Potential Medical School List

[shishy]

Hey Everyone,

I'm getting ready to apply for the next cycle (opening this summer) and needed to finalize my list of schools to apply to. And just FYI, I'm currently in the Spring semester of my Junior year.

Here are my stats:

Overall cGPA: 3.914
Overall BCPM: 3.95
Overall others: 3.86
MCAT: 12/10/10 (PS/VR/BS)

Clinical Volunteering Activities:
-I've worked as a patient ambassador at NIH for about 5 months now (will be 8 at the of application and ongoing). I transport patients between parts of the NIH clinical center and have a pretty decent amount of interaction.

Non-clinical Volunteering:
-I went to local elementary schools to teach through various organizations. A total of ~ 30 hours here.

Shadowing:
-~250 hours Cardiologist and his Residents/Fellows. I shadowed him at his clinic and I watched him during rounds and was able to interact with his residents and fellows. I was able to see how they deliver patient care at that hospital and watched their presentations. I was able to follow him during minor surgeries as well (packemaker replacements).

-I have another doctor (Neurologist) who I intend to shadow for about 2 weeks in March which I've already scheduled.

Research:
I'm not really counting what I did in high school because it was over the summer and I didn't really do much. So in college:
-Since the beginning of Sophomore year (I'm in spring semester Junior year now), I've worked in a Bioengineering Lab where I study lower back pain. I started by working on another post-doc's research project but he left so it's mine at the moment, and I'm also mentoring two students. One of them helps with mine and the other has a separate project. I'm not sure if I'll be able to publish before the application is due but that's okay. I've had many unique experiences here. For example, last summer I was able to euthanize and dissect sheep to harvest their inter-vertebral discs as a part of my study.

Employment:
-MCAT tutor for Examkrackers (October 2013 - Jan 2014)

Leadership:
-Co-President of our Neuroscience Society (June 2013 - Ongoing)
-Vice President of a Teaching Organization where I am responsible for developing and approving the curricula used to teach material to a select group of local fifth grade students in an after-school program. (Sept. 2013 - Ongoing)

Extracurricular:
-Play tennis and am a member of the club team.
-Work in our filmmakers club. Over the past year I worked as a production assistant on one film and a cinematographer on another. These were presented at our film festival and we won awards. The first film received awards for best director/actress while the second received awards for best editing and best picture so I'm really proud of these, especially as a side-hobby.

The film endeavor has also worked in my favor. One of the neuroscience/cognitive behavioral labs on campus contacted me asking me to film a series of short videos containing different reactions (Surprise, Angry, Sad, etc.) as a part of their study so that is an ongoing project at the moment.

I'm also helping direct videos as part of another organization to raise awareness of various health issues and this is being integrated with my Neuroscience Society group as well.

But yeah, I realize I don't have much volunteering. I didn't decide on Medicine until after I shadowed the cardiologist, which was the summer after freshman year. So I've had really a little over a year to develop my application and even in that time I chose to focus a lot more on interests while getting some of the volunteering activities as well. I was reluctant to take a gap year for numerous reasons so I thought I would try applying this cycle.

I need help finalizing my school list. Here it is at the moment. I based these purely off of MSAR so I don't know any details about how the schools screen for applications/what they specifically look for. I'm open to all suggestions so please, if you have any ideas about what I should add or remove, I'll be more than receptive! Also, these are listed in no particular order.

University of Maryland Medical School (this is in-state for me so I'd really like to be competitive here, at the least).
University of Miami-Miller
University of Minnesota
UNC Chapel Hill
University of Pittsburg
University of Virginia
Virginia Commonwealth
Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine
University of Washington
University of Illinois
Temple University
Stony Brook University
Penn State
Rutgers-Robert Wood Johnson
George Washington University
Georgetown
Drexel
Emory
USF Health Morsani (South Florida)

Big What-If's:
Johns Hopkins University
Mayo Medical School
Northwestern
UCLA
UCSD (I'm not sure how California schools deal with out of state. I've only heard of Texas favoring in-state heavily).

I realize that's a lot but I'm a little worried about my MCAT and really concerned about my volunteer hours. I'd appreciate any help. Thanks for taking the time to read this!

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[BestDoctorEver]

U of Pittsburg and U of Virginia might be out of reach because of your MCAT score. Median MCAT score for these schools is 35. Also, JHU and Northwestern have high median MCAT score (36 I think)....California schools are very in-state heavy. Besides, your MCAT score might not cut it for UCSD and UCLA .... I suggest to add more mid to low tier schools such as Rush, Loyola, TCMC, Albany and the SUNYs...

 

[seeinghowitgoes]

UNC as well as the University of Washington strongly, strongly favor in-state. Most public schools do (even those that are more equitable are often 50/50 IS/OOS), so just consider that when applying. Also note that schools like Georgetown and George Washington, while not having the crazy stats, have insanely low acceptance rates due to the high number applications.

Honestly, and not like I'm an authority by any means, but nothing from your application jumped out at me (and perhaps that's just because, as you put it, you've had limited time since you knew you wanted medicine), so I would imagine the Hopkins/Northwestern/Pitt/UVA -esque schools are going to all be tough. That doesn't mean don't apply, it just means perhaps also look more seriously at some less-competative private schools as well as your in-state school. Good luck.

 

[shishy]

Alright, that makes sense. Thanks for your responses. Do you know any other low-tier private schools? I've been trying to use MSAR but it doesn't give any specific information about OOS/IS data does it?
Also, are the SUNY schools like, the SUNY Upstate/ The University at Buffalo/ Downstate/ Stonybrook? I thought these heavily favored in-state too?

 

[gyngyn]

I've been trying to use MSAR but it doesn't give any specific information about OOS/IS data does it?

It's in the Acceptance Information tab. With your work in film, you might consider USC and NYU. They are private schools with excellent cinema schools.

 

[shishy]

It's in the Acceptance Information tab. With your work in film, you might consider USC and NYU. They are private schools with excellent cinema schools.

I was actually looking at the Keck School (University of South California) earlier but the NYU recommendation is also perfect. I'm a little concerned because they have somewhat high MCAT scores, but I think I should be competitive with a 32, right?

My biggest concern with these, though, is that usually the film school is entirely separate from the medical school so I wonder how much interest they will take in my film experience. Still, I'm considering applying to these schools so thank you for your suggestions! I wouldn't have known about that otherwise.

 

[gyngyn]

I was actually looking at the Keck School (University of South California) earlier but the NYU recommendation is also perfect. I'm a little concerned because they have somewhat high MCAT scores, but I think I should be competitive with a 32, right?

My biggest concern with these, though, is that usually the film school is entirely separate from the medical school so I wonder how much interest they will take in my film experience. Still, I'm considering applying to these schools so thank you for your suggestions! I wouldn't have known about that otherwise.

I suppose you are right. Your MCAT is well below the median for both schools. To your point, though, collaboration between "schools" in the same university is strongly supported. The appearance of being entirely separate is something that all good schools are trying to dissipate. I reluctantly withdraw my recommendation, but only because of the MCAT.

 

[shishy]

Yeah, I think I might still apply to NYU just to see, especially if your point is true (and it makes sense). I know my mcat is below the median but I wonder if my Gpa will hold its weight considering it's in the upper range for those schools.

Either way, thank you for bringing this to my attention! I appreciate it.

 

[Goro]

That works for DO programs, but not for MD. MD schools want excellence in both aspects.

I know my mcat is below the median but I wonder if my Gpa will hold its weight considering it's in the upper range for those schools.

My suggested list. Avoid OOS public schools because they favor the home team. you need to be above avg for them.


University of Maryland Medical School (this is in-state for me so I'd really like to be competitive here, at the least).
University of Miami-Miller
Virginia Commonwealth
Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine
Temple University
Penn State
George Washington University
Georgetown
Drexel
Jefferson
Temple
Loyola
Rush
MCW
All new MD schools
Wake Forest
Albany
Einstein
BU
Tufts
Mt Sinai
Creighton
SLU
Any DO program

 

[shishy]

That works for DO programs, but not for MD. MD schools want excellence in both aspects.

I know my mcat is below the median but I wonder if my Gpa will hold its weight considering it's in the upper range for those schools.

My suggested list. Avoid OOS public schools because they favor the home team. you need to be above avg for them.


University of Maryland Medical School (this is in-state for me so I'd really like to be competitive here, at the least).
University of Miami-Miller
Virginia Commonwealth
Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine
Temple University
Penn State
George Washington University
Georgetown
Drexel
Jefferson
Temple
Loyola
Rush
MCW
All new MD schools
Wake Forest
Albany
Einstein
BU
Tufts
Mt Sinai
Creighton
SLU
Any DO program

Do you think Mt. Sinai is even a reasonable shot? I actually wanted to go to that school before I got my MCAT (at which point I evaluated retaking versus trying with what I had and focusing on the rest of my application :/).
Also, is there a way to use the MSAR to find "All new MD schools"? Or were you putting it there to organize your list rather than tell me to apply to all the new ones? I'm really bad with this thing... I just found out how to check oos/is data thanks to gyngyn yesterday.

But this is an awesome list so thank you for the recommendation! I hadn't thought of Creighton so that's definitely nice to consider as well!

 

[gobigorgohome22]

I think you should take GW and GT out. They both receive over 13,000 applications and unless you have some specific connection, you wont stand out. Swap them for schools in the same gpa/mcat range that receive less applications.

 

[Goro]

Your MCAT is below their avg score, but within "strking distance", meaning, it's within 10-90% of thier acceptees.

Do you think Mt. Sinai is even a reasonable shot?

Nope, you have to know what the new schools are. Do your homework. Google is your friend. Here's one -> Hofstra

Also, is there a way to use the MSAR to find "All new MD schools"?

 

[Utenation]

Hey Everyone,

I'm getting ready to apply for the next cycle (opening this summer) and needed to finalize my list of schools to apply to. And just FYI, I'm currently in the Spring semester of my Junior year.

Here are my stats:

Overall cGPA: 3.914
Overall BCPM: 3.95
Overall others: 3.86
MCAT: 12/10/10 (PS/VR/BS)

Clinical Volunteering Activities:
-I've worked as a patient ambassador at NIH for about 5 months now (will be 8 at the of application and ongoing). I transport patients between parts of the NIH clinical center and have a pretty decent amount of interaction.

Non-clinical Volunteering:
-I went to local elementary schools to teach through various organizations. A total of ~ 30 hours here.

Shadowing:
-~250 hours Cardiologist and his Residents/Fellows. I shadowed him at his clinic and I watched him during rounds and was able to interact with his residents and fellows. I was able to see how they deliver patient care at that hospital and watched their presentations. I was able to follow him during minor surgeries as well (packemaker replacements).

-I have another doctor (Neurologist) who I intend to shadow for about 2 weeks in March which I've already scheduled.

Research:
I'm not really counting what I did in high school because it was over the summer and I didn't really do much. So in college:
-Since the beginning of Sophomore year (I'm in spring semester Junior year now), I've worked in a Bioengineering Lab where I study lower back pain. I started by working on another post-doc's research project but he left so it's mine at the moment, and I'm also mentoring two students. One of them helps with mine and the other has a separate project. I'm not sure if I'll be able to publish before the application is due but that's okay. I've had many unique experiences here. For example, last summer I was able to euthanize and dissect sheep to harvest their inter-vertebral discs as a part of my study.

Employment:
-MCAT tutor for Examkrackers (October 2013 - Jan 2014)

Leadership:
-Co-President of our Neuroscience Society (June 2013 - Ongoing)
-Vice President of a Teaching Organization where I am responsible for developing and approving the curricula used to teach material to a select group of local fifth grade students in an after-school program. (Sept. 2013 - Ongoing)

Extracurricular:
-Play tennis and am a member of the club team.
-Work in our filmmakers club. Over the past year I worked as a production assistant on one film and a cinematographer on another. These were presented at our film festival and we won awards. The first film received awards for best director/actress while the second received awards for best editing and best picture so I'm really proud of these, especially as a side-hobby.

The film endeavor has also worked in my favor. One of the neuroscience/cognitive behavioral labs on campus contacted me asking me to film a series of short videos containing different reactions (Surprise, Angry, Sad, etc.) as a part of their study so that is an ongoing project at the moment.

I'm also helping direct videos as part of another organization to raise awareness of various health issues and this is being integrated with my Neuroscience Society group as well.

But yeah, I realize I don't have much volunteering. I didn't decide on Medicine until after I shadowed the cardiologist, which was the summer after freshman year. So I've had really a little over a year to develop my application and even in that time I chose to focus a lot more on interests while getting some of the volunteering activities as well. I was reluctant to take a gap year for numerous reasons so I thought I would try applying this cycle.

I need help finalizing my school list. Here it is at the moment. I based these purely off of MSAR so I don't know any details about how the schools screen for applications/what they specifically look for. I'm open to all suggestions so please, if you have any ideas about what I should add or remove, I'll be more than receptive! Also, these are listed in no particular order.

University of Maryland Medical School (this is in-state for me so I'd really like to be competitive here, at the least).
University of Miami-Miller
University of Minnesota
UNC Chapel Hill
University of Pittsburg
University of Virginia
Virginia Commonwealth
Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine
University of Washington
University of Illinois
Temple University
Stony Brook University
Penn State
Rutgers-Robert Wood Johnson
George Washington University
Georgetown
Drexel
Emory
USF Health Morsani (South Florida)

Big What-If's:
Johns Hopkins University
Mayo Medical School
Northwestern
UCLA
UCSD (I'm not sure how California schools deal with out of state. I've only heard of Texas favoring in-state heavily).

I realize that's a lot but I'm a little worried about my MCAT and really concerned about my volunteer hours. I'd appreciate any help. Thanks for taking the time to read this!

Hey! Great work on your stats. Those are some solid numbers.
In terms of the list, my only recommendation would be to definitely remove the University of Washington. Last I checked, the MSAR was wrong on the amount of OOS accepted. They said one number in the table and then said something different in a written description. Feel free to check with the school, but I think they only accept a handful (5-10) of OOS students. Maybe replace it with a school like Central Florida ($30 secondary application fee and accept a good amount of OOS students). Besides that, I think your list looks fantastic.

I know you didn't ask for opinions on your EC's, but if you don't mind there's something that is a bit of a red flag to me. You will have only shadowed two types of doctors by the time you apply and both are in "prestigious" specialties. Maybe shadow some internal medicine or family practice doctors to show you're open minded. Just a thought, who knows, maybe you'll be interviewed by a Primary Care doc.

Congratulations doing so well this far! I'm sure you have a bright, clean, white coat in your future.

 

[gyngyn]

Overall, I like Goro's list better than yours(sorry), but I also think Sinai and both DC schools are low yield.