WAMC/School List help (Career Changer 526 3.58c/3.82s)

[Dog goes Meow]

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I am going into my last semester as a post bacc, hoping to apply for the 2026-2027 cycle. Postbacc grades got a little better than my previous post so wanted to make an edit and see where I am. I need help revising a school list considering my GPA objectively.

Stats

• MCAT: 526
  • 132/131/132/131
• uGPA: 3.58
  • Private Uni in California (BSN)
• Post bacc GPA: 3.94
  • UPenn
• CA resident, ORM

ECs:

• Clinical (4000 hours)
  • Student Nurse (1500)
  • CNA (1000)
  • RN (1500)
• Research (1700 hours + 1 pub + 1 poster)
  • Wet lab (1500 + 1 pub + 1 poster)
  • Clinical (200)
• Volunteer (200 hours)
  • Food drive
  • Teaching CPR
• Leadership
  • Mentor during undergrad (2 years)
  • RA during undergrad (1 year)
  • Community outreach club during postbacc (1 year)
• Shadowing (90 hours)
  • Emergency (30)
  • Cardiologist (30)
  • Geriatrics (30)
• Teaching (250 hours)
  • Private tutor (250)
• EC
  • Service in Korean military (mainly to maintain dual citizenship)

List

1. UCLA
2. UCI
3. UCSD
4. UCD
5. USC
6. Kaiser
7. California University
8. Stanford
9. Arizona (Phoenix)
10. Colorado
11. Mayo
12. Iowa
13. St. Louis
14. Washington University (in St. Louis)
15. Northwestern
16. Western Michigan
17. U Michigan
18. U Chicago
19. Tulane
20. Vanderbilt
21. USF Morsani
22. Miami
23. Emory
24. Georgetown
25. George Washington
26. Cincinnati
27. Ohio State
28. Case Western
29. Pittsburgh
30. Jefferson
31. Hofstra
32. Einstein
33. Mount Sinai
34. Rochester
35. Vermont
36. Dartmouth
37. Brown
38. UMass
39. Tufts
40. Boston U
41. UPenn
42. Eastern Virginia
43. Virginia Commonwealth
44. Creighton
45. Wayne state
46. Johns Hopkins
47. Drexel
48. Temple
49. Quinnipiac
50. Loyola
51. Hackensack
52. Wake Forest

 

[exoplanet]

Even though your undergrad GPA seems low for a pre-med perspective, it's not that low. I think just by the sheer fact can be somewhat overlooked by adcoms because your MCAT score is amazing, and your post-bacc GPA is also good.
Is there a reason why there isn't UCSF on here? While I'm not an adcom, I think you can afford to reduce this down by a lot because of your MCAT. I think you can afford to have a lot less "safety" schools here, so you can spend more energy on target schools which for you are T20s.

 

[Dog goes Meow]

Even though your undergrad GPA seems low for a pre-med perspective, it's not that low. I think just by the sheer fact can be somewhat overlooked by adcoms because your MCAT score is amazing, and your post-bacc GPA is also good.
Is there a reason why there isn't UCSF on here? While I'm not an adcom, I think you can afford to reduce this down by a lot because of your MCAT. I think you can afford to have a lot less "safety" schools here, so you can spend more energy on target schools which for you are T20s.

UCSF is not on there because I’d never go to SF in the first place… Would you say I should add more T20s and balance it out with less safetys?

 

[AsclepiusAdvisingLLC]

On paper, you’re in a strong position. Your MCAT and post-bacc GPA will likely pass screening at most schools and your clinical experience as a nurse is a differentiator in the typical applicant profile at many schools. At top schools, it will be less so but that's where your personal narrative comes in.

That said, your school list is sprawling, and part of a smart application strategy is knowing where to be ambitious and where to be selective so you’re not spreading yourself too thin on secondaries. On a first glance, that's a problem flag.

You should also consider that a good number of schools may reject you, despite being above their avgs/medians, because they are uncertain you will attend, if also admitted somewhere else.

How do you see your narrative, especially your nursing background and post-bacc reinvention, fitting with the missions of the schools you’ve chosen and are there particular programs where you feel your story would resonate most? Was your military service for the mandatory service in Korea?