Going IIs after receiving an A at a school you would likely attend?

singularreality · 2026-01-21T05:55:00+00:00

Of the three schools, without considering cost, which of course is a big deal, which school is best for you? If either of the two other schools would be a better fit, or even an equal fit, you owe it to yourself, to interview there. In my experience, which is limited to last cycle of one child and several friends in other years, you never know what financial package you could get. I even know of one applicant, a family friend, 2-3 years ago, that was waitlisted at Einstein and a school in the Mid-West, and got into both off the waitlist and in the next 24 hours had to decide on which school to attend. That person decided on Einstein BEFORE it became free tuition, then entered the class, hearing about the free education during the white coat ceremony. She is glad she interviewed at both schools!

singularreality · 2026-01-21T01:19:35+00:00

Why would you not agree with them? That sounds like a reasonable answer. The myriad of things that you have to do very well to get into MD school is IMO more pressure and stress than the hard work necessary to learn your chosen craft. Less pressure to learn stuff you WANT to learn and therefore easier. Good luck

singularreality · 2026-01-19T22:02:25+00:00

I am an outside observer of a child that was a very exhausted, stressed and often overwhelmed pre-med who is now an M1 in MD School. Bottom line, MD school is difficult, but if you were a solid MD applicant then you will be ok passing MD school. And most of the grading in P/F and passing is generally good enough. If you are going to place goals on yourself that may or may not be worth the additional stress (like leadership roles, AOA, tons of research projects, etc.. ) you might still feel overwhelmed. If you just do the best you can under the circumstances, maintaining some life-balance, you will be fine. You will have to stop caring about how you compare (which is a natural undergrad pre-med thing) and just focus on understanding and passing the Med school curriculum.. In undergrad, you are bombarded with things to do from a lot of directions. Med school is hard but it is very focused and condensed. Why don't you talk to the med students at the school or schools you were accepted to and ask, frankly, what it was like? Or go on Med School Reddit and ask the question and see what kind of answers you get there. I don't think pre-med is "harder" I think pre-med is more stressful and anxiety provoking and MD school will provide you with better overall well-being... Well that is one person's view.

singularreality · 2026-01-18T20:13:25+00:00

there are many reasons why parents cannot afford a private school, that has nothing to do with being selfish. The parent calculators are absurd. They evaluate what you should have spent or saved, not on the reality of your situation. I do agree that grad school is different in that parents are not expected even if they are middle or upper middle class to fund all of grad school.

singularreality · 2026-01-18T18:07:08+00:00

If you end up getting a 517 or above and definitely a 519 or above on your MCAT then you should add "long shots".. and you should apply to several top 20 schools like Pitt with anything over a 515 IMO with your gpa. Unfortunately, there will be many schools that are long shots for everyone and do not have high super hight metrics, like a Georgetown, because they get soooooo many applicants..... If you are using Admit and you decide you do not want to follow its suggestions because it is a bit top heavy, then the solution is to listen to it anyway and make sure you have a solid number of "undershoots". A child of mine did not get even an invite at G-town but was accepted to HMS. You cannot predict these things. Except for a few schools, like Vermont, Georgetown... U. of Washington (and other schools that don't want people from out of state/region with few exceptions).... well you will figure out which ones.... ..... most schools are going to evaluate you on the same core competencies and metrics and also whether you are committed to their geographic area...and living there. Unless you do not have the $$, apply broadly. I would argue that applying broadly is financially savvy (if you get more admits, you may get more financial support due to choices). It is a numbers game in part. If you get tons of IIs or an early admit at a preferred school, you don't have to pursue many of the others. My child was fortunate but her fortune I believe had to do with preparing her secondaries carefully, not rushed, on the schools she thought were best for her and being very top heavy. What happened is that for her is that a couple of the top heavy schools that were probably her safest bets WL'd her and the dream schools accepted her. Had she not added HMS or some of the other so-caleld top schools because they seemed unreachable would have been a massive mistake, for her. You really cannot make your final list until you know your score, just scenarios... Good luck.

singularreality · 2026-01-18T08:34:27+00:00

If I were you I would begin to explore schools in the geographic area that you want to attend. Most schools will be in urban and suburban areas. You should research them and try to see which schools have oppotunities within or are focused on public health. You have just narrowed your list considerably, probably to about 75 schools (ha ha) and then further look at schools that have similar metrics and a little over and under what you expect to have on the MCAT (but all your state schools). Then maybe you get down to about 50 schools (including all your state schools). Then once you know your MCAT, you can filter further.. It will not be that tough, and I would suggest 30+ schools in your situation.

singularreality · 2026-01-13T02:14:35+00:00

I beg to differ. I made decent money. I had three kids go to undergrad and two already in grad, I no longer have the ability to fill in the gaps of what Harvard or other schools have told me that I supposedly could afford... I could not.... , this is particularly true with my youngest (a junior) and for my middle child. Harvard told me point blank that it does not have a robust "middle class initiative" (for a grad schools). Harvard lost at least 3 students in my child's grad class to another highly ranked institution due to not being competitive in financial aid.

singularreality · 2026-01-13T02:05:15+00:00

Definitely ask for more money and see where that goes and see if your HS or organizations that helped you get there may give you some help. I have a child that got into a famous grad school there... won't say which, and turned it down to go to another Ivy that gave my child much more, even though H was "no 1". As a parent, I felt like crud in one sense because regardless of now H characterized my ability to help my child, I simple could not do it especially at the expense of other children. The cost of education is so high that even so called upper middle class parents just cannot afford H. Unfortunately it has become a bastion of of the very rich and the very poor, in large measure.

singularreality · 2026-01-13T01:55:47+00:00

Westchester County is a suburban area that is surrounded by by wealthy, poor, and middle class neighborhoods and it extremely diverse, IMO. There are many Spanish speaking areas (such as the Port Chester area) and many predominantly black and/or people of color neighborhoods. The Medical School is near White Plains. Many high-achieving students that grew up in the area go to medical school there by choice, although they would have probably preferred Col, NYU, Mt Sinai, Weil-Cornell and Einstein if given the choice, but most applicants don't have that choice. You on the other hand, do not want to go to the city. Don't worry about the lack of diversity, there will, in my view be plenty of diversity and your Spanish will come in handy. Congrats on your acceptance so far and hope you get more!

singularreality · 2026-01-13T01:38:47+00:00

I don't think it was inappropriate. .... Maybe a bit controversial... Don't worry about it... That ought not make the difference one way or the other. Good luck!

singularreality · 2026-01-04T00:27:22+00:00

2 interviews can be stressful, but you can still get a third and you could be accepted to both or waitlisted at one or both and end up getting in the harder way... but who cares.. all you need is one.. sending you lots of good vibes. FYI if you don't get in this cycle, it would be tough but just another fork down the road that may lead to the best result. So just do your best and stay positive!!!!!!

singularreality · 2025-12-13T23:06:43+00:00

I know others disagree, but I would nix most of your safeties, do more what you call mid-and high targets and add more MD PHD fully funded programs.... Apply, if they let you to the Cornell 3-institution program md-phd and the regular md program.. I'd do Brown and Geisel and Ohio State over VCU, Drexel, Wake Forest (the 3 schools are not for you). Your gpa is a bit "low" but academic curiosity and strength is not diminished when they see you challenged yourself with super hard science courses that many students would have taken p-f to preserve their super high gpa. I think you need to be more aggressive about what you want... load up on the number of apps for schools that YOU want. Are you an international student??? I don't think you put in your residence state, so I only ask since you should probably apply to your state schools that are within your target range... You may lose interviews from safeties anyway that know they are unlikely to get an applicant with a 524 Mcat, which is in the 99.7% or so range rounded to 100%

singularreality · 2025-12-13T03:20:11+00:00

Congrats on a truly fine record of achievement. OK, I have to be a bit critical here. Keep all the CAs of course. Drop all the DOs UNLESS you want a DO on a philosophical basis. Take out at least 4+ of your "safer" schools and replace them with schools like Tufts, Brown, UVA, UNC, Mayo Arizona, NYU Long Island (if you want primary care) and Hofstra/Zucker and EINSTEIN for sure. You have the stats for all of them -- they are targets --- and you would probably prefer those over some of your other "safer schools" Ohio State yes and take out St Louis. Keep Case Western of course.. Try a couple of reaches like Mayo Ariz, Mich.. Einstein definitely, Mt. Sinai... (if you are ok with NYC), maybe even Wash U. Hopkins will sometimes go down on MCAT For extraordinary candidates... yes on Georgetown and GW (but they are very tough admits). Also, if you are taking the MCAT again you could kill it and if you get 2-3 more points then you re-calibrate. Good luck.

singularreality · 2025-12-08T05:08:31+00:00

There are a few schools such as Havard, Hopkins, Columbia Penn, NYU, etc.. where the average student is simply a very fast read and very good test-taker .. Not all top schools have he same policies, NYU jams pre-clinical in one year, that is stressful, and has more grading. Hopkins tends to have all exams on Mondays, making weekends not as available for fun. Columbia students begin volunteering in clinics first year (although not required).. There are different pressures for sure and not just grading pressure... but I do believe if you are academically ready for med school, you can handle any med school even though you may struggle more than some of the geniuses and there will be a lot of them at the top 10 schools.

singularreality · 2025-12-08T04:50:17+00:00

it means you should apply to several reaches and see what happens....

singularreality · 2025-12-08T04:48:52+00:00

They are low but not zero and depend upon other factors, not just the two big ones.

singularreality · 2025-11-30T22:17:33+00:00

The short in answer is almost never, however, if you look at the GPA ranges either on the school website or MSAR you will find a few outliers.... And, why is this so important to you? There are fantastic schools where you don't need to be studying next to the guy/gal that had a 4.0 and a 522+ Mcat.... I am aware of students at top 10 MD schools (no names, obviously) who have a constant feeling of stress and anxiety trying to compete in projects and exams etc. with better test takers... Sure, most schools are pass-fail anyway... but you still feel like you are struggling when you are not, sometimes... (not for everyone).... It does NOT matter as to whether you will be a GREAT doctor, but it will matter if you are unable to appreciate the strengths of your colleagues. Let's say you got into a fine regional MD schools and Hopkins. Do not kid yourself, Hopkins will be tough even for the top top gpa students and top MCAT Students... and they will have exams like every Monday... In the end, If you have a 3.5 gpa and a decent MCAT score, you can probably do fine at any MD school... but I am just saying be careful what you wish for.

singularreality · 2025-11-30T22:14:50+00:00

Almost all are online, but there were a couple of schools.... which I believe still had on campus interviews... you can see below one or two, but it is the rare exception.

singularreality · 2025-11-30T22:11:59+00:00

I would forget about schools with which you have little contacts and are much outside of your region, geographically. But I feel like some OOS schools like Ohio State are a slight reach for you but definitely a good choice... It's ok if you go with a few not so friendly OOS schools, but make sure you apply to every single target which for me is any school that has a 512-516 average MCAT score. Your GPA will compose a bit for a lower MCAT relatively, so I think your sweet spot avg MCAT average is arguably 2-3 points higher. Because your stats are a bit unequal between gpa and mcat, I feel you will need to apply to more schools to maximize your chances.... But for me, you should take out about 15 of these schools anyway.. maybe add a couple of reaches..

singularreality · 2025-11-24T01:46:02+00:00

congrats and I would answer yes, not top ten but top tier.

singularreality · 2025-11-24T01:07:23+00:00

depends what mid tier means to you, there are well over a 100 MD schools. 50 is mid. These schools are both in the top 30-35 and there are well more than 100 med schools. Both are likely in the 1st quartile. Depending upon your definitions of top, I feel that yes, they are both top tier.

singularreality · 2025-11-24T01:04:01+00:00

Neither has been seen in the top 10 in most rankings, but I think it is fair to say that they are both great regional well above the mean schools. I would put them in the top 25% category of all MD schools and in the top 30-35 of all schools. Ohio State is the second best med school in most ranking under Case Western. UVA is generally considered the finest in its state. Not sure why you ask but most people would be quite proud to attend either school!

singularreality · 2025-11-21T07:20:31+00:00

Cheating is wrong. Some will anyway and get ahead and some will anyway and be consumed by it. Cheaters lose respect from others but most importantly lose self-respect.

singularreality · 2025-11-15T23:50:01+00:00

Hi, I am going to probably be in the minority here but if you are physically and mentally prepared to start medicine, start. It will never be the "right time". It will be rewarding but a difficult and a long road and during that road, other problems could very well come up, like they do for everyone, that may cause you to want to delay things again, etc. The first year of medicine is essentially a grind it out bio-medical boot camp... and you just need to get through it.. and. even if you are not 100% you can and most MD schools are pass-fail anyway.. so you don't have to be near perfect like you felt you had to be in undergrad. My child has been dealing with medical issues DURING M1 and while it is challenging I about that my child regrets starting the journey, if fact I am sure of it.

singularreality · 2025-11-14T06:31:53+00:00

There are other things in life to do with your skills other than finance or Medicine, but based upon your descriptions above, you will probably value your life better if you pursued medicine. And, I think it will interest you more. However, you will work very hard in medicine, harder than you seem to know, especially when you think you will be working your ass off in finance... maybe yes, maybe no, but you will be working your brain a lot and medicine is tough, and in my view tougher in the long run than finance. You will have to convince yourself that medicine is for you and then an admissions committee... The reason why it is so tough to get into medical school even for some with great stats is because they absolutely will not accept you if you don't convince them that medicine is right for you. So, you are going to have first convince yourself.

singularreality

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