What schools should I aim for? 3.9 Cum/Sci GPA 34 MCAT

[bunnyg]

Ok here are my stats:

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[Goro]

I'd like to see some off-campus, non-clinical volunteering (get out of your comfort zone!), but overall, a nice app.

I suggest the following. Nothing wrong with aiming high; but the ones I have in bold/red are schools where your MCAT score is 1-2 points below their avg, while your GPA is the same as the school avg (no mean feat). Thus, proceed with caution on these, but I feel you're in striking distance for some. Good luck!

U AZ
U Colorado
Miami
St. Louis
Albany
Albert Einstein
Rochester
Rush
Rosy Franklin
BU
NYMC
EVMS
Wake Forest
Jefferson
Temple
Drexel
Creighton
Emory
USC
Tulane
Dartmouth
Loyola
Creighton
Baylor
Mayo
Pitt
Northwestern
NYU
Vanderbilt
Columbia
Cornell
Duke
Case
Any new MD school, especially Hofstra
Your state school(s).

 

[bunnyg]

Thanks!

Yes I will work on my volunteering!

Do you think I should bother applying to the UCs? They would be significantly cheaper for me but I know they are very competitive

 

[ProudMD]

Thanks!

Yes I will work on my volunteering!

Do you think I should bother applying to the UCs? They would be significantly cheaper for me but I know they are very competitive

Absolutely apply to the UCs. A 3.9+ GPA and 34 MCAT is very competitive for UCLA and UCSF. But keep in mind that for these top schools, your ECs need to be up to snuff.

 

[sunshine02]

Absolutely apply to the UCs. A 3.9+ GPA and 34 MCAT is very competitive for UCLA and UCSF. But keep in mind that for these top schools, your ECs need to be up to snuff.

OP, you seem to be in very good shape!!

ProudMD: are UCLA and UCSF very unfriendly toward OOS? Do you know what they tend to look for particularly in applicants? For example, I heard some med schools tend to like students who are interesting and have unusual backgrounds, etc.

 

[ProudMD]

OP, you seem to be in very good shape!!

ProudMD: are UCLA and UCSF very unfriendly toward OOS? Do you know what they tend to look for particularly in applicants? For example, I heard some med schools tend to like students who are interesting and have unusual backgrounds, etc.

Over 20% of each UCSF class is from out of state - I am not sure about UCLA. Because these are state schools, they do have a bias towards CA residents. However, as you can see, UCSF is somewhat friendly towards OOS applicants.

As for what these schools look for, I can offer you some insight regarding UCSF, after observing many of my peers who are currently attending the school. Aside from competitive numbers, UCSF really seems to want substantial and leadership-focused global health/public health related ECs. I am talking about Americorps VISTA programs, university-sponsored summer internships to India/Africa (focus on global health), Fulbright Scholarships for international public health projects, etc. Based on my limited observations, it seems that UCSF doesn't place as strong of an emphasis on raw, traditional research as its peer institutions. Another thing to mention is that UCSF isn't quite as stat-heavy as the rest of the top 10s. A 3.7-3.8 GPA along with a 34 MCAT should be very competitive for admissions. Also, UCSF is known to accept students coming from a community college background.

Again, this is only based on my observations of my peers who have gotten accepted to UCSF. Many of whom are not CA residents.