Mcat: 36q gpa: 3.9

[lime0life]

So I'm a little stuck in terms of creating a list because my scores seem to be about average for acceptance at most schools, but I don't know where my everything else puts me. I don't want to undershoot my potential but I also don't want to leave myself without safety schools. Where should I apply, both for safety schools and for reasonable range/reach schools?

More info:
- volunteering at a free clinic for homeless people
- martial arts
- ~180 hours of shadowing in a hospital
- 3 years of cognitive neuroscience research (no publications)
- mentor for a child with incarcerated parents

Any advice would be very much appreciated. Thanks!

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[DoctorLacrosse]

I would say to apply anywhere you like. You are reasonably competitive everywhere, assuming you can sell your ECs to cover all the bases. Just apply early and broadly, with enough safety schools, and you should be fine.

 

[sotto voce]

So I'm a little stuck in terms of creating a list because my scores seem to be about average for acceptance at most schools, but I don't know where my everything else puts me. I don't want to undershoot my potential but I also don't want to leave myself without safety schools. Where should I apply, both for safety schools and for reasonable range/reach schools?

More info:
- volunteering at a free clinic for homeless people
- martial arts
- ~180 hours of shadowing in a hospital
- 3 years of cognitive neuroscience research (no publications)
- mentor for a child with incarcerated parents

Any advice would be very much appreciated. Thanks!

Yes, a 3.9 and a 36 are both very average. A bit below average, even.

 

[GeorgiadisMD]

Apply Caribbean. You won't get in anywhere else since your stats are below average.

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[MedBound1]

I would apply to 20-30 schools depending on the type of school you are looking for and the time available for returning secondaries fast etc (although you should make time for this no matter how busy you are)..

- 5-8 Reach Schools (top 20, ivy league, etc.)
- 8-12 Competitive schools (top 50, top state schools, etc.)
- 8-12 Safety schools (avg stats lower than yours, rest of your state schools, OOS schools with a good acceptance percentage for OOS apps.. check MSAR from AAMC if you need to)

 

[Fortress]

Yeah, you will be facing some tough decisions with your stats. It is like deciding between BMW M5 and Mercedes AMG with a pitiful half a million on your account.

 

[lime0life]

If your ECs are as substantial as they appear (hard to tell without time commitment information for all of them), you should apply early and broadly as DoctorLacrosse suggests.

I've added the time commitments in bold:
- volunteering at a free clinic for homeless people [2 years]
- martial arts [4 years]
- ~180 hours of shadowing in a hospital
- 3 years of cognitive neuroscience research (no publications)
- mentor for a child with incarcerated parents [1 year]

And in terms of too top-heavy, what would that be? My current list is:
UCLA
UCSD
UCSF
UC Davis
UCI
Emory
Harvard
Mt. Sinai
Northwestern
Stanford
Pritzker (Chicago)
University of Michigan
UNC
Rochester
Wake Forest

What would you suggest as good safety schools?

 

[Fortress]

With your stats safety schools would be something like:
VCU
Temple
Tufts
Rush
Loyola
U of Vermont
Ohio State

If I were in your situation, I would include (in the main list): U of Colorado and U of Pittsburgh.

 

[athockey7]

Yes, a 3.9 and a 36 are both very average. A bit below average, even.

 

[lime0life]

With your stats safety schools would be something like:
VCU
Temple
Tufts
Rush
Loyola
U of Vermont
Ohio State

If I were in your situation, I would include (in the main list): U of Colorado and U of Pittsburgh.

Will do. Thanks!

 

[weezynation]

I've added the time commitments in bold:
- volunteering at a free clinic for homeless people [2 years]
- martial arts [4 years]
- ~180 hours of shadowing in a hospital
- 3 years of cognitive neuroscience research (no publications)
- mentor for a child with incarcerated parents [1 year]

And in terms of too top-heavy, what would that be? My current list is:
UCLA
UCSD
UCSF
UC Davis
UCI
Emory
Harvard
Mt. Sinai
Northwestern
Stanford
Pritzker (Chicago)
University of Michigan
UNC
Rochester
Wake Forest

What would you suggest as good safety schools?

This is a pretty top-heavy list but with your stats you could get in with a great overall application. Sure, apply to these schools but definitely add quite a few mid/low tier schools to the list. The schools someone suggested above as safeties are good but add some more if you have the money to apply to more.

 

[lime0life]

This is a pretty top-heavy list but with your stats you could get in with a great overall application. Sure, apply to these schools but definitely add quite a few mid/low tier schools to the list. The schools suggested above as safeties are good but add some more if you have the money to apply to more.

Actually, you bring up a good point. Are there any reasonably priced mid/low tier schools you would recommend? I feel like the lower the tier, the more expensive it gets. :-/

 

[weezynation]

With your stats safety schools would be something like:
VCU
Temple
Tufts
Rush
Loyola
U of Vermont
Ohio State

If I were in your situation, I would include (in the main list): U of Colorado and U of Pittsburgh.

Unless you are from Colorado, U of Colorado may be a waste...they have 75% in-state preference and on top of that have preference for Wyoming and Montana students who can pay close to in-state tutition.

 

[weezynation]

Actually, you bring up a good point. Are there any reasonably priced mid/low tier schools you would recommend? I feel like the lower the tier, the more expensive it gets. :-/

In addition to the ones mentioned above by someone else:

Drexel (may be low-tier but not sure)
Jefferson
Univ of Miami
Einstein
Boston U
Penn State (has in-state preference but takes many more out-of-state applicants that most state schools)
Saint Louis (may be low-tier but not sure)
Tulane
Wake Forrest

You could apply to Georgetown and GWU but it would probably be a waste considering the number of applications they receive each year. I would also check on Univ of Vermont that the person above suggested because they may have very high in-state preference.

 

[Fortress]

Hm, when I applied to U of Colorado myself and didn't know that they are so in-state oriented. Needless to say, I didn't get in. However, I am pretty sure that U of Vermont is relativelly "out-of-state friendly". With the aforementioned stats I would NOT apply to Drexel and Georgetown due to very high tuition. I still remember the pain of sending $130 with my secondary to Georgetown just to receive a thin envelope in 3 weeks.
I would actually also include my school to the list - West Virginia University. It is a solid school with a more or less reasonable OOS tuition of $49K/year.

 

[weezynation]

Hm, when I applied to U of Colorado myself and didn't know that they are so in-state oriented. Needless to say, I didn't get in. However, I am pretty sure that U of Vermont is relativelly "out-of-state friendly". With the aforementioned stats I would NOT apply to Drexel and Georgetown due to very high tuition. I still remember the pain of sending $130 with my secondary to Georgetown just to receive a thin envelope in 3 weeks.
I would actually also include my school to the list - West Virginia University. It is a solid school with a more or less reasonable OOS tuition of $49K/year.

Yea I wasn't sure about Vermont and couldn't find anything on their website. As for West Virginia...this is from their website:

The School also gives priority consideration to state residents. Only those non-residents with excellent academic credentials and strong ties to the state of West Virginia are likely to be given an interview.

We do give preference to West Virginia residents and to non-resident students having strong ties with West Virginia. Thus, while non-residents attending one of the West Virginia colleges or universities will be given careful review, their applications will have a lower priority consideration than those of a West Virginia resident.

So I don't know if it would be worth applying unless being a resident or having ties to WV.

 

[Fortress]

Yeah, this is what they say, but in reality OOS students make up about 45% of all students. I applied from CA, with zero ties to the state and considerably lower stats than OP and got in. As long as an applicant can explain in a cohesive way why he/she wants to be a WVU student - no real ties are needed. By saying: "will be given careful review" they mean "we will put an OOS applicant on the WL" and nothing more.

 

[weezynation]

Yeah, this is what they say, but in reality OOS students make up about 45% of all students. I applied from CA, with zero ties to the state and considerably lower stats than OP and got in. As long as an applicant can explain in a cohesive way why he/she wants to be a WVU student - no real ties are needed. By saying: "will be given careful review" they mean "we will put an OOS applicant on the WL" and nothing more.

Oh ok well in that case it probably would be good to apply.