Looking for mid-tier schools!

[medjustice]

Hi!

I'm trying to finalize my school list and I am not sure how to go about it. I am looking for more programs that are not top-tier and may be more match/safety for me. I am pretty sure I am not a super competitive applicant, but I think I have a good chance in getting in a mid-tier school. My stats are:
MCAT:512
cGPA:3.65
1 first author publication, 2 more first author papers in the pipeline, 1 poster presentation at a national conference, and several other presentations at regional conferences
Research throughout sophomore year to graduation (~1000 hours)
Full time research for 2 years post graduation at a top-tier institution (~4000 hours)
Awards for Senior Thesis Research
Inducted into an Honor Society for my research and STEM advocacy
Good/great LORs
Clinical shadowing for 8 months
Community based volunteering (~100 hrs)
President of a few clubs during undergrad
Low-income, URM student so I had 2 jobs along with my part-time research position
TX residency

Currently, my mid-tier list consists of:
UC Irvine
U Pitt
UT Southwestern
UT San Antonio
UT Med Branch
UT Houston-McGovern
U Wisconsin
U Mass
N. Carolina
University of Minnesota

Do you know of any mid-tier/not big-name schools that would be worth adding to my list? Especially if they have awesome PDs and a great community like some of the ones I already listed.

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[kepler16b]

Are you applying to top-20s as well? I think you are very competitive.

To your specific question, you could add Einstein, OHSU, Cincy, OSU, UAB, Colorado, Iowa, Miami, Indiana, Maryland, Tufts, Stony Brook, Rochester, Penn State, MUSC, MCW.

I believe they are all MSTPs, so they shouldn't have in state bias.

 

[PursuingHappy]

I agree with kepler16b. Also VCU. The director there is awesome, in my humble opinion.

Edit: Your app seems great me. I had virtually the same background and similar stats with a slightly higher MCAT and managed to get a bunch of interviews. Don't be afraid to add in some top tier achools if you haven't done so already. Good luck

Edit 2: Ignore the advice if you really don't want a top tier school. I totally read your post too quickly lol.

 

[medjustice]

I am applying to about 7-8 top 20 schools, but it is so easy to get carried away with applying to many top 20 schools because of their name and reputation. I just want to make sure that I have a well-balanced list of schools. It's difficult to know which of the mid-tier schools to apply to because their just not as well-known, but I am hoping to glean some info from from some of y'all who've interviewed at or visited these schools. Thank you for the suggestions!!!

 

[medjustice]

To your specific question, you could add Einstein, OHSU, Cincy, OSU, UAB, Colorado, Iowa, Miami, Indiana, Maryland, Tufts, Stony Brook, Rochester, Penn State, MUSC, MCW.

Actually, if you don't mind me asking, which of these schools stood out to you the most and why? I'm looking for schools that have students who are pleased with their program and PDs who are super supportive.

 

[idiotreinventor]

UPitt isn't mid-tier.

 

[Fencer]

You will be getting good training at ANY of those MD/PhD programs. The majority of them are MSTPs.

 

[medjustice]

You will be getting good training at ANY of those MD/PhD programs. The majority of them are MSTPs.

Which is why I'm happy to have them on my list!

 

[FreeGibbs]

UAB and Mayo-MSTP. They're top tier overall, but if you look at only their MD/PhD class stats profile you'd fine you fall within their range (25th/75th quartiles) of applicants

 

[freelancePsychic]

Actually, if you don't mind me asking, which of these schools stood out to you the most and why? I'm looking for schools that have students who are pleased with their program and PDs who are super supportive.

I had a very positive impression of Iowa. Great program, cool students, and the university has strong residency programs in many specialities, including ophthalmology and psychiatry. The program also works hard to create community between classes in the MSTP. Students there had friends in the years above and below them. This would be great for support especially during the transition to grad school when your friends in the normal MD class depart for clinical rotations. That isn’t true everywhere- I’ve been at my program for more than a month and neither I nor my classmates have interacted much with students in other years. The biggest factor for me though was that I knew a few alumni and they had all had great experiences. I felt a lot more confident about the quality of Iowa’s MSTP because they were all still enthusiastic about it.