School suggestions?

[emma121]

Hi, I'm a junior applying to med schools this coming cycle. I desperately need suggestions for schools that might be targets for me. I do have the MSAR but there is just so much data, it can be hard to make sense of.

cGPA=3.7. Should be around 3.72 by May!
sGPA=3.6. Should be higher in May.
MCAT=510
MD residence

So far I was thinking...
Chicago Med Franklin
Maryland
George Washington

Any input is really appreciated!

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[WedgeDawg]

moving to WAMC

 

[GrapesofRath]

MSAR guidelines
1) Look at schools that take at least 30% OOS
2) Look at schools with MCAT medians in the 30-33 range
3) Apply to your state program no matter what
4) Pay some attention to total number of apps and % of OOS applicants interviewed. Note the first 3 qualifiers are much more important.

You should be able to find close to 30 schools doing this. Find those 30, and pick 15-20 of em. If you want help on whether you picked the 15 best ones or if you want to see if you missed any schools worth considering, then come back here and that's what this thread is for. The first 3 schools you listed woud all classify under the guidelines listed above.

 

[emma121]

MSAR guidelines
1) Look at schools that take at least 30% OOS
2) Look at schools with MCAT medians in the 30-33 range
3) Apply to your state program no matter what
4) Pay some attention to total number of apps and % of OOS applicants interviewed. Note the first 3 qualifiers are much more important.

You should be able to find close to 30 schools doing this. Find those 30, and pick 15-20 of em. If you want help on whether you picked the 15 best ones or if you want to see if you missed any schools worth considering, then come back here and that's what this thread is for. The first 3 schools you listed woud all classify under the guidelines listed above.

Awesome- thanks!

 

[emma121]

MSAR guidelines
1) Look at schools that take at least 30% OOS
2) Look at schools with MCAT medians in the 30-33 range
3) Apply to your state program no matter what
4) Pay some attention to total number of apps and % of OOS applicants interviewed. Note the first 3 qualifiers are much more important.

You should be able to find close to 30 schools doing this. Find those 30, and pick 15-20 of em. If you want help on whether you picked the 15 best ones or if you want to see if you missed any schools worth considering, then come back here and that's what this thread is for. The first 3 schools you listed woud all classify under the guidelines listed above.

Oh- also: what median GPA should I be looking at? Like the 3.6-3.8 range? Or something else?

 

[GrapesofRath]

Oh- also: what median GPA should I be looking at? Like the 3.6-3.8 range? Or something else?

I wouldn't really focus on the GPA's. Your GPA isn't going to be an issue for the schools you should be targeting(ie those in that 30-33 MCAT range).

 

[Doug Underhill]

Apply to all your state schools and 10-12 of the "low-yield" schools in the 30-33 range. I feel like you should also apply DO as well. Your stats are decent enough to make allopathic schools reasonable., but not enough to make it a certainty.

 

[ChrisMack390]

Apply to all your state schools and 10-12 of the "low-yield" schools in the 30-33 range. I feel like you should also apply DO as well. Your stats are decent enough to make allopathic schools reasonable., but not enough to make it a certainty.

LOL. You are kidding, right?

OP if you do not get into MD school it will have nothing to do with your excellent GPA and 90th percentile MCAT. If you want better advice, you should probably post more about your EC activities and clinical experience.

 

[GrapesofRath]

510 is 80th-83rd percentile....equivalent of a 31 on the old scale. Historically about 60-70% of 3.7/31 applicants get in. Those who don't are suffering from flaws not related to their stats.

Ultimately it's up to each person how they want to proceed with DO schools. With the merger and many other unknown variables about DO's that will come up over the next decade, I encourage everyone to do their own research. Get your own sense for what a DO entails and what limitations/restrictions DO's have that MD's don't(and what doors are closed as a DO) and decide for yourself how that will/won't affect your ambitions and aspirations and what you want to do with your life in medicine. Note it's much much more complicated than just saying "Oh as long as I don' twant to do plastics or neurosurgery or something there's no difference between DO and MD".

While I personally wouldn't consider it a bad idea to throw in a few DO schools, I can see the reasons why some with good stats might want to give it an app cycle of MD only first before deciding how open they are to the DO route. It's best everybody does their own specific research and asks thesmelves the tough questions to see what is best for them.

 

[Lawpy]

The MD matriculant medians are a 3.7/31, which for the new MCAT translates to a 3.7/510. OP is fine applying MD-only provided she utilizes the MSAR to find schools that best fit her stats and objectives.

 

[Doug Underhill]

510 is 80th-83rd percentile....equivalent of a 31 on the old scale. Historically about 60-70% of 3.7/31 applicants get in. Those who don't are suffering from flaws not related to their stats.

This is what I'm saying, although I don't know if I agree that those applicants are flawed. Sometimes, things just don't work out for them, especially if their state schools are very selective like California's.

Maryland is a decent state for MD admissions. 43% of applicants got in, 57% did not. It all depends on how much certainty you want to have that you will matriculate that year.

 

[GrapesofRath]

This is what I'm saying, although I don't know if I agree that those applicants are flawed. Sometimes, things just don't work out for them, especially if their state schools are very selective like California's.

Maryland is a decent state for MD admissions. 43% of applicants got in, 57% did not. It all depends on how much certainty you want to have that you will matriculate that year.

Meh Maryland is actually one of the worser states out there. Only 14% of applicants stay IS and there is only 1 state school and that state school has high stats(3.8/32-33). Look at the % of IS matriculants to get a better idea of how "lucky that state is, perhaps also comparing the IS matriculant%/OOS matriculant% ratio. Overall acceptance rates for states isn't particularly useful.

Really its up to the OP what they want to do and how open they are to the DO route. I can understand both perspectives, wanting to give it 2 cycles of MD(ie no DO first cycle) before going the DO route and I can also understand adding DO's the first time around. It's their choice what they want to do so I tend to stay out of the whole "you need to apply DO" or don't convo.