***Reach Schools / Applicant Chances****

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Gators239

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Which schools would be considered some worthwhile "reaches" to apply to for someone with a balanced, low 30s MCAT score / +3.9 GPA, solid recs, published paper, etc.? Trying to formulate a list here.

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Any thoughts?
 
You'll have to be more specific with that MCAT score. A point or two in the low 30's can make a gigantic difference. Your GPA is competitive anywhere, so the MCAT will be the determining factor.
 
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Since both of your main stats are competitive, the school selection spreadsheet stickied at the top of this forum should give you a pretty good indication of where you should be applying. Also, someone posted a spreadsheet of all the data in this year's MSAR when it first came out. I couldn't find it with a cursory search, but it's out there if you're willing to dig a bit.

I'd apply to all your state schools, a couple dream schools, and select the rest from the schools you're average or better at, making room for the occasional slight reach. I'd apply to ~20 schools with your credentials. Others may think that's a bit high, but you might as well drop another $300 to ensure you get in somewhere.
 
Thanks for the advice. I did find the spreadsheet and plugged in my numbers. It looks like Dartmouth, University of Colorado, University of Virginia, and Ohio State University might be good candidates for my "reach" schools.
 
Is it worth reapplying to some of the same medical schools again? For example, how receptive are George Washington, Georgetown, Wake Forest, University of Southern California, Temple, and UCONN to reapplicants? :confused:
 
Any thoughts?
 
Which state do you live in?

Reapplying depends on your application that got rejected and how the new one has improved. If the changes are significant (i.e. increase in MCAT or GPA), go ahead. It's hard to define a 'significant' increase, though.

With a 30 MCAT, the upper echelon of schools is hard to get into. There's kind of a limited group of reach schools for you, since the top schools are out (for the most part) and there aren't too many 'bad' schools, so there are a lot of schools left in the middle.

I'd recommend Jefferson (PA) and MC Wisconsin. They both have good Residencies (esp. Jeff). GW and G-town are solid, but very expensive. I really don't think there are too many schools that fit the bill as worthwhile reaches. In general, you can consider: RFUMS, NYMC, Drexel, Loyola, St Louis, etc. but they may not be considered worthile reaches.
 
I'm a Florida Resident if that helps. What killed me last cycle was definitely my personal statement. I've already received feedback from many schools on this. Believe it or not, I went 1/18 with schools (the 1 school is my undergrad, I'm waitlisted, and I don't want to stay there for med school) this past cycle. I think this year I'm going to be much better off.
 
I would steer clear of Georgetown and GW. They receive so many applications that it doesn't seem worth it anymore. You would think that receiving 10K+ applications (the last time I heard, the number was 13K with GW), they'd be able to drop the app fee from $130 to under $100. If you think about it, from the money you save from not applying to these two schools, you could apply to every FL allopathic medical school plus some out of state ones too.

OP, you may want to try AECOM, Mt. Sinai, and Rochester as good reaches.
 
That's a really great point. Honestly, thanks for mentioning that. I keep deliberating over my schools list and where to apply. I need to shave off a couple. GW and Georgetown may just be the ones.
 
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