HELP - 2016 Reapplication Advice Needed!

[MedSchoolAdvice20]

Hello all! Was hoping to receive some feedback on my 2015 application. I cast a small net in picking schools due to starting the application late (secondaries submitted in October) after completing a semi-professional baseball career. My degree is in Biomedical Sciences, received in 2014 from a small liberal arts school. I took the MCAT out of curiosity in 2014 and did not do very well, but admit that I did not study with the intention of applying. My score improved as shown below when I retook the exam in August of 2015. I did receive an interview at OHSU as part of the final interview group, but was eventually rejected without wait list invitation. I have been working as a medical scribe since September, which did not make it on to my AMCAS last year and I believe this will be a nice addition to my application. My goal is to find some research or volunteer work over the summer to add on as well. Coming from a small school with very little medical school background, I am going about this without much guidance. Any help or input will be greatly appreciated. Please let me know what you think!

Stats:
3.79 overall GPA, 3.72 science GPA.
MCAT 2014 - 27, 2015 - 32 (VR 12, BS 11, PS 9)

Letters:
Head of Natural Sciences
Anatomy Professor
Biology Professor
Head Baseball Coach
Physician Shadowed
Family Practice Physician - Scribe (New 2016)
ER Physician - Scribe (New 2016)

ECs:
Medical Scribe, family practice and ER, 40 hours weekly. [Current x 9 months]
Assistant College Baseball Coach, 30 hours weekly. [Current x 7 months]
Day Patient Surgery volunteer, 50 total hours.
Migrant Health Outreach volunteer, 75 total hours.
Children's Oncology Day Camp, two weeks - 100+ hours.
Physician Shadow - Multiple Specialties, 60 total hours.
4 year collegiate baseball player, 2 year captain. (Multiple awards/accolades along with this)
Taught a 3 credit course to incoming freshman in 2013 and 2014 (200+ hours)
Student Athlete Advisory Committee member.
Emerging Leaders cohort member (invite only, 15 students from the university)
Award for Excellence in Science (top science student at our university)
Student of the Month (top student at the university in a given month).

2015 Application Schools
- Oregon Health and Science University (my state of residency)
- Medical College of Wisconsin (state of undergraduate education)
- University of Wisconsin (state of undergraduate education)
- Creighton University
- Ohio State University

Questions:
1) With the new MCAT going in to place, do I need to retake the exam? My hope is that my 32 is competitive enough to avoid retaking the new exam.
2) Is there any schools that you recommend I apply to, either MD or DO? I will again be an Oregon resident for the 2016 cycle.
3) Does my application contain any obvious holes? I would think lack of research may be a big red mark against me.
4) How much of the AMCAS primary application needs to be rewritten/reworded when reapplying?

Again, any help or advice here will go a long way for me. Thank you so much!

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[Nysor_bttw]

I think if you cast a wide net you'll be golden! Shoot for those famous mid tiers often thrown about on SDN, as well as state schools. Throw a reach or three in--never know where your athletics may get you! GPA and MCAT are competitive, and you're unique with different extracurriculars on top of the standard pre med ones. I have a hard time imagining you'll have a problem. Research is obviously nice, and you'll need it for the higher tiers, but you more than compensate for a lack of it in other cases. As for rewriting, definitely edit your essays, and see if you can make your descriptions more targeted if you didn't in your first application. You want to show that you have significant improvement, so show off all the work you've done.

 

[MedSchoolAdvice20]

Wow, thank you for the vote of confidence! What is it that you mean by making the descriptions more targeted?

 

[Nysor_bttw]

Well, I don't know how it is for AMCAS, but in TMDSAS we can give descriptions for all of our activities. A common mistake is just describing the activity, rather than expanding on what importance it has in regards to making you a good doctor.

 

[road2md]

I know you didn't have success last cycle, but congrats for making it here though despite your athletic commitments.

1. The answer would depend on what kind of schools you are hoping to get into, but on average, that score of 32 is sufficient. I think most schools take the most recent score, but some average your scores, so avoid applying to those schools.
2. I would buy the MSAR 2015 and see which schools you would be competitive for based on your numbers. At least 30. Apply 6/1/15.
3. A big component of the process is your letters. I would not send the one from the physician you shadowed unless your interactions with that physician were so significant that he/she thinks this letter will be stronger than one of your letters from scribing. Some research experience is nice, especially since many end up doing some research in medical school and residency, but it is not necessary. Some of my classmates at UCSF had done absolutely no research prior to medical school. Call OHSU and see if you can get some feedback.
4. Sounds like you have done quite a bit since last year, so naturally, I would expect there to be some changes to be made, but no need to force changes for the sake of just making changes. I would also get feedback to see if you were able to bring out through your application what makes you unique.

 

[MedSchoolAdvice20]

MSAR seems like a great idea just as far as picking some schools that maybe I hadn't considered. I plan to get letters from the physicians that I work with, but the one I shadowed (who was a former ADCOM committee member for two decades) was probably my strongest letter just because of the writing quality and understanding of what ADCOMs like to hear. As far as rewriting my personal statement goes, I naturally based it off of my baseball career and how it has built a foundation and character that will be useful in medicine. I was really happy with the intro and conclusion paragraphs and would prefer to not change them, simply editing the guts of the essay to reflect the improvements I made. That seems reasonable right?

Thanks for all the help so far, greatly appreciated. Keep it coming!

 

[gyngyn]

MSAR seems like a great idea just as far as picking some schools that maybe I hadn't considered. I plan to get letters from the physicians that I work with, but the one I shadowed (who was a former ADCOM committee member for two decades) was probably my strongest letter just because of the writing quality and understanding of what ADCOMs like to hear. As far as rewriting my personal statement goes, I naturally based it off of my baseball career and how it has built a foundation and character that will be useful in medicine. I was really happy with the intro and conclusion paragraphs and would prefer to not change them, simply editing the guts of the essay to reflect the improvements I made. That seems reasonable right?

Thanks for all the help so far, greatly appreciated. Keep it coming!

Shadowing letters are almost universally regarded as fluff, except at DO schools (sorry).
If the beginning and end are the same, a quick review will give the impression that it is the same essay. This is not a good idea.

 

[MedSchoolAdvice20]

As far as applying to MD/DO schools, I would assume writing separate personal statements is the way to go? Cater the DO application more toward the osteopathic philosophy...