MD School list help (3.87, 519)

[Blue Hill chef de partie]

Hey guys,
I'm happy with my overall academic stats + research + clinical experience, but feel I am lacking a compelling "narrative" like many other applicants and feel pretty cookie cutter.

I need help with my school list balance.

Year in school: 22 year old male, ORM, Biology major with honors in Class of 2020

Country/state of residence: (Northern) California, USA

Cumulative GPA: 3.87
Science GPA: 3.88

MCAT score: 519 (131/127/130/131)

Research: >1000 hrs over 3+ years working on my own project in a neuroscience lab, finished an honors thesis for my biology major, 1 presentation at a conference, few school grants, no publications

Physician shadowing: 50hrs overall from ENT, vascular surgery, cardiothoracic surgery

Non clinical volunteering: ~150hrs with an animal shelter since 8/19

Extracurricular activities: none significant besides low-commitment hobbies

Employment history: >1000 hrs working as an EMT-B in NYC for a private transport company.

Specialty of interest: Super interested in surgery

Schools to which you are applying:

20 so far, aiming for 20-25 total

Out of State – Johns Hopkins, Washington University in St. Louis, Duke, NYU (Grossman & Long Island), University of Pittsburgh, Vanderbilt, Icahn at Mt. Sinai, Emory, Dartmouth, Hofstra, University of Miami, Quinnipiac University, Western Michigan

In state – Stanford, USC, all UCs (UCSF, UCSD, UCLA, UCI, UCD, UCR)


Does my school list seem balanced/comprehensive enough? Am I shooting too high/too low? I feel like my concept of applicant competitiveness is so skewed after seeing everybody else's applications on reddit/SDN.

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[Faha]

Do you have any clinical volunteering or employment hours with patient contact ?

 

[Mr.Smile12]

Physician shadowing: 50hrs overall from ENT, vascular surgery, cardiothoracic surgery
Non clinical volunteering: ~150hrs with an animal shelter since 8/19
Extracurricular activities: none significant besides low-commitment hobbies
Employment history: >1000 hrs working as an EMT-B in NYC for a private transport company.
Specialty of interest: Super interested in surgery

I'm not sure if you changed the profile after @Faha asked for details on employment and clinical experience. To address your question, I think your metrics are okay to try to shoot for some of the top-shelf schools on your list, but your hours could hold you back. Normally we ask all applicants to get at least 50 hours of shadowing and 100 hours of clinical exposure, but for the top-tier schools, I usually recommend doubling that: 100 shadowing / 200 clinical exposure. Also your description of EC's as low-commitment hobbies (with the exception of your animal shelter work and your training as an EMT) may not help you stand out as a desirable applicant in those pools. In my mind you can be super-interested in surgery so hopefully there is some hobby that shows your propensity to solve problems with your hands or at least show your hand skills. But that said, not everyone who is interested in surgery comes in with those skills, and many people change their minds a lot while in medical school. (If you liked surgery, why not podiatry or dentistry?)