Can someone help me narrow down my choices?

[Mr. Reeves]

For starters, I am not trying to get anyone to do my work for me, I just could use some help given that money is an issue. While I haven't lived in the same state as my parents in 10 years, the amount that they make just getting by in a trailer park, disqualified me from the fee assistance program. They said that cost of living is not considered in their decision. I am just looking for a few opinions and advice.

I was injured in the military and medically discharged. While in the military, I worked in the medical field. To survive I used my gi bill for the housing stipend and waited 18 months for the va finish my disability application. I missed nearly 1/3 of my classes the first year and a half of college due to mandatory va appointments 150 miles away and my gpa reflects that. I have a very strong upward trend but my undergrad gpa was still a 3.25. My gpa last 3 semesters of my undergrad with upper division science classes ranged between a 3.65 and 4.0. I take the MCAT in one month. To make this shorter I will list the main bullets of my application.

-I have a Master of Science in Health Education where my gpa was a 4.0
-I work as an EMT
- I will be a paramedic in 2 months and will work in the field
-I'm a veteran
-First person in my family to obtain a college degree
-Organized and implemented a health fair for one of the poorest cities in the poorest state in the county.
-Over 1000 hour of volunteer work but only list the 750 medically relevant hours and 200 at an orphanage.
-2nd place at state conference presenting original research from my thesis
- won the outstanding student award in paramedic school and grad school
- Certified health education specialist credential.
- Graduate student representative for the university for two years
-Given numerous presentations to the community and university students on health related subjects
-Tutoring
- Volunteer at trauma conference and will be an assistant instructor in a cadaver lab this year.
-Currently polishing 3 public health related articles for journal publications
-I have lOR from an old pre-med adviser, D.O., M.D., and grad school adviser

I hate pulling the card out but I am black and would be considered disadvantaged growing up.

I have taken over 220 credit hours. My undergrad gpa was a 3.25 but my gpa for the last 100 credit hours between grad school and paramedic school is a 4.0.

I'm married with a baby and will only be able to apply to 5 - 8 school max so any input will be greatly appreciated. If you made it this far, thank you for taking the time to read this.

These are the schools I have narrowed it down to but can only apply to a handful. If you can think of others or some on this list I shouldn't apply to I'd appreciate it.

MD:
Florida State University
Meharry Medical College
Morehouse School of Medicine
Tulane University School of Medicine
University of Illinois at Chicago-College of Medic
University of Mississippi School of Medicine
University of Washington School of Medicine

DO:
Alabama College of Osteopathic Medicine
Des Moines University College of Osteopathic Medicine
Edwards Via College of Osteopathic Medicine
Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine
Lincoln Memorial University-DeBusk Collegeof Osteopathic Medicine
Oklahoma State University Center for Health Sciences College of Osteopathic Medicine
University of Pikeville-Kentucky College of Osteopathic Medicine

Thanks again

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[Goro]

If you're not African-American, remove Morehouse and Meherry. If you are, keep them and add Howard and Drew.

 

[libertyyne]

Without an MCAT score there is no way to recommend a list to you. You have a lot of good stuff going on in terms of upward trend, urm, veteran, disadvantaged, etc which will make you a compelling candidate.

Your schoollist will depend on your mcat. You should apply to all of your state schools. I would even just focus on MD schools if your mcat is above 506.

If money is an issue I would recommend looking into application fee assistance which will allow you to apply for free.

 

[Froggy25]

I would definitely add ETSU. They also waive your secondary fee since you're a veteran.

 

[zukunft195]

Thank you for your service, OP.

So here's what I got out of your post: Phenomenal background story, URM, low socioeconomic background, first person in family to go to college, injured veteran, extremely respectable healthcare-related experience, upward GPA trend.

Wow. If you get a solid MCAT score, many adcoms will drool so much over your application, they'll die of dehydration.

Anyway, if you want us to give you specific school recommendations, we'll need an MCAT score. My only suggestion at this point is that you apply more broadly than you currently seem to be planning to!

 

[BombsAway]

If you're tight on money, UW is crazy low yield. However, you may be one of the few people to pull it off given the AA/SES components of your app.

 

[Gurby]

There's no sense in making a school list yet - it's going to come down 100% to your MCAT. If you score like 512 or higher you're good for Harvard, Stanford, Columbia, etc.

You should try reeeeeeeeaaaaalllllly hard to save up and apply to more than 5-8 schools. With your veteran + URM status, paramedic experience, research, significant volunteering, you have one of the strongest applications I've seen posted on SDN. It would be a shame for you to apply so conservatively and to so few schools.