School list help: 507 MCAT / 4.0 GPA / Virginia resident
I'm a 21 M ethnically Arab U.S. citizen and submitted my primary on June 6, but I haven’t started prewriting secondaries yet, so I’m worried that 21 schools may be too much, especially if the list is not realistic.
Basic stats/context:
- Virginia resident
- Current student at VCU
- GPA: 4.0
- MCAT: 507 — 126/127/127/127
- Took preview and casper — scores pending
- Family is in Northern Virginia, so DC would be ideal location-wise, but I’m worried my stats may be rough for George Washington or Georgetown, if either is even worth considering.
- I would mostly prefer urban/suburban schools, but I would go rural if the fit was really strong.
- I’m interested in primary care/public health, but I also care about research
- I’m not looking for a school that has to be research-heavy, but I want a place with decent-to-good research opportunities.
- I’m trying to find schools that fit disability advocacy, community programming, health equity, public health, and systems-level work.
Application theme:
My main theme is disability advocacy, accessibility, and health equity.
At VCU, I founded/chair the Disability Advocacy and Accessibility Caucus in student government. Our work has focused on campus accessibility, disability advocacy programming, and making accessibility a university-level responsibility instead of something disabled students have to handle individually. We successfully advocated for a daytime accessible transportation/paratransit-style service, which will be operational in the fall.
I’ve also helped organize disability advocacy events, including art-based programming and high-profile student/community art displays to highlight disability experiences. One of our ongoing projects is a disability accessibility handbook for student organization officers, with the goal of eventually turning it into training modules, badge/certification content, and monthly accessibility tips.
Other activities:
- Around 600 hours in a psychosocial health / Down syndrome-related research lab.
- Poster presentation at NCUR.
- Currently helping edit a manuscript for publication from the same project.
- Around 200–300 hours shadowing
- Around 100 hours regular hospital auxiliary volunteering, but not much direct patient interaction, which I know may be a weakness.
- Around 200–300 hours nonclinical service/community involvement
- 1000+ hours leadership/advocacy/extracurriculars, mostly through disability advocacy, student government, poetry club, etc.
Future goals / MD-MPH / Fulbright:
I’m also considering MD/MPH, but I’m hoping to apply for a Fulbright as well. My rough plan is to apply to genetics research and/or public health master’s Fulbright opportunities. If I get into an MD/MPH program and also get a genetics-oriented Fulbright, I might choose the genetics Fulbright. If I get a public health Fulbright, I may drop the MD/MPH idea. I like that many schools let you apply to the MPH after matriculating, so I don’t necessarily need a separate MD/MPH admissions pathway.
Main questions:
- Is my list too top-heavy for a 507, even with a 4.0 and a strong advocacy theme?
- Are my odds actually bad, or am I just doom-scrolling MSAR/Reddit and convincing myself everywhere is impossible?
- Am I being unrealistic, or am I just not choosing enough of the right schools for my stats/mission?
- Is 21 schools too many since I haven’t started prewriting yet?
- Should I add Georgetown or other DC-area schools because of fit, or is that just wishful thinking?
- Are there any schools not on either list that you think would fit my stats, advocacy/community health background, and interest in decent research opportunities while still supporting primary care/public health?
Current school list — 21 total
I tried to separate these into reach/mission reach and more realistic schools, but I’m not fully sure what should count as reach, target, or safety with my application.
Reach / mission reach:
- University of Michigan Medical School
- Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine
- NYU Grossman Long Island School of Medicine
- Alice L. Walton School of Medicine
- George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences
- Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine
- Tulane University School of Medicine
- Charles R. Drew University College of Medicine
- UCLA PRIME-LA / David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA
Target-ish / more realistic MDs:
- Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine
- Eastern Virginia Medical School / Macon & Joan Brock Virginia Health Sciences at Old Dominion University
- Howard University College of Medicine
- Rosalind Franklin University Chicago Medical School
- Wayne State University School of Medicine
- Drexel University College of Medicine
- University of Toledo College of Medicine and Life Sciences
DO schools:
- Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine — Philadelphia Campus
- Rowan-Virtua School of Osteopathic Medicine
- Midwestern University Arizona College of Osteopathic Medicine
- Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine — Virginia Campus
- Midwestern University Chicago College of Osteopathic Medicine
Specific schools I’m especially unsure about:
For NYU Grossman Long Island, I like the idea of free tuition and the accelerated pathway/fast-tracking into residency, especially since I’m interested in primary care/public health. But I’m not sure how realistic it is, and I’m also trying to think carefully about whether I want that much structure early on.
For Alice Walton, I’m interested because of free tuition, the whole-health model, and I actually like Northwest Arkansas/Bentonville more than I expected. But I’m anxious because it’s a new school, I’m not sure how my stats fit, and there isn’t an established match/board history yet.
For GW, DC is ideal because I’m from Virginia, my family is in Northern Virginia, and I like the policy/public health/disability advocacy opportunities there. But I’m worried my MCAT is low for them. I’m also not sure if Georgetown would make sense or if that would just be another low-yield reach.
Thank you for your help!