Medical How to improve app for reapplication?

[AlteredScale]

Applied to 45 schools, 2 IIs, one of which turned into a WL, other one is next month but its OOS acceptance rate is 30%.
Wondering how I can improve my app to reapply since it seems like I will have to.

3.86/519, ORM/IL/Big 10 state school

Clinical volunteering: 30 hours free clinic (started in fall 2019 but cut short due to COVID), 300 hours physical rehabilitation hospital volunteering over 2 summers, 100 hours doing free health screenings over 4 years in college
Non-clinical volunteering: 300 hours food pantry over 2 summers, 60 hours hospice volunteer over 2ish years, 170 hours head server at soup kitchen over 3 years
Research: 680 hours in a human development lab over 1.5 years, 900 hours from 2 years in a bench research lab, no posters/pubs/presentations though
Shadowing: 60 hours (peds GI 40 hours, PM&R 15 hours, FM 5 hrs)
Teaching: 600 hours teaching assistant for 3 classes over 4 semesters, 80 hours tutoring at risk students at local HS
Non clinical employment: 680 hours retail/delivery driver
Other: 125 hours leadership in club improving health in the community
Awards: "make a difference" service award

I also have an IA from 3 years ago where I put food in a tupperware in my dining hall, was removed from my record but I still reported it.

Currently in my gap year I am continuing in my human development lab, I have been leading a team of undergraduates and am working on a paper but it likely won't be done anytime soon. In my secondaries I talked about being interested in population health and helping low-income communities, but perhaps my story wasn't cohesive enough? What else can I do to improve my app? I'm not sure where I went wrong. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

I was complete starting in mid-Aug til end of Oct. My 2 IIs are from schools I was complete at mid Oct, and last wk of Oct, both mid-tiers.

School list:

Albert Einstein

Boston

Case Western

Columbia

Duke

Emory

George Washington

Georgetown

Harvard

Hofstra

Icahn Mt Sinai

Indiana

Jefferson

Johns Hopkins

Keck USC

Loyola Stritch

Mayo Clinic

MC Wisconsin

NU Feinberg

NYU

OSU

Penn

Pitt

Rochester

Rosalind Franklin

Rush

SLU

Stanford

U Chicago Pritzker

U Cincinnati

U Colorado

U Miami

U Michigan

UCF

UCLA Geffen

UCSF

UIC

USF Morsani

UVA

Vanderbilt

Wash U

Weill Cornell

Western Michigan

Wisconsin Madison

Yale

You are going to have to explain ur IA a little more, you put food in a Tupperware?

Where did you get your LORs from?

Despite a stellar academic record and MCAT, I will say the majority of your app is pretty cookie cutter and nothing stands out much. You have research experience without any scholarly work to show for it which if you compare the other applicant also applying to the medical schools you applied (aka a bunch of t10 Med schools), they hve everything you have, plus some. So you have a few options:

1) when you reapply, you need to apply not so top heavy if you don’t have significant changes to your app from an EC perspective

2) if your eye is on t20-t10 Med schools, I would suggest waiting a year or two to reapply in order to really hone in on parts of your application that you are particularly passionate for (like waiting for that paper to get published).

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[TheBoneDoctah]

Thanks for your feedback. I put food in a tupperware in my school's dining hall, and a rule is that you aren't allowed to take food out of the dining hall which I didn't know at the time. I was given a "reprimand" which was removed from my record after a year of no other violations.

My LORs were from 2 science professors I was a TA for (and were in their classes), though one might be a bit weaker? One more non-science LOR from my research professor which I think should be good. 2 LORs from volunteer supervisors, though I didn't send these to all schools because one of them was missing letterhead and another was missing a signature (according to interfolio)

I don't have a preference for t20/t10, I'd be happy with any school. I thought I applied broadly but I guess not. What other schools should I consider adding for next cycle?

Since I moved away from my college town, I can't continue any activities from there for 'longevity', but I want to find more volunteering opportunities where I am now. What would be considered a significant change to my app in terms of ECs - is it the number of hours or more so the nature of the activity? I'm not sure how to fix the "cookie-cutter" part of my app, should I try and find more interesting activities?

Next time you put food in a tupperware...think twice.

I wouldn't think this would be more than a slap on the wrist. Just make sure to explain it.

As far as your app goes, your numbers look great. Your LOR may be the issue. You sent three LOR in? Did you satisfy the LOR requirements for the schools you applied to?

On the next cycle I would apply to DO schools and throw in some more lower tier MD schools as well.

 

[Goro]

Rewrite all essays and have multiple eyeballs vet them

Work on Interview skills.

Get in more hours of service to others less fortunate than yourself. Frankly, you have a good app. You might have some 'meh" LORs

 

[AlteredScale]

Thanks for your feedback. I put food in a tupperware in my school's dining hall, and a rule is that you aren't allowed to take food out of the dining hall which I didn't know at the time. I was given a "reprimand" which was removed from my record after a year of no other violations.

My LORs were from 2 science professors I was a TA for (and were in their classes), though one might be a bit weaker? One more non-science LOR from my research professor which I think should be good. 2 LORs from volunteer supervisors, though I didn't send these to all schools because one of them was missing letterhead and another was missing a signature (according to interfolio)

I don't have a preference for t20/t10, I'd be happy with any school. I thought I applied broadly but I guess not. What other schools should I consider adding for next cycle?

Since I moved away from my college town, I can't continue any activities from there for 'longevity', but I want to find more volunteering opportunities where I am now. What would be considered a significant change to my app in terms of ECs - is it the number of hours or more so the nature of the activity? I'm not sure how to fix the "cookie-cutter" part of my app, should I try and find more interesting activities?

I see. Thank you for explaining. That school sound as crazy for even getting you on that.

I see. Yeah it sounds like your LOR's may have been mediocre at best sans the first one where you were a TA.

You applied top heavy. Looking at your list like half of those med schools are like number 1 in their respected states.

Significant change would be like getting that manuscript your were talking about accepted and/or published. Or you take on a new leadership role.

Rlly big thing is just investing more in things that you like to do. They don't have to fit the mold for medical school applications.

 

[TheBoneDoctah]

I made sure to explain the IA and take responsibility, and talk about what I learned. I also made sure to satisfy the LOR requirements for each school.

Should I consider something like Teach for America or Americorps? I didn't think I was lacking in service hours, though of course that is something that could always be improved. I'm just not sure what aspect of the application to focus on ... perhaps more productive research?

Also, in the event that my LOR is the main weakness, should I try and find another science professor LOR?Though I'm not sure if that is doable since I've already graduated from college over a year ago

Research isn’t crazy important for medical school admissions. I don’t think that’s what is keeping you out. On reapply, make sure to have your essays read by multiple people.

 

[TheBoneDoctah]

Also, during my interview, my faculty interviewer said that I was a "strong interviewee" and asked if I'd had other interviews already, which caught me off guard and I said no (since it was my first and only interview at the time). Clearly since I didn't get in my interview wasn't very strong, but was this question meant to throw me off or should I expect these kinds of questions at interviews?

*these kinds of questions as in, questions about my app cycle/other schools

I was asked at multiple schools about other interviews I have had. I am pretty sure they aren’t rejecting you on that answer.

 

[AlteredScale]

That makes sense - I didn't think my WL was just because of that question, I was mostly curious about the intent behind the question. Also, would leading a research team in my lab count as a leadership role/significant change? I only started doing that in my gap year after submitting my app so it wasn't in my primary, but in my secondaries I briefly mentioned it in the gap year essays. Hoping it might be enough to boost my app to be able to reapply next cycle if I have to?

That would def be a significant change in my book.

 

[TheBoneDoctah]

For sure leading research team.

 

[TheBoneDoctah]

Thanks. Would this be worthy to include in an update letter to schools I haven't heard back from yet (pre II)? I haven't sent any updates to any school and didn't list projected hours on my primary. I've been doing this and a bit of volunteering in my gap year

Only ones that welcome updates.