein
Emory
BU
USC/Keck
Mayo
Rochester
Dartmouth
Duke
Pitt
Hofstra
U MA

 

[mwsapphire]

If they aren't an New England resident they can't even apply to UMASS Medical school. Where is your original state of residence, OP?

 

[jambajuice271]

If they aren't an New England resident they can't even apply to UMASS Medical school. Where is your original state of residence, OP?

UMass actually started taking OOS, so I'm not completely out of luck. I'm originally from PA, but I moved right after high school. So as far as med schools go, I'm out of luck. Oh well

 

[BombsAway]

If they aren't an New England resident they can't even apply to UMASS Medical school. Where is your original state of residence, OP?

You just have to call the admissions office and pronounce worcester correctly to receive the secondary.

 

[jambajuice271]

"Worchestershire", sound right? The town is a pretty great ingredient in marinades.

 

[mwsapphire]

You just have to call the admissions office and pronounce worcester correctly to receive the secondary.

"Worchestershire", sound right? The town is a pretty great ingredient in marinades.

 

[mwsapphire]

UMass actually started taking OOS, so I'm not completely out of luck. I'm originally from PA, but I moved right after high school. So as far as med schools go, I'm out of luck. Oh well

Yes I know they started doing that in 2015, but you still have to be from NE to "actually" be considered.

 

[jambajuice271]

Yes I know they started doing that in 2015, but you still have to be from NE to "actually" be considered.

Well I think that I am in a weird place where I will essentially be viewed as being from Massachusetts, but without the perk of in-state tuition. That's just an assumption though. Either way, UMass seemed to matched my interests enough that I thought it would be worth the cost of application even though my residence situation is kind of wacky.

 

[teenyfish]

Well I think that I am in a weird place where I will essentially be viewed as being from Massachusetts, but without the perk of in-state tuition. That's just an assumption though. Either way, UMass seemed to matched my interests enough that I thought it would be worth the cost of application even though my residence situation is kind of wacky.

I don't know if you would be viewed as being from MA if you moved there for college. MA has a significant population of college students - they don't have ridiculous residency laws for no reason. I would apply as if you were from PA, you can throw your hat in for UMass, but everyone that I know that has gotten in there has been from MA (I'm also a OOS MA dweller who went to college here).

 

[jambajuice271]

I don't know if you would be viewed as being from MA if you moved there for college. MA has a significant population of college students - they don't have ridiculous residency laws for no reason. I would apply as if you were from PA, you can throw your hat in for UMass, but everyone that I know that has gotten in there has been from MA (I'm also a OOS MA dweller who went to college here).

I must not have been super clear. So I actually go to school in the Midwest, but my family moved to MA during my freshman year. I checked and am definitely not eligible for PA residency. I guess I'll just wait and see how it pans out, not something worth stressing over. Y'all are awesome though, thanks for the advice!

 

[teenyfish]

I must not have been super clear. So I actually go to school in the Midwest, but my family moved to MA during my freshman year. I checked and am definitely not eligible for PA residency. I guess I'll just wait and see how it pans out, not something worth stressing over. Y'all are awesome though, thanks for the advice!

Ooooooh. I see! Must have read incorrectly, ignore what I said then.