<p>I'm a rising junior at the University of Michigan and I was wondering how people choose what medical schools they would like to attend and what factors go into developing a solid list. Right now I'm brainstorming potential schools that I would like to apply to and schools I have already visited. My school list is about 15 schools thus far. I will probably reduce the size of this list to preferably 10 - 12 schools. I based all of the schools on location since I either want to be in Ann Arbor, Chicago, NY, California, D.C. and Atlanta. My preference obviously leaning towards large cities. I have not taken the mcat yet and to me medical school admissions are not straight forward and anything is possible. There are so many factors that can ultimately lead to acceptance or rejection, but my question is how do people come up or make up their list of medical schools and do you research about every school that you want to apply to? I have done research on my top choices as well as visited these schools. Any other recommendations? Thanks!</p>
<p>buy the msar and look at the gpa and mcat ranges to see if you’re in range. when are you taking the mcat? im assuming you’re not applying this cycle.</p>
<p>That’s quite late. Very, very late actually. You’re going to want to push your MCAT up to August or even July if you can, or delay your application a year.</p>
<p>^Agree with tuft. You should not apply for that cycle. Wait until the next.
For your og question, you must also look at what schools strongly prefer students instate. Big public schools with interest in producing docs for their states will not accept you if you are out of state, so it would be useless to apply to those. I learned this like yesterday lol. Here is a site I found that shows you how competitive your scores are for a school based on your stats and where you reside.
[Are</a> your MCAT Scores competitive? Find out.](<a href=“http://www.studentdoc.com/medfind.html]Are”>Are Your MCAT Scores Competitive? - StudentDoc)</p>
<p>That’s a very optimistic website at my kid’s stat level. She only shows to be un-competitive at 1 of the top ten schools. She applied to 6. One interview that led to an acceptance. 5 smooth “nothing but crickets” rejections. Most would say the rest of her app was very competitive.</p>
<p>BTW, your pre-med advisor, your school’s library, and maybe the public library should have an MSAR.</p>
<p>ahaha i totally didnt read that he was a rising junior. dont even worry about which med schools you’re applying to until after you take the mcat</p>
<p>What is your science GPA? What is your cum GPA?</p>
<p>Are you instate for Mich?</p>
<p>if so, are you applying to all Mich med schools?</p>
<p>Which Calif med schools? some aren’t too good about accepting OOS students.</p>
<p>You need to determine which OOS med schools don’t accept many OOS students.</p>
<p>What do you mean by “large cities”? Do you mean major cities like Chicago, NYC, Atlanta, DC, LA, etc? </p>
<p>I haven’t checked, but aren’t many/most med schools in good-sized cities? </p>
<p>You can’t really make a list until you get your MCAT score. And, you may want to apply to 10-15 schools…especially if you have a lot of top schools on your list.</p>
<p>Don’t bother with the UCs, except a hail Mary app to UCLA/UCSF. You can try for Stanford, USC, Loma Linda, but that is a weird profile, three very different schools.</p>
<p>I don’t want to list my stats on CC but I think I have a decent shot. Michigan medical school admissions have said that I’m doing very well and that I should keep up the good progress. I’m actually from New Jersey but I still plan to apply to Michigan Medical School given that they give preference to their undergraduates and it’s a top 10 school. I’m also looking at schools in major cities like NYC. Thanks for the advice about the UC schools. I will keep that in mind. I have my toughest year ahead of me. I will be taking bio and physics in the fall and winter and then biochemistry and physical chemistry that spring. Then I will study for the MCAT from June 21 until about September. I’m not sure if Kaplan offers summer MCAT prep course but I will look into that. Yes I’m a rising junior. Going to be a junior in the fall of this year. I’m an African American male and I have a pretty extensive resume/profile. With clinical experience, community service, tutoring, research and research abroad. Still looking for better opportunities. I have enjoyed and I am proud of what I’ve been able to accomplish so far. Right now I have a list of 15 schools. I got a chance to visit Michigan of course as well as Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons and UMDNJ in new jersey. My list is based on location and the curriculum/extracurricular activities that these schools offer and the type of environment that I prefer. I’m paying full OOS tuition for Michigan so I know I will be in debt for medical school.</p>
<p>I would not spend too much time on the list until you have your actual MCAT, that will really shape the list beyond your state schools. If you are NJ resident, don’t they have quite a few schools?</p>
<p>I have heard, but have no direct knowledge, that being URM bumps your effective MCAT up a few points, in terms of the school list</p>
<p>It’s funny because people have told me that if I have a certain gpa and I get above a 30 MCAT I can get into many medical schools. I still want to work my hardest to get the best possible score. Thanks for the advice. I will not worry about schools until after I take the MCAT. That makes sense anyway. My list includes two NJ medical schools.</p>
<p>Sure sounds like he is talking about taking the MCAT in the September AFTER his junior year which is indeed late if he wants to apply for admission immediately after graduation. His applications would be VERY late in the cycle.</p>
<p>OP: Are you a chem major? If not, why are you taking P Chem?..It can be a GPA killer and is not required for med school.</p>
<p>Well PCHEM is required at Michigan to complete the two years of chemistry requirement. General Chemistry, Organic Chemistry 1, Organic Chemistry 2, Physical Chemistry. Also I’m not entirely set on September. That’s what this thread is for. To gain information about what I should do in terms of medical school. I might have to start studying while I take spring classes and take the MCAT in July or August. Michigan’s last day of classes/finals is April 19 - 27. So I have time. I know you are supposed to send apps early. The AMCAS opens up in June. Is September really that late? I know many students send in their apps early, but are you at a disadvantage if you send them later before the October due dates?</p>
<p>*I might have to start studying while I take spring classes and take the MCAT in July or August. Michigan’s last day of classes/finals is April 19 - 27. So I have time. I know you are supposed to send apps early. The AMCAS opens up in June. Is September really that late? *</p>
<p>Hopefully others will chime in…but you really should be taking the MCAT earlier…like spring of junior year.</p>
<p>It’s crucial that I take PCHEM before the MCAT so I don’t think I can. I will talk to my new medical school advisor about it. I don’t want to take a gap year.</p>
<p>Taking the mcat late and submitting your app late will significantly put you at a disadvantage. Everyone else will submit in a timely matter after getting their results in the beginning of june. Most schools could fill their class with these apps. You will be considered last submitting that late.</p>
<p>You dont need pchem for mcat, take that your senior year. Say you do need it, the worst that could happen is you lose 2 points off your score. This is better than applying late. You yourself said you calculated your senior gpa and will probably take a gap year, why not submit after? Or dont worry about pchem and submit on time (early). I think submitting your app that late is like showing up to an interview 30 minutes late.</p>