MD Nontrad thinking of reapplying, looking for advice

[monkeyjack]

As the title says, I'm thinking of reapplying and would love some advice on where to apply. I initially applied two years(cycles) ago, and but it was a disaster. But I've grown since that experience and I think I've identified some of the mistakes that I think killed me.

I graduated from college and enrolled in a post-bacc program in order to raise my GPA. I did well, but I made the mistake of applying with only two quarters on the transcript. I wasn't sure how my grades were going to be for the third quarter, and I didn't want to delay sending in the my transcript until the end of June. Big mistake, I got a 4.0 . I sent in an updated transcript to individual schools, but I don't think that they looked at it. As a weak candidate GPA wise, this hurt me, as my BCMP GPA would have been above 3.5 with these grades.

Second mistake was that I waited submitting my application until the middle of june, about two weeks after AMCAS opened. I wasn't happy with my personal statement so I took time to work on it. I know now I should submit on the first day.

I applied to too many schools, most of which were not a good fit and out of my reach. I was also a CA resident and an Asian male, so that did not help at all.

I had one interview, but I was waitlisted.

No getting in was devastating, but I had a lot of personal problems as well, which caused me to hit rock bottom. Since then, I took some time off and traveled. Honestly one of the greatest experiences of my life. I also got a job in healthcare IT job in Wisconsin, so no longer a CA resident

Anyways here are my stats

GPA:

Total: 3.46
BCMP: 3.52
Postbac:3.9
MCAT: 32 (V:9, P:12, B:11)

Research:

Two labs, 4 years total, two papers(One first author), two poster presentations

ECs:

1000+hours volunteering, including clinical and non clinical.

Various hospitals, tutoring, Habitat for Humanity, working with children with special needs​

Shadowing different types of physicians
Several college clubs, including leadership positions in these clubs

Other

Engineering major, graduated with honors

Ideas on schools? I know the Wisconsin schools but not sure of what others to apply to.

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[Vain Brother]

it doesn't look like you've done much to add to your application since your first try, except that your sGPA is a couple of ticks higher. still, moving to WI will probably help you, and with a smarter school list you should have a puncher's chance

 

[monkeyjack]

Yeah, I guess it doesn't seem like a big difference, but I think my application might have a better chance of getting looked at this time. I have a feeling most schools screen me out last time because of my GPA. I called a few of them up and they really couldn't tell me glaring issues with my application. They gave me a couple of things to work on which I have. My job has given me a lot of medical experience, which is nice.

I think applying smarter this time will benefit me. Honestly, looking back, most of the schools I applied to were not really a fit for me or were way out of my reach(The UCs, Stanford, Tufts)

 

[Faha]

This would be a realistic school list this time.
University of Wisconsin
Wisconsin Medical College
Loyola
Rush
Rosalind Franklin
St. Louis
Creighton
Oakland Beaumont
Western Michigan
Quinnipiac
Vermont
Hofstra
Albany
New York Medical College
Commonwealth (PA)
Drexel
Temple
Jefferson
Penn State
GW
Tulane
Georgetown
Any new private MD schools that open in 2016
You should also apply to at least 10 DO schools and your stats are competitive for most DO schools. The GPA-MCAT grid shows your odds for a MD acceptance are less than 50%.
Apply in June and submit all your secondaries by July.

 

[monkeyjack]

Thanks for the list, I may have only applied to 6 of those last time around. I know my chances are slim for MD, but <50% is still greater than 0%.