Picking Schools

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Okay, I currently have 25 schools that seem at least distantly possible for me. However, I would like to trim some of these off. Thus, considering my stats, could you please help me get rid of some of these, some that are highly unlikely? I have a 3.74 GPA from my first year at UCSD as a biochem major, however I transferred from a state college and community college, at both of which I had a 4.0. I did complete my organic chemistry requirement at the community college, so acceptance of cc credit is an issue, although these schools all appear to accept prereqs from "any accredited US institution." I currently have two quarters of research experience and some (not a great deal) of hospital volunteer work. My MCAT is a 30R (11V, 10P, 9B). I have two very good (know me well) letters of rec and two not known so well letters, but I did well in their class. I'm a CA resident. I'm Mexican-American and from an underserved county, but I don't consider myself disadvantaged in any way. Also, if you think I missed one that I'm a good candidate for, include that. The UCs that are there, have to stay, just as reaches. Okay, here are the schools I've come up with based on my research.

Albany Medical College, Albert Einstein College of Med, Boston University, Chicago Medical School, Creighton University, Dartmouth Medical School, George Washington University, Georgetown University, Howard University, USC, Loyola University of Chicago, Medical College of Ohio/Toledo, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York Medical College, Saint Louis University, Tufts University, Univ of Calif - Davis, Univ of Calif - Irvine, Univ of Calif - San Diego, Univ of Pittsburgh, Univ of Rochester, University of California - Los Angeles, VCU/Medical Coll of Virginia, Vanderbilt University

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hello,

it seems that your list is pretty good. if you really want to cut schools, i would just pull out your msar(medical school admissions requirements, or something like that) and take into consideration the following:

1) that all of your out-of-state schools accept a decent number of non-residents

2) you have a decent mcat score, but you should make sure that your mcat score is somewhat close to the average or the applicants accepted last year (ie you have a 30, maybe you should reconsider a school that has an average of 33 or 34, which is probably the average for dartmouth and creighton). BUT your gpa is very good, so that is going to help you a lot, and it is possible that schools with higher mcat averages overlook the fact that your mcat score is a little below their average, i am pretty sure that aprox. half of the mcat scores are above or below the average.

3) you should get rid of the schools that you feel indifferent to.

it all comes down to how many schools you want to cut down to, and where you really want to go. i would never discourage applying to any school that you really want or have a gut feeling about.

When all is said and done, one needs to be pragmatic about their decisions, BUT this process takes a lot of factors into consideration, and a lot of luck is involved too, it definitely is not an exact science and i would not let anyone tell you any different.

if money is not a huge issue, maybe you should just apply to all of them, just remember that it is going to cost about $110 after secondaries for each school. and we won't talk about the cost to fly to interviews . . .

hope this helps and good luck :D
 
Your school list looks fine -- I think it would be hard for any of us to "narrow it down" for you, as GPA and MCAT only get you the first look. I applied last year to 18 schools (and am a CA resident). The best thing you can do is answer this question: are there any schools that, if you were accepted, you would not want to go to? There is a possibility that you'll only get into one school, so EVERY school on your list should be a definite YES to the question of "would I be happy there/would I go there?" Also, I noticed you didn't include UCSF - why not? They have a somewhat unpredictable admissions profile, so you might wanna give 'em a shot. Hope that's helpful.
 
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In looking at your list, I noticed that you have all five Catholic medical schools on it. Georgetown, Creighton, Saint Louis, and Loyola are all run by the Jesuits.

I interviewed at Georgetown, Saint Louis, and NY Med. In my interview at NY Med, my interviewer (who was a grad) said that until a month or so before she hadn't even realized that the school was Catholic. Georgetown and Saint Louis were a totally different experience. The Catholic traditions were very apparent. If you don't agree with the traditions, these could be schools to cut from your list.
 
Everyone has given you good advice. I only have one thing to add. Look at the amount of applicants for each school. At a school that has tons of applicants, you have less of a chance, statistically, of getting in. Of course if you are really interested in a school don't worry about how many apps, but it is something to look at if you need to start slashing schools.
 
I might consider adding Tulane or Northwestern, and I second the suggestion of UCSF.

If you are looking for reasons to narrow down your list, consider cost and location very seriously. I noticed BU and Tufts are both on your list, and I think they are the 2 most expensive schools in the country -- ask yourself if you really want to pay that kind of tuition. Also ask yourself if you can really and truly live in some of the locations of these schools.
 
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