MD My starting school list

[Brah of Science]

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Hi everyone!
I needed something to further delay writing my personal statement; so I decided to finally make one of these threads. So let's get started with a little information about me:

1.) cGPA: 3.8
sGPA: 3.84
2.) MCAT: 511(129/125/130/127)
3.) Residence: California
4.) Race/ethnicity: URM
5.) Undergrad: state school in CA
6.) Clinical experience:

• ~1000 hours EM scribe
• ~50 hours assisting at various free health clinics
• ~50 hours at a pediatric health clinic

7.) Research experience:

• Microbiology research lab around 10-15 hours/week for 1.5 years. Unfortunately no poster presentations or abstracts, but I gave two powerpoint presentations at my institution.
• Community-based research for one summer. A poster presentation was given at the end of the summer.

8.) Shadowing:

• ~50 hours general surgery/vascular surgery(included both clinic and OR)
• ~10 hours internal medicine
• Plus I am pretty much shadowing as a scribe

9.) Non-clinical volunteering

• ~50 hours cooking meals for disadvantaged families
• Worked with numerous physicians, medical students, and fellow undergraduates to teach surgical skills (suturing, knot-tying, etc.) to high school students
• Held leadership positions in 3 different organizations on campus(ranges from 2-3 years)

10.) Other ECs

• Participated in two non-research based summer programs at two different UCs
• Had various part-time jobs throughout undergrad
• I have played guitar for over 10 years
• I enjoy weight-lifting

11.) Other information:

• I took a gap year but I have been mostly working as a scribe.
• Don't know if this is worth mentioning, but I do plan on writing a disadvantaged statement

I'm hoping to apply to around 20-25 schools, so here is my school list:
Duke
Columbia
Yale
BostonU
UMich
UCSF
UCLA(plan on applying prime as well)
UCSD
UCI
UCR
UC Davis
USC
Albert Einstein
U of Miami
OSU
Emory
Loyola
U of Iowa
Dartmouth
Vermont
Tufts
Hofstra
Temple
Rosy Frank
NYMC
Drexel
George Washington
Georgetown
Penn State
VCU

Please let me know your thoughts. Thank you!

 

[Faha]

You have a good list and should receive several interviews.

 

[Brah of Science]

You have a good list and should receive several interviews.

Thanks for the reply!

 

[gyngyn]

You could easily eliminate a dozen of those if that is your only MCAT and you are African American.

 

[Brah of Science]

You could easily eliminate a dozen of those if that is your only MCAT and you are African American.

ELiminate in what sense? But I am hispanic and that is my only MCAT.

 

[tantacles]

ELiminate in what sense? But I am hispanic and that is my only MCAT.

Eliminate from your list. You're in a great place as a hispanic person. Feel free to drop 5-6 (that's my estimate) if you wish; you should be fine.

 

[Brah of Science]

Eliminate from your list. You're in a great place as a hispanic person. Feel free to drop 5-6 (that's my estimate) if you wish; you should be fine.

Oh got it! Sorry. Any suggestions on which schools I could possibly eliminate?

 

[tantacles]

Oh got it! Sorry. Any suggestions on which schools I could possibly eliminate?

Some of the ones with GPA/MCAT totals below yours. The MSAR is probably the best source to guide your decisions.

 

[gyngyn]

Which Hispanic community?
Language skills?
Commitment to service?

 

[7331poas]

Which Hispanic community?
Language skills?
Commitment to service?

Im curious gyngyn. I am a Mexican American applicant and most of my service is in the AA community. I also do not have language skills. How would admissions committees perceive this?

Thanks. Sorry to piggyback off OP

 

[gyngyn]

Im curious gyngyn. I am a Mexican American applicant and most of my service is in the AA community. I also do not have language skills. How would admissions committees perceive this?

Thanks. Sorry to piggyback off OP

The reason for a UiM "boost" is the potential to to provide care for that community.
Without the ability to speak the language of the people you represent, that potential is diminished.
You will still add to the diversity of the class, but that is secondary to service.

It's not too late to start learning...

 

[7331poas]

The reason for a UiM "boost" is the potential to to provide care for that community.
Without the ability to speak the language of the people you represent, that potential is diminished.
You will still add to the diversity of the class, but that is secondary to service.

It's not too late to start learning...

I suppose its not too late. I really do have the intention to learn it before beginning a residency program. I currently scribe in the ED and its clear that learning Spanish is a big leg up for some residents. But it seems pointless to start learning currently when my application is this upcoming summer.

 

[tantacles]

I suppose its not too late. I really do have the intention to learn it before beginning a residency program. I currently scribe in the ED and its clear that learning Spanish is a big leg up for some residents. But it seems pointless to start learning currently when my application is this upcoming summer.

It's only pointless if your intention is to learn it to strengthen your med school application and then drop it.

If you plan to use your Spanish in medical school, how is it pointless?


Large dogs

 

[Brah of Science]

Which Hispanic community?
Language skills?
Commitment to service?

I'm Mexican American and conversational in Spanish.

 

[gyngyn]

I'm Mexican American and conversational in Spanish.

You can easily eliminate a dozen schools from that list, then.

 

[Yorick]

Oh got it! Sorry. Any suggestions on which schools I could possibly eliminate?

Duke, Columbia, Yale, UCSF, Michigan, UCSD. UC Riverside if you're not from inland empire. Emory and Dartmouth will be tough (Dartmouth loves non trads) and both schools get a lot of applications, but still realistic reaches. MCAT is on lower end for Ohio State for what they probably target OOS. USC and Hofstra have high MCAT medians and could be deleted. GPA is good, but MCAT is at or just below 10th percentile and your ECs are pretty standard, nothing that's a game changer. Reaches for you are more like USC, Emory, Dartmouth rather than like Duke, Columbia, Yale. That's a dozen schools right there, but not sure if that's the same ones @gyngyn is referring to.

Schools I think you could add:
Western Michigan
Oakland Beaumont
Eastern Virginia Medical School
Creighton
St. Louis University
Albany Medical College
Jefferson (Sidney Kimmel)
Medical College Wisconsin

If you swap those dozen for the ones I listed, that brings you to 26 schools. If you want one more cut, then I'd do Miami. If you have the time/money and you *must* apply to some reaches, then that's fine, but I'd definitely drop Duke, Columbia, Yale, UCSF, and Michigan.

 

[gyngyn]

I would eliminate:
Loyola
U of Iowa
Dartmouth
Vermont
Tufts
Hofstra
Temple
Rosy Frank
NYMC
Drexel
George Washington
Georgetown
Penn State
VCU

 

[Brah of Science]

Duke, Columbia, Yale, UCSF, Michigan, UCSD. UC Riverside if you're not from inland empire. Emory and Dartmouth will be tough (Dartmouth loves non trads) and both schools get a lot of applications, but still realistic reaches. MCAT is on lower end for Ohio State for what they probably target OOS. USC and Hofstra have high MCAT medians and could be deleted. GPA is good, but MCAT is at or just below 10th percentile and your ECs are pretty standard, nothing that's a game changer. Reaches for you are more like USC, Emory, Dartmouth rather than like Duke, Columbia, Yale. That's a dozen schools right there, but not sure if that's the same ones @gyngyn is referring to.

Schools I think you could add:
Western Michigan
Oakland Beaumont
Eastern Virginia Medical School
Creighton
St. Louis University
Albany Medical College
Jefferson (Sidney Kimmel)
Medical College Wisconsin

If you swap those dozen for the ones I listed, that brings you to 26 schools. If you want one more cut, then I'd do Miami. If you have the time/money and you *must* apply to some reaches, then that's fine, but I'd definitely drop Duke, Columbia, Yale, UCSF, and Michigan.

I would eliminate:
Loyola
U of Iowa
Dartmouth
Vermont
Tufts
Hofstra
Temple
Rosy Frank
NYMC
Drexel
George Washington
Georgetown
Penn State
VCU

Thank you for all the help!