School list help 511/3.7 (4.0 postbac) CA resident

[bouncydidit]

Would love feedback on my school list! I am a reapplicant and definitely feel like my poor school list cost me the cycle last time. I tried posting on Reddit but hoping to get better feedback here. I also have a strong public health and research background. Ideally, i would like to apply to 30 schools total. I am an ORM.

Graduated from a top public school
Clinical experience: ~2000 hours volunteering at several clinics, hospital volunteer and working full-time as a health navigator
Nonclinical volunteer exp: ~ 300 hours volunteering at a homeless shelter and a local homeless resource org
Research: >2000 hours, 3 publications but no first authorship
Extracurriculars: tutor/mentor for elementary school kids (150 hours), TA for a photography class and campus photographer (100 hours), college magazine board (400 hours)
Hobbies: i have a photography business



CURRENT SCHOOL LIST

(IN STATE - 7)
Keck
UC Irvine
UC Los Angeles
UC San Diego
UC San Francisco
UC Davis
Kaiser

(OUT OF STATE - 24)
Quinnipiac
Rosalind Franklin
Tufts
Wayne State
OUWB
Wakeforest
Albany Medical School
NYU Long Island
U Rochester
U Buffalo
NYMC
Hackensack
Geisinger
Temple
TCU/UNT
Virginia Tech
Virginia Commonwealth University
Eastern Virginia Medical School
U Vermont
GW
Medical College of Wisconsin
University of Wisconsin (adding b/c of their public health focus)
OHSU (adding per recommendation of an advisor. I dont have ties to oregon but she mentioned that many people from my alma mater have been accepted here)
Nova SE
UA Tuscon



DO SCHOOLS (6)
DMU
NYIT COM
PCOM (Philadelphia)
Western University of Health Sciences
Chicago COM
Touro (NY)


I am considering adding jefferson, georgetown, and maybe penn state but unsure because theyre low yield. I really appreciate any help

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[Putkernerinthehall]

I probably wouldn't bother with UA Tucson since they take few from CA. Rochester might be too big a stretch from MCAT perspective. Same for several of your CA choices but I understand the rationale for applying to your home schools. Are you from the Inland Empire in SoCal or have ties to the area ? If so, you might add UC Riverside.

 

[chilly_md]

I suggest:

(IN STATE)
UC Irvine
UC Davis (favors Northern and Central CA)
UCR (only if from IE)
CUSM

(OUT OF STATE)
Quinnipiac
Rosalind Franklin
Loyola
Tufts
Wayne State
Creighton
OUWB
Wake
Albany
NYMC
Drexel
Temple
Jefferson
Penn State
TCU
VCU
EVMS
Vermont
George Washington
Georgetown
Medical College of Wisconsin
Nova SE

Wisconsin and OHSU take few OOS students without ties. The OOS students tend to have higher stats at Wisconsin and OHSU will likely not consider your app as they have particular categories set aside for their OOS.

Your DO list is fine, though AZCOM instead of CCOM might be better it you would rather be closer to home. Similarly, Touro CA and Touro NV might be better adds than Touro NY for the location.

 

[bouncydidit]

I probably wouldn't bother with UA Tucson since they take few from CA. Rochester might be too big a stretch from MCAT perspective. Same for several of your CA choices but I understand the rationale for applying to your home schools. Are you from the Inland Empire in SoCal or have ties to the area ? If so, you might add UC Riverside.

Thank you for the feedback, i'll take tuscon out. I totally agree rochester is a reach. I added it because they have a secondary question that asks you to indicate if you did the NIH IRTA fellowship, so I thought my research background might help compensate.

No ties to the inland empire so cannot add UCR

 

[bouncydidit]

I suggest:

(IN STATE)
UC Irvine
UC Davis (favors Northern and Central CA)
UCR (only if from IE)
CUSM

(OUT OF STATE)
Quinnipiac
Rosalind Franklin
Loyola
Tufts
Wayne State
Creighton
OUWB
Wake
Albany
NYMC
Drexel
Temple
Jefferson
Penn State
TCU
VCU
EVMS
Vermont
George Washington
Georgetown
Medical College of Wisconsin
Nova SE

Wisconsin and OHSU take few OOS students without ties. The OOS students tend to have higher stats at Wisconsin and OHSU will likely not consider your app as they have particular categories set aside for their OOS.

Your DO list is fine, though AZCOM instead of CCOM might be better it you would rather be closer to home. Similarly, Touro CA and Touro NV might be better adds than Touro NY for the location.

Thank you so much!! I really appreciate you taking the time to write this up and will add the schools you suggested. A few questions: I know georgetown and loyola are mission driven and like a lot of volunteer hours. Do you think I should still apply given I dont have many? (~300). I applied last year but didnt get an interview

 

[chilly_md]

Thank you so much!! I really appreciate you taking the time to write this up and will add the schools you suggested. A few questions: I know georgetown and loyola are mission driven and like a lot of volunteer hours. Do you think I should still apply given I dont have many? (~300). I applied last year but didnt get an interview

300 hours at a homeless shelter should be good for Loyola and Georgetown. What has changed from last cycle? Did you receive any interviews?

 

[Mr.Smile12]

Where did you apply last cycle, and did you get interviews?

 

[bouncydidit]

300 hours at a homeless shelter should be good for Loyola and Georgetown. What has changed from last cycle? Did you receive any interviews?

I did not receive any interviews last cycle but I applied mainly to reach/low-yield schools. I also finished secondaries between mid-august and late september. Since then, I've worked full time as a health navigator have ~50 more volunteer hours from hospital volunteering. Everything else is the same though.

 

[bouncydidit]

Where did you apply last cycle, and did you get interviews?

No interviews from last cycle. I applied to mainly reach/low-yield schools (all the california UC's, keck, CUSM, stanford, GW, jefferson, brown, penn state, temple, NYMC, ouwb, loyola, rush, rosalind franklin, U miami, tulane, drexel, quinnipiac, netter, etc.)

 

[chilly_md]

I did not receive any interviews last cycle but I applied mainly to reach/low-yield schools. I also finished secondaries between mid-august and late september. Since then, I've worked full time as a health navigator have ~50 more volunteer hours from hospital volunteering. Everything else is the same though.

Add the DO schools I suggested then as well as KCU, KCOM, Marian and LECOM.

Ensure you have some experienced people read over all your written material.

 

[bouncydidit]

Add the DO schools I suggested then as well as KCU, KCOM, Marian and LECOM.

Ensure you have some experienced people read over all your written material

I will add those, thank you! Do you still recommend adding loyola/georgetown given that I didnt receive interviews last year?

I actually hired someone to read over my app last cycle but for this cycle i'm planning on rewriting a majority of my responses and asking trusted friends and family members to look them over

 

[chilly_md]

I will add those, thank you! Do you still recommend adding loyola/georgetown given that I didnt receive interviews last year?

I actually hired someone to read over my app last cycle but for this cycle i'm planning on rewriting a majority of my responses and asking trusted friends and family members to look them over

You can still add them.

There are volunteers on this forum who would provide a more objective view of your personal statement, which especially important since admissions readers won’t know who you are outside your app.

Forum Members - *~*~*~*~*~*Official Personal Statement Guide and Reader List 2022-2023*~*~*~*~*~*

It's that time of year again! This thread is for applicants who are writing, revising, and polishing their personal statement for the 2022-2023 application cycle! Like in prior years, this thread will be self-regulated. When volunteering as a reader (or contacting a reader for assistance)...

forums.studentdoctor.net