WAMC 4.0 GPA 524 MCAT T20 Schools

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MackL

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Hello all. Here are my stats. What are my odds of getting into one of these schools WITH A FULL RIDE. I think I have a good chance of getting in, but I would only attend if I got a full ride scholarship given that I want to go into Emergency Medicine or primary care, so taking out a bunch of loans wouldn’t make financial sense.
  1. White Male, Traditional Applicant, Upper Middle Class Background
  2. School: UConn, Chemistry
  3. GPA: 4.0
  4. MCAT: 524 (132 Chem/Phys, 131 Bio, 130 CARS, 131 Psych/Soc)
  5. Volunteer: boys home (500), mentor/tutor for rural kids (100), Miscellaneous experiences (200) TOTAL: 800
  6. Clinical Experience: Clinical Assistant at free/sliding scale healthcare clinic run by the local government (500) TOTAL: 1500 (includes projected hours)
  7. Research: Sociology/Public Health Research focusing on divorce rates and how that effects children growing up (200) I just started in March, but I have been promoted to team lead and will be presenting at a national conference in 2 weeks. Will also be published in national journal. TOTAL: 500 (including projected hours)

Reach/Target Schools I Applied For: I also applied for some local schools, but I feel like I will get in there so they won’t be listed
  1. Vandy
  2. UNC Chapel Hill
  3. Harvard
  4. Yale
  5. UPenn
  6. UChicago
  7. UF
  8. Cornell
  9. WashU
  10. Stanford
What are the odds I get a full ride merit based scholarship to these schools? I am particularly interested in WashU and Vandy due to the lower cost of living in these areas. Thank you!

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Hello all. Here are my stats. What are my odds of getting into one of these schools WITH A FULL RIDE. I think I have a good chance of getting in, but I would only attend if I got a full ride scholarship given that I want to go into Emergency Medicine or primary care, so taking out a bunch of loans wouldn’t make financial sense.
  1. White Male, Traditional Applicant, Upper Middle Class Background
  2. School: UConn, Chemistry
  3. GPA: 4.0
  4. MCAT: 524 (132 Chem/Phys, 131 Bio, 130 CARS, 131 Psych/Soc)
  5. Volunteer: boys home (500), mentor/tutor for rural kids (100), Miscellaneous experiences (200) TOTAL: 800
  6. Clinical Experience: Clinical Assistant at free/sliding scale healthcare clinic run by the local government (500) TOTAL: 1500 (includes projected hours)
  7. Research: Sociology/Public Health Research focusing on divorce rates and how that effects children growing up (200) I just started in March, but I have been promoted to team lead and will be presenting at a national conference in 2 weeks. Will also be published in national journal. TOTAL: 500 (including projected hours)

Reach/Target Schools I Applied For: I also applied for some local schools, but I feel like I will get in there so they won’t be listed
  1. Vandy
  2. UNC Chapel Hill
  3. Harvard
  4. Yale
  5. UPenn
  6. UChicago
  7. UF
  8. Cornell
  9. WashU
  10. Stanford
What are the odds I get a full ride merit based scholarship to these schools? I am particularly interested in WashU and Vandy due to the lower cost of living in these areas. Thank you!
If you want to try for free tuition, why don’t you have NYU, Einstein, and Johns Hopkins on your list?
 
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If you want to try for free tuition, why don’t you have NYU, Einstein, and Johns Hopkins on your list?
I don’t want to live in NYC and one of my dad’s coworkers was nearly killed in Baltimore while on a work trip
 
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Kaiser, at least for this cycle? USUHS?

No HPSP or NHSC? Those are your best chances for full COA scholarships so you can apply to any school. Then your in-state public UConn.

There are extremely few merit scholarships unless you express a sincere mission fit. Be smart with your strategy. Most of the in-house COA scholarships are need-based.

Otherwise we can question your true motivation to be a physician.
 
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Kaiser, at least for this cycle? USUHS?

No HPSP or NHSC? Those are your best chances for full COA scholarships so you can apply to any school. Then your in-state public UConn.

There are extremely few merit scholarships unless you express a sincere mission fit. Be smart with your strategy. Most of the in-house COA scholarships are need-based.

Otherwise we can question your true motivation to be a physician.
I can’t do HPSP unfortunately. I was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease a little less than a year ago (HPSP had been my plan for awhile). I will look into NHSC.

I know UPenn gives about 30 full ride merit based scholarships each year. I’m not sure if my stats are good enough for it tho.

The reason why I would want a full ride is because I want to go to one of these top school, it taking out a 300,000 loan would not make sense since I want to do primary care or emergency med, and neither of those pay enough to justify taking out that many loans.

Im not sure what you mean about questioning my true motivation to be a physician
 
I know UPenn gives about 30 full ride merit based scholarships each year. I’m not sure if my stats are good enough for it tho.
I'm not behind the desk at Penn, but most of the students there get some form of financial aid.

Search the forums on the Penn 21st Century Scholarships, especially in X vs. Y.

It also doesn't sound like you would do MD/PhD.

The reason why I would want a full ride is because I want to go to one of these top school, it taking out a 300,000 loan would not make sense since I want to do primary care or emergency med, and neither of those pay enough to justify taking out that many loans.

Im not sure what you mean about questioning my true motivation to be a physician
That's why your in-state options are your better choice financially and to fulfill your educational goals for primary care or emergency med. It also makes sense for Einstein, NYU, and any other medical school you could apply to. I don't get a sense of why medicine is your purpose from any of the responses below, but I'm sure your answer is required to get a 21st Century Scholarship or a similar Dean's Scholarship.
 
I think Duke also gives out some merit scholarships (not sure how many or how much $ though), if you want to consider adding that to your list
 
I saw UMiami give full scholarships to applicants with your stats last cycle.

Mayo Clinic gives significant scholarships as well.

However, I would change your expectations such that you’d be pleasantly surprised to simply get into more than 1-2 of these T10-T20s regardless of financials. They are incredibly hard to get into even in your stat range.

As others have said I would add NYU Hopkins and Einstein
 
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I don’t want to live in NYC and one of my dad’s coworkers was nearly killed in Baltimore while on a work trip
Also,
I recommend you apply to schools like USF Iowa Indiana and Hofstra, which like high stat OOS applicants
 
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You're pack fodder at these top schools. Merit scholarships are very much a crapshoot; it seems nobody really knows much about them except they're a crapshoot. Often, truly stellar applicants - by top 20 schools' stratospheric standards - will be offered them to lure them away. Think URM Green Beret West Point grad deciding on a career in medicine at 29. Maybe after rehab from losing a leg to an IED. Olympic athletes. People with multiple papers in top journals who chose to pivot to medicine. These people are platinum-grade, maybe unobtainium-grade rock stars. While you stand a fair chance of being admitted to a top school if you interview well, you are not the type of person that these schools are salivating over and eagerly offering you interviews right and left.

Think about doing PSLF, make payments in residency and as an attending, get on an income based repayment plan. Good luck with everything. You are quite a strong candidate, but you aren't at the very tippy top of the food chain.

Edit: You definitely should apply to top-20 schools. You're a solid candidate at any school in the country.
 
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UCLA has full rides (not just full tuition), but they use it to recruit high caliber applicants, beyond just their stats. Yes, you have the stats, now focus on how to present your story.
 
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