My list of schools, what do you think?

[Climberak]

My profile:

G.P.A. 3.72 (upward trend)
Science G.P.A. 3.73
MCAT: I take it May 31, but I've been scoring in low 30's on practice exams.
Clinical experience: VA emergency room volunteer for one year. Shadowed a ER physician at another hospital several times. Shadowed several family physicians at a residency program. (And yes, I've had direct patient contact).
Communitry Service/Volunteer: Special Olympics alpine ski coach, Big Brothers Big Sisters, Supervisor at a mentally handicapped care facility, played percussion in a symphony.
Research: 6 months of evolutionary/molecular biology research. I plan to do a senior thesis and may wind up being a primary author of a paper.

My List of schools:

University of Nevada School of Medicine (UNSOM) -I'm a resident.
UCSF -the dream school
Tulane
Emory
University of Texas School of Medicine at San Antonio
GWU
Vanderbuilt

I think that's a good list of schools to apply to, what do you think? I don't want to apply to a lot of schools so I'm trying to go for quality over quantity.

 

[ADeadLois]

Without your MCAT score, this discussion is moot, but you need to apply to more and a broader range of schools. The one you have there are especially selective. You maximize your chances by applying to schools with a varying range of matriculant profiles.

 

[shiftingmirage]

Unless you have your heart set on GWU, I would drop it. That place gets sooo many (14,000+) apps for their school, you probably have better chances at JHU.

I would also add some schools to bring your total to 10-14.

 

[ca863335]

University of Nevada School of Medicine (UNSOM) -I'm a resident.
UCSF -the dream school
Tulane
Emory
University of Texas School of Medicine at San Antonio
GWU
Vanderbuilt

In addition to actually taking the MCAT, I also advise spelling your schools correctly. Maybe Emery and Toolane don't mind, but I bet Vandy does.

 

[wizenedone]

It really depends on your MCAT score. Shoot for a 33+ and you will be competitive at most (if not all) schools.

 

[TheRealMD]

Resident of Nevada = not applying to Texas schools. We have our own application system.

I suggest you do some more research into school choices. A lot of them have quirks like this.

 

[MirDoHap]

I would definitely suggest adding around 10 more schools to your list. Many of the schools you have listed are really hard to get into, so you'll be much safer with a broader range of schools.

 

[pride4jc727]

Apply early and more broadly so that you have about 15-20 schools.

Plus, apply to schools that have a comparable LizzyM score and don't have residency requirements which could make it impossible for your application to get even a look by the adcoms.

 

[Climberak]

OK thanks for the input so far, here's what I think after reading your replies.

TheRealMD: Yes, Texas schools give preference to residents. However, when I look at the non-resident acceptance rate in the MSAR, it isn't much different compared to some private schools. As long as I'm competitive, I don't think it's much of an issue.

pride4jc727, MirDoHap, shiftingmirage: I will apply to more schools now, thanks.

The "you must take the MCAT" people: No duh, I'm asking for advice given what I have right now.

ca863335: ...And how is putting "Vandy" on an application any better then misspelling the name?

wizenedone: Thank you, I've been working really hard and hopefully it'll all pay off.

 

[ChubbyChaser]

My profile:

G.P.A. 3.72 (upward trend)
Science G.P.A. 3.73
MCAT: I take it May 31, but I've been scoring in low 30's on practice exams.
Clinical experience: VA emergency room volunteer for one year. Shadowed a ER physician at another hospital several times. Shadowed several family physicians at a residency program. (And yes, I've had direct patient contact).
Communitry Service/Volunteer: Special Olympics alpine ski coach, Big Brothers Big Sisters, Supervisor at a mentally handicapped care facility, played percussion in a symphony.
Research: 6 months of evolutionary/molecular biology research. I plan to do a senior thesis and may wind up being a primary author of a paper.

My List of schools:

University of Nevada School of Medicine (UNSOM) -I'm a resident.
UCSF -the dream school
Tulane
Emory
University of Texas School of Medicine at San Antonio
GWU
Vanderbuilt

I think that's a good list of schools to apply to, what do you think? I don't want to apply to a lot of schools so I'm trying to go for quality over quantity.

Unless you score 33+ i would add more schools.