School List Appreciated, Thanks in advance!

[szhao42]

Hello everyone!

I am new to these forums so please be gentle

1.
- Graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2009 with a BS Biochemistry, cGPA 3.4, major upward trend (freshman year was horrible, unfocused; sophomore okay, junior and senior years all A's)
- MCAT 31R
- 1 year research experience
- Hospital volunteer 1 year
- Founding member of one of UMN's largest and still ongoing international student groups, served as board member for 1 year
- Shadow 50+ hours
- Very bland PS, OK LOR's
- Applied very (very) late in cycle in Sept

Applied not so broadly (8 or 9 schools), interview and waitlisted at in state, 1 OOS interview / rejection

2. Talked with Dean after waitlist was denied, took a year off and improved in the following ways:
- Took a medical Microbiology course, received A
- Phlebotomist at major MN hospital, general hospital and ER team (1000+ hours)
- Volunteered at another hospital
- 1-1 Academic coach volunteer at inner city organization working with elementary - middle school children
- Habitat Humanity Housing construction volunteer
- Much more focused and unique PS, improved LORs
- Applying much earlier this time around in June

If you good folks could please give me a suggested list of schools to apply to (I am aiming strongly for my instate which tends to be favorable toward improved reapplicants), I would DEEPLY appreciated it.

Thank you guys so much in advance!

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[szhao42]

^^ bump for replies

 

[canjosh]

^^ bump for replies

These threads are more productive if you provide your list so people can give advice about adding or deleting schools. Start with the schools you applied to before and then add ones you're thinking about.

 

[szhao42]

My first time around:

Florida State - secondary, interview, reject
Michigan State - secondary
SUNY Buffalo - secondary
SUNY Downstate - secondary
U of Illinois Chicago - secondary
U of Iowa - secondary
U of Maryland - secondary
U of Minnesota TC - secondary, interview, waitlist, reject
U of Wisconsin - secondary

For this application cycle, I am not only planning on applying much much earlier, but would like to broaden my school list

Thinking about the following:

U of Minnesota TC, Penn State, NYMC, Albany, SUNY, etc. I am not sure how broadly or the number of schools I should apply too, so any specific suggestions would be fantastic!

 

[szhao42]

anyone? please

 

[MiniPanda]

Apply to AT LEAST 15 schools. Apply broadly, apply early, and apply smart. Buy a copy of the MSAR or some other guide to medical schools and look for schools that have stats that are skewed relatively lower (avg total MCAT 33 & lower, GPA 3.7 & lower), and that accept a reasonable % of out-of-staters. Oftentimes people think that because a school is ranked lower on USNWR it will be a safety, without even noticing that its OUT of state acceptance rate is 1% (or lower!). Although my guide is slightly outdated now (2007), I will give you some examples from it: Case Western, University of Michigan, and Tufts all had out-of-state acceptance rates TWICE as high as Michigan State (where you applied last year). These are important statistics to consider when forming a list. Now, I'm not saying that these particular schools are necessarily a better bet, since their stats are higher.... just an illustration! : )

 

[szhao42]

Minipanda,

Thanks for the info. I have the current online MSAR, and below is my compiled school list. Like you said, I took into careful consideration the OOS acceptance rates, and the schools I have selected are based on a variety of sources (mostly MSAR, individual school websites, and of course SDN).

Virginia Tech Carilion SOM
Tulane University SOM (New Orleans)
Eastern Virginia Medical School
Albany Medical College
Virginia Commonwealth U SOM
Rush Medical College (Chicago)
Commonwealth Medical (Pennsylvania)
Drexel University (Pennsylvania)
Georgetown University SOM
New York Medical College
University of Minnesota Medical
SUNY Downstate
Temple University SOM
SUNY Buffalo
Wayne State
Tufts
Michigan State
Medical College of Wisconsin
Rosalind Franklin
Wake Forest
Penn State

I think this is quite a varied list, and combined with my much earlier app schedule and improvements over the past year, will give me a much better opportunity. Is there anything that sticks out (excluding? get rid of one?) My #1 choice is UMNTC, but hopefully this diversified list is good enough. Thanks for your help!

 

[canjosh]

That's a good list, IMO. Good luck.

 

[MiniPanda]

Looks pretty reasonable! If you feel your ECs are strong, maybe even throw in a reach school or two. Good luck!

 

[Brachyury]

Minipanda,

Thanks for the info. I have the current online MSAR, and below is my compiled school list. Like you said, I took into careful consideration the OOS acceptance rates, and the schools I have selected are based on a variety of sources (mostly MSAR, individual school websites, and of course SDN).

Virginia Tech Carilion SOM
Tulane University SOM (New Orleans)
Eastern Virginia Medical School
Albany Medical College
Virginia Commonwealth U SOM
Rush Medical College (Chicago)
Commonwealth Medical (Pennsylvania)
Drexel University (Pennsylvania)
Georgetown University SOM
New York Medical College
University of Minnesota Medical
SUNY Downstate
Temple University SOM
SUNY Buffalo
Wayne State
Tufts
Michigan State
Medical College of Wisconsin
Rosalind Franklin
Wake Forest
Penn State

I think this is quite a varied list, and combined with my much earlier app schedule and improvements over the past year, will give me a much better opportunity. Is there anything that sticks out (excluding? get rid of one?) My #1 choice is UMNTC, but hopefully this diversified list is good enough. Thanks for your help!

I'd drop Wayne State and Michigan State because OOS MI tuition is very high, and you never qualify for in-state tuition. Maybe add Creighton and Loyola instead. University of North Dakota also accepts a handful of MN residents

 

[szhao42]

Good to know. Chicago and New York are definitely two places I would love to be. I also added in Stony Brook... will be submitting for verification today!