What T20 schools would be a good match for my narrative?

[YoungMoneyMint]

I'm a first-gen, disadvantaged White male from CA with a 3.88/521. My app is very heavily focused on preventative health care and mentorship for low-income communities through a lens of research (i.e. gap year w/ AmeriCorps, 1200+ research hours w/ 2 posters + very very solid PI LOR, 1100+ paid clinical hours as a MA and a few somewhat unique leadership roles totaling around 500 hours.)

I also have experiencee (150+ hours) volunteering in clinics in the North African country I'm from, and a good chunk of my narrative is centered around improving healthcare education in third-world countries and low-income communities in the States.

I want to apply to only T20s that I would be a good fit for (i.e. no 'donations'). I already have UCSF, UCLA, Mayo, Michigan and Columbia on my list, but which other schools should I be considering?

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[gyngyn]

Any of them.

 

[YoungMoneyMint]

Any of them.

Would a lack of publications/an 'X-factor' hold me back for a few of them? I do have a vested interest in global health (patient in multiple countries, spent summers growing up low-income in a country with a crippled healthcare system, went to CC + undergrad in extremely medically underserved areas, similar to my home country, to gain experience working with low-income populations) but I don't think I'd be competitive at Harvard/Stanford/Yale/Penn/Hopkins/Duke without more research output or significant awards.

As an aside, I'm very interested in Mayo and UCSF because of their focus on community education through research. I know Michigan and Columbia have similar missions, so I'm planning to tack them onto my list too. However, I'm struggling to find other schools with an equal focus on research, service, and global health that aren't in the T10 (apart from Rochester and Case).

 

[YoungMoneyMint]

@Goro @Faha

 

[voxveritatisetlucis]

Any of them. Impossible to predict which school will be receptive and which won’t

 

[YoungMoneyMint]

Any of them. Impossible to predict which school will be receptive and which won’t

So I should apply to as many of them as possible and hope that one bites?

 

[voxveritatisetlucis]

Yes but add more besides those. There are 30 T20 schools so pick the 15 or 20 you like best. Obviously chances at schools like Case are better than schools like Harvard

Don’t apply to UW

 

[YoungMoneyMint]

Yes but add more besides those. There are 30 T20 schools so pick the 15 or 20 you like best. Obviously chances at schools like Case are better than schools like Harvard

Don’t apply to UW

This is my school list right now. Would you say it's too top-heavy/do you have any suggestions for what to take out?

UCSF

UCLA

Columbia

WUSL

Northwestern

Chicago

Mt Sinai

Cornell

UCSD

Boston University

Mayo

Yale

Duke

Kaiser

Harvard

Hopkins

Case Western (Networked w/ Vice Dean of Admissions)

Michigan

UVA

UC Irvine

Emory

Brown

Jefferson

Rochester (Networked w/ Dean of Admissions)

Einstein

Ohio State

Hofstra

Tufts

UC Davis

Rutgers RWJ (Networked)

Temple

Cincinnati (Networked)

USF-Morsani (Networked)

Western Michigan

New York Medical College

 

[voxveritatisetlucis]

Hmm,

I would replace the following

NYMC
Temple
Rutgers

Your stats might get you yield protected here


Could add

Geisel
Beaumont (they give full merit scholarships to high scorers)
Einstein
Iowa

 

[Faha]

You have a good list and should receive several interviews. Remove New York Medical College and Temple since they will "yield protect " with your stats.

 

[Goro]

This is my school list right now. Would you say it's too top-heavy/do you have any suggestions for what to take out?

UCSF

UCLA

Columbia

WUSL

Northwestern

Chicago

Mt Sinai

Cornell

UCSD

Boston University

Mayo

Yale

Duke

Kaiser

Harvard

Hopkins

Case Western (Networked w/ Vice Dean of Admissions)

Michigan

UVA

UC Irvine

Emory

Brown

Jefferson

Rochester (Networked w/ Dean of Admissions)

Einstein

Ohio State

Hofstra

Tufts

UC Davis

Cincinnati (Networked)

USF-Morsani (Networked)

Western Michigan

ADD
SLU
MIAMI
ALL UCs but only add UCR IF you are from the Inland empire
Vandy
Baylor
UTxSW
U WI
U MA
SUNY.SB
DUKE
PITT

 

[LizzyM]

Almost all of the schools you've chosen have MPH programs which means that the school has faculty and coursework that may intersect with your specific interests. This is a situation where the programs in public health located within medical schools (WUSL, Northwestern, Mount Sinai) might be more likely to see your strengths than the universities that have medicine and public health in separate schools (silos). Your tough choice will be to narrow your choices as you have so many good ones and a very specific package rather than being the same as dozens of others.

 

[deleted1065184]

Almost all of the schools you've chosen have MPH programs which means that the school has faculty and coursework that may intersect with your specific interests. This is a situation where the programs in public health located within medical schools (WUSL, Northwestern, Mount Sinai) might be more likely to see your strengths than the universities that have medicine and public health in separate schools (silos). Your tough choice will be to narrow your choices as you have so many good ones and a very specific package rather than being the same as dozens of others.

Agree with this, just wanna add one correction...WashU's MPH is actually located within the school of social work.

 

[LizzyM]

Agree with this, just wanna add one correction...WashU's MPH is actually located within the school of social work.

Interesting!

 

[GoSpursGo]

Moving to WAMC. As others have said, you are highly competitive but it is unwise to only apply at T20 schools.

When you're applying at T20 schools, you are invariably going to have some donations, you just don't know where they are going to be heading into the process

 

[gyngyn]

Delete the schools where your stats are above the 90th percentile and you are OOS.

 

[voxveritatisetlucis]

Delete the schools where your stats are above the 90th percentile and you are OOS.

I’m not sure if this should always be the case, particularly when schools are known to give out big merit scholarships to high scorers. For example, I know that Beaumont, Quinnipiac, and Iowa all give full tuition to high scorers. Although somebody with the OP’s stats would probably get into better schools, it might not hurt to have these on the back burner

 

[gyngyn]

I’m not sure if this should always be the case, particularly when schools are known to give out big merit scholarships to high scorers. For example, I know that Beaumont, Quinnipiac, and Iowa all give full tuition to high scorers. Although somebody with the OP’s stats would probably get into better schools, it might not hurt to have these on the back burner

They would need to know that there is some connection to the school or region.
Applicants like this are going to have the opportunity to go elsewhere (often with more than full tuition).
The exceptions might be high stats re-applicants or someone that has an element of the application that might exclude them from stats-loving schools.

 

[proudofmykids]

It is my understanding that Vanderbilt loves service oriented students.

You already included UCSF, Harvard and Mayo. They all like it but o believe these stand out.

 

[nimbus]

Harvard is associated with some very high profile global health initiatives.

 

[Lost in Translation]

As a Cincinnati alum I can tell you that their global health initiatives are mainly in Ghana where one of the attendings is heavily invested in doing their work. That said, their global health office will be able to work with you to establish partnerships with other countries, but it will take a lot of legwork on your end.

 

[homonuclear]

I know you already listed it but you sound perfect for Mayo!!! My experience here is that a solid chunk of us didn't go to Ivy Leagues, didn't have doctor parents, etc. Mayo really seems to love "underdogs" & I think would be thrilled to have you. Plus the people are the nicest I've ever met. The downside is that at least in AZ there is no MPH program.

Consider adding Iowa to your list too.

 

[YoungMoneyMint]

I know you already listed it but you sound perfect for Mayo!!! My experience here is that a solid chunk of us didn't go to Ivy Leagues, didn't have doctor parents, etc. Mayo really seems to love "underdogs" & I think would be thrilled to have you. Plus the people are the nicest I've ever met. The downside is that at least in AZ there is no MPH program.

Consider adding Iowa to your list too.

That’s amazing!!! Mayo is actually my top, top choice. I’ve already identified a couple of faculty on the Rochester campus who run service initiatives that are very similar to what I hope to accomplish during med school and a couple with labs that are identical to my research interests.

Would you mind if I private messaged you to learn more about the school?

 

[LeaveNoTrace]

You're competitive at any school in the country. Good luck!

 

[YoungMoneyMint]

Hey all, just wanted to give you an update on how my cycle ended up going.

I got 18 interviews out of 35 apps, with As from Michigan, Mayo (MN), Kaiser, UCSD, Case. Rochester, Iowa, and Cincinnati, and a good chunk of the rest being WLs. I am deciding between Mayo and Michigan, although I am leaning towards Michigan as I got a nearly full CoA scholarship there (compared to full tuition from Mayo).

Thank you all for the sage advice you gave me last year! Super big shoutout to @Mr.Smile12 for being so selfless with their time, and helping out with a huge portion of my cycle. Really looking forward to starting med school