CA resident, 3.6, 36S question about list of schools to apply to

[imcanadaian]

Hi! I've been working hard these past few days trying to get things together to apply this upcoming cycle in June, and one of the big hurdles I've been trying to get over is finalizing a list of schools I want to apply to so I can start reaching out and researching in depth, see if I have friends or connections, and just overall get a better feel for the schools I'm applying to so it's not a huge crapshoot come application time.

I'm a CA resident, graduating from UC Berkeley in 2009. I've spent the first year out of college teaching MCAT's for Kaplan, and then transitioned to my current job at a CRO where I analyze patient brain MRI's for an Alzheimer's clinical trial. I recently re-took my MCAT (since it expired..) and am going into the application process with the following:

3.6 cGPA
3.6 sGPA
36S MCAT (12V 12PS 12BS)
EC's (reverse chronological):
post-college
-currently shadowing a neuroradiologist ~16hrs a month for the past 7 months
-currently a volunteer at the hospital ER (150+ hours)
-I'm taking a medical microbio course at UC Extension - doing well thus far so hope I get an A!
-volunteer at a weekly urban community education program (4hr/wk)
-volunteer in Church Children's Ministry, leadership, community outreach events (we host these family nights for local urban families), etc
-interned for one year as a campus ministry intern immediately upon graduating college
college
-Intern at Bayer healthcare for a summer
-Chemistry tutor
-Health educator for local high schools
-4-year leader in on-campus Christian Fellowship
-three years of research in neuroscience and Alzheimer's
-Volunteer at local literacy project

*I mainly focused on bolstering my clinical volunteering and adding shadowing experiences post-college...these were markedly missing from my application when I applied a few years ago, so I definitely made it a priority to make time for these opportunities after I graduated from school.

Currently, my list of schools is at 40 schools...mostly allopathic with a handful of osteo schools. I had to slash my list down from an initial 66! But I decided to focus my "hopeful" schools to those in CA and in places where I really wanted to be in the next four years. What do you guys think about my general chances? Am I missing any schools I should be considering?

Arizona - Phoenix
Arizona - Tuscon
USC
Loma Linda Univeristy
Stanford Univeristy
UC Davis
UC Irvine
UCLA
UC San Diego
UC San Francisco
George Washington University
University of Miami - Miller
University of Central Florida
Emory University
University of Illinois at Chicago
Rosalind Franklin University
Loyola Stritch
Boston University
Tufts University
University of Maryland
Michigan State
Wake Forest Univeristy
Creighton
Albany Medical College
Albert Einstein College of Medicine
New York Medical College
University of Rochester
SUNY Downstate
University of Buffalo
Drexel Univeristy
Penn State Univeristy
Temple
Brown - Alpert
Virginia Commonwealth
Virginia Tech
University of Vermont
Touro (osteo)
Midwestern University Chicago (osteo)
Michigan State (osteo)
Oklahoma State (osteo)

Thanks everyone!

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[EvryDayImHustln]

Hi! I've been working hard these past few days trying to get things together to apply this upcoming cycle in June, and one of the big hurdles I've been trying to get over is finalizing a list of schools I want to apply to so I can start reaching out and researching in depth, see if I have friends or connections, and just overall get a better feel for the schools I'm applying to so it's not a huge crapshoot come application time.

I'm a CA resident, graduating from UC Berkeley in 2009. I've spent the first year out of college teaching MCAT's for Kaplan, and then transitioned to my current job at a CRO where I analyze patient brain MRI's for an Alzheimer's clinical trial. I recently re-took my MCAT (since it expired..) and am going into the application process with the following:

3.6 cGPA
3.6 sGPA
36S MCAT (12V 12PS 12BS)
EC's (reverse chronological):
post-college
-currently shadowing a neuroradiologist ~16hrs a month for the past 7 months
-currently a volunteer at the hospital ER (150+ hours)
-I'm taking a medical microbio course at UC Extension - doing well thus far so hope I get an A!
-volunteer at a weekly urban community education program (4hr/wk)
-volunteer in Church Children's Ministry, leadership, community outreach events (we host these family nights for local urban families), etc
-interned for one year as a campus ministry intern immediately upon graduating college
college
-Intern at Bayer healthcare for a summer
-Chemistry tutor
-Health educator for local high schools
-4-year leader in on-campus Christian Fellowship
-three years of research in neuroscience and Alzheimer's
-Volunteer at local literacy project

*I mainly focused on bolstering my clinical volunteering and adding shadowing experiences post-college...these were markedly missing from my application when I applied a few years ago, so I definitely made it a priority to make time for these opportunities after I graduated from school.

Currently, my list of schools is at 40 schools...mostly allopathic with a handful of osteo schools. I had to slash my list down from an initial 66! But I decided to focus my "hopeful" schools to those in CA and in places where I really wanted to be in the next four years. What do you guys think about my general chances? Am I missing any schools I should be considering?

Arizona - Phoenix
Arizona - Tuscon
USC
Loma Linda Univeristy
Stanford Univeristy
UC Davis
UC Irvine
UCLA
UC San Diego
UC San Francisco
George Washington University
University of Miami - Miller
University of Central Florida
Emory University
University of Illinois at Chicago
Rosalind Franklin University
Loyola Stritch
Boston University
Tufts University
University of Maryland
Michigan State
Wake Forest Univeristy
Creighton
Albany Medical College
Albert Einstein College of Medicine
New York Medical College
University of Rochester
SUNY Downstate
University of Buffalo
Drexel Univeristy
Penn State Univeristy
Temple
Brown - Alpert
Virginia Commonwealth
Virginia Tech
University of Vermont
Touro (osteo)
Midwestern University Chicago (osteo)
Michigan State (osteo)
Oklahoma State (osteo)

Thanks everyone!

That's a lot of schools. Unless you have a serious amount of money, I would half that list. You'll do fine!

 

[Nymphicus]

Hi. Checking in because our stats were very similar when applying. Good job on the MCAT by the way!

It's good you're applying broadly. From my experience last year, don't rely on your public state schools. You might get into all of them, but with the same stats, the best I could muster up was a single post-interview waitlist from one UC.

Double check to make sure you meet the state residency requirements for some of your OOS public schools, like the Arizona ones.

I don't think you should/need to apply to osteopathic schools unless that is actually what you want to do.

Full disclosure: completed 33 secondaries

 

[kexy]

Hi. Checking in because our stats were very similar when applying. Good job on the MCAT by the way!

It's good you're applying broadly. From my experience last year, don't rely on your public state schools. You might get into all of them, but with the same stats, the best I could muster up was a single post-interview waitlist from one UC.

Double check to make sure you meet the state residency requirements for some of your OOS public schools, like the Arizona ones.

I don't think you should/need to apply to osteopathic schools unless that is actually what you want to do.

Full disclosure: completed 33 secondaries

I thoroughly agree with this post. I'm also a CA resident, and I applied this cycle with slightly higher stats but not as good EC's, and only have one UC acceptance (waiting on another post-interview, but not hopeful). I was complete at around 35 schools, with a list pretty similar to yours. At this point, I have 5 acceptances, 4 waitlists, and 3 schools I'm still waiting to hear from. I think it's good that you're applying broadly. I was pretty surprised by the schools that interviewed/accepted me (and even more surprised by the ones that didn't!).

That said, I think you could probably safely cut down your school list just a little. I agree that you probably don't need to apply DO with your stats and EC's. Also, good call on the Arizona and SUNY schools. In my experience they are pretty CA-friendly.

 

[ppfizenm]

I don't have my MSAR in front of me but from what I remember applying to the florida schools is a wash b/c there acceptance rates for OOS are very low.

 

[flodhi1]

That's a lot of schools. Unless you have a serious amount of money, I would half that list. You'll do fine!

OP good job on applying broadly it will save you big time.

 

[Nymphicus]

Just another thought, if you wanted to add some "higher ranked" research schools (if you're interested in research etc), I think some of them might bite.

PM with any specific questions, I'm happy to help.

 

[MT Headed]

You are applying to Tufts, RFU, Boston, Creighton, Emory, etc etc etc. This is the typical "omg I am unlikely to matriculate at my home state school" list. Check out my MDApps for a remarkably similar list.

May I ask why you didn't keep Tulane, StLouisU, Georgetown, or MCWisc?

Also, be wary of Brown, their stats are deceiving. They accept a tremendous number of students from their own undergrad, so the number of slots actually available to you is minuscule.

 

[nadaba]

I don't know, it seems like too many schools. I would cut the DO schools at the very least. I think you have a strong application.

 

[wololololololo]

don't rely on your public state schools

don't rely on your public state schools

don't rely on your public state schools

n=3. CA res, similar numbers. 28 Schools 1 UC interview. You have a good mix of schools. Add all the NY state schools, they seem to love CA residents.

 

[imcanadaian]

You are applying to Tufts, RFU, Boston, Creighton, Emory, etc etc etc. This is the typical "omg I am unlikely to matriculate at my home state school" list. Check out my MDApps for a remarkably similar list.

May I ask why you didn't keep Tulane, StLouisU, Georgetown, or MCWisc?

Also, be wary of Brown, their stats are deceiving. They accept a tremendous number of students from their own undergrad, so the number of slots actually available to you is minuscule.

Haha I actually had Tulane, StLouisU, Georgetown, MCWisc at one point--but this was when my list was 50+ schools long and I had to slash the schools somewhere.

thanks for the tip on brown. I may swap it out with one (or some) of these schools above. I think I was thinking of adding some "higher-tier" schools and like you said, their stats are somewhat welcoming

 

[imcanadaian]

Hi. Checking in because our stats were very similar when applying. Good job on the MCAT by the way!

It's good you're applying broadly. From my experience last year, don't rely on your public state schools. You might get into all of them, but with the same stats, the best I could muster up was a single post-interview waitlist from one UC.

Double check to make sure you meet the state residency requirements for some of your OOS public schools, like the Arizona ones.

I don't think you should/need to apply to osteopathic schools unless that is actually what you want to do.

Full disclosure: completed 33 secondaries

I think I keep talking to friends of mine from college and hear overwhelming stories about how they barely get interviews/school. Granted, a lot of them are fresh out of college and I have no idea about their stats, so we're probably in different places when it comes to experiences and applications. I was feeling OK about my upcoming applications until I started talking to them!! Admittedly I started to get scared and wanted to just cast my net SUPER WIDE. And sadly being from CA doesn't help ease the discomfort that I can't rely on my state schools to come through for me.

 

[aSagacious]

Moving to the 'what are my chances?' forum.

 

[MT Headed]

One thing to look at is the whole Applicant:Interview:Accept (not matriculate, I said accept) ratio of the school.

Some schools like to interview alot of applicants but accept few, and other schools reject alot of applicants pre-interview but accept damn near everybody they interview. The second type of school takes alot of guesswork out of the process, and while a rejection always hurts, a rejection pre-interview is alot less expensive.

 

[kautionwirez]

remove osteo (unless you are into OMM).
remove schools with high OOS (MSU, Tufts, etc).

other suggestions (if I was in your shoes):
remove AZ and florida schools.
Replace with top 20 schools until you have a list of 30-35 schools.
remove drexel/temple/gwu/maryland

 

[imcanadaian]

remove osteo (unless you are into OMM).
remove schools with high OOS (MSU, Tufts, etc).

other suggestions (if I was in your shoes):
remove AZ and florida schools.
Replace with top 20 schools until you have a list of 30-35 schools.
remove drexel/temple/gwu/maryland

I included AZ and FL schools because I know people who have gotten in. But I feel OK about cutting the AZ schools cuz they were a late-add to my current list anyway. But isn't UCF a relatively new med school? Will that be beneficial even if FL schools traditionally don't accept OOS? I have a friend who got in and she's the one who suggested I apply

 

[kautionwirez]

I included AZ and FL schools because I know people who have gotten in. But I feel OK about cutting the AZ schools cuz they were a late-add to my current list anyway. But isn't UCF a relatively new med school? Will that be beneficial even if FL schools traditionally don't accept OOS? I have a friend who got in and she's the one who suggested I apply

again, it's my personal preference. there's not much to do in AZ compared to CA. It's all desert and flat. Florida has hurricane season and ridiculous crimes (OJ Simpson, Casey Anthony, serial killers, 17yr old kid who got shot a couple weeks ago). You should look into texas schools because they are slightly cheaper than private schools (correct me if i'm wrong).

I would add Baylor/Duke/Case/Cleveland (great match list this year)/Mayo and NY schools in Manhattan.

 

[MT Headed]

I included AZ and FL schools because I know people who have gotten in. But I feel OK about cutting the AZ schools cuz they were a late-add to my current list anyway. But isn't UCF a relatively new med school? Will that be beneficial even if FL schools traditionally don't accept OOS? I have a friend who got in and she's the one who suggested I apply

I think the UCF out-of-state cost of attendance is $100K, if that's a factor in your decision making.

EDIT: out-of-state nontrad is $94K, as a trad applicant you might save a few bucks by taking on a roommate.

 

[deleted261193]

i'd take out brown too because they pull a lot of people from their bs/md program (something like that? lcme?)

don't keep baylor like what someone said above -- they have a ridic low out of state acceptance rate

it seems like this year, eastern va med school has been very friendly to ca students

gwu/gtown/boston/tulane get a TON of applicants every year and tend to do a lot of rejections... just to warn you. might want to be careful with those

 

[411309]

again, it's my personal preference. there's not much to do in AZ compared to CA. It's all desert and flat. Florida has hurricane season and ridiculous crimes (OJ Simpson, Casey Anthony, serial killers, 17yr old kid who got shot a couple weeks ago). You should look into texas schools because they are slightly cheaper than private schools (correct me if i'm wrong).
.

hahahahah. What? Is this really what people think about florida? Florida is where I live. Hurricane season is not that big of an issue really...its been so many years since a serious hurricane actually came through and did some damage..it's nowhere near as bad as you think it is. you are unlikely to ever have hurricane problems, op, not for a while anyways.

As for crime..hate to tell you this but crime is an issue everywhere. Every state has its good/bad parts. Theres no "safe" state. Casey anthony and oj...so what? I don't get the point of this reference. Your state has murderers too, my state's murderers are just more famous then yours.

I live 45 mins from orlando, it can be a very fun place.Theres tons of stuff to do, hard to get bored.

 

[imcanadaian]

How are the Texas schools? I think I was looking at some data and it seemed to me that they aren't that friendly to out of state applicants, accepting more than 80% in state. Not sure how much I wanna live in Texas but if the schools give me a decent chance as a CA applicant I think I would be okay applying to schools in the cities like Houston and Dallas, especially since they're pretty inexpensive compared to other OOS schools

 

[notbobtrustme]

How are the Texas schools? I think I was looking at some data and it seemed to me that they aren't that friendly to out of state applicants, accepting more than 80% in state. Not sure how much I wanna live in Texas but if the schools give me a decent chance as a CA applicant I think I would be okay applying to schools in the cities like Houston and Dallas, especially since they're pretty inexpensive compared to other OOS schools

gotta do TMDSAS and they still take 90% in-state.

 

[Nymphicus]

How are the Texas schools? I think I was looking at some data and it seemed to me that they aren't that friendly to out of state applicants, accepting more than 80% in state. Not sure how much I wanna live in Texas but if the schools give me a decent chance as a CA applicant I think I would be okay applying to schools in the cities like Houston and Dallas, especially since they're pretty inexpensive compared to other OOS schools

gotta do TMDSAS and they still take 90% in-state.

Except Baylor, in Houston, TX, which is on AMCAS and has more like a 60-70/40-30 IS/OOS ratio. If you want to apply to Texas schools, all the others are pretty much a waste of time and money unless you have serious ties.

 

[imcanadaian]

Hmm that's what I thought with Texas schools. Between the TMDAS and low OOS spots and the fact that I don't really want to live in Texas...I think I'll just skip them my list is already so large!

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