School list (high stats, low ECs)

[nawfam]

4.0 / 523, CA resident, ORM

- 100 hrs hospice volunteering
- 35 hrs shadowing PM&R
- 20 hrs shadowing urologist (surgery)
- 250 hrs research in Korea (3 publications, 1 co-first author)
- 200 hrs research on campus
- ROTC
- officer of charity art club

I know I would benefit from a gap year, but I am applying this year for military service reasons. Any advice is appreciated!

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[Goro]

With the poor ECs, you will be crowded out by candidates with better apps. Your stats and research aren't going to get you into medical school alone.

What are you going to say when asked how you know you are suited for a life of caring for the sick and suffering? “That you just know”? Imagine how that will go over!

 

[Mr.Smile12]

Are you a US or a Korean citizen? Dual?

Please complete a template.

 

[nawfam]

With the poor ECs, you will be crowded out by candidates with better apps. Your stats and research aren't going to get you into medical school alone.

What are you going to say when asked how you know you are suited for a life of caring for the sick and suffering? “That you just know”? Imagine how that will go over!

Hospice has given me a very insightful look into patient care and my own ability to develop connections and empathy with patients at end of life. Yes, it is not a lot of clinical experience, but it has given me reason to believe medical school is for me.

Are you a US or a Korean citizen? Dual?

Please complete a template.

US only.

 

[Goro]

Hospice has given me a very insightful look into patient care and my own ability to develop connections and empathy with patients at end of life. Yes, it is not a lot of clinical experience, but it has given me reason to believe medical school is for me.

I have a high regard for people who can get up front and personal with our mortality, such as in hospice work, but your clinical hours are simply too low.

I can't sugar coat this, yours really isn't the app of a person who dearly wants to be a physician. It is the application of someone who wants to be a doctor as long as it is convenient.

You owe it to yourself to take the gap year and burnish your ECs. Harvard and WashU aren't going anywhere.

 

[Faha]

It is not only your clinical volunteering hours are low. You appear to have zero non clinical volunteering and that combined with your low clinical volunteering hours puts you at a great disadvantage compared to other applicants. In the coming year accumulate 200+ hours of non clinical volunteering (homeless shelter, food bank or similar activity). Also another 100+ hours of clinical volunteering (the more the better).
If you must apply this year for the reason you stated I suggest these schools:
Tufts
Hofstra
Einstein
Mount Sinai
Rochester
Jefferson
U Virginia
Duke
USF Morsani
Miami
Vanderbilt
Washington University (in St. Louis)
Northwestern
Western Michigan
U Michigan
Ohio State
Cincinnati
Kaiser
California University
Loma Linda (if you fit their mission)
USC Keck
UC Davis
UC Irvine
UC Riverside (only if you are from that region)
UCSD
UCLA
UCSF
Uniformed Services University

 

[nawfam]

It is not only your clinical volunteering hours are low. You appear to have zero non clinical volunteering and that combined with your low clinical volunteering hours puts you at a great disadvantage compared to other applicants. In the coming year accumulate 200+ hours of non clinical volunteering (homeless shelter, food bank or similar activity). Also another 100+ hours of clinical volunteering (the more the better).
If you must apply this year for the reason you stated I suggest these schools:
Tufts
Hofstra
Einstein
Mount Sinai
Rochester
Jefferson
U Virginia
Duke
USF Morsani
Miami
Vanderbilt
Washington University (in St. Louis)
Northwestern
Western Michigan
U Michigan
Ohio State
Cincinnati
Kaiser
California University
Loma Linda (if you fit their mission)
USC Keck
UC Davis
UC Irvine
UC Riverside (only if you are from that region)
UCSD
UCLA
UCSF
Uniformed Services University

Thank you for the feedback. I do have volunteering hours from ROTC - do you suggest highlighting this in a separate segment in works/activities?

I have a high regard for people who can get up front and personal with our mortality, such as in hospice work, but your clinical hours are simply too low.

I can't sugar coat this, yours really isn't the app of a person who dearly wants to be a physician. It is the application of someone who wants to be a doctor as long as it is convenient.

You owe it to yourself to take the gap year and burnish your ECs. Harvard and WashU aren't going anywhere.

I value this feedback, but taking a gap year is undesirable for other reasons. Will I be looked down upon as a reapplicant versus if I simply took a gap year?

 

[Faha]

What is the nature of the volunteering in ROTC ?

 

[Goro]

Thank you for the feedback. I do have volunteering hours from ROTC - do you suggest highlighting this in a separate segment in works/activities?



I value this feedback, but taking a gap year is undesirable for other reasons. Will I be looked down upon as a reapplicant versus if I simply took a gap year?

Reapplicants will be expected to have improved their apps since the first go-around.

Fill out a WAMC template to give us an idfea of your ECs.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

Thank you for the feedback. I do have volunteering hours from ROTC - do you suggest highlighting this in a separate segment in works/activities?



I value this feedback, but taking a gap year is undesirable for other reasons. Will I be looked down upon as a reapplicant versus if I simply took a gap year?

If you are required to fulfill a military commitment, you should do it before applying. I don't understand the rush to get in either.

We can only go by what you are disclosing, but it would look bad to reapply with no improvement in clinical and nonclinical experiences. There are a lot of applicants/matriculants who take gap years.

We need more details. You need to fill out a template like I had asked for previously.

 

[nawfam]

I’m new to this forum and am unsure what a template is but I will list out more information based on the recommended format.

GPA: 4.0 (cGPA & sGPA)
MCAT: 523 (132 | 130 | 130 | 131)
Asian female, STEM major at a UC (CA resident)

Clinical experience: 100 hrs hospice volunteering

Research experience:
250 hrs in Korea reviewing clinical research on surgery recovery and treatment options; three publications with one being co-first author

200 hrs on campus in an interdisciplinary lab where I helped develop biosensing systems

Shadowing: 55 hrs shadowing urology, sports medicine, neuromuscular diseases, and EMG clinic

Other extracurriculars:

ROTC (1000 hrs): Developed leadership and community. Volunteered for Color Guard missions during commencement and sports games and organized an event that brought people in from all across the country.

Charity club: Treasurer for a club in which we would make art and sell it for charity.

Awards:

GAFPB (German Armed Forces Proficiency Badge)


The concern with my military service is that I am contracted with ROTC. I need to complete either 4 years Active Dury or 8 years in the Reserve. As of now I am planning on applying for educational delay so I can do my service after medical school, but that is conditional on acceptance and I would otherwise be doing military service while in medical school. I am fine with that but would rather postpone my service. If I do not get in this cycle I will definitely be continuing to improve my application before the next cycle.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

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To other experts too: can this OP apply for HPSP? How does this affect the ROTC commitment? I think OP can still be in National Guard while in school, right?

I will also say that being enlisted or having military experience is viewed very positively in the application process. Many military-friendly schools.

ADDED
So I presume you did ROTC all four years of college? Where is your other community service?

 

[Nontrad_FL_LGBT]

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*~*~*~*IMPORTANT: How to Format Your WAMC Thread for Optimal Results and More!!*~*~*~*

Hello, and welcome to the What Are My Chances (WAMC) forum. The purpose of this forum is to Post threads about your chances of acceptance to MD and/or DO schools Have your school list critiqued and modified by other members of SDN Determine how to strengthen your current application General...

forums.studentdoctor.net

To other experts too: can this OP apply for HPSP? How does this affect the ROTC commitment? I think OP can still be in National Guard while in school, right?

I will also say that being enlisted or having military experience is viewed very positively in the application process. Many military-friendly schools.

ADDED
So I presume you did ROTC all four years of college? Where is your other community service?

If they're applying for HPSP, afaik they need a letter of conditional release from their commander to basically sit the military out while they're in school. They likely already have one if they're applying for Ed Delay so it shouldn't be an issue, they'd just be adding 4 years of AD to their commitment after intern year for a total of 8 years.

You can do NG in school but there's a million ways to do it. OP would want to talk to a trusted mil advisor with NG/med exp to figure out that path.