Need opinions on my school list please :)

[Elleiram]

First off, I don't have the greatest stats so I'll be applying broadly:

First MCAT: 23 (PS: 7 V: 10 BS: 6)
Second MCAT: 26 (PS: 10 V: 7 BS: 9)
Composite: 29
cGPA: 3.45
sGPA: 3.17

ECs:

Tutor at a math and reading center (paid employment) - started July 2011, ~7-8 hours per week
Private tutoring - 30 hours

AmeriCorps - Community HealthCorps member, starting in September. 1700+ hours
Volunteered at a soup kitchen/thrift shop - 110+ hours
ER volunteer - ~24 hours (once a week for a month and half during the summer)
Cultural club member for 4 years - went to conferences, volunteered, performed in cultural events
Went on a humanitarian mission/leadership network to another country for 2 1/2 weeks - mostly worked with high school students and worked with a local community development group and a local medical school
Language/conversation partner for one semester - ~15 hours
Shadowing a DO pediatrician (20+ hours)


My top school (besides my state MD school) is ATSU-SOMA because of my strong interest in community health and working in underserved areas as a PCP.

I read all the descriptions in CIB and here are the schools I have applied to/am considering (I am from New England btw):

ATSU-SOMA
LECOM (both Bradenton and Erie)
CUSOM
UNECOM
ACOM
ATSU-KCOM
MU-COM
NYIT-COM
GA-PCOM
RVUCOM
TUNCOM
UP-KYCOM

I have these schools on my list but have specific reservations. I want to know whether my reservations are plausible reasons to not apply:

TOURO-NY - low MCAT
NOVA - low MCAT/GPA
OSU-COM - regional bias
PNWU-COM - regional bias
PCOM - low MCAT/GPA
WV-SOM - in-state bias
Rowan - in-state bias
Edward Via schools - regional bias?

I'd appreciate any comment/advice on which schools to add/get rid of!

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[BestDoctorEver]

@Elleiram WVSOM and VCOM have some in-state bias, but their in-state bias are not crazy. It's worth adding both schools since your stats are not that hot... You should also consider ACOM, LMU-DOM with your stats

http://www.wvsom.edu/Applicants/profile

 

[feeling-dizzy]

Look like you have done a lot of research about schools. In my opinion, there are always regional bias even though schools said they don't. They always love to accept local applicants more. Now on the bright side, the more school you apply, the more chance you have (money aside). I think your GPA and MCAT score are decent for all these school (maybe except for OSU and Touro, I am worry about the 7s on the MCAT more than anything, you should call these two schools and ask directly)

 

[Elleiram]

@Elleiram WVSOM and VCOM have some in-state bias, but their in-state bias are not crazy. It's worth adding both schools since your stats are not that hot... You should also consider ACOM, LMU-DOM with your stats

http://www.wvsom.edu/Applicants/profile

Thanks for the comment. From just browsing SDN, I didn't feel that VCOM had strong bias anyway. I just based it on the where should I apply thread. And I'll add LMU.

Look like you have done a lot of research about schools. In my opinion, there are always regional bias even though schools said they don't. They always love to accept local applicants more. Now on the bright side, the more school you apply, the more chance you have (money aside). I think your GPA and MCAT score are decent for all these school (maybe except for OSU and Touro, I am worry about the 7s on the MCAT more than anything, you should call these two schools and ask directly)

Good point. I would think schools would be more accepting of local applicants. I'm more attracted to Touro because it's only a couple of hours away but that $200 secondary is really making me think about it hard. I will definitely call them and see about their minimum section scores. Thank you for your feedback!

 

[user3]

I would still try PNWU as well

 

[Elleiram]

I would still try PNWU as well

Any specific reason you would try if you are not from the Pacific northwest? I'm getting a really strong sense of regional bias from threads here on sdn =/