What makes a reach vs. target vs. safety?

[Strictlydickly]

Okay so I have no idea how to compare myself for schools. My ECs are all great and whatnot but lets forget about those and talk numbers.

I have cGPA: 3.93 and sGPA: 3.95 and MCAT 522. MSAR puts me above 90th percentile for like every school but obviously that doesn't mean everything is safety? What is a good target and what are realistic safeties that won't just autoreject me cause stats too high?

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[WedgeDawg]

I wouldn't even think of them in these terms.

Your application base should be top 20s (12-15) with a mid tier spread (3-6) + all of your state schools + any other random school that you might for whatever reason really like.

Safety/target/whatever has no meaning here.

 

[EaglesontheWarpath]

Your stats are very competitive, so for you the top and upper middle tier schools are going to be target. For you, your safeties would be your state schools and other in-state schools that might not be top-tier, or other schools your have some connection to but aren't top tier. I have always said the term "safety" does not apply to medical school admission, due to yield protection and other reasons. Honestly for someone like you (e.g. would be IS in PA), Drexel wouldn't give you the time of day since they know you are going to end up probably at Penn/Pitt or somewhere similar OOS. The only true safety would be if your undergraduate had a medical school (e.g. you went to drexel undergrad, therefore you could argue and they would believe that if accepted you would actually go there)

 

[darkjedi]

The What are my chances forum is probably better suited for your question. You would need to post more information about your application to be able to get better help.

The truth of the matter is that there really is no such thing as a 'safety' in medical school admissions. A school that is far below your stats might not even interview you, assuming you will go elsewhere. Unless you can prove that you are serious about attending, whether it's because its your state school, or you have some sort of other connection, you can't rely on lower-stat schools as 'safety' options. For someone like you mid to top tier schools would be appropriate to apply to.

 

[Strictlydickly]

Your stats are very competitive, so for you the top and upper middle tier schools are going to be target. For you, your safeties would be your state schools and other in-state schools that might not be top-tier, or other schools your have some connection to but aren't top tier. I have always said the term "safety" does not apply to medical school admission, due to yield protection and other reasons. Honestly for someone like you (e.g. would be IS in PA), Drexel wouldn't give you the time of day since they know you are going to end up probably at Penn/Pitt or somewhere similar OOS. The only true safety would be if your undergraduate had a medical school (e.g. you went to drexel undergrad, therefore you could argue and they would believe that if accepted you would actually go there)

I wouldn't even think of them in these terms.

Your application base should be top 20s (12-15) with a mid tier spread (3-6) + all of your state schools + any other random school that you might for whatever reason really like.

Safety/target/whatever has no meaning here.

Thanks for the input guys! That makes sense, I am also applying MD/PhD though so that kind of limits me to schools to apply to. And my undergraduate school's med school is top 10 so that is def not a safety hahahah. But my state schools make sense.

Thanks again!

 

[WedgeDawg]

Also, just FYI, a 522, if I'm remembering correctly, is 38-39, so that doesn't put you >90th percentile at most top schools (usually 40-41 is the 90th percentile, which would be 523/524. Additionally, most top schools have GPAs of 3.99 or 4.0 for top 10th percentile.

Not that it matters at all, it's still an absolutely amazing score.

 

[LizzyM]

You have no safeties and here's why.... the schools that are traditional safeties will not interview you because they look at the numbers and say, "This one isn't coming here... this is the kind of applicant who will turn us down and go to Stanford or Harvard. We'd only be wasting our time to offer an interview."

Apply where you think you'd fit well with the academic culture, research opportunities, geographic location. For the MD/PhD schools, think about the skills and interests you bring to the table and how you might fit with the current research portfolio there.

 

[eteshoe]

Your stats are similar to mine (albeit a slightly higher GPA). Honestly apply to the majority of he top 20 research heavy med schools (that are doing research you can see yourself doing, 3-5 PIs each) + your state schools. Barring no major red flags during your interviews, you should have a pretty successful application cycle.

 

[piii]

Safeties don't exist. It is very likely that you will be rejected by "safeties" for yield protection. Your safest bet are target in state public schools.

 

[GrapesofRath]

Your safety is your state school(s).

If you are from CA there are certain schools that are known for taking good amounts of CA applicants every year, although when stats are this high even that can become less distinct a trend. There will be people who suggest schools a bit below the top 20 as "safeties" here which has some merit. The thing is those schools also tend to get alot more apps than top 20 schools and there OOS app/matriculant ratio isnt as favorable. They are also schools more likely to take on people with lower stats than top 20s so hence more competition.

So that basically highlights to you the importance of applying to your state school(s). In many states itll take something to go rather wrong in the interview or the written parts of the app for them to not take on someone with stats this high.

 

[efle]

A 522 is a 38. Most top schools have MCATs ranging to 40-41 / 525-526. Apply to those schools + state schools

 

[Goro]

Top schools have medians of 36-38.

A 522 is a 38. Most top schools have MCATs ranging to 40-41 / 525-526. Apply to those schools + state schools

 

[eteshoe]

Top schools have medians of 36-38.

Haha almost choked when I read @efle post since that meant I was on the lower end of the spectrum with my 38.

 

[WedgeDawg]

Top schools have medians of 36-38.

He's talking 90th percentiles.

 

[efle]

Top schools have medians of 36-38.

His post was about being above 90th percentiles everywhere, which is definitely not true even of a 38! I suspect he was looking at the new data ranges of applicant scores instead of the accepted applicants scores.