Where to Apply?...the sequel!

[clockitnow]

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Sorry for ANOTHER where to apply question, but it is pretty much the only thing that I have left to decide and it is stressing me out.

My stats are 3.9 GPA, 38 MCAT, plenty of research, extracurriculars, volunteering, and shadowing. My interests are in biomedical engineering (my undergrad major is mech eng). I could also possibly switch gears and work with gene therapy or other part of biology.

Unfortunately, I have not made as much progress as my predecessor (leverp2000). I currently have 22 schools on my list. I definitely need to narrow it down more, but I am worried about the what if scenarios. There are a few non-biomed eng schools on my list (ie. UCSF, Cornell, Mayo Clinic, Mt. Sinai). As you can tell, I would really like to stay in CA.

Cornell
Columbia
Harvard/MIT
Johns Hopkins
Stanford
UCSF
UC Irvine
UCLA/Caltech
USC/Caltech
UCSD
U Penn
U Pitt/Carnegie Mellon
U of Washington
Wash U in St. Louis
Case Western
U of Michigan
Northwestern
Emory/Georgia Tech
Yale
Mayo Clinic
Mt. Sinai
U of Minnesota

Any comments/suggestions that you have would be great. How many "backup schools" do you think are necessary? Besides the backup school, did you only apply to schools that you would be excited about going to (for me, right now these are pretty much the first 10)? Do backup schools even exist for MSTP or MD/PhD programs? Any suggestions for schools not to apply to?


**I am absolutely relieved that I was able to find this website to help with my applying to MSTP anxiety!**

 

[ninebillion]

UCSF has a joint program with Berkeley for bioengineering, just FYI. As for narrowing your list, I'm currently in the same boat. Good luck, and hopefully we'll see each other on the interview trail. 🙂

 

[Newquagmire]

baylor/rice

 

[Neuronix]

Any comments/suggestions that you have would be great. How many "backup schools" do you think are necessary? Besides the backup school, did you only apply to schools that you would be excited about going to (for me, right now these are pretty much the first 10)? Do backup schools even exist for MSTP or MD/PhD programs? Any suggestions for schools not to apply to?

These questions depend on your priorities. I would consider how important it is to get in on your first try. If it's more important to go to a program you really want to go to, I would just apply to those. With about a dozen schools and your seemingly very strong app, I think you'll have success. If not, you could try again next year.

If you really want to do BE, I would stick with BE. If you tell the adcoms what you're telling us, they probably won't want to accept you outside of BE. You might as well apply to schools that have BE programs and go from there. Not that there are really "backup" schools for BE MD/PhD applicants, some may be easier to get into than others. You might also want to consider location when looking at what schools to apply to. As it stands you're all over the place (country and city/rural).

 

[oasis786]

UCSF has a joint program with Berkeley for bioengineering, just FYI. As for narrowing your list, I'm currently in the same boat. Good luck, and hopefully we'll see each other on the interview trail. 🙂

Yes, there is a joint graduate group at UCSF/Berkeley. However, you cannot pursue a Bioengineering PhD at UCSF as an MSTP - this option is currently not allowed - they may add this in the future, but right now, the joint graduate group just doesn't seem to be working as smoothly as they'd like for MSTP.

If your interests are Bioengineering and Bioengineering only, the UCSF MSTP will tell you that it's not the place for you. At least that's what happened to a lot of BioE-only folks I met on the interview trail.

 

[clockitnow]

This is also what I found. I am still going to apply to UCSF though because I am from the Bay Area and would love to stay in the area.

 

[oasis786]

This is also what I found. I am still going to apply to UCSF though because I am from the Bay Area and would love to stay in the area.

Good choice. I did the same, can't say I regret it. 👍 Good luck!

 

[pathdr2b]

This is also what I found. I am still going to apply to UCSF though because I am from the Bay Area and would love to stay in the area.

Or you could consider being a "stepchild" among MSTP's and pursue the MD/PhD, non MSTP. I'm betting there's plenty of flexibilty in this type of program. 😉

 

[zeebs32]

ok....here's my story - i JUST got my MCAT scores, so i'm still under some shell shock, but I want to send off my AMCAS soon. i have a 3.86 as a zoology major at my state school. i got a 31Q on the MCAT (VR12, PS9, BS10). i have 3 years of research in a zoology neuro lab doing mostly electrophysiology, one publication as 4th author, a few presentations, and a planned paper as first author. i'm also working this summer as an undergraduate research fellow in neuroendocrinology through a summer program. i have a lot of ec's and some clinical experience. i'm not sure what i want to do a PhD in, but i'm considering neuroscience or some sort of functional anatomy type program. any advice from you current MSTPers? should i re-take the MCAT in August??? what are some good non-MSTP programs to apply to?? thanks for any advice!

 

[NDESTRUKT]

i can't wait for the "where to apply" part III.