WAMC - 4.0 cGPA/sGPA, 519 MCAT, IL resident

[rap1985]

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Hello I plan on applying during the 2025-2026 cycle and i'm looking to see if my school list is too top heavy or if there are any glaring oversights I might've missed during my run through. Thank you for your time.

• cGPA: 4.0
• sGPA: 4.0
• MCAT: 519 (131/127/131/130)
• State of residence: IL
• ORM (White)
• SES Status: EO-1 Socioeconomically disadvantaged (Neither parent has attended a university)
• Undergraduate institution: Private school (Low Ranking)
• Clinical experience:
  • EMT-B Private Ambulance (Paid): 650 hours
  • EMT-B Volunteer Fire Department (Unpaid): 320 hours
• Research experience and productivity:
  • University Research Lab: 1.3K Hours (Successful undergraduate grant application, 2 poster presentations, 0 publications)
• Shadowing experience: 60 hours (ENT, Internal Medicine, and Family Medicine)
• Non-clinical volunteering:
  • ESL TA: 150 Hours (ESL TA for Ukrainian refugees)
  • Homeless shelter volunteering: 350 Hours
• Leadership:
  • Course Assistant for introductory physics class: 50 Hours
  • University tutor for organic chemistry: 150 Hours
• Hobbies: Trumpet, swimming, and cliff diving

I'm applying to 20 schools so far but i'd like to up my school count to 25. I'm also looking for any other schools I should look at or any schools on my school list that are a no go for my application so far.

Current School List:
Reach
UChicago
Northwestern
HMS
JHU
Mayo Clinic

Target
Pittsburgh
CWRU
Dartmouth (Geisel)
Rochester
Emory
Mt. Sinai
UMich


Baseline
University of Illinois
Rush University
Loyola (Stritch)
Rosalind Franklin
Southern Illinois University
University of Cincinnati
Ohio State University
Georgetown

 

[LunaOri]

On paper, you're a rockstar, with a shot at any medical school! Your chances of acceptance will depend on your mission fit with the school, your ability to express yourself in your essays, and your interview skills. Assuming you are coherent, show yourself to be a decent human being, and have good reasons for wanting to be a physician, your chances are excellent!

 

[Mr.Smile12]

Foundationally, you seem good. I agree, you must describe your purpose as a physician and check into mission fit with the schools.

Now what schools you might not want to include (in other words, why this school?):
Southern Illinois would be great if you did not grow up around the Chicagoland area.
Rush would be great if you had more community service (800+ hours).
Why are you putting down Ohio schools (Cincinnati and Ohio State) as baseline?
If you have Harvard down, why not the other Boston schools? Boston does have a lot of opportunities with free clinics for refugee/asylee populations. Is that something that interests you?
Your list leans East Coast brands but not Midwest where I presume you grew up. Is this intentional?

Any academic enrichment programs or pipeline program involvement? Any networking with schools near you or on the list?

 

[surelycalm]

Target
Pittsburgh
CWRU
Dartmouth (Geisel)
Rochester
Emory
Mt. Sinai
UMich

These aren't really "Target" schools. They are perfectly fine to apply to with your stats, but they are still reaches as they reject tons of top candidates with stats even higher than yours.

Consider adding some more schools where you are in the 50-90th percentile to maximize your chances.

 

[rap1985]

Foundationally, you seem good. I agree, you must describe your purpose as a physician and check into mission fit with the schools.

Now what schools you might not want to include (in other words, why this school?):
Southern Illinois would be great if you did not grow up around the Chicagoland area.
Rush would be great if you had more community service (800+ hours).
Why are you putting down Ohio schools (Cincinnati and Ohio State) as baseline?
If you have Harvard down, why not the other Boston schools? Boston does have a lot of opportunities with free clinics for refugee/asylee populations. Is that something that interests you?
Your list leans East Coast brands but not Midwest where I presume you grew up. Is this intentional?

Any academic enrichment programs or pipeline program involvement? Any networking with schools near you or on the list?

Thank you for the advice, I mostly looked at GPA and MCAT averages when making my school list as I'm unsure which schools are or are not OoS-friendly. For the Boston schools I'll be sure to add Tufts and Boston as volunteering with refugees is something I'm interested in, especially if I can use my language skills. Leaning east coast was not intentional I did grow up in the Midwest so I'd like to add a few more Midwest schools, but I'm unsure which ones are OoS friendly as I've added all of my in-state schools. I've not been in any academic enrichment/pipeline programs since i'm applying as a trad applicant. I've also not networked with any schools near me or on the list.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

Thank you for the advice, I mostly looked at GPA and MCAT averages when making my school list as I'm unsure which schools are or are not OoS-friendly. For the Boston schools I'll be sure to add Tufts and Boston as volunteering with refugees is something I'm interested in, especially if I can use my language skills. Leaning east coast was not intentional I did grow up in the Midwest so I'd like to add a few more Midwest schools, but I'm unsure which ones are OoS friendly as I've added all of my in-state schools. I've not been in any academic enrichment/pipeline programs since i'm applying as a trad applicant. I've also not networked with any schools near me or on the list.

You have a few months to connect with other medical students (AMSA/SNMA chapter officers or on social media), and with a 4.0 GPA/519 MCAT, if you have a specific compelling mission fit with an OOS school (and the OOS tuition isn't horrible/you get to be in-state after a year), you can consider a few public medical schools. It just depends on your purpose.