Schools list help for a California Asian Male

[Captain Flint]

Hey all, I applied to 26 schools and didn't receive a single interview. I called most of the schools and 3 said that my MCAT score was too low at 30. My GPA was 3.5 so that was pretty low as well. I retook the new mcat and got a 89%, so hopefully that will help this year's application. I have strong extracurriculars so that wasn't an issue.

Anyways, my application will be verified soon and was wondering if anyone could look at my school list. I want to delete about 5 schools. I know there are a lot of reach schools on the list, but the money isn't an issue for me, nor is the time to work on secondaries. I just want to know if there's anything I'm missing such as schools that only primarily accept in state and schools that have specific requirements I won't satisfy. I included OU in there only because I was born in Oklahoma, so that's the only one that stands out to me. Thanks for any help!

School list:
Albany Medical
Baylor
Boston
Case Western
Columbia
Cornell
Creighton
Dartmouth Geisel
Drexel
Duke
Eastern Virginia
Emory
Georgetown
Hofstra North Shore
Indiana U
Jefferson/Sidney Kimmel
Loyola Stritch Chicago
Mayo
Medical College Wisconsin
NYMC
Oakland Beaumont
Oklahoma University
Penn State U
Quinnipiac University (Connecticut)
Rochester
Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science (Chicago)
Rush
Saint Louis
Stanford
SUNY Buffalo
SUNY Downstate
SUNY Stony Brook
SUNY Upstate
Temple
Tufts U
Tulane
U of Vermont
UC Davis
UC Irvine
UC Riverside
UCLA
UCSD
UCSF
University of Miami (Miller)
University of Pittsburgh
USC Keck
USF Health Morsani
Wake Forest
Yeshiva (Einstein)

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[ZedsDed]

So you have a 32/33? That will help, but the GPA will still be an issue. I think it's time to add DO schools. Or, if you are willing to take the risk, do an SMP.

I would remove Columbia, Duke, Cornell, Mayo, Stanford, UCSF, UCLA, UCR, UCSD, and all of the low-yields. At the very least add in Ca-Touros and Western.

 

[Captain Flint]

So you have a 32/33? That will help, but the GPA will still be an issue. I think it's time to add DO schools. Or, if you are willing to take the risk, do an SMP.

I would remove Columbia, Duke, Cornell, Mayo, Stanford, UCSF, UCLA, UCR, UCSD, and all of the low-yields. At the very least add in Ca-Touros and Western.

Oh sorry. Yeah I'm already applying to DO schools including Touros and Western. I'm keeping all the California schools just because, haha. Thanks!

 

[DrMidlife]

Baylor
Columbia
Cornell
Dartmouth Geisel
Duke
Emory
Mayo
Stanford

These are extreme reaches, so leaving out some won't hurt you.

Indiana U
Oklahoma University
Penn State U
SUNY Buffalo
SUNY Downstate
SUNY Stony Brook
SUNY Upstate
USF Health Morsani

These are public schools where you'd have to be a top 5% candidate to have a chance as a non-resident. Yes including Oklahoma. Which means these are also extreme reaches.

So that's 16 you can strike or keep as reaches, imho. I agree with applying DO.

The east coast SMPs are full of Californians with 3.5/30+, and those kids are your competition at all the private schools with high OOS acceptance numbers. Hopefully you'll get some UC love.

Best of luck to you.

 

[Captain Flint]

These are extreme reaches, so leaving out some won't hurt you.


These are public schools where you'd have to be a top 5% candidate to have a chance as a non-resident. Yes including Oklahoma. Which means these are also extreme reaches.

So that's 16 you can strike or keep as reaches, imho. I agree with applying DO.

The east coast SMPs are full of Californians with 3.5/30+, and those kids are your competition at all the private schools with high OOS acceptance numbers. Hopefully you'll get some UC love.

Best of luck to you.

Wow this is really helpful! I think I will take out all those schools you mentioned as a top 5%. I'd like to keep the extreme reaches, as I'm banking on them to at least take a look at my application.

 

[GrapesofRath]

While it is certainly possible for a CA applicant to get completely shut out with a 3.5/30, when you apply to 26 schools and don't get a single interview, it is also possible there might be other issues with your app.

Why in God's name are you applying to top tier schools when you didn't even get a single II anywhere last cycle? Like how does that make any sense; if everybody said no to your app last time around you really think Stanford and Columbia are going to come in and save the day?

I'm being a little harsh because this is your second time around, you gotta have better perspective. Did you do anything in the past year to significantly improve your app besides the MCAT? You really gotta include some DO schools. And yes SMP's are very very competitive; the decision you are making if you do one is I would rather risk not being a doctor at all than be a DO.

 

[candbgirl]

I'd like to keep the extreme reaches, as I'm banking on them to at least take a look at my application.

What on earth makes you think that? And what do you hope will happen if they look at your application?

 

[Goro]

Your GPA is < avg and MCAT (retake) is avg.

EDIT: Yes the extreme reaches will look at at your app, and then throw it in the trash. They don't need to donations in the form of your app fees, so take your parents to dinner instead. You need to be more realistic and not engage in magic thinking.



Here's a realistic list:

Albany Medical
Creighton
Drexel
Eastern Virginia
Georgetown
Jefferson/Sidney Kimmel
Loyola Stritch Chicago
Medical College Wisconsin
NYMC
Oakland Beaumont
Oklahoma University
Quinnipiac University (Connecticut)
Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science (Chicago)
Rush
Saint Louis
Temple
Tufts U
Tulane
UC Davis
UC Irvine
UC Riverside (only if you're from the Inland Empire)
University of Miami (Miller)
Wake Forest
Any DO school, starting with Touro-CA, both Westerns, AZCOM, SOMA and TUNCOM.

 

[Captain Flint]

While it is certainly possible for a CA applicant to get completely shut out with a 3.5/30, when you apply to 26 schools and don't get a single interview, it is also possible there might be other issues with your app.

Why in God's name are you applying to top tier schools when you didn't even get a single II anywhere last cycle? Like how does that make any sense; if everybody said no to your app last time around you really think Stanford and Columbia are going to come in and save the day?

I'm being a little harsh because this is your second time around, you gotta have better perspective. Did you do anything in the past year to significantly improve your app besides the MCAT? You really gotta include some DO schools. And yes SMP's are very very competitive; the decision you are making if you do one is I would rather risk not being a doctor at all than be a DO.

I know it isn't a significant improvement, but I added 1000 hours of scribing at a high volume cardiology practice and spent a month training new scribes at the family medicine branch at Stanford. I have also corrected many things in my old application that I believe have improved my application greatly.

I hope I'm not offending many of you by applying to this many schools, the money really isn't an issue as all my savings and credit are going to go to applying. Becoming a doctor is my dream and money will always be secondary to that dream. And like I repeated before, it doesn't matter DO or MD, hence why I'm applying to 5 DO schools. I'd rather go DO than do a SMP to go MD. However, to make things clear, I am preferring MD because of the stigma in the Korean-American community and I would like to serve my own ethnicity in the future.

 

[Captain Flint]

Your GPA is < avg and MCAT (retake) is avg.

EDIT: Yes the extreme reaches will look at at your app, and then throw it in the trash. They don't need to donations in the form of your app fees, so take your parents to dinner instead. You need to be more realistic and not engage in magic thinking.



Here's a realistic list:

Albany Medical
Creighton
Drexel
Eastern Virginia
Georgetown
Jefferson/Sidney Kimmel
Loyola Stritch Chicago
Medical College Wisconsin
NYMC
Oakland Beaumont
Oklahoma University
Quinnipiac University (Connecticut)
Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science (Chicago)
Rush
Saint Louis
Temple
Tufts U
Tulane
UC Davis
UC Irvine
UC Riverside (only if you're from the Inland Empire)
University of Miami (Miller)
Wake Forest
Any DO school, starting with Touro-CA, both Westerns, AZCOM, SOMA and TUNCOM.

Thanks for this list Goro, much appreciated!

 

[GrapesofRath]

I know it isn't a significant improvement, but I added 1000 hours of scribing at a high volume cardiology practice and spent a month training new scribes at the family medicine branch at Stanford. I have also corrected many things in my old application that I believe have improved my application greatly.

I hope I'm not offending many of you by applying to this many schools, the money really isn't an issue as all my savings and credit are going to go to applying. Becoming a doctor is my dream and money will always be secondary to that dream. And like I repeated before, it doesn't matter DO or MD, hence why I'm applying to 5 DO schools. I'd rather go DO than do a SMP to go MD. However, to make things clear, I am preferring MD because of the stigma in the Korean-American community and I would like to serve my own ethnicity in the future.

Where all did you apply last cycle? If you spent last cycle applying to all these reaches it actually bodes better for your chances because things are going to be harder at lower tiers where you are a re-applicant.

Yes you have improved your application since last cycle, but these aren't ground-breaking things. You are still at best a 50-50 candidate, particularly considering you will be a re-applicant at many schools.

Throw in a few more DO's and I think that'll fully cover your bases in that regard and you can at least end up with II's this time around.

Like I said, really really evaluate your old app to see what went wrong. Yes CA is uber competitive but there are definitely 3.5/30's who can at least manage a II or two.

 

[GrapesofRath]

Follow Goro's list. If you have already applied to a ton of these school last cycle you will be considered a re-applicant which will probably make things harder. Yes, you have improved your app but it's nothing ground breaking: you are at best a 50-50 candidate considering you'll be a re-applicant many places.

If you need a couple more schools that MIGHT be worth an application since you are going to be a re-applicant at so many places here are some to consider. Like I said most these are all long shots but its a hell of a lot better than throwing apps at Stanford and seeing your app end up in their garbage can 5 minutes later.

George Washington
Western Michigan(this is a must apply)
U of Arizona(both)
Wright State(big maybe one of those schools only apply if you really can afford to just apply anywhere and everywhere you have a remote chance)
Penn State
VCU(Goro must have forgotten this one it's a must apply)
Vermont
Hofstra(big maybe here it's much more favorable if they only consider the most recent score for you)
Boston U(same big maybe as Boston U I would only consider applying if they really only care about your most recent score; maybe rest of SDN can chime in on these schools true policies on re-takes)
USC(same qualifier as the two above)
Emory(same qualifier as the two above)
Rochester(yet again same qualifier)

The reason I listed these schools that are long shots is if you applied to a bunch of lower tiers last cycle you can try and diversify at schools where you are a first time applicant. Sure some of these might be really stretching things, but if you want the MD that badly and money is not an object you gotta try and do what you can and this is how to maximize your odds of an MD acceptance.

Like I said earlier really really look at your app from last cycle. California is brutally competitive and a 3.5/30 is pretty middling but there are people from CA who can at least nab a II or two with those stats. It is possible there were other problems with your app last time than stats.

 

[beachadventure]

You might want to delete UCSD on your list because they are SUPER competitive. Best wishes!

 

[moisne]

Try colorado - We had like a huge proportion from cali.