@sparkykoolkat did not know that about bs/md… thanks for the heads up! will chance back
No Illinois publics on your list?
https://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/infocenter/freshman-admissions-summary indicates that, for fall 2016, UCB frosh applicants in the highest HS GPA range had an admission rate of 42%. Since you are presumably not applying for one of the smaller divisions with significantly different admission selectivity (e.g. College of Engineering, College of Chemistry), that probably puts it between match and reach for admission.
But the high out-of-state cost means that it is not a particularly good idea for an out-of-state pre-med to go there. Better to go some place that costs less and save the rest of the money for medical school to reduce the amount of debt you will have at the end of medical school.
I would add a bunch of colleges in the Midwest where you wouldn’t be ORM.
Express interest (fill out request info form) at all your low matches and safeties.
How about applying EA to Dickinson, Ithaca, Drake, Truman State, Butler, Northeastern, Loyola Chicago, Iowa state, Indiana, Pitt? You’d get replies early and have your safeties locked, hence freeing you to focus on your reachier schools. Bonus, you’d work out the kinks on your safeties.
Take care of it as soon as common app comes back up.
@BurntKnight I have a family member who is currently at Swarthmore- she received a tremendous scholarship to GW. The father called it a “full ride” and told me it was very difficult to give up. My D’s friend also received a “full ride” to GW. I did not realize these exist, but evidently they do.
My family member told me that his daughter loved GW and this came through very strongly in the application. They never considered it a safety and never thought she would get into Swarthmore.
I think you should apply to Pitt- it’s a great school. It’s not on the common app and the application opens early- as in this month.
@BurntKnight It’s not a survivorship bias. People just know that schools like UCB are incredibly selective. It doesn’t mean you WON’T get in, just that you shouldn’t get overconfident. People generally don’t brag about being rejected, so just because you don’t know of any 4.0/36 people being rejected, doesn’t mean that they aren’t.
bump
@collegebound153 It’s odd to bump when it’s not your thread. Not to mention the chance thread you posted that is suspiciously similar to this one.
@ucbalumnus didn’t know UCB has such an insane tuition… might not even apply there now lol
@MYOS1634 thats actually a good idea… I’ll EA a couple of those schools so I know I’ll go to SOME college
@twogirls so GW is a match… I’ll look into pity and maybe even get started on the app, much thanks
@glittervine I guess UCB is a semi crapshoot w insane tuition then… also the bump account is my friend lol, no need for detective work
Well you’re list is a good start but it’s very top heavy, as others have said, only GW maybe BU could be considered safeties, and your public safeties are really matches. UIUC and UM are good alternatives to UVA and UNC to get more balance in your list. JHU probably should be in the first set of reaches, especially if you apply RD. For an Asian, Harvard and Stanford have lottery-esqe odds so I’d drop them for schools not as concerned with hooks - stem schools like Cal Tech and MIT e.g. I know a lot of Indians with your stats living out here in silicon valley, and they did real well the past year with Cal Tech, MIT, CMU, Berkeley, Penn (ED or RD), Cornell (ED), Columbia (ED) so I’d consider those first in your reaches. Brown and Northwestern - if you one of these is your clear first choice, apply there ED, your chances are much higher.
@theloniusmonk didnt even think of columbia for some reason… cal tech im not sure of, jsut based on what ive heard of their campus culture and all
I have to add to the chorus, but your list of “safeties” is completely ridiculous. You are out of state for UVAand UCB, so yes, they are reaches. Good luck.
@Lindagaf yeah I got that haha… I’m happy that I got this feedback now rather than later tho
@BigflowerSusie Really good post, you’re exactly right speaking of resumes!! You definitely have to be unique, like you said.
However, I want to apply Penn (Wharton) ED this upcoming year. My stats aren’t perfect (3.8 UW, top 5-6% of class, 34 ACT) but I feel like I’m the exact opposite of what you said - decent stats, but really good, unique ECs that aren’t lame fluff or BS volunteering. Do you think Penn ED is still do-able for someone like me? What are your thoughts?
@aneeshs17 maybe look into making your own thread there buddy 
“UC Berkeley is a reach for all. Not sure why you think it’s less of reach for you than Cornell and Penn.”
This is a myth on CC that needs to be debunked - there are a lot of applicants where UCB is a match, and for a few a safety, I know this is hard to believe, but for the best students in California, this is the case. UCB does not look at ethnicity, legacy, it does have a hook for athletes and possibly first-gen, so the process is more straightforward. OOS is dicier, I agree, but the again the top OOS students with the grades and test scores and rigorous transcript, it can be a match. The issue for top OOS students will be the cost, in that sense it could be a reach.
You are definitely competitive for your reaches, but your safeties are not really safeties. Notre Dame and UVA are very difficult to get into OOS, especially being an ORM. You need safeties such as a state school, NYU, GW, Elon, etc. Also whoever said that Cornell and Penn are matches is not right. Ivies are not matches for anyone. That being said, apply to as many reaches as you can. It is a lot of work but it will pay off.
What school would you be applying to at Penn?