How did you decide?

[DarkChild]

... what schools to apply to?
For me location is the big one - I do want to spend for years in Hicksville, WV. But aside from that - what else?
Strangely I've found reputation to be much less of an issue than I would have though - there are a ton of renowned schools.
But the real thing I have issues with is how to decide what is a reach, level and safety - I'm still not even sure that those things exist.
So lets hear it, what were your thought processes in deciding where to apply to.

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[Adcadet]

Basically, I took a list of all med schools, threw out all of the out of state schools which had an admission rate of less than 3% for out of state, and threw out all the schools I just didn't think I'd like based upon location, culture, curriculum, etc. Then I broke the schools up by GPA and MCAT scores into 3 categories - reach, intermediate, and "easy" based upon MCAT and GPA cutoff that gave approximately even numbers in each category. Then I just made sure that I at a good number from the "easy" category (7, I think in my case), and allowed myself to apply to a few reach schools. I wanted to apply to around 20 schools, and it all worked out.

 

[DarkChild]

ohhh...
KABUMP!!!

 

[DarkChild]

OK... the avalanche of responses is amazing.
I have another question, oh silent board, am I applying to the right places/ the right number of places? Should I even bother applying to UCSF - it seems like a cool school, but I figure the Cali State schools are super-competitive. (UCSD is only on my list cuz my old PI is a dean there - lol, his LOR better have some pull)
So far its 12 schools:
Harvard, Hopkins, Columbia, Yale, UCSD, Cornell, Duke, MSSM, NYU, Tufts, UChicago, UPenn.
I'm applying to Columbia and UCSD's MDPhd program.
Here are the stats:
GPA: 3.57 - upward trend though (3.2,3.6,3.7,3.8)
School: Columbia
MCATs: 35 - 13V, 12B, 10P R; 34 - 12V 11B 11P R.
2.5 years of research - no publications though
No real community service, but interesting enough ECs.
(Black, Male)
I appreciate the help guys.

 

[3-D]

Dark Child, your stats sound great and I think that it would be worth it to apply to UCSF. I also think it is a great school (#1 on my list).

 

[jot]

i'd definately tack ucsf on that list. you got some great interviews last year - so you are obviously doing something right - gluck
-jot

 

[poloace]

thats pretty impressive...
i'm amazed you took the mcats again. i would have been drunk and avoiding that dreaded exam forever.
p

 

[lola]

Originally posted by DarkChild
OK... the avalanche of responses is amazing.
I have another question, oh silent board, am I applying to the right places/ the right number of places? Should I even bother applying to UCSF - it seems like a cool school, but I figure the Cali State schools are super-competitive. (UCSD is only on my list cuz my old PI is a dean there - lol, his LOR better have some pull)
So far its 12 schools:
Harvard, Hopkins, Columbia, Yale, UCSD, Cornell, Duke, MSSM, NYU, Tufts, UChicago, UPenn.
I'm applying to Columbia and UCSD's MDPhd program.
Here are the stats:
GPA: 3.57 - upward trend though (3.2,3.6,3.7,3.8)
School: Columbia
MCATs: 35 - 13V, 12B, 10P R; 34 - 12V 11B 11P R.
2.5 years of research - no publications though
No real community service, but interesting enough ECs.
(Black, Male)
I appreciate the help guys.

While you will most likely get into a very competitive school with your numbers and urm status, I think you should add some less competitive schools to your list. You should apply to a couple of lower-tier schools along with a few mid-tier schools in my opinion. Better to spend a little extra money and get in somewhere rather than have to go through the process again.

If I can do ok on the August MCAT, I'm a very competitive applicant. However, I'm still applying to many non top 20 schools! Schools that aren't in the top 20 may have slightly lower GPA's/MCATs, but they are still very good schools with excellent students, and it's worth your time to apply to some of them.

Do a search on SDN for lower tier schools to find "safety" schools. Mid-tier schools (schools that YOU may actually have more of a shot at than lower-tier schools b/c you are such a good candidate) area little harder to define. Mine were Loyola, Tulane, Wake Forest, Dartmouth, USC (starting to get harder to get into I think), and Georgetown. They are well-regarded schools, but have slightly lower averages than the top schools.

 

[Diogenes]

Definitely apply to UCSF. UCSF has the most non-California people of all the UCs, I think.

You should do well.

 

[WaitingImpatiently]

Ditto what lola wrote.

You most likely will get into a top school, but I remember that there was one applicant that got shut out this past year (or last). He was a good applicant on paper, but even from his posts here, it was obvious that he was an arrogant mofo, and he only applied to a handful of schools, all of them first-tier.

Don't make that same mistake. Applying to some mid-tier or even low-tier schools will cost a few hundred bucks, but I think it'll definitely be worth it.

 

[DarkChild]

thanks for the replies all. I'm definately applying to UCSF now, their program seemed really polished, but I was having my doubts... so I'm rolling the dice and we'll see.
lola and waiting - I'm taking your advice too, so I'm going to start applying to some lower tier schools. Thanks again for the help y'all.

 

[souljah1]

UCSF's student body is generally 15% out of state. That makes it about 22 or so students. I know that state residence is used in the initial screen, along with gpa, mcat, personal statement, activities, and background. I would definitely give it a shot. The upward trend is nice, your mcat is WAY higher than their average mcat for black/hispanic applicants, and your undergraduate institution makes your gpa even more impressive. The main thing is the out of state residency. Can't hurt to try.

 

[exigente chica]

Nice stats..very competitive..add some lower tier schools just in case..

good luck

 

[LizardKing]

Why no UCLA?

Originally posted by DarkChild
OK... the avalanche of responses is amazing.
I have another question, oh silent board, am I applying to the right places/ the right number of places? Should I even bother applying to UCSF - it seems like a cool school, but I figure the Cali State schools are super-competitive. (UCSD is only on my list cuz my old PI is a dean there - lol, his LOR better have some pull)
So far its 12 schools:
Harvard, Hopkins, Columbia, Yale, UCSD, Cornell, Duke, MSSM, NYU, Tufts, UChicago, UPenn.
I'm applying to Columbia and UCSD's MDPhd program.
Here are the stats:
GPA: 3.57 - upward trend though (3.2,3.6,3.7,3.8)
School: Columbia
MCATs: 35 - 13V, 12B, 10P R; 34 - 12V 11B 11P R.
2.5 years of research - no publications though
No real community service, but interesting enough ECs.
(Black, Male)
I appreciate the help guys.

 

[LizardKing]

Looks like you're in good shape. You might want to apply to 5-6 more schools to keep your options open. Your opinions on all the schools will change after you visit them.

While there is no such thing as a "safety" med school, I've heard it's easier to get into schools such as NYMC, George Washington, MCP-Hahnemann, and Finch-Chicago Med. Apply to at least one of these just in case.

The middle-level difficulty schools would be Tufts, Georgetown, and Temple.

The top schools such as UChicago, UCSF, Yale, USC (so much CA competition to get in), etc. are a crapshoot for anyone. It's good you're applying to several of them.

I guess 20 schools total would be a good number to shoot for. Good luck!

-LK
Hopkins Class of 2006

Originally posted by DarkChild
OK... the avalanche of responses is amazing.
I have another question, oh silent board, am I applying to the right places/ the right number of places? Should I even bother applying to UCSF - it seems like a cool school, but I figure the Cali State schools are super-competitive. (UCSD is only on my list cuz my old PI is a dean there - lol, his LOR better have some pull)
So far its 12 schools:
Harvard, Hopkins, Columbia, Yale, UCSD, Cornell, Duke, MSSM, NYU, Tufts, UChicago, UPenn.
I'm applying to Columbia and UCSD's MDPhd program.
Here are the stats:
GPA: 3.57 - upward trend though (3.2,3.6,3.7,3.8)
School: Columbia
MCATs: 35 - 13V, 12B, 10P R; 34 - 12V 11B 11P R.
2.5 years of research - no publications though
No real community service, but interesting enough ECs.
(Black, Male)
I appreciate the help guys.