Medical How to choose schools as an average CA resident reapplicant?

[Goro]

Hello!

I'm having a lot of trouble creating a list for MD schools.

About me:
MCAT: 514 (taken August 2018)
GPA: 3.93
ECs: minor research, hundreds of hours of med/clinical volunteering, competitive dance team, co-founder of a club, ~100 hrs of shadowing.
I also did NOT attend a CA school if that matters.

My stats are definitely not high enough for CA schools. I am a re-applicant. Tbh I applied to A LOT of schools last cycle, ~35, and received 6 interviews: Rutgers NJMS, WVU, SLU, Drexel, NOVA, and Wayne. Rejected at Drexel was on the WL for the other 5 and definitely do not expect to get in at this point.

But I'm really having a hard time choosing schools this time around. I figured I would have good chances at private schools and public schools with low-ish MCAT/GPA averages. However, it seems like a lot of lower tier public schools prefer IS which makes it difficult that I wonder if I should even apply to them.

Thank you!

You're NOT average.

I recommend the following, but work on interview skills first. Also ask Admissions Deans from where you interviewed if they can give you feedback on your rejections. And rewrite all essays and have multiple eyeballs vet them

UCSF
U IA
U ILL
U MA
Mayo (maybe)
Case (maybe)
NYU-LI
USC/Keck
Dartmouth
BU
Pitt
U WI
U Cincy
U CO
U VM
OH State
UCF
Miami
St. Louis
Albany
Albert Einstein
Rochester
Rush
Rosy Franklin
NYMC
EVMS
Wake Forest
Jefferson
Creighton
Tulane
Seton Hall
MCW
Loyola
Emory
Hofstra
Tufts
Oakland-B
Western MI
Uniformed Services University/Hebert (just be aware of the military service commitment)
Nova MD
your state school(s)
As you're on your second cycle, have some DO schools on your list. Beggars can't be choosy.
ANY DO program. I can't recommend Nova, Wm Carey, BCOM, ICOM and LUCOM, for different reasons. MSUCOM? Read up on Larry Nasser and you decide. LMU has an accreditation warning, which concerns me. CUHS is too new and appears to be too limited in rotations sites. UIW refuses to post their Boards scores, which is fishy.

@Goro Thank you so much! Yes I have just submitted my DO app yesterday and luckily none of the schools you mentioned were on my list. Thank you for the list of MD schools and I will definitely reach out to the admissions deans form the other schools. I really appreciate it!!

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[TheBoneDoctah]

...average? Ok.

Apply smart and go to medical school.

Cali is hard even for Cali residents. I would stay away from applying Cali unless you are a resident.

@TheBoneDoctah Tbh I felt confident going into last year's cycle with my stats but the outcome has made me feel average haha. I am a CA resident but I didn't seem to have much luck with CA schools last cycle. Appreciate your input, thank you!

 

[tantacles]

It's very hard to figure out what's wrong without seeing your school list and the rest of your application, but your stats are excellent even for many high-middle and top tier MD schools. Not sure exactly what went wrong during your cycle. While I would suggest reflecting and trying to get feedback from trusted sources on your application, I would also recommend e-mailing your schools and restating your interest. Some schools will respond positively to this, and very few, I believe, will respond negatively if your e-mail is polite.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

If you're a reapplicant with those specific metrics, it's not because you don't meet the standards of California medical schools. Your interview skills need work, but only going 6 for about 35 schools is below par for an average applicant. You're disappointing the schools that did invite you, so I'm thinking there's something in the way you talk about yourself in your application or PS is not working. Your metrics are fine for a good number of solid medical schools, so I suspect it's something else or something you're not telling us.

No I agree, I think my interview skills were definitely lacking. I did no real mock interviews. I also re-worked my PS and had several people look at it so hopefully that has improved as well. I can't think of much else tbh. I'm trying to be as open as possible because I know there was something wrong last cycle and I definitely want to improve as a candidate this time around. I appreciate your feedback, thank you.