MD School List? 3.68 cGPA, 3.61sGPA, 520 MCAT

[AZRobbins]

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[AZRobbins]

I'm specifically interested in schools in Boston, NYC, and Providence . What are my chances there? BU, Tufts, Brown, SUNY Downstate? Columbia, NYU, Sinai as reaches?

I'm concerned because for schools like Brown and BU my MCAT is 75th percentile but my GPA is 25th.

 

[Faha]

I suggest these schools with your stats:
All 4 SUNY's
Albany
Hofstra
New York Medical College
Einstein
Mount Sinai
NYU
BU
Tufts
Brown (prefers non traditional applicants)
You could try Columbia and Cornell as reaches.

 

[AZRobbins]

I suggest these schools with your stats:
All 4 SUNY's
Albany
Hofstra
New York Medical College
Einstein
Mount Sinai
NYU
BU
Tufts
Brown (prefers non traditional applicants)
You could try Columbia and Cornell as reaches.

Do you think I'd actually have a shot at these places? Will I need to add more safeties to this list?

 

[AZRobbins]

This is the list I have currently but I'm definitely hoping to edit and narrow down more. Am I on the right track here?
Harvard
Johns Hopkins
Columbia
Duke
Yale
University of Washington
NYU
Weill Cornell
Mount Sinai
Boston University
Warren Alpert- Brown
Dartmouth
Albert Einstein
Georgetown
Tufts
UMass
Temple
UCONN
UVM
George Washington
Stonybrook
Hofstra
Drexel
NY Medical College
Quinnipiac
Albany
SUNY Downstate

 

[Faha]

Yes, you have a chance for interviews at those schools. If you want to add more 'safeties' consider Quinnipiac, Drexel, Temple and Jefferson.

 

[Faha]

This is the list I have currently but I'm definitely hoping to edit and narrow down more. Am I on the right track here?
Harvard
Johns Hopkins
Columbia
Duke
Yale
University of Washington
NYU
Weill Cornell
Mount Sinai
Boston University
Warren Alpert- Brown
Dartmouth
Albert Einstein
Georgetown
Tufts
UMass
Temple
UCONN
UVM
George Washington
Stonybrook
Hofstra
Drexel
NY Medical College
Quinnipiac
Albany
SUNY Downstate

You have a good list but U Washington accepts less than 1% of applicants who are not from states in the Northwest.

 

[Detective SnowBucket]

This is the list I have currently but I'm definitely hoping to edit and narrow down more. Am I on the right track here?
Harvard
Johns Hopkins
Columbia
Duke
Yale
University of Washington
NYU
Weill Cornell
Mount Sinai
Boston University
Warren Alpert- Brown
Dartmouth
Albert Einstein
Georgetown
Tufts
UMass
Temple
UCONN
UVM
George Washington
Stonybrook
Hofstra
Drexel
NY Medical College
Quinnipiac
Albany
SUNY Downstate

You've got a good start but you're a little too top heavy there. Of your 27, I'd say at least 9 are undeniably reaches (a few isn't bad though). Thats just a lot of schools to apply to at all in the first place and it doesn't look like you've got enough safties.

Otherwise you're on the right track if you can just narrow it down from there

Of your reaches, you've probable got the best shot at Duke>Sinai>>Yale.
If you want another though, maybe you've got a shot at Mayo

 

[Detective SnowBucket]

UConn also seems to have pretty high in state preference, I would consider this as well

20% of matriculating class was OOS. This isn't great but by far not the highest in-state bias.

With 1/5 students being OOS, I'd take my chances but.... Those OOS students are above the school's stats averages (3.78 s and 3.82 cum). These are high enough that I still wouldn't recommend OP applying there

 

[Detective SnowBucket]

@bigbite is totally right about Georgetown, their incoming stats are a good bit over OP's (3.72/3.74/512) except for MCAT so you're definitely within range. That being said, ~15000 applicants apply for ~200 seats so... Just something to keep in mind

 

[AZRobbins]

You might want to look at Georgetown's 2017-2018 feed. A ton of people with a similar MCAT score were rejected probably due to yield protection.

Another school to consider more is Mount Sinai. They have their FlexMed program which takes away a lot of seats from AMCAS applicants. Look into it.

Last, I would check out Brown's statistics. They seem to prefer older, non-trad applicants.

For reference, I applied to all of these schools I just mentioned, and I regret it. I did interview at Georgetown though, but my MCAT score was much lower than yours.

I keep seeing people on this forum say that Brown prefers older, non-trad applicants, but it looks like half their incoming class is 19-23. Is that all from their undergrad --> med school program?

 

[Faha]

I keep seeing people on this forum say that Brown prefers older, non-trad applicants, but it looks like half their incoming class is 19-23. Is that all from their undergrad --> med school program?

1/3 of their class is from their undergraduate program.

 

[Carmiche]

This is the list I have currently but I'm definitely hoping to edit and narrow down more. Am I on the right track here?
Harvard
Johns Hopkins
Columbia
Duke
Yale
University of Washington
NYU
Weill Cornell
Mount Sinai
Boston University
Warren Alpert- Brown
Dartmouth
Albert Einstein
Georgetown
Tufts
UMass
Temple
UCONN
UVM
George Washington
Stonybrook
Hofstra
Drexel
NY Medical College
Quinnipiac
Albany
SUNY Downstate

The list is too top heavy currently considering your EC's and GPA. If you want a serious shot at top 20's you're likely looking at another year to increase clinical exposure hours, non-clin volunteer hours, and/or research.

I'd say cut Uwash and up, add a few more mid tiers and you'll have a decent list.

 

[Detective SnowBucket]

I can't remember who said it, but Brown is supposed to be more inbred than an Alabama trailer park (in reference to taking on their own undergrads)

 

[AZRobbins]

Is it hopeless to apply to low yield schools? I'm very interested in BU, but will I have no shot if I don't distinguish myself in some way?
I'm hoping that my commitment to music will be a distinguishing factor, and maybe also my commitment to public health, but perhaps that isn't unique/ sufficient.

 

[Detective SnowBucket]

Its not hopeless, someone has to get in. You're definitely in range for BU, Georgetown, Tufts, Drexel, Temple, Thomas Jefferson but don't count on getting in, they're called low yield not without reason.

 

[Goro]

I'm a junior in college planning to apply this coming cycle. Biochemistry major/ statistics minor.
Having trouble making a school list due to mediocre GPA/high MCAT- please help!
Hoping to stay in the New England/Mid Atlantic region and looking for MD/MPH dual degree.

1. 3.68 cGPA/ 3.61 sGPA (hoping to bring cGPA up above 3.7 and sGPA above 3.65 by summer)
2. MCAT: 520 (balanced)
3. Residence: NY resident
4. Ethnicity: White
5. Undergrad: Highly regarded liberal arts college w/o grade inflation (avg GPA=3.3)
6. Clinical experience: 75+ hours shadowing, 60 hours clinical volunteering in pediatric oncology
7. Research: ~100 hours of lab work helping thesis students and on an independent project, 75+ hours doing independent public health research, hoping to do public health research over the summer (My school doesn't offer any public health related things but I'm very interested in public health and hoping to do MD/MPH, so it's been slow going finding a sustained public health research topic).
8. Shadowing: 75+ hours shadowing primary care, planning to shadow ophthalmologist (for sure) and hopefully other specialists if possible
9. Clinical volunteering: 60 hours volunteering in pediatric oncology, lots of patient contact and meaningful stories
10. Non-clinical volunteering: (total ~ 100 hours) Various music-related fundraisers for the local homeless shelter (40+ hours), volunteer at local homeless shelter (1.5hr/wk for a year), volunteer college tour guide (45 hours)
11. Other: Assistant taught a class on global health at a summer program for high school girls, scholarship for vocal performance, music performance competition runner-up, select choir (3 years), a cappella (3 years) Business Manager + Treasurer, expect strong LORs

The clinical exposure is extremely weak. If you want to aim high, you need some ECs to go along with that stellar MCAT score. I'm worried that your research hours are also weak for the Research Powerhouses. So, double the volunteering hours in both clinical and non-clinical realms.

I suggest the following:

NYU
U Penn
Columbia
Sinai
Cornell
Harvard
Yale
JHU
U VA
U VM
Miami
Albert Einstein
Emory
BU
USC/Keck
Mayo
Tufts
Rochester
Dartmouth
Duke
Pitt
Hofstra
ALL SUNYs
GWU
Gtown
The Philly Triplets
Albany (maybe)
NYMC (maybe)