School List 3.91/518 [124 CARS!]

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needsomehappinessinlife

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GPA 3.95 (Biology Major) graduating this May and applying this cycle
MCAT 518 - 124 CARS :(
ORM, MA resident, FAP/Pell grant recipient
Clinical = 1200+ hours as a Medical Assistant
Volunteering = 400 hours with underserved populations - food pantry, homeless shelter, hospice
Shadowing = 100 hours across 5 specialties
Research = 600 hours across 2 labs (one 2nd-author publication in the manuscript stage but nothing productive besides that)
Leadership = 300 hours (traditional club leadership)
Narrative - Grew up poor so I have a strong interest in working with underserved low SES populations

School LIST - Any other schools I should add/remove?
Harvard
Stanford
Cornell
Northwestern
UChicago
UCSF
Upitt
Mt. Sinai
Mayo
Umich
Emory
Case Western
Colorado
Boston U
USF
Rochester
Brown
Cincinnati
Wisconsin
Indiana
Iowa
Einstein
UMass
OSU
Wake Forest
Tufts
Jefferson
VCU
U of Illinois
Temple
Rush
Hofstra
Dartmouth
Vermont
NYMC
Wayne State
Drexel
Saint Louis
MCW
Stony Brook

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Rock star application with a great narrative...good for you! I see no obvious holes.

I would maybe remove Wisconsin and Indiana as OOS publics, but the rest seem fine, to my eyes.

I think most schools (with the exception of maybe the Harvards of the world) will be able to look past the CARS score.

What are you planning to do with your gap year?
 
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Solid though without details, I can't confer any "rock star" label, nor can I justify going for top brand schools like Harvard/Stanford or out-of-region locations like California or the public schools on your list (Illinois? Indiana? Iowa?). 400 hours of volunteering is solid but won't help you with heavy service-oriented schools like Rush or the Jesuit schools. So as such, the bones are solid, but I'm missing the whole story and mission fit. Sure, I think you are likely to get some attention (I am not worried about the 124), but the details matter in getting you into a school that fits you.
 
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Going to start clinical research in a vaccine clinic that is also involved with underserved/vulnerable populations. My goal is to tie most of my activities to my narrative. Even though my research is not directly involved with underserved communities, I pursued it because of my story. My leadership experience is also primarily associated with volunteering with low SES communities.

While I dream of going to the T20s, the only thing I am afraid of is that my stats are not uber-stellar and I don't have any major impactful activities. I read about people opening non-profits, having multiple publications and awards, and making big changes in the world but I don't have any of those (did not have the resources/time). I just have my story and the effort I put into my activities. I know that the main goal shouldn't be to only go to a T20 but I wish to make a big impact in this world and the top schools would allow me to do so.

How would you go about writing the primaries/secondaries to have the best chances of acceptance/interview invites?
 
Going to start clinical research in a vaccine clinic that is also involved with underserved/vulnerable populations. My goal is to tie most of my activities to my narrative. Even though my research is not directly involved with underserved communities, I pursued it because of my story. My leadership experience is also primarily associated with volunteering with low SES communities.

While I dream of going to the T20s, the only thing I am afraid of is that my stats are not uber-stellar and I don't have any major impactful activities. I read about people opening non-profits, having multiple publications and awards, and making big changes in the world but I don't have any of those (did not have the resources/time). I just have my story and the effort I put into my activities. I know that the main goal shouldn't be to only go to a T20 but I wish to make a big impact in this world and the top schools would allow me to do so.

How would you go about writing the primaries/secondaries to have the best chances of acceptance/interview invites?
I get the impression that individuals who have MADE impacts after running NGOs or demonstrating leadership within a community are appealing to T20s, as they would schools with specific mission fits for entrepreneurship. You need to do some networking with the schools before you submit to get a better idea and hone your school list. They are coming off of Peace Corps, Rhodes Scholarships, etc. You haven't shown your cards on that front, and just getting started with such experiences is fine, but you need to show commitment and advocacy beyond just your interest in a healthcare career. (If you haven't, know you will be around people who have.)

You should also clear the Casper/PREview hurdle if schools require it of you.

There are many SDN articles to read/webinars that have been posted over the decades that you can review. Many of our admissions consultants also have blogs and webinars as well.
 
I suggest:

Cornell
Northwestern
UChicago
UCSF
Keck
Upitt
Mt. Sinai
Mayo
Umich
Emory
Case Western
Colorado
Boston U
USF
Miami
Rochester
Brown
Cincinnati
Wisconsin
Iowa
Einstein
UMass
OSU
Wake Forest
Tufts
Jefferson
VCU
EVMS
UVA
Hofstra
Dartmouth
Vermont
Saint Louis
Stony Brook
 
School list suggestions? It is very exhaustive but any particular schools I should remove or add?
FAP/Pell Grant and US citizen. MA resident. ORM.
3.91 GPA at a large private university.
518 MCAT (131/124/132/131) [grew up in 3rd world country :( so English was not my first language]
1300 clinical
400 non-clinical working with underserved populations
600 research hours (no posters/publications - did research for credit) (2nd author publication possible but likely to submit manuscript late December)
shadowing 90-100 hours (family med, cardio, onco, gastro)
hobbies/club leadership/tutoring/rec league sports
Theme - Grew up poor so I have a strong interest in working with underserved low SES populations

Albert Einstein College of Medicine
Boston University Aram V. Chobanian & Edward Avedisian School of Medicine
Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine
Chicago Medical School at Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine & Science
Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons
Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell
Drexel University College of Medicine
Duke University School of Medicine
Eastern Virginia Medical School
Emory University School of Medicine
Frank H. Netter MD School of Medicine at Quinnipiac University
Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth
George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences
Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine
Harvard Medical School
Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California
Lewis Katz School of Medicine at Temple University
Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine
New York Medical College
Northwestern University The Feinberg School of Medicine
Ohio State University College of Medicine
Renaissance School of Medicine at Stony Brook University
Robert Larner, M.D., College of Medicine at the University of Vermont
Saint Louis University School of Medicine
Sidney Kimmel Medical College at Thomas Jefferson University
The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University
Tufts University School of Medicine
Tulane University School of Medicine
University of Chicago Division of the Biological Sciences The Pritzker School of Medicine
University of Cincinnati College of Medicine
University of Colorado School of Medicine
University of Illinois College of Medicine
University of Iowa Roy J. and Lucille A. Carver College of Medicine
University of Massachusetts T.H. Chan School of Medicine
University of Miami Leonard M. Miller School of Medicine
University of Michigan Medical School
University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine
University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry
University of Virginia School of Medicine
USF Health Morsani College of Medicine
Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine
Wake Forest University School of Medicine
Wayne State University School of Medicine
Weill Cornell Medicine
 
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I wouldn't recommend Stony Brook to a MA resident. Like all the SUNY schools it's not OOS friendly.
Stony Brook has allocated some seats to OOS students with high stats in the past, unlike the other SUNY schools. Up to the OP if they would really like to stay in the Northeast
 
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Stony Brook has allocated some seats to OOS students with high stats in the past, unlike the other SUNY schools. Up to the OP if they would really like to stay in the Northeast
All the SUNYs admit *some* out of state folks, but if you look at the number of interviews they grant in state vs out of state and look at the admissions, the chances are very low. It's not OOS friendly. So sure, it's not 0, but most likely a donation.
 
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