Taking my MCAT mid July, so I won’t have an MCAT to work with while working on my primary and making a school list. Intend on sending my primary in around right after I give my MCAT and immediately adding schools when my score comes in. How should I go about making a list at this point? I don’t have any gripes with applying anywhere in the United States.
GPA, estimated MCAT based on full length practice tests, mission, state residency, etc.
It’s almost impossible to make an thoughtful application list without a MCAT score.
Ordinarily I’d say to plan on applying to all your in-state publics, but as CA resident, that’s not a good plan. You’ll need to apply very broadly to maximize your chance for an acceptance.
Once you’ve taken several FL practice exams (especially those retired AMCAS exams) and have some sort of idea of your possible score range, then you can start to rough out a list.
I’d buy access to MSAR and start compiling a list of privates where your GPA/sGPA Is above the 25th percentile. Also using the MSAR, start looking for OOS friendly public schools. (Your definition of OOS-friendly is going to depend on your risk tolerance and how much $$ you’re willing to spend on application fees.) At OOS publics–unless you have some sort of strong connection to the state–your GPA (and MCAT) needs need to above the in-state mean. Those schools are looking for matriculants who will boost their stats.
Think about if you’re willing to apply to DO programs if you MCAT comes back with a less than ideal score–anything below 510. If you’re open to that, then open a AACOMAS application as well as an AMCAS one. (You don’t need to submit the AACOMAS application just yet. Just have it ready to pull the trigger if needed when the MCAT comes back.)
@WayOutWestMom Been looking at MSAR data, few have told me to look at OOS matriculation rate. Sitting with a 3.799/3.755 GPA/sGPA and around 510 on my FLs. Should I be aiming for OOS schools with 3.70s & 508s as targets, as well as decent OOS matriculation rates?
Assuming you score a 510 on your MCAT, then 3.7/508 seems like a reasonable potential school.
Do look at OOS interview rates as well as the OOS matriculation rate. (Many OOS acceptees don’t matriculate due to high COAs for OOS students.) An OOS interview rate (percentage of OOS applicants interviewed vs # of OOS applicants) of 5-6% or lower makes the school a lottery for OOS applicants.
I personally wouldn’t bother with any OOS public with OOS matriculation rate less than 15-20%. Also check the school’s admission web pages of both public and private med schools to see if there are any limitations on what states the OOS student are drawn from. UWash has a pretty high OOS matriculation rate on paper, but the OOS students all come from the WWAMI consortium states. UWash simply doesn’t consider OOR students for admission. UNevada only considers applicants from adjacent states. UWV also only considers students from adjacent states. Geisinger- Commonweath’s mission is to serve the central PA region and doesn’t interview students who haven’t got ties or service to the area. Check both the residency requirements for admission AND the mission statement for each school to see what kinds of applicants each school is looking for.
There are some mid-ranked private schools that are lottery schools due their modest admitted stats and very high numbers of applicants. (Georgetown, GW, Temple, Drexel, BU, Jefferson, Wake Forest, Tulane, for example.) Apply to these only if you are aware of their very low admit rates and maybe be selective about which ones you do apply to unless you have $$$ to burn.
See: [10 Medical Schools with the Most Applicants](https://www.usnews.com/education/best-graduate-schools/the-short-list-grad-school/articles/10-medical-schools-with-the-most-applicants)
Take a look at midwestern private med schools which tend to get overlooked since they’re in flyover country.
What is your state of residency? That is the first thing people will ask if you post this question on SDN, in addition to your GPA & MCAT (which you don’t have yet).
Per the OP’s previous threads, he’s a CA resident attending a UC.
Besides the considerations above, consider the cost of attendance and associated debt level you will end up with. If a medical school’s debt level for you will be too high, remove it from the application list.
When calculating the debt service payments to compare with eventual pay as a physician, do not assume that you will get into a high paying specialty.