one more help-with-schools thread

[amp3r5and]

Hi All,

Just want some input on if the schools I'm considering are reasonable or not.

Info:
-23 year-old, female, white-filipino
-graduated summa cum laude from NC State May 2007 with B.S. in Chem and Chem Eng, Minor in biotech
-MCAT 30R (9VR,10PS,11BS)
-GPA = 3.88ish for both BCPM and CUM
-Maryland Resident
-Currently working in research at NIH.
-Previous research experience, some shadowing experience, TA for biochem for 3 semesters, Fraternity, Saxophone/Various ensembles, Etc.

I'd like to apply to around 15 schools, no more than 18. Prefer a curriculum that is not solely PBL, and prefer to be in a more urban/suburban area.

Schools I'm Pretty sure I'm applying to: (I would like to end up back in NC as you can see)
-Maryland
-WVU
-Georgetown
-George Washington
-Vermont
-UNC
-Wake Forest
-Duke
-Toledo
-SUNY-downstate
-UCSF (dream)

Others I'm considering/like :
Emory
Rosalind Franklin
Rush
Loyola
Drexel
Jefferon
Pitt
St. Louis
VCU
Mayo (reach)
NYMC
Rochester
Chicago
Northwestern

Any input on these schools or others is welcome.
Thanks in advance

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[amp3r5and]

bump.

 

[chad5871]

You and I have very similar stats. What kind of ECs do you have?

EDIT: Oops, sorry - I didn't notice that you had posted them above. Your current list looks pretty good. Do you have ties to West Virginia? If not, you might want to reconsider WVU as they greatly prefer IS students or people with strong ties. I would also consider adding a few more mid- to lower-tier schools that are friendly to OOS applicants like RFU, NYMC, VCU, or EVMS. Good luck!

 

[abcabc1]

Be careful about applying to Public schools as an OOS applicant. Not only are your chances of getting in low, but the tuition is very expensive and it might take a few years to qualify for in state tuition.

Of your 11 for sure schools, six are public OOS. You won't get into USCF. Your chances at the others (WVU, UNC, Toledo, Downstate and Vermont) probably aren't that great. You should eliminate most (if not all) of these.

Emory, Pitt, Mayo, Pritzker(Chicago) and Feinberg (NU) are unlikely as they have MCAT averages around 34. Rush and Loyola are roughly 1/2 from IL and 1/2 outside. One would imagine that the 1/2 from outside IL have very good numbers. I believe VCU is public as well. You have a good chance at the others in the group of schools you're considering. I'd still keep Rush and Loyola, though.

I'd also recommend looking at some of the private schools that are in the middle of the group. Definitely apply to NYMC, Drexel, RFUMS, Jefferson, MCW, GW and Albany. There are some others (BU, Tufts, etc.). Buy the MSAR and look for private schools that take students with good (but not super high) numbers.

 

[amp3r5and]

You and I have very similar stats. What kind of ECs do you have?

EDIT: Oops, sorry - I didn't notice that you had posted them above. Your current list looks pretty good. Do you have ties to West Virginia? If not, you might want to reconsider WVU as they greatly prefer IS students or people with strong ties. I would also consider adding a few more mid- to lower-tier schools that are friendly to OOS applicants like RFU, NYMC, VCU, or EVMS. Good luck!

Thanks. Good luck to you as well! I'm finding that picking schools to apply to is the most stressful part of the process thus far.

WVU is like 30 minutes from my hometown so it'd be a close support-network, but other than that, I don't have too strong of a tie. I think I'll still probably go for it.

 

[amp3r5and]

Be careful about applying to Public schools as an OOS applicant. Not only are your chances of getting in low, but the tuition is very expensive and it might take a few years to qualify for in state tuition.

Of your 11 for sure schools, six are public OOS. You won't get into USCF. Your chances at the others (WVU, UNC, Toledo, Downstate and Vermont) probably aren't that great. You should eliminate most (if not all) of these.

Emory, Pitt, Mayo, Pritzker(Chicago) and Feinberg (NU) are unlikely as they have MCAT averages around 34. Rush and Loyola are roughly 1/2 from IL and 1/2 outside. One would imagine that the 1/2 from outside IL have very good numbers. I believe VCU is public as well. You have a good chance at the others in the group of schools you're considering. I'd still keep Rush and Loyola, though.

I'd also recommend looking at some of the private schools that are in the middle of the group. Definitely apply to NYMC, Drexel, RFUMS, Jefferson, MCW, GW and Albany. There are some others (BU, Tufts, etc.). Buy the MSAR and look for private schools that take students with good (but not super high) numbers.

Thanks for your response. As far as tuition, I figure that a lot of private schools will be just as expensive as being an OOS student at a public school. I realize that UCSF and UNC are going to be near-impossible, but they are dream schools and I have strong ties to NC.

And I've looked through last year's MSAR...Downstate and Toledo seem to be pretty OOS-friendly, moreso than Rush (unless I'm seeing it wrong).

But, thanks for the info--I'll check out MCW (wisconsin?) and Albany because I hadn't really considered those.

 

[abcabc1]

Toledo looks to take about 1/3 of its class OOS (from its own website). If the overall MCAT average at Toledo is 30, it's likely to be quite a big higher for OOS. Not sure about Downstate, though I'd imagine it's very tough for OOS applicants to get in. Rush strongly prefers IL residents. I think it's Loyola that's about 50/50 whereas Rush is mainly from IL. I was incorrect in my last post. Maybe you can keep Loyola and eliminate Rush. MCW is similar to Loyola: roughly 1/2 in (from WI) and 1/2 out.

Private schools are recommended b/c you have a fair shot and are not at a disadvantage based on which state you're from. Obviously, you're not in this position as it relates to public schools outside of MD. Cost was not one of the reasons you should look more towards private than public schools.

There are scattered private schools at the mid-to-low tier level. We've mentioned most of them, but that's where to focus outside of U of Maryland.

 

[SketchLazy]

You should also try all of the other SUNYs. I'm happy that I applied to SUNY Upstate and Buffalo. They aren't exactly in urban environments but I think you should still look into them.

Loyola and SLU are Jesuit so keep that in mind when you apply. Didn't apply to Loyola but SLU had me write about how I incorporate my 'spiritual beliefs' into my life (pretty much their politically correct way of asking if you are christian). I think you would do well at research heavy institutions like Pitt, Northwestern and Chicago

 

[amp3r5and]

You should also try all of the other SUNYs. I'm happy that I applied to SUNY Upstate and Buffalo. They aren't exactly in urban environments but I think you should still look into them.

Loyola and SLU are Jesuit so keep that in mind when you apply. Didn't apply to Loyola but SLU had me write about how I incorporate my 'spiritual beliefs' into my life (pretty much their politically correct way of asking if you are christian). I think you would do well at research heavy institutions like Pitt, Northwestern and Chicago

thanks for the info---i knew loyola was jesuit, but not st. louis. good info for somebody like me who isn't really Christian.

I'll look into the other SUNYs though

 

[amp3r5and]

Hi All,

Just want some input on if the schools I'm considering are reasonable or not.

Info:
-23 year-old, female, white-filipino
-graduated summa cum laude from NC State May 2007 with B.S. in Chem and Chem Eng, Minor in biotech
-MCAT 30R (9VR,10PS,11BS)
-GPA = 3.88ish for both BCPM and CUM
-Maryland Resident
-Currently working in research at NIH.
-Previous research experience, some shadowing experience, TA for biochem for 3 semesters, Fraternity, Saxophone/Various ensembles, Etc.

I'd like to apply to around 15 schools, no more than 18. Prefer a curriculum that is not solely PBL, and prefer to be in a more urban/suburban area. Would love to be back in NC

I think this is what I've decided....Might be cutting some, as there are 22 at this point...How does it look? Any thoughts? Thanks in advance.

UCSF
GWU
Georgetown
Rosalind Franklin
Loyola
Rush
Maryland
SUNY Downstate
Duke
UNC
Wake Forest
Drexel
Jefferson
Vermont
U Toledo
MCW
WVU
NYMC
U Rochester
Albany
VCU
Pitt

 

[abcabc1]

That's a good list. I wouldn't recommend cutting it down. If things go really well, maybe you can decline an interview invite or two, but it's too premature for that.

In my opinion, your best chances are at the following schools: GW, Georgetown, RFUMS, Loyola, Maryland, MCW, Drexel, Wake, Jefferson and Albany.

Try to get those applications out ASAP. Good luck!

 

[amp3r5and]

That's a good list. I wouldn't recommend cutting it down. If things go really well, maybe you can decline an interview invite or two, but it's too premature for that.

In my opinion, your best chances are at the following schools: GW, Georgetown, RFUMS, Loyola, Maryland, MCW, Drexel, Wake, Jefferson and Albany.

Try to get those applications out ASAP. Good luck!

thanks abcabc1! i think i'll be set to get them out this week