would appreciate some input on my school list (MD only)

[kestralray]

Notes: Applying to med schools while my BF applies to music grad schools, so my list is long because i'm trying to up my chances of us getting accepted to schools in the same city. (he's looking at: chicago, new york, boston, DC, philly, umich, baylor). And then I'm applying to cali schools because... well.. it's california and I'm sick of winter.

Because my stats are high, I'm having trouble not applying to top, crapshoot schools in the cities above "just in case." But because I feel like my ECs are weak, I want to make sure I have enough safeties too. (I skipped hopkins cuz of lack of leadership)

Harvard
Stanford
UPenn
UCSF
Columbia
UChicago
UMich

UCLA
UPitt
Cornell
Northwestern
Mt Sinai
Baylor
Case Western
Penn State (currently a PA resident)

BU
NYU
Temple
Tufts
USC
(UIC) (my parents live in IL, I have lots of ties to IL, but the class size is too big for me. but… it's in chicago and it doesn't feel smart to not use it as a safety...)

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[kestralray]

[bump]

it this list too top heavy? I keep on looking through MDapps and seeing people with stats/ECs that are just as good as mine who don't get into their top schools... but maybe i just feel like all these schools are really good because i've heard of them. helpppp i keep second guessing myself.

 

[Charles Darwin]

[bump]

it this list too top heavy? I keep on looking through MDapps and seeing people with stats/ECs that are just as good as mine who don't get into their top schools... but maybe i just feel like all these schools are really good because i've heard of them. helpppp i keep second guessing myself.

Your list is far too top-heavy. Why not add Drexel and Jefferson as safeties? Also, what are your reasons for applying to Cornell, Northwestern, Baylor, and Case Western? These schools aren't located in any of the cities you mentioned...

 

[red doctober]

Cornell is in NYC, Northwestern is in Chicago...

UCSF is always a toss up for OOS, even those with awesome stats. Maybe you'd like to change it to a different UC school.

Your list is very top-heavy, but honestly I think you have a good shot to get into at least one of the schools on your current list. Maybe add a few OOS-friendly state schools.

Don't be so condescending of schools that you think aren't "good enough" for you. I guarantee you that if you are sitting with no acceptances next spring, UIC wouldn't seem so bad to you then. Also given this: "maybe i just feel like all these schools are really good because i've heard of them" it sounds like you don't really understand how medical school rankings work and what the benefits of going to a top-school are. Do not, I repeat do not, act like you are entitled to get into a top-school, a middle-tier school, or even into medical school in general given your high numbers in any step of the admissions process. Doing so will get your app sent straight to the rejection pile.

 

[kestralray]

Cornell is in NYC, Northwestern is in Chicago...

UCSF is always a toss up for OOS, even those with awesome stats. Maybe you'd like to change it to a different UC school.

well, I think other than UCLA, the rest of the UC schools are even less OOS friendly... : /

Don't be so condescending of schools that you think aren't "good enough" for you. I guarantee you that if you are sitting with no acceptances next spring, UIC wouldn't seem so bad to you then. Also given this: "maybe i just feel like all these schools are really good because i've heard of them" it sounds like you don't really understand how medical school rankings work and what the benefits of going to a top-school are. Do not, I repeat do not, act like you are entitled to get into a top-school, a middle-tier school, or even into medical school in general given your high numbers in any step of the admissions process. Doing so will get your app sent straight to the rejection pile.

Ack, sorry, honestly, with UIC, it's not about rankings, but I just feel like I've heard negative things about the school from people that I talked to, but maybe they were just basing it off of rankings. Mostly, 300/class sounds really large to me. I didn't mean to come off as arrogant, and I would definitely be grateful for any acceptances I might get, and I understand that this process is a crapshoot no matter the stats.

But at the same time, I need to distinguish between the schools somehow, and location did not quite pare it down enough. I really can't tell the difference between curriculums (they all sound great! but maybe that's just cuz the schools do a good job of spinning them)... so I'm stuck. Do you think I should add Rush or some of the other NY schools to balance out the list more? I was originally considering jefferson and drexel.. but if so, which schools should I cut out? Even the list of 20 schools I have right now is pushing it....maybe I should just give up on Cali...

 

[kestralray]

Your list is far too top-heavy. Why not add Drexel and Jefferson as safeties? Also, what are your reasons for applying to Cornell, Northwestern, Baylor, and Case Western? These schools aren't located in any of the cities you mentioned...

Sorry, I forgot to mention that cleveland is another possible place for him to go to music school...

and I'll take a peek at Drexel and Jefferson. Thanks!

 

[nadaba]

(I skipped hopkins cuz of lack of leadership)

If you want to apply to Hopkins, you should. It's not going to be harder to get into than your other reach schools. JHU also has a very good music school (Peabody).

 

[red doctober]

Consider Loyola Stritch, Rush, Einstein, SUNY-downstate, NYMC, Ohio St., UMinn, TCMC.

Again, I think you have good shot to get into one of the schools on your original list.

There aren't going to be huge differences in the curricula amongst med schools because they're all preparing students for the same tests. What you should be looking closer to are the missions of these different schools. Some of the schools you listed look for community/global health, aspects not exemplified by your ECs. You have a research-heavy background, are you thinking that you'd want to stay involved in research in some way as a physician? If so, maybe consider applying MD/PhD.

 

[kestralray]

mid-review school list

Harvard
Stanford
UPenn
Columbia
UChicago
UMich

UCLA
UPitt
Cornell
Northwestern
Mt Sinai
Baylor

BU
NYU
Temple
Tufts
USC
UIC
took out UCSF, Penn state, and Case. Talked to BF, and Case isn't the best mutual option. Penn state is kind of in the middle of nowhere for him too. UCSF is a good school, but my list is top heavy. I'm planning on adding in 2-3 more safety schools to fill their spots.

I know I have little background in global health, but I'm interested in moving towards this area in med school. I'd love to be able to spend time abroad in med school/residency, and I know people who split their job between the US and a foreign country, and I really admire them. Oh, and MD/PhD is a little too long of a road for me when I know people who do research with just an MD. And I think my lack of publications would hurt me for that too.

I'll consider the schools you listed, though I have a questions about loyola. I don't mean to come off as completely ignorant... but would the fact that loyola is a jesuit school (right?) have an impact on the education? I'm not religious, and would be uncomfortable having religious themes in my education, or having a less diverse student body because of it (and I think loyola is not very diverse according to the MSAR).

 

[red doctober]

The problem with trying to sell that you want to do global health to those schools that love it is that you have nothing to back up such a claim. If you have never actually volunteered abroad, then you can't say without some degree of uncertainty that you'd actually be willing to take on the challenges that it entails. From your experience in research, you probably know pretty well how frustrating and stressful research can be. Wouldn't you think that a person applying to an MD/PhD program should have at least some experience with research?

The thing you should probably think about when filling out your applications is that you spent 5 years in research when you could have been allocating all this time to some other activity. This is going to be one of your most important experiences, why underplay it? I'm not saying you have to do MD/PhD; if that's not what you want to do, then don't do it. However, if you're going to say that you want to move away from research and start doing community and global health stuff, it's kind of a head scratcher.

Loyola historically was founded as Jesuit institution, but it's going to feel like any other non-denominational school. They aren't going to make you attend service or anything like that. You are also applying to a school called Mt. Sinai after all... The only school that you'd run into this type of thing is Linda Loma in CA which has a code that students have to live by.

 

[kestralray]

The problem with trying to sell that you want to do global health to those schools that love it is that you have nothing to back up such a claim. If you have never actually volunteered abroad, then you can't say without some degree of uncertainty that you'd actually be willing to take on the challenges that it entails. From your experience in research, you probably know pretty well how frustrating and stressful research can be. Wouldn't you think that a person applying to an MD/PhD program should have at least some experience with research?

The thing you should probably think about when filling out your applications is that you spent 5 years in research when you could have been allocating all this time to some other activity. This is going to be one of your most important experiences, why underplay it? I'm not saying you have to do MD/PhD; if that's not what you want to do, then don't do it. However, if you're going to say that you want to move away from research and start doing community and global health stuff, it's kind of a head scratcher.

Loyola historically was founded as Jesuit institution, but it's going to feel like any other non-denominational school. They aren't going to make you attend service or anything like that. You are also applying to a school called Mt. Sinai after all... The only school that you'd run into this type of thing is Linda Loma in CA which has a code that students have to live by.

Hm, okay. good to know (and yeah. I know. Mt. Sinai ) And I wasn't necessarily going to talk about global health vs research in my interview/application, but I'd like to keep the option open by going to a school with global health opportunities. And research. I'm kind of asking for a lot.

And thanks for taking the extra time to help! I really appreciate it.