School list help

[NobodyHere115]

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Hey I'm reapplicant, just graduated college. Current stats: 3.63 cumulative GPA, 39R MCAT. EC from last years apps: 1 year research, 1 club presidency, 1 internship at a homeless shelter. EC stuff added on after last cycle: volunteering at hospital, asian health clinic and hepatitis b vaccination program, work at ucsf in med-related research, and maybe some shadowing coming up.

I have around 53 schools that I have divided up into reach, good fit, and backup. I want to apply maybe half that number, any suggestions how I should keep/eliminate schools? Please help throw names in or out.

Reach
University of Chicago
University of Pittsburgh
Columbia University
Duke
Mount Sinai
Stanford
University of Michigan
UCSD
Case Western
Mayo
Dartmouth
Emory
Ohio State University
UCLA
UCSF
Albert Einstein

Good fit
St. Louis University
Tufts
University of Boston
University of Cincinnati
USC
Georgetown
Penn State
University of Colorado
University of Minnesota
University of Wisconsin
Wake Forest University
Creighton University
Indiana University
Jefferson Medical School
Loma Linda
Loyola
Medical College of Wisconsin
Rosalind Franklin
State University of New York: Downstate
UCI
University of Albany
Buffalo
Drexel
Temple University
UC Davis
Rush
University of Illinois at Chicago

Backup
University of Toledo
Virginia Commonwealth University
Wayne State University
George Washington
New York Medical College
NYU
Tulane University
Michigan State


I'm from California.
















F

 

[Bernoull]

Short of bombing ur secondaries/interviews, I'm sure u'll get multiple acceptances.

Now what other factors are important to you, location, atmosphere, curriculum etc etc? Start whittling down schools on that basis, I think ~20 schools is more than sufficient and you can split them in 1/3s (reach, competitive, safety) or something that approximates 1/3s..

I'm sure u won't do this, but pls don't change ur mind and apply to only top 15 schools, i see too many applicants with nice stats who don't get it bcos of poor school selection...

Best of luck!

 

[rbnsafsadgf]

That is a good list to start off with. But you should read up on the schools and really think about fit. For example, are you OK with the culture at Loma Linda? It would be a really different experience than at UCSF.

Personally, I am fan of OHSU too, and would add that on. 😉

Don't underestimate the power of the PS, LORs, and interview skills!

 

[n3xa]

Did you get any interviews the first time around? Your stats seem just fine.

 

[hello1234]

I dont know about a lot of these schools but I do know Rush is an amazing place to go. The ppl and the environment are great and its got awsome credentials.

 

[MiniMoo]

Did you get any interviews the first time around? Your stats seem just fine.

This is a great example of EC's making or breaking an application. In the OP's case, he/she had no clinical experience or shadowing -- crucial to a successful application. Numbers are not everything.

 

[MiniMoo]

Reach
University of Chicago
University of Pittsburgh
Columbia University
Duke
Mount Sinai
Stanford
University of Michigan
UCSD
Case Western
Mayo
Dartmouth
Emory
Ohio State University
UCLA
UCSF
Albert Einstein

Good fit
St. Louis University
Tufts
University of Boston
University of Cincinnati
USC
Georgetown
Penn State
University of Colorado
University of Minnesota
University of Wisconsin
Wake Forest University
Creighton University
Indiana University
Jefferson Medical School
Loma Linda
Loyola
Medical College of Wisconsin
Rosalind Franklin
State University of New York: Downstate
UCI
University of Albany
Buffalo
Drexel
Temple University
UC Davis
Rush
University of Illinois at Chicago

Backup
University of Toledo
Virginia Commonwealth University
Wayne State University
George Washington
New York Medical College
NYU
Tulane University
Michigan State

I would remove the bolded. Wayne State & Michigan State are very expensive for OOS. Indiana and Minnesota are not that friendly to OOS applicants. Loma Linda is pretty conservative Christian and you may not feel comfortable in the religious environment (ie: chapel services required weekly).

The rest I would try to narrow down according to criteria that are important to you. Fit is not just about your GPA/MCAT. Are you more interested in going to school on the east coast or midwest? Do you like PBL or a traditional curriculum? Do you fit the school's mission? (For example, Georgetown and George Washington are both very focused on global health issues and public health policy -- if you don't have these types of career goals as supported by your involvement in ECs, then these may not be good schools to apply to). Do more research. Figure out what appeals to you and what doesn't.

It's good that you managed to get involved in some clinical experience. Hopefully your hospital volunteering and vaccination program volunteering total at least 150+ hours? Definitely get shadowing time in. I know Catalystik, who seems to be very knowledgeable about these things, recommends 60-80 total hours with several different specialties including a primary care physician. Your non-medical community service also seems to be weak as well as your leadership experience. Now that you know how important EC's are to a successful application, these things may decrease your chances at the top schools like Columbia, Stanford, Sinai, Duke, etc. So I would try to cut your reaches down to ~20% of your list. I think 20% reach, 20% safety, and 40% within range is a good mix.