only applying to a few schools/location preference due to marriage

[alestrx9]

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note: I originally had posted this in the pre-med allo forum but didn't get as many helpful responses as I was hoping for.

I recently got engaged (after being together for a very long time) 😀 and my fiance is a Ph.D student at a school in Manhattan. This school has a medical school but I know I have very slim chances of getting in there even if I score high on the MCAT (my GPA is ~3.48, but BCPM from my post-bac is about 3.7). My fiance had much better grades in undergrad than I did haha. I'm a non-trad/post-bac student and hoping to start med school when I'm 27 (if possible). I would do anything to stay in the NY metro area but that leaves me with a limited number of schools (these are the only schools that are within 2 hours of where I currently live with my fiance):

Albert Einstein, Columbia, Mount Sinai, NYU, Weill Cornell = very very slim chances

Hofstra, SUNY Stony Brook, SUNY Downstate = perhaps my only hope although they still have higher average GPAs than mine. I feel I would be very happy at any of these schools. Hofstra is very expensive so Stony Brook and Downstate are my current top choices.

Would it be very stupid of me to only apply to these schools?

 

[Chip N Sawbones]

How about Touro? I probably didn't spell it right, but it's a DO school somewhere in New York City. Without an MCAT score its too early to tell, but your grades are competitive there. As for the schools you listed, once again a lot will depend on your MCAT score. If you can get above or close to the school's average it would be worth applying. It isn't stupid of you to apply to a few schools if those are the only ones you would be willing to attend. If you wouldn't go anywhere else even if you knew they would accept you, there's no point in applying outside of your region.

 

[mspeedwagon]

I feel your pain. My long time gf is doing her residency in Manhattan currently. I'm stuck in CA for one more semester (the structure of having classes independent from labs is uncommon in NYC so couldn't get just the labs I needed). I look forward to finally moving to NYC next summer and applying to schools there but the number of realistic schools is fairly limited (as you mentioned).

My GPA is only mildly higher than yours (3.6). I'm a little older (29). I took a few practice tests and my MCAT score could be better (aiming for anything between 27-33 on the real thing). I'll also have the added challenge of being OOS (CA resident).

I'm a little more flexible with location (anywhere NY or some of the northeast is a lot closer than CA) and am happy to go just outside (considering NYMC and even Albany Medical College). I'm also considering Touro-NY and possibly NYCOM (though they have a strong in-state preference). That in addition to the usual suspects you mentioned.

My approach has been to forget about where I'm applying and make sure that I make myself as competitive as possible. Focus on fixing the GPA and studying for the MCAT and worry about the schools later. That's my two cents.

I think it's best to apply to ONLY schools you'll be happy going to. NY has a lot of med schools, so I'd just apply to the ones you think you'd go to if accepted.

FULL DISCLAIMER: I plan to apply much more broadly and not only to NY, though obviously have a preference to by in NY. I think having to re-apply scares me more than being apart from (but closer) to my gf for a two yrs (a lot of NY schools allow students to rotate in NYC).

 

[abolt18]

I highly recommend you go to the pre-osteo forum and read the thread "Ask DocEspana Anything" beginning to end. He's at Touro NY in Brooklyn (I think it's brooklyn?) and loves it. You could ask him all your questions/concerns about the school. Or just pm him for a more personal conversation.

 

[darkjedi]

I think you have a good shot at SUNY Downstate provided you do decently on the MCAT. Downstate does have an appreciation for non-trads, but places a lot of emphasis on urban health and the underserved. If you can indicate a passion for those things, and write essays to those effect, Downstate is a good bet.

 

[murfettie]

Nymc?
what about Philly? Jersey?
I go to one of the harder to get into schools you listed, and got absolutely nothing from the ones you listed as more "possible"..
not even a rejection letter.

so.... it's hard to say.
My stats were in range with all schools listed when I started applying though.

 

[twocats]

Congrats on getting engaged! I'm also committed to staying near NYC because of my husband's job, and I applied to Philly schools as well as the ones you listed-- Penn, Commonwealth, and Jefferson. It's not an ideal set up if your husband will be in NYC, but the commute is doable (I've had friends who have done it) for weekends and such. Also, I think Hofstra is a bit more open about admissions being as they are a newer school.

Good luck!

 

[Solus]

How about Touro? I probably didn't spell it right, but it's a DO school somewhere in New York City. Without an MCAT score its too early to tell, but your grades are competitive there. As for the schools you listed, once again a lot will depend on your MCAT score. If you can get above or close to the school's average it would be worth applying. It isn't stupid of you to apply to a few schools if those are the only ones you would be willing to attend. If you wouldn't go anywhere else even if you knew they would accept you, there's no point in applying outside of your region.

👍

Congrats on your engagement! Maybe a long shot, but I would toss UCONN into the mix. It's in Farmington, CT. It's 2 hrs and 12 minutes from New York City, according to google maps.