MD School list help

[Suffer]

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Stats:
-t20 cGPA 3.88, sGPA 3.90; big upward trend (past 2 semesters 4.0, 3rd semester back is 3.97). Average about 28 credit hrs per year
-MCAT 518- 131/129/128/130 (should have done a little more CARS practice and B/B content work but oh well that's what I get for cramming)

ECs: (pretty typical; hours up to now, listed expected senior year hours in app though)
Freshman year
-Club sport (S1, S2)- total hours listed below in junior year
-Research internship (summer)- about 400 hrs
Sophomore year
-Club sport- total below
-Shadowing (S1, S2)- total below
-Science volunteer org (S1, S2)- total below
-UG Research (S2)- total below
-Research program (Summer)- 500 hrs
Junior year
-Shadowing (S1, S2)- 105 hrs
-Club sport (S1, S2)- 425 hrs
-Science volunteer org (S1, S2)- 80 hours
-UG Research (S1, S2, Summer)- 425 hours, 400 more in summer
-TA (S2)- 80 hours
-Clinical volunteering (S1, S2)- 150 hours
-Underserved clinic volunteering (S2)- 50 hours
-Athletics department tutor (S1, S2)- 20 hours
-Relay for life (S1, S2)- 100 hours

*Research probably strongest (most hours, first author publication under review, 4th author on poster at national symposium), followed by clinical volunteering; those were listed as most meaningful.
*Common theme about cancer in some of my major ECs (research, clinical volunteering, relay, shadowing).

Demographics:
-Wisconsin resident, will be applying to the medical school affiliated with my undergrad as well
-Not disadvantaged
-ORM

List: (? = still thinking about it)
-Harvard, Yale, Stanford, Columbia, UCSF (?)
-Vandy, Duke, Wash U, NYU, Northwestern, U Chicago (?), Cornell (?), Michigan (?)
-Mayo, UW-Madison, MCW, UMN (?), BU (?), Brown (?), Dartmouth (?), Georgetown (?), Tufts (?)

Any schools with typically easy secondaries (ie straightforward questions or possibly no questions)? Would like to throw those in as well if there are any.

Also do I have just as good of a shot as other traditional (ORM) applicants (ie excluding URM and insane ECs like nobel prize type stuff)?

Thanks!

 

[Goro]

Stats:
-t20 cGPA 3.88, sGPA 3.90; big upward trend (past 2 semesters 4.0, 3rd semester back is 3.97). Average about 28 credit hrs per year
-MCAT 518- 131/129/128/130 (should have done a little more CARS practice and B/B content work but oh well that's what I get for cramming)


Thanks!

You don't have to be Mother Teresa, but your service ECs could be higher.

I suggest:
Wash U
U Chicago
U Penn
NYU
Vanderbilt
Columbia
Sinai
Cornell
Northwestern
Case
Harvard
Yale
Stanford
JHU
U VA
U MI
U AZ
U VM
U WI
U Cincy
Ohio State
U IA
UCSF
UCLA,
Miami
Tulane
Albert Einstein
Emory
BU
USC/Keck
Mayo
Rochester
Dartmouth
Duke
Pitt
Hofstra

 

[Danny L]

You don't have to be Mother Teresa, but your service ECs could be higher.

I see relay for life (100 hrs), science volunteer org (80 hrs), clinical volunteering (150 hrs), and underserved clinic volunteer (50 hrs)

Is 380 really not enough?

 

[Goro]

What I'm looking for is service to others less fortunate than yourself. So are the top schools.

Indeed, I picked up that meme from the wise LizzyM. Medicine is a service profession, my take on what it takes to get into the Top Schools is that successful applicants have hundreds, sometimes 1000s of hours of clinical and/or non-clinical volunteering or paid experience.

 

[Danny L]

What I'm looking for is service to others less fortunate than yourself. So are the top schools.

Indeed, I picked up that meme from the wise LizzyM. Medicine is a service profession, my take on what it takes to get into the Top Schools is that successful applicants have hundreds, sometimes 1000s of hours of clinical and/or non-clinical volunteering or paid experience.

Oh gotcha. So OP's service in that category is ~ 300 hrs maybe (2 clinical experiences and possibly relay, not sure about science org)? Which would be slightly lower than ideal?

Also do those hundreds to thousands of hours include potential senior year hours? OP said they only listed hours that they already did

 

[Goro]

Oh gotcha. So OP's service in that category is ~ 300 hrs maybe (2 clinical experiences and possibly relay, not sure about science org)? Which would be slightly lower than ideal?

Also do those hundreds to thousands of hours include potential senior year hours? OP said they only listed hours that they already did

I have listed hours based upon responses to me by successful SDNers, so their hours were already completed.

I see 280 hrs that I would impress me. I'd like to see more for the Top schools, but they're fine for his/her state schools, and your typical med school.

 

[Suffer]

You don't have to be Mother Teresa, but your service ECs could be higher.

I suggest:
Wash U
U Chicago
U Penn
NYU
Vanderbilt
Columbia
Sinai
Cornell
Northwestern
Case
Harvard
Yale
Stanford
JHU
U VA
U MI
U AZ
U VM
U WI
U Cincy
Ohio State
U IA
UCSF
UCLA,
Miami
Tulane
Albert Einstein
Emory
BU
USC/Keck
Mayo
Rochester
Dartmouth
Duke
Pitt
Hofstra

Thanks! So I can pick and choose from this list?

I have listed hours based upon responses to me by successful SDNers, so their hours were already completed.

I see 280 hrs that I would impress me. I'd like to see more for the Top schools, but they're fine for his/her state schools, and your typical med school.

Does this mean I'm a bottom end applicant for the top med schools then? Is there anything I could make sure to do now that might help offset this?

I did not have many hours freshman and sophomore year, but had most of those hours from junior year. This was due to a poor adjustment to college. However, I made a post and people recommend I not mention that in my PS/application because it would be a red flag that indicates I lack self-confidence when I feel I need to explain stats that high and at least decent ECs

If I extrapolate my junior year hours I'd be at much more though, and I think how I did junior year truly reflects what I am capable of. I plan to continue those into senior year and could probably get at least 350-400 more hours. I listed potential senior year hours in my application

 

[Goro]

So I can pick and choose from this list?
Yes



Does this mean I'm a bottom end applicant for the top med schools then? Is there anything I could make sure to do now that might help offset this?
This is what I worry about, and only by going through an app cycle and seeing what happens will give us the answer. Sometimes you have to apply with the app you have, warts and all. But in the mean time, try getting more hours in service to others. Off campus and out of your comfort zone.

This sounds good!
If I extrapolate my junior year hours I'd be at much more though, and I think how I did junior year truly reflects what I am capable of. I plan to continue those into senior year and could probably get at least 350-400 more hours. I listed potential senior year hours in my application