MD Too Top-Heavy List?

[529morelike471]

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[Faha]

You should receive several interviews from your list. It is not top heavy with your stats and EC's.

 

[lococola]

Solid list, barring really bad essays or LOR you'll do well. I'd take out Pitt, Einstein, and maybe some of your lower tiers and throw in Duke (unless you really hate durham or don't want to do that secondary). The problem with applying to 30 schools other than $ is the effort it takes to do those secondaries well. Having done that this cycle, I can tell you that was by far the most challenging aspect of the whole application cycle. You're probably a shoo in for UVA, so I'd recommend spending more time reflecting on your personal goals/criteria, and zeroing in on schools that provide that for you. This might be location, research opportunities, strength in particular specialties, etc. For example as an engineer HST, or Stanford might offer some unique opportunities for you, or with your experiences in cancer Cornell (MSKCC) might be appealing. When it comes to this top tier, crafting a cohesive narrative of your experiences and selling your fit at each school is probably your best bet without the "X factor" that other applicants might have.

 

[529morelike471]

Solid list, barring really bad essays or LOR you'll do well. I'd take out Pitt, Einstein, and maybe some of your lower tiers and throw in Duke (unless you really hate durham or don't want to do that secondary). The problem with applying to 30 schools other than $ is the effort it takes to do those secondaries well. Having done that this cycle, I can tell you that was by far the most challenging aspect of the whole application cycle. You're probably a shoo in for UVA, so I'd recommend spending more time reflecting on your personal goals/criteria, and zeroing in on schools that provide that for you. This might be location, research opportunities, strength in particular specialties, etc. For example as an engineer HST, or Stanford might offer some unique opportunities for you, or with your experiences in cancer Cornell (MSKCC) might be appealing. When it comes to this top tier, crafting a cohesive narrative of your experiences and selling your fit at each school is probably your best bet without the "X factor" that other applicants might have.

Thank you so much! I definitely agree and I think I should focus on specifying myself for the schools in the secondaries (well for the secondaries that ask those types of questions). Got rid of Duke cause it's got quite a notorious image within the Asian communities (and the secondaries does look brutal). Is there a particular reason why you think UVA is a good match?

I definitely have seen my friends struggle with secondaries also so I'm gonna spend some time pre-writing for the next month. Gap year really does wonders for the application cycle just with the time.

 

[capriccio]

I don't really think you need Tufts, Georgetown, or Temple—with those stats and ECs, you will get plenty of IIs from the top schools as long as you write your PS and secondaries well. If you still want to throw them in, then I would put them at a lower priority in terms of finishing secondaries.

 

[Goro]

• • Columbia University
  • Harvard University
  • Johns Hopkins University
  • Stanford University
  • University of California - San Francisco
  • University of Chicago
  • University of Pennsylvania
  • Washington University in St. Louis
  • Yale University
  • New York University
    
  • University of Michigan
    
  • Vanderbilt University
• • Case Western University
  • Cornell University
  • Emory University
  • Northwestern University
  • University of California - Los Angeles
  • University of California - San Diego
  • University of Pittsburgh
  • Mount Sinai
  • Albert Einstein
  • University of Virginia
• • University of Southern California
  • Hofstra
  • University of Maryland (In-state)
  • SUNY Downstate
• • Tufts University
  • Georgetown University
  • Temple

Fione list! Of your list, I suggest removing the last three. Suggest cutting out the UCs as they're hard for OOS to crack. Consider adding Rochester, Duke, Jefferson, Dartmouth.

To be more conservative, suggest something like this:
U Penn OR NYU OR U Chicago OR WashU
Vandy OR Northwestern OR Yale

 

[Walter Raleigh]

Get primary care shadowing. Other than that you're golden. You've got the Goro stamp of approval!

 

[stairway2seven]

you're a star and this list is appropriate

take into consideration the number of schools you're applying to and how much $$ and time you have to write PS/secondaries as these are some of the only things that could hurt your otherwise strong app