Help with list for next cycle

[deleted1189935]

-Undergrad: Normal state school

-Major: Exercise science and physiology

-GPA and MCAT: 3.91, 522

-Shadowing: 100 hours with different specialties

-Clinical experience:
-Volunteer:
-200+ hours at local free clinic

-Non volunteer:
-Scribe 100+ hours different specialties

-Ophthalmic tech 1800 hours (will continue working this year so x2)

-Non medical volunteer:
-Food bank/ local shelter 250 hours

-Research:
-Internship in a cardiovascular physiology lab. 500 hours, 1 poster

-100+ hours working in biomechanics lab. 1 poster

-Leadership:
-Peer tutor for 2 years Anatomy and physiology 1&2

-Employment:
-Fast food jobs during summers in high school and college

-2 gap years working as an ophthalmic tech (current)

-Part time warehouse job (current)

-Other:
-Full merit ride to college
-30+ Dual enrollment credits while in high school, led to graduating college in 3 years instead of 4

-Fluent in Arabic

-Medical interests: I love ophthalmology, but I also liked every speciality I’ve shadowed/scribed for except dermatology and family medicine

-Financials: lower middle class family but I likely won’t be submitting their tax information so no need based aid, hoping for some merit aid but expecting to borrow full COA in loans

-Demographics: 23M, white middle eastern

-State of residency: SC

Schools:

1. UofSC Columbia
2. UofSC Greenville
3. MUSC
4. UNC
5. Duke
6. Wake forest
7. Emory
8. Medical college of Georgia
9. Baylor
10. UT southwestern
11. Vanderbilt
12. Umiami
13. USF
14. Pritzker
15. Northwestern
16. Rush
17. Loyola
18. Umichigan
19. Tulane
20. Mayo Clinic Minnesota
21. NYU
22. Cornell
23. Columbia
24. Mount Sinai
25. Case western
26. WashU
27. Hopkins
28. UPenn
29. UPitt
30. Dartmouth
31. Yale
32. Harvard. Why not

I know my stats for a lot of the t20s are average or slightly above average, which ones should I remove or anything to add? Also realistically do I have a shot at some merit aid?

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[Mr.Smile12]

What is your state of legal residence? What list have you made already? Do any schools have AMMSA chapters?

 

[deleted1189935]

What is your state of legal residence? What list have you made already? Do any schools have AMMSA chapters?

Updated with list. I’m not Muslim

 

[Mr.Smile12]

Have you attended recruiting events at the three South Carolina programs? What is your purpose as a physician, and what activities express your mission fit with other medical schools on your list? Do you really want to move to a highly urban area like Chicago or New York?

 

[deleted1189935]

Have you attended recruiting events at the three South Carolina programs? What is your purpose as a physician, and what activities express your mission fit with other medical schools on your list? Do you really want to move to a highly urban area like Chicago or New York?

Have not attended recruiting events, would prefer to leave SC. I’m open to moving anywhere. I’m interested in innovative research and academic medicine but not opposed to independent practice I’ll likely do a mix of both throughout my career, would like to end up at a program that would give me those opportunities

 

[Mr.Smile12]

Okay... Virginia schools tend to be very OOS friendly.

I know you are saying upfront you are seeking merit scholarships to pay for medical school. Are you looking at NHSC or HPSP? That would increase the flexibility of your list, especially if you are willing to go anywhere. And usually "anywhere" has a higher cost of living than SC. You should have little trouble getting a shot at the scholarships provided funds are appropriated. (Seriously, with your exercise science background, would military or veteran-oriented medicine interest you?

If you are MENA, have you looked at the AMMSA chapter list?

You have 250 hours of service orientation activities declared. This is great for most schools, but service-focused schools like Rush and the Jesuits like to see at least 800-1000 hours.

 

[AJS59]

I'd maybe remove Baylor and UTSW if you don't have connections to Texas; everything else is fine with the exceptions of Rush and Loyola for service