Possibly applying with the highest MCAT ever (for an URM)? School List Help

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urbanninja

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Hi SDN, score is in, app is done, and I was wondering if it makes sense to whittle down (or add to) my school list a bit. Ideally, I'd like to save some money.
My stats:
MCAT: 525 (still in a state of disbelief)
cGPA 3.85, sGPA 3.82, Ivy League undergrad, dual science major
African-American, SES disadvantaged, Amcas says I'm from an underserved area

ECs:
Research: 850+ hours, split between a Summer REU and another program at a large research hospital. 2 posters, no pubs
Medical Volunteering: ~140 hours, very heavy on patient contact
Shadowing: none yet, but ~2 days worth by the time I hand in secondaries
Music: 400+ hours in a few school/local ensembles, minor leadership positions
Minority Scholarship Foundation
Teaching Assistant: 850+ hours
Summer program teaching high school students in China: ~100 hours (Not sure if this counts as non-clinical volunteering? No pay, but they give us food/bed/cover most of the cost of the flight)

Misc:
Fluent in Mandarin, Conversational in French (and getting better, hopefully)

School list (top heavy? screened out at places where my stats don't match?)
Harvard
Hopkins
Stanford
Penn
Columbia
Yale
Duke
Cornell
Mt Sinai
UNC Chapel hill
NYU
Dartmouth
Brown
BU
Umiami
UF
USF
UCF
Florida State
Qpac
Uconn

Comments/suggestions greatly appreciated.
 
You're set. I'm assuming you're a Florida resident. Remove UNC, Brown (unless you go to Brown), Qpac, BU and UConn.

State schools + top 20 is the way to go. I would also consider adding UVA and definitely add WashU. Also consider Michigan, Chicago, Vanderbilt, and Northwestern. I have no doubt you will get acceptances to many amazing schools.
 
Pick any schools int he country, except those with monster IS biases, like U ND, U SD or LSU and the like.

You're golden at any of one of them.

Hi SDN, score is in, app is done, and I was wondering if it makes sense to whittle down (or add to) my school list a bit. Ideally, I'd like to save some money.
My stats:
MCAT: 525 (still in a state of disbelief)
cGPA 3.85, sGPA 3.82, Ivy League undergrad, dual science major
African-American, SES disadvantaged, Amcas says I'm from an underserved area

ECs:
Research: 850+ hours, split between a Summer REU and another program at a large research hospital. 2 posters, no pubs
Medical Volunteering: ~140 hours, very heavy on patient contact
Shadowing: none yet, but ~2 days worth by the time I hand in secondaries
Music: 400+ hours in a few school/local ensembles, minor leadership positions
Minority Scholarship Foundation
Teaching Assistant: 850+ hours
Summer program teaching high school students in China: ~100 hours (Not sure if this counts as non-clinical volunteering? No pay, but they give us food/bed/cover most of the cost of the flight)

Misc:
Fluent in Mandarin, Conversational in French (and getting better, hopefully)

School list (top heavy? screened out at places where my stats don't match?)
Harvard
Hopkins
Stanford
Penn
Columbia
Yale
Duke
Cornell
Mt Sinai
UNC Chapel hill
NYU
Dartmouth
Brown
BU
Umiami
UF
USF
UCF
Florida State
Qpac
Uconn

Comments/suggestions greatly appreciated.
 
Let's put the over/under at schools that you don't end up getting into where you complete the secondary at 2.5. Come back in a year and let's see. For the record I'll go the under.
 
What is the deal with these applicants? First we had that other guy and now we have this.


Why do I have a feeling I might get stomped this cycle? :laugh:
 
What is the deal with these applicants? First we had that other guy and now we have this.


Why do I have a feeling I might get stomped this cycle? :laugh:
Typical SDN bias. Keep the GPA/MCAT vs acceptance rate graphs in mind always.
@urbanninja better chances than me. >GPA and all possible URM/SES disadvantaged statuses will get you interviews everywhere.
 
Thanks for the help everybody. I was a little nervous about my list after talking to a less-than-optimistic adviser, but in my brief time here I've yet to see SDN sugar-coat things.
@md-2020 Not sure about all of that, but maybe we'll see each other at an interview or two.
 
Thanks for the help everybody. I was a little nervous about my list after talking to a less-than-optimistic adviser, but in my brief time here I've yet to see SDN sugar-coat things.
@md-2020 Not sure about all of that, but maybe we'll see each other at an interview or two.

Hes right your stellar gpa/Very High MCAT IN ADDITION to your URM status and SES status probably does make your application stronger than his.

BUT his is beastmode too.
 
Thanks for the help everybody. I was a little nervous about my list after talking to a less-than-optimistic adviser, but in my brief time here I've yet to see SDN sugar-coat things.
@md-2020 Not sure about all of that, but maybe we'll see each other at an interview or two.
If your adviser wasn't optimistic about your app they should be fired.
 
Wish I could change the name of the thread, another URM from my hometown beat my score sometime over the past year I think. Anyway, for anyone who's still curious, I ended up applying to 19 schools and getting 16 interview invites. Of those, I attended 12 and was accepted at 10.

Pre-interview rejection:
Miami
UNC
Duke

II (did not attend):
WashU
BU
UCF
Dartmouth

Post-interview rejection:
Harvard

Waitlist:
Yale

Accepted:
Hopkins
Stanford
Penn
Columbia
Cornell
Mt Sinai
NYU
UF
USF
Uconn
 
Wish I could change the name of the thread, another URM from my hometown beat my score sometime over the past year I think. Anyway, for anyone who's still curious, I ended up applying to 19 schools and getting 16 interview invites. Of those, I attended 12 and was accepted at 10.

Pre-interview rejection:
Miami
UNC
Duke

II (did not attend):
WashU
BU
UCF
Dartmouth

Post-interview rejection:
Harvard

Waitlist:
Yale

Accepted:
Hopkins
Stanford
Penn
Columbia
Cornell
Mt Sinai
NYU
UF
USF
Uconn
I can't believe Harvard rejected you.

Which did you choose?

EDIT: If you're looking for a side hustle this summer, you can tutor me for the MCAT 😉
 
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