Review my school list

[DareGreatly]

Hi everyone, please take a look at my school list and let me know what you think. I've tried to balance it, and it was a little more pessimistic looking, but my mentor said I would have a shot at some of the more top-caliber schools. I graduated in 2011 from undergrad, and will be applying this coming cycle. Here is an overview of me as an applicant:

- 34 MCAT (11/11/12)
- ~3.58 GPA (upward trend ~3.3->~3.7, nothing below a B in any class)
- cum laude graduate in biology from a top 10 LAC

- 2 summers of research at a top 3 medical school
- currently working as a research assistant at a top 15 medical school (will have worked there about 2 years before matriculating)
- 2 co-authored papers in high-impact journals
- 2 research posters
- will have another co-authored paper, a first-author review paper, and a first-author book chapter by time of application
- will also have attended a national research conference by time of application

- 40 hours of shadowing a pathologist, 40 hours of shadowing a radiation oncologist
- will shadow an IM doc, and pulmonologist by the time I apply
- consistent volunteering at a free clinic in undergrad (what equates to .25 hr/week for 4 years)
- currently volunteering at a free clinic and hospital (1hr/wk, and 2hrs/wk, respectively - 6 months by time of application)

- Various leadership positions in undergrad (outdoor rec trip leader, president of bioethics society, on the steering committee of several interesting organizations)
- Several international experiences, including studying abroad, and 2 unique service/learning related trips
- Several other non-clinical volunteer experiences as an undergraduate (various time commitments)
- Starting a volunteering position at a homeless shelter should be about 8hrs/wk
- I also have a couple of interesting hobbies, that aren't extremely unique, but I think aren't things that typical pre-meds do. (5+hrs/wk)

I may have forgotten a few things, but this is the basic idea.

Sorry if this is a bit vague, but I would like to remain anonymous if possible.

Now, here's my list of schools. I am a TN resident.

University of Maryland (On-par, very close ties to Maryland)
JHU (Reach)
UNC (thinking about cutting this, low OOS acceptance/reach)
Wake Forest (Safer)
UVA (Reach)
Va Tech (Safer)
University of Wisonsin - Madison (On-par)
Vanderbilt (Reach, but this is where I work)
University of Tennessee (Safer)
Tufts (Maine track) (Safer)
Harvard (Reach)
University of Pittsburgh (Reach)
UPenn (Reach - thinking of cutting this one, too many reaches)
U of Colorado (On-par)
U of Vermont (On-par)
Georgetown (On-par)
George Washington (On-par)

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[DareGreatly]

Bump it. Any advice or thoughts?

 

[dreamweaver1988]

Bump it. Any advice or thoughts?

I'm not really qualified to give you good advice. But I will say that your upward trend is nice, although ending at a 3.58 is not particularly impressive. I like your 34 MCAT. Your ECs are very good. You'll be fine, good luck.

 

[thlaxer]

- consistent volunteering at a free clinic in undergrad (what equates to .25 hr/week for 4 years)
- currently volunteering at a free clinic and hospital (1hr/wk, and 2hrs/wk, respectively - 6 months by time of application)
...
Now, here's my list of schools. I am a TN resident.

University of Maryland (On-par, very close ties to Maryland)
JHU (Reach)
UNC (thinking about cutting this, low OOS acceptance/reach)
Wake Forest (Safer)
UVA (Reach)
Va Tech (Safer)
University of Wisonsin - Madison (On-par)
Vanderbilt (Reach, but this is where I work)
University of Tennessee (Safer)
Tufts (Maine track) (Safer)
Harvard (Reach)
University of Pittsburgh (Reach)
UPenn (Reach - thinking of cutting this one, too many reaches)
U of Colorado (On-par)
U of Vermont (On-par)
Georgetown (On-par)
George Washington (On-par)

Did you volunteer at the free clinic for an hour every month ? Not sure if that's a typo. If it is, your clinical volunteering seems a little bit on the weak side. Nice research experiences though!

I would remove Georgetown and GWU from your list unless you can either make a compelling argument for how you'll fit their mission or have lots of money to spend. They receive (and reject) a lot of applications. Also, Pittsburgh waitlisted many of their interviewees this year (I believe I heard the Dean saying ~80-85%? It's been a while though, so don't quote me on this number), not sure if they'll do the same next year. Something to consider if you don't want to wait until April/May to find out if you're getting accepted there. I would definitely add some more 'match' and 'safety' schools just to be safe.

 

[DareGreatly]

Did you volunteer at the free clinic for an hour every month ? Not sure if that's a typo. If it is, your clinical volunteering seems a little bit on the weak side. Nice research experiences though!

I would remove Georgetown and GWU from your list unless you can either make a compelling argument for how you'll fit their mission or have lots of money to spend. They receive (and reject) a lot of applications. Also, Pittsburgh waitlisted many of their interviewees this year (I believe I heard the Dean saying ~80-85%? It's been a while though, so don't quote me on this number), not sure if they'll do the same next year. Something to consider if you don't want to wait until April/May to find out if you're getting accepted there. I would definitely add some more 'match' and 'safety' schools just to be safe.

It's not a typo. I did it about once a semester for a few hours consistently in undergrad. I just didn't do it more because there wasn't much availability and a lot of demand. It was also a pretty good distance away from school. I'm continuing volunteering at a free clinic now a bit more frequently, and I'm also volunteering at a hospital. I think I'll have around 100 hours total by the time I apply and will continue accruing them during the process. I'm not an expert on what type of commitment admissions like to see in that regard, but between that and shadowing (I'll have 100+ hrs of shadowing), I definitely have a feeling for the clinical setting and really enjoy it.

Yeah Georgetown and GW are not ideal, but they're close to home. And I like DC. I'm trying not to let cost be the main determinant in where I apply. I would like to see if I get any good financial aid packages, and I'm also looking at doing NHSC.

What other "matches" would you recommend? I was thinking about Ohio State, Rochester, and Emory.

Also - does anyone know of schools that emphasize research and ECs? I feel like this would be ideal for me, since I'll have a couple years of post-undergrad experience before going to medical school.

Let me throw up an updated list of all schools I'm considering, and maybe someone with some experience can help me whittle these down.

Reaches:
JHU
Harvard
Vandy
Pitt
Northwestern
Baylor
UVA

Matches:
UMD
UW-Madison
UColorado
UVermont
Georgetown
GWU
OSU
Rochester
Emory

Safeties:
UTennessee
Wake
Va Tech
Tufts

That's 20 - I'd like the final list to be 15.

Thanks!

 

[Catalystik]

UColorado heavily favors those of nontraditional age and in the past has posted an expectation of 500+ hours of clinical experience.

Georgetown seems to have an expectation for consistent solid dedication to helping those with poor resources (aka nonmedical community service).

You might consider trimming off any Reach where your GPA is below their bottom tenth percentile, per the MSAR.