Scattered or brilliant?

[CaMD]

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Hey Everyobody! I've found looking at other people's lists of schools useful because it's helped me think about general trends and useful nuggets on good out of state schools etc. This is my current list. I'm a Cali resident (32, 3.8 from a top 20 university). --I'm not applying to all the UCs becuase I don't meet the math reqs.-- I know this list looks scattered but I'm trying to stay with my boyfriend so some strategic decision making went into picking the cities we can both relocate to.

I'd appreciate any input on how the list looks. Any obvious choices I'm overlooking? Do I have too many high or low ranked schools, out of state publics I have little chance at, etc? Any feedback is welcome. (This list is sort of in order of preference, as it stands now anyways.)

Thank you, thank you! 😀

Vanderbilt
Baylor
Stanford
Harvard
Pitt
Case Western
UT Houston
UCSF
UNC
UMDNJ-Piscataway
Mt Sinai
NYU
Yeshiva
UCLA
Duke
U MD
Cornell
Yale
U MN
UCI
U Rochester
OHSU
UT San Antonio
UT Southwestern
UVA
Virginia Commonwealth
Tulane
Dartmouth
USC
Jefferson
Emory

 

[samurai_lincoln]

The Texas schools are pretty tough admits for nonresidents (<10% out of state) and plus you would have to fill out a completely different application through TMDSAS, and pay additional fees. I wouldn't bother, personally. As for the rest of the UC schools, why not just suck it up and take the math class? You have a whole year, after all. Insofar as I know, prereqs need only be completed before matriculation, not application.

 

[MErc44]

i think U of Maryland is impossible if you aren't from there

 

[scooter31]

UNC will be very tough as well as an out of stater

 

[CaMD]

Scooter31: Yeah, you're right, maybe it's not worth it. 🙁 I thought though, that since it says they screen prior to sending secondaries, that it was worth $30 to try and I wouldn't get stuck doing and paying for a secondary unless I had a chance. Do you know if they really do screen out-of-state more rigorously or will they just take my money?

Merc44: I think I will drop Maryland. I'm not that interested in the school. It's just that my bf might end up at the NIH, so I wanted to get something in that general area and I figure I don't have a shot at Hopkins.

 

[CaMD]

The Texas schools are pretty tough admits for nonresidents (<10% out of state) and plus you would have to fill out a completely different application through TMDSAS, and pay additional fees. I wouldn't bother, personally. As for the rest of the UC schools, why not just suck it up and take the math class? You have a whole year, after all. Insofar as I know, prereqs need only be completed before matriculation, not application.

I know TX is tough, but I have ties to the state so I was thinking that would help a little. Any experience with that?

I know you speak the truth and the truth hurts! 🙄 Maybe I'll have to sit me down with some course listings and figure out what my options are. 🙂

 

[patzan]

Your list has a lot of the same schools that I had on mine. I had a 3.9, 33 and didn't get interviews to Rochester, Harvard, Stanford, or UCSF. I didn't apply to Cornell, Yale, Duke, Dartmouth, etc. but I don't think you will get many interviews out of the Ivy League or other top schools unless you are a Rhodes Scholar or something like that, while it may be worth while applying to one or two.

 

[hoping2004]

i say take a chance and apply for the "ivy leagues". my mcat score was lower than yours and i got interviews at cornell, dartmouth, rochester, etc... you never know exactly what they're looking for! so if a particularl school is calling out to you, apply and take a chance. good luck!!

 

[snowhite]

I know TX is tough, but I have ties to the state so I was thinking that would help a little. Any experience with that?

I know you speak the truth and the truth hurts! 🙄 Maybe I'll have to sit me down with some course listings and figure out what my options are. 🙂

There is a chance if you are a stellar applicant. I'm from Texas and I know they really really like Texas people because there are a lot of counties (especially in rural areas) that don't have hospitals or physicians at all. I think it'll only help if you have residency in Texas. They ask that in the TMDSAS. I'm not sure if you've considered Baylor in Houston, but they are part of AMCAS and accept more out of staters.

 

[elias514]

There's no way you'll get into UT Southwestern with those stats--it's just too competitive for non-residents of Texas (as per state law, only 10% of the spots go to nonresidents). You need some truly exceptional credentials to get into UTSW as a nonresident of Texas. However, you have a shot at UT Houston, which is a great school BTW. Baylor is going to be a reach school--the competition between nonresidents is fierce there. By law, 70% of the spots in the entering class at Baylor must go to residents of Texas; with an MCAT average of 34, one can only imagine what the credentials of the nonresidents are.

If you want to apply to top public schools, you're best bet is U Michigan, because 50-60% of the entering class there is composed of nonresidents. I appied there as a nonresident, I was admitted, and I'll be there this fall.

Good luck in the admissions process!

 

[fakeplaztiktree]

i think U of Maryland is impossible if you aren't from there

Actually, it is possible and encouraged for CA residents to gain acceptance. When I interviewed, they asked me how they can get more of us to apply. Unfortunately, it's almost impossible to change your residency status once you're there. It may not be worth it financially, but if you want to be in the Baltimore/DC area it can happen.

 

[Lefty McFish]

CaMD--

I wouldn't rule out Hopkins, or any school for that matter. Your stats aren't going to close the door for you anywhere. A 32 MCAT score is within one standard deviation of the mean at any school, including Harvard and Johns Hopkins (maybe not at Wash U, which seems to recruit heavily based on the MCAT). I don't know much about state schools outside of Cali, so perhaps the other posters are right about being more selective there.

My understanding is that your numbers either get you in the door or not. After that, it's going to be about all the other, non-quantitative aspects of your application. Have you been out of school for a while? Do you have a unique background? Are you part of an undrerepresented minority? Do you interview well? There are no hard and fast rules to getting into any med school. More than your scores and grades, I believe it's the intangibles that ultimately matter.

The other advice I'll offer is to pare down your list of schools. Seriously. You've got over 30 and that's going to turn into a full-time job. A full-time job that's going to cost you thousands of dollars.

Best of luck to you. I'm sure you'll do fine.

 

[scooter31]

Scooter31: Yeah, you're right, maybe it's not worth it. 🙁 I thought though, that since it says they screen prior to sending secondaries, that it was worth $30 to try and I wouldn't get stuck doing and paying for a secondary unless I had a chance. Do you know if they really do screen out-of-state more rigorously or will they just take my money?

CaMD--

Just an update on my part of your thread. My buddy, out of state resident, numbers not as good as yours, got off the waitlist at UNC yesterday. So there, proof it can be done.

An idea-- see what your MCAT is. If its a 32+, apply to UNC, whats the harm, right? If its below a 31, maybe take it off the list, unless you have someting else that jumps out at them (research, Peace Corps, etc etc). You have an enviable GPA, and if you have decent MCAT scores, you'll have a chance. Oh, how about Wake Forest? Maybe add that to the list?

 

[Lefty McFish]

P.S. Also, for any schools that you're not sure if you make their cut-off for numbers, there's no reason not to call their admissions office and ask. Admissions people, in my experience, are very friendly and they don't want you to waste $30 submitting an application if they're really not going to bother with you based on your scores/residency status alone.

 

[rgporter]

Merc44: I think I will drop Maryland. I'm not that interested in the school. It's just that my bf might end up at the NIH, so I wanted to get something in that general area and I figure I don't have a shot at Hopkins.

And you put Harvard is on your list? I would suggest applying to as many schools as you can afford. What schools look for seems really random. I didn't run into any schools where a high GPA and good MCAT garanteed admission. So just keep as many as you can on your list but I would reccomend pruning some of the higher ranked schools (if you prune any at all).
UVa is a great place for out-of-state people to apply. They accept a pretty large contingent of out-of-staters. Also the waitlist for us has substantial movement from what I've gathered. I am biased though, that is where I am enrolling this August and I love the school. 🙂