i live in NYS go to a top 20 LAC also in NYS (don't know if that makes a diff), and if my subpar 3.4/30 (3.2 bcpm) was my stats what are some schools that are absolute musts on the list ...
Add Drexel, Temple, SLU, RFU, Cincinnati, Toledo, EVMS. I would also strongly consider applying to DO schools.
I didn't think either of those schools were very OOS friendly. They were my first two rejections, pre-secondary. Then again, maybe they just didn't like me.definitely your state schools, but then you probably knew that.
get an msar and check out privates that have lower stats. also, try to find some OOS schools that have lower stats and are OOS friendly like VCU and EVMS.
I hate to bump up an old thread, but I'm basically in the same situation except I have a 3.6/30 (3.4 BCPM) (assume "normal" ECs). I will be applying to all my (TX) state schools, but outside of that (and a couple of DO schools that I've already decided on), I don't really have anything concrete. I've been told to apply early and broadly, but so far I'm having some trouble w/ the "broadly" part. So please suggest some schools I should definitely be looking at with my 3.6/30. Thanks!
To ease this along, I'll list a couple of schools that I've read here, but I would like to see if there are any other schools I should definitely look at.
-Drexel
-Temple
-NYMC
-Albany
-SLU
-VCU
Will be applying to Cincinnati but not Ohio State. I didn't think much of UVM and EVMS, but I will look into that. Any suggestions for my MDapps, let me know.
Will be applying to Cincinnati but not Ohio State. I didn't think much of UVM and EVMS, but I will look into that. Any suggestions for my MDapps, let me know.
MSU? Do you mean Michigan State? I thought that was a DO school?i think you have a few too many reaches on there. while i do think it's good to have a few "dream" schools, i'd focus the majority of your efforts on lower tiered schools with averages closer to your stats.
also, why not MSU?
Creighton?
Tulane?
Definitely Eastern VA
Not often mentioned: Ohio State and Cincinnati
Univ. of Vermont
Thought Univ. of Vermont was pretty hard to get into, considering the high usnews ranking and all
MSU? Do you mean Michigan State? I thought that was a DO school?
And thank y'all for the suggestions. But can I ask why some of you are suggesting Ohio State and Cinci (and some other schools)? Their stats seem a bit high (MCAT 32-33) or is there something I'm missing?
Thought Univ. of Vermont was pretty hard to get into, considering the high usnews ranking and all
It is ranked 60, so almost exactly in the middle of all allo schools.
They are high in primary care, right? Not the SDN gold standard research...
They seem to look holistically at applicants, not big number ****** from what I have seen...but it is a state school, and thus an OOS applicant is fighting for a smaller number of seats...
They are high in primary care, right? Not the SDN gold standard research...
They seem to look holistically at applicants, not big number ****** from what I have seen...but it is a state school, and thus an OOS applicant is fighting for a smaller number of seats...
MSU? Do you mean Michigan State? I thought that was a DO school?
And thank y'all for the suggestions. But can I ask why some of you are suggesting Ohio State and Cinci (and some other schools)? Their stats seem a bit high (MCAT 32-33) or is there something I'm missing?
You mean number 5 in primary care
Which means nothing on the pre-allo board. If you look at that list you'd think schools like Stanford, Columbia, Pritzker (ie some of the better schools in the country by most people's standards) are pretty average. You would also think that there are DO programs that are ranked better than places like Hopkins and Penn. While there are serious problems with any ranking system, including the research ranking, the research ranking at least focuses on something that objectively adds to school prestige -- the amount of research dollars the school generates constitutes a big chunk of that ranking. The primary care list is sort of the opposite. At it's heart, it focuses on the percentage of folks who go into primary care. So to some extent it is really a ranking of schools that don't do as well at sending folks into the specialties. So this ranking system simply has more problems than the already not too sound research ranking. Which is why folks on pre-allo tend to use the research ranking. But hey, if you really think MSUCOM and Harvard are equally ranked, who am I to judge.
I ain't saying they are EQUALLY judged, but it being ranked pretty high on that list, I figured it would have some effect.
Oh cool. But I bet you'd still have to fill out 2 different apps huh?MSU has MSU-CHM which is MD and MSUCOM which is DO. Only school to have both an allo and an osteo program.
I don't understand what you are saying.
Definitely apply to the 'mid-tier' privates:
SLU, WFU, Albany, NYMC, Drexel, Jefferson, RFU-CMS, Wayne State
And these publics:
VCU, EVMS, UVM, Penn State, Cinci, Michigan State
dunno how else I can explain it. I know the research list is the one that most people look at. But since US news is a well published source and there is a primary care ranking on it, people will put that into consideration. From that you will get competition. From competition you will have higher stats to compete against. Well that's my logic anyways. You can't possibly say NO ONE looks at the primary rankings list at all.
MSU? Do you mean Michigan State? I thought that was a DO school?
And thank y'all for the suggestions. But can I ask why some of you are suggesting Ohio State and Cinci (and some other schools)? Their stats seem a bit high (MCAT 32-33) or is there something I'm missing?
I can say with a lot of confidence based on years of experience on here that primary care is not what people generally are referring to on this board. sure, people can consider whatever they want. But I don't think many people put much credibility in a list that doesn't have schools like Hopkins and Penn and Stanford closer to the top, and ranks a DO school in the top 10 instead. People simply won't compete along those parameters; this isn't a new ranking system and has largely had no impact -- you won't see the MSUCOM numbers shoot to the 3.8/35 range and won't see Hopkins numbers drop down to the 3.5/30 average range. Enough of the premeds out there know what's what. The lay public may be fooled however.
Well you can say that but I just don't see how you are so certain that premeds won't be affected by this seeing as how most premeds came from the "lay public" that you refer to. And what about parental and peer pressures? Although not everyone is influenced by them I'm willing to bed a good amount of pre-meds do take those into consideration whether or not they do it consciously. Now I'm not saying the guys on the primary care list will beat out schools like Harvard or or Hopkins, but in relating to what is relevant to this thread, the guys higher on that list would likely to have a higher stat competition than the lower ones.
Again, this primary care list has been around for many years and so far we haven't seen the changes in competitiveness you suggest. The schools low on the research rankings list and high on primary care list haven't shot up in competitiveness. Your comment might have been more convincing to me if this primary care list was a new thing. But it is old hat. And has had no visible impact, other than give schools with lower research rankings something positive to put in their brochures.
Wayne State University is not a private school. Its a public school. They tend to favor in-staters (80-85%). Get the MSAR and look into these schools.
Oh cool. But I bet you'd still have to fill out 2 different apps huh?
Okay, so far y'all have suggested these schools:
-Drexel
-Temple
-NYMC
-Albany
-SLU
-VCU
-Creighton
-Tulane
-Eastern VA (this seems to be a favorite of some, why?)
-Ohio State
-Cincinnati
-Vermont
-Michigan State
-Jefferson
-Penn State
-Wayne State
-WFU (is this Wake Forest?)
-RFU
Looks like a good list. I'll start sorting thru them, but please throw out some more suggestions. This has really helped me and I'm sure it'll help other middle/borderliners as well.
I think flip26 said up above in post#14 that you should compute the LizzyM score. I definitely agree with this since LizzyM has an inside scoop on med school admissions.
i think you have a few too many reaches on there. while i do think it's good to have a few "dream" schools, i'd focus the majority of your efforts on lower tiered schools with averages closer to your stats.
also, why not MSU?
Ohio State is a bit out of reach for a 3.4/30, unless maybe you're from Ohio and/or are a URM.
Ah, I forgot to check off Michigan State... there wouldn't be any real good reason why I wouldn't apply to all of my state schools. Oops.
I tend to agree with the # of reach schools. I'm actually trying to pare down my list to about 25 or so, not add more... but if there are schools I'm forgetting about, I'll look into that.
By the way, don't EVMS, VCU and Wake Forest screen their applicants pre-secondary? It might be tricky because I might not meet the cutoffs if they do because of GPA.. any ideas what those cutoffs might be?
Well you can say that but I just don't see how you are so certain that premeds won't be affected by this seeing as how most premeds came from the "lay public" that you refer to. And what about parental and peer pressures? Although not everyone is influenced by them I'm willing to bed a good amount of pre-meds do take those into consideration whether or not they do it consciously. Now I'm not saying the guys on the primary care list will beat out schools like Harvard or or Hopkins, but in relating to what is relevant to this thread, the guys higher on that list would likely to have a higher stat competition than the lower ones.
Your logic is flawed.
If you have a faulty list, then it will not correlate with stats/prestige/etc. For example, if you have a list that ranks the schools by the amount of seats they have (ie most seats -> least seats) that list has nothing to do with the stats and if you are higher on this list, it does not mean your school will have higher stats/prestige/etc. If the USNews published a list of schools with the most seats and a school like Drexel is towards the top, that doesn't mean the mean stats of Drexel will go up (or down) at all.
You have to look what the list is actually ranking, not just that it is ranking something! The primary care list is based highly upon the % of students that go into primary care. While primary care is great and noble, it doesn't correlate highly with how competitive an applicant is for residency positions (more competitive students usually enter into specialty residencies, which are more competitive).
Here's my situation: 35 MCAT, 3.4 science and overall GPA from Princeton. I applied to 20 schools and wasn't interviewed. My school premed committee adviser is puzzled, and told me to get feedback from some of the schools. I spoke with the director of admissions at Georgetown, who told me I should do an SMP year and reapply. I just wanted to get a few other opinions, and as most admissions departments are telling me to call back in May or June, I thought this might be a good place get some advice.