School list help. Low GPA+High MCAT

[huncho]

Hey there! Working on a school list for the 2021-2022 cycle and would love some help! New to SDN and learned a lot perusing the many threads! I feel like my list is too competitive for my stats but I've also been told that my app might stick at these schools? Idk, I can't tell if people are being nice so I figured SDN would give me some honest feedback hahaha. I've also been told maybe DO isn't necessary but I also feel like why not ya know? Do you guys think I should apply DO or do I stand a shot at MD?

State/Country of Residence: Rhode Island but NY residency because graduate of NY high school
Year in School: Senior at Brown
Major: Neuroscience
cGPA: 3.55 (strong upward trend: freshman year: 3.14, soph: 3.5, junior: 3.5, senior: 4.0)
sGPA: 3.35
MCAT: 515 (127/130/129/129)
Research experience: 3 years in same lab. Likely 1000+ hours
Publications: Second author on paper. Possibly will be third author on a second one soon and second author on another one in my gap year.
Clinical Experience: 400 hours. Volunteer in free clinic. Also volunteer in hospital helping patients with getting housing, childcare, healthy food options, etc. Planning on picking up more clinical experience in my gap year
Physician Shadowing: 50 hours (ED, pediatrics). Planning to shadow some more this semester and in my gap year
Non-clinical volunteering: 200-250 hours
Other extracurricular: club sports, faith organization
Other employment: intern at state health exchange/marketplace, neuro tutor
Immediate family in medicine: Y
Specialty of interest: Pediatrics!!
Interest in primary care: Y
Interest in rural health: N
Medical school list:
Brown (just bc its my alma mater but I feel like I wouldn't get in otherwise)
Tufts
Cornell (BIG reach school)
BU (reach school)
UMass
UCONN
Georgetown
George Washington
Rush
Univ of Vermont
Albert Einstein
Sidney Kimmel Thomas Jefferson
Rutgers NJMS
Quinnipiac
Drexel
Temple
Albany Medical College
New York Medical College
SUNY Downstate
SUNY Stony Brook
SUNY Upstate
SUNY Buffalo
Was considering maybe adding Seton Hall?
As for DO, I was thinking maybe NYIT and UNE. Lmk if I should even apply to those two/if I should add a lot more DO to my list!

Thank you everyone and good luck to all of you!

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[Banco]

Your activities and MCAT are great, but your GPA (particularly sGPA) is on the lowish side. That's why you should target low/mid tier MD schools. UMass, UConn, and Rutgers are low yield for you. Otherwise your list is okay for now. Definitely make sure to have all SUNY's. I would aim to have about 25 MD schools.

I would also look into: Hofstra (must add!), Rochester (they value research), SLU, Loyola, Rosalind Franklin, Seton Hall, Wake Forest, USF Morsani, Miami, MCW, and other private schools where your GPA is within the 10th - 90th percentile range.

And yeah to be safe you could add a few DO schools too.

 

[huncho]

Your activities and MCAT are great, but your GPA (particularly sGPA) is on the lowish side. That's why you should target low/mid tier MD schools. UMass, UConn, and Rutgers are low yield for you. Otherwise your list is okay for now. Definitely make sure to have all SUNY's. I would aim to have about 25 MD schools.

I would also look into: Hofstra (must add!), Rochester (they value research), SLU, Loyola, Rosalind Franklin, Seton Hall, Wake Forest, USF Morsani, Miami, MCW, and other private schools where your GPA is within the 10th - 90th percentile range.

And yeah to be safe you could add a few DO schools too.

Thank you for your advice!! Hofstra and UofR had pretty high median MCATs on MSAR (both 517). Do you think those are rather high for me? I'd just like to stay northeast I think if I can.

I added umass and uconn because as an RI resident I get preference at uconn and I just would like to go to umass because its close to home and brown undergrads/RI residents have had luck there from what I've seen.

 

[Banco]

Thank you for your advice!! Hofstra and UofR had pretty high median MCATs on MSAR (both 517). Do you think those are rather high for me? I'd just like to stay northeast I think if I can.

I added umass and uconn because as an RI resident I get preference at uconn and I just would like to go to umass because its close to home and brown undergrads/RI residents have had luck there from what I've seen.

Ok as long as you know regarding the in state vs. OOS numbers you can keep them. I just thought you were NY resident. I think as NY resident it's worth it to add Hofstra and Rochester, especially as you have good research.

 

[Faha]

Remove Rutgers and UMass since they accept few non residents with your GPA and no connection to the state. Cornell is unrealistic. Add more schools and I suggest these:
Seton Hall
Virginia Commonwealth
Eastern Virginia
NOVA MD
TCU-UNT
Creighton
Loyola
Medical College Wisconsin
Western Michigan
Wayne State
Oakland Beaumont
Apply to a few DO schools such as UNECOM, NYITCOM, Touro-NY and PCOM.

 

[huncho]

Remove Rutgers and UMass since they accept few non residents with your GPA and no connection to the state. Cornell is unrealistic. Add more schools and I suggest these:
Seton Hall
Virginia Commonwealth
Eastern Virginia
NOVA MD
TCU-UNT
Creighton
Loyola
Medical College Wisconsin
Western Michigan
Wayne State
Oakland Beaumont
Apply to a few DO schools such as UNECOM, NYITCOM, Touro-NY and PCOM.

Thank you! How many schools do you think is a good ballpark? With both your and Banco's advice I'm at 27 that I will solidly apply to now (2 DO's included in that 27).

 

[Faha]

Thank you! How many schools do you think is a good ballpark? With both your and Banco's advice I'm at 27 that I will solidly apply to now (2 DO's included in that 27).

30 schools are not too many with your GPA.