Evaluate my med school list please?

Pre-Med & Medical School Pre-Med Topics
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<p>Hey guys, i'm not asking what are my chances of getting in more like suggestions for schools to add if I need any or an opinion if my list is well balanced. I'm afraid I'm applying to too many schools that are competitive and not enough schools I have a decent chance in. Every school on my list right now is one I would love to go to and would be perfectly happy if that was the only school I got into. </p>

<p>I don't think I should add more state schools to my list since the chances of getting into those are so low if you're OOS for many of them. I also cut out schools that have a clinical or basic science requirement because I've done that and its not my thing. I also wanted a suburban/urban environment. </p>

<p>So my stats before I give you my list: 3.59 sGPA from Washu, 3.62 cGPA 38Q MCAT. 3 letters -2 science profs that like me and 1 anthro prof who's rec will be stellar. EC's that stand out are: 2 years of research (but no research rec due to some drama and huge miscommunications), a internship at a free health clinic in the city, and a job as a science teacher at a youth development program thats part time during the year and full time during the summer. </p>

<p>I'm worried the lack of a research rec with 2 yrs of research and a low GPA might hold me back. Please let me know if there's anything I can do to improve my app at this point too. </p>

<p>So schools:</p>

<p>Washington University in St Louis
Mizzou (U of Missouri - Columbia)
University of Michigan
Case Western (the normal university program)
University of Chicago
Northwestern
Stanford
University of Pennsylvania
Johns Hopkins
Duke
Columbia
Cornell
Mount Sinai
Brown
Boston University
Georgetown
Tufts</p>

<p>Thanks for reading this ridiculously long post. And tell me if there's any more info that would help. I've given away so much info on this forum over the last three years so doesn't matter anymore :)</p>

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<p>Man. Your midrange stats schools are all horribly popular schools. Can’t think of any more off the beaten path? That’s my suggestion: find some mid-tier schools that would love your profile and your MCAT enough to overlook the not as positive parts. And where is SLU?</p>

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<p>What is your home State?</p>

<p>WashU requires the people in medical scholars program (?) to have 3.8 GPA and 36 in MCAT to continue. If you are already in WashU, have you checked with the school about the stats of people who were able to go to WashU after completing undergrad but not in the scholars program? I do see your list as top heavy and not well distributed in terms of reaches, matches and safeties.</p>

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<p>You should definitely add some mid to low tier schools. I second the comment about SLU. I would recommend applying to EVERY school in your home state. Every single one.</p>

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<p>Yeah i’m from Missouri. I wasn’t sure about SLU but I’ll add it. Curm do you have any recommendations for mid tier schools that aren’t OOS?</p>

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<p>^UofM Kansas is the only other med school in Missouri</p>

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<p>UMKC only has a 6 year program i believe.</p>

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<p>If you’re willing to go to Philly, Temple, Drexel, and Thomas Jefferson are all good choices in the mid-range. If you’re applying for Columbia, Cornell, and Mount Sinai, then you might as well add NYU. Add another vote for applying for every school in your state, private or public.</p>

<p>I’ll just also say that I think your 38Q could be a valid hook for Mount Sinai. I know Sinai is aggressively trying to court applicants with high numbers, and your 38Q certainly makes the cut.</p>

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<p>^Shades_children, One data point: Mount Sinai did not love DS back and he has 39Q :frowning: Top schools are all crap shoots for many (or most?) applicants! He made the fatal mistake of applying (more correctly speaking, completing the secondaries) late to many schools, except for his IS schools and “home school.”</p>

<p>OP, just FYI, DS whose stats is a couple of LizzyM points higher than yours, did NOT apply to the following schools in your list last cycle. (He can afford to do so because the state he comes from has many medical schools.)</p>

<p>Mizzou (U of Missouri - Columbia)
Case Western (the normal university program)
University of Chicago – having a super-fast rejection would hurt his feeling early in the application cycle. So, no thanks!
Northwestern
Stanford – California? Return on investment is too low for any california school.
University of Pennsylvania
Johns Hopkin
Brown
Boston University
Georgetown</p>

<p>As far as I know, at least two CCers applying last cycle got into Case. My bet is you may have a good chance there – and maybe NW as well. (Mid-west schools tend to like mid-west applicants, west-coast schools tends to like west-coast applicants, and so on.)</p>

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<p>That’s why I said it could, not that it definitely would. We all know this admissions game is such a crapshoot.</p>

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<p>Chem Freak, you and my D might meet on the interview trail, you have quite a few schools in common, but she has WAY more on her list…33! (Yikes)</p>

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<p>SC, BTW, thanks for telling us where to get off the train last time. (He chickens out and dares not take it in the morning though. He practiced how to hail a cab like New Yorkers beforehand. :slight_smile: )</p>

<p>OP, It is rumored (likely true though) that Tufts will give an interview invite to most/all high stats applicants early in the application cycle. (DS got it. It costs a lot to stay there though. So reserve the hotel early.)</p>

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<p>I can’t even figure out what a good number of schools to apply to is. WashU’s premed advisors told me 14 at most so my 17 is already too many. I’ve heard 20-25 from other people.</p>

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<p>I agree that the list is very top heavy and not sure if WashU undergrad will carry enough weight to overcome 3.6-ish GPAs at schools that tend to have much higher averages. Agree that SLU needs to be there as well.</p>

<p>I really think that Stanford and Georgetown should go; G’town has far too many “connected” admits that skew their numbers and reduce the true number of available seats and Stanford heavily admits from West coast schools leaving fewer spots for the remaining applicants that are crazily competitive. Unsure of Hopkins and Duke, maybe others can chime in here but far too many top 15 schools without any real mid tiers that aren’t very popular and deceptively difficult admits.</p>

<p>You could/should add some Texas schools Like UT Houston and UT San Antonio and while you’re at it, add UTSW (the incremental application cost is minimal) since it really won’t require much more work on your part. I think your stats would be in line with at least two of these schools.</p>

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<p>I know 33 is way to many, but although her GPA is similar to yours, her MCAT is much lower. Even though she has a hook, she is apprehensive about getting in anywhere which is why the huge list.</p>

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<p>I really liked UT Houston but aren’t the chances of an OOS getting in like minimal? Also, for state schools what should be my percent cutoff for applying. Like if the school takes only 15% OOS I obviously should not apply there.</p>

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<p>I think 17 is not too many. It is easy to say but hard to do though. DS’s original list includes 21-22 schools but very quickly, the number dropped below (I think) 15. I even do not know how many schools he actually completed in the end. Only one school (Cornell) did not invite him for an interview, but he was a king of WL.</p>

<p>Chemfreak, Why not UT-SW? Your MCAT/GPA combination may be good enough for that one. UT-SW may love OOS kids more than UT-H. I heard this year, they even admitted an international (I think he is an international but not 100% sure – DS talked to him during 2nd look there.) Hmmm…How about BCM also?</p>

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<p>It’s actually 10% but that’s a lot higher than at many other state’s schools. I think your stats would separate you a bit as well and, as I said, add UTSW to the application while you’re at it. I wouldn’t suggest it if I didn’t think you’d have a decent shot at an interview and possible acceptance. UTSW will be the longer shot becuase of lack of research but you never know…their wait list is not a bad place to be since they admit quite a few from it.</p>

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<p>With a 3.6/38, a top school for undergrad, fabulous recommendation letters, and good ECs, I really think a seat at medical school next year is yours to lose.</p>

<p>I’ll echo the others here and mention that your list does seem pretty top heavy. The question is, can you get away with it? I think you can get away with it if you have a mid-tier school that’s pretty likely (which should be Mizzou for you–as a fellow Missouri resident, I’m happy to PM you my Mizzou insights if you’re curious) and at least a handful of other schools that are similarly likely. From there, it’s just a matter of shooting for the stars and seeing where you land. </p>

<p>I chose Mizzou as my most likely (and most coveted!) with SLU, Creighton, Loyola, Boston/Tufts, and Drexel as my other likelies. Looking back, I’d nix Boston/Tufts and probably Creighton (no thanks, Nebraska), leaving my other mid-tier likelies in an urban/suburban area as SLU, Loyola, and Drexel.</p>

<p>If I were in your shoes, I’d apply to Mizzou, SLU, Loyola (or maybe another Chicago school), and Drexel, plus as many top schools as you want. From a Missouri resident’s perspective (who happens to know many other Missouri residents who applied to med school last year), I’d be absolutely shocked if you were rejected by both Mizzou and SLU. As you know, once you have one, you’ve got the cake…the rest are just icing. </p>

<p>And unless you have really compelling reasons, I’d cut Georgetown, Boston, and Tufts. They look like they’re friendly, but in reality, they’re artificially selective because of their application numbers. Not worth being subjected to the numbers game when you should have other options. If you’re set on that many schools, maybe try somewhere in the South–Emory, Wake (maybe subject to the artificially selective thing too…), Tulane, Kentucky, Virginia, Texas schools (I know you said no more state schools, but from what I’ve seen, KY VA TX seem to be somewhat friendly to out of staters)…?</p>

<p>My last piece of advice for you would be to just really rock your secondaries. Make them sing to you, give you goosebumps, make you dream about going to school there, etc. I recently read over some of mine, and it’s clear to me how much more I loved some schools than other ones. Should I have bothered applying to the ones I didn’t love? Looking back, probably not. </p>

<p>Good luck!</p>

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<p>But Eadad, chemfreak has 2 years of research experience…</p>

<p>I agree with mcat2, eadad about adding some Texas schools, particularly UTMB-Houston, UTMB-Galveston, UT-SW, and BCM. BCM and UT-SW have an average incoming gpa of 3.8 and an average mcat score of 33, so I think your mcat score may compensate for your slightly lower than average gpa and for the fact that you are an out-of-state applicant. </p>

<p>You should also add Emory, to your list. It doesn’t have preference for in-state kids. It would be a “match” school for you. Emory’s average incoming gpa is a 3.66 overall, (US News doesn’t report average incoming science gpa, but I am sure you can find it online). Its average mcat score is a 33, since your mcat score is a lot higher, I’d say this school can be considered a “match” school for you. </p>

<p>Since I have yet to apply to medical school, I think some veteran posters should look over my comments and give feedback on what they think…</p>