help with school list

[emm0087]

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Hey everyone, just hoping to get some help/reassurance/ego-stroking on the list of schools that I'm applying MD/PhD. My list used to be extremely top-heavy, but I removed a couple of the top tier schools and added some more realistic schools. I just wanted to get some second opinions on whether there are any schools still on my list that I should just forget about, or if there are any that I should definitely add? I don't really care what region or state, as long as it's in an urban area. Ok here's my list:

Northwestern
Cornell
Baylor
Mt. Sinai
UCSF
Tufts
UT Southwestern
Albert Einstein
BU
SUNY Downstate
Stony Brook
Georgetown
Jefferson
UT Houston
Loyola
Temple
U of Washington
GWU
Drexel

My cumulative GPA is 3.68, science GPA is 3.62. MCAT scores are 35S (11 VR, 14 BS, 10 PS). I've been in the same research lab for almost a year, will hopefully get published by the end of the summer. I also had a research internship last summer in a pharmaceutical company's R&D division, and I feel confident about getting great recommendations from my research mentors.

Keep in mind that my undergrad institution is BU, which is pretty notorious for grade-deflation, and from everything I've heard, a 3.68 at BU is actually viewed as quite good. I'm also double-majoring in Biochemistry/Molecular Biology and Classics, and I'm very involved in an extracurricular theater group, stage managing major productions, acting in a couple of shows.

I have some clinical experience under my belt, currently volunteering at a hospital with about 40 hours completed. I've also shadowed my mom (an endocrinologist) and some of her colleagues for years, and attended a clinical endocrinologist's convention a few months ago.

Ok that's it, any help would be appreciated!

 

[GliaGirl]

UCSF is probably not going to happen and Cornell is very unlikely, but if you would really love to go, there's no harm in trying. I suggest that you focus your energies on getting more likely secondaries done first and best, and then go for the big reach schools once you have those squared away. It looks like you have a good range of schools.

Maybe try SUNY Upstate as well? That'll make it an even 20! But Syracuse is not the city for everyone, so maybe that's why it's not on your list.

 

[Naijaba]

Hi emm0087,

Your numeric stats are similar to my own. I passed along my resume to a representative from Northwestern at an NIH career fair last week. They emailed me back the following week asking me what PhD concentrations I'd be interested in pursuing. I hope that's encouraging.