Hi everyone!
It's a good bit into this application cycle yet I have no interviews and no rejections. I applied to 40 schools, 20 MD and 20 DO. All but 2 MD schools I applied to had a median MCAT 512 or below according to MSAR, and one of those 2 is an in-state school. I submitted my primaries within the first 1.5 weeks of July, and my last secondaries went out in early to mid-September. I understand that I may have to reapply this upcoming cycle, so I want to be prepared. I would truly appreciate your opinions and suggestions for the current cycle and your advice on how I can improve my application if I need to reapply.
GPA
3.62 cGPA and 3.45 sGPA
MCAT
508 (126/128/128/126), by percentile: 72 (65/90/82/52)
Residence and Ethnicity
US citizen, Asian, child of immigrants
Clinical experience
230+ hours as an EMT, worked for 7 months during my senior year up to graduation
10+ hours as Clinical Assistant at time of submission, 1100+ projected, currently working this job and have been working since May
Research experience and productivity
250+ hours in History of Geometric Patterns/Art, I was in my school's select undergrad. research program, my program awarded me a grant to fund a study of my design. I presented my work at my school's end-of-year research symposium.
150+ hours in Orthopedic clinical research, I wrote the majority of the paper however did not get published due to the head Doc moving away.
80+ hours in Comparative Physiology and Biomechanics lab research.
Shadowing
110+ hours shadowing across HemOnc (MD PhD), orthopedic sports medicine (DO), and family medicine (1 MD and 1 DO). I've shadowed a few other doctors but those were the main 4 I could fit in my application.
Non-clinical volunteering
70+ hours designing and making reusable multi-layered cotton masks for local small businesses during peak COVID mask shortage.
60+ hours at local soup kitchens, 40+ hours projected as I love volunteering there frequently.
40+ hours teaching at a rural village school in my family's home country (developing), 20+ hours anticipated as I am going again in just a few days.
Leadership:
260+ hours as exec in American Red Cross Club and volunteer, I notably led the COVID kit project during peak pandemic shortages, provided kits with essentials to 240 local underserved families.
170+ hours as a Biology Dept. Ambassador and Research exec, directly mentored a new biology student each year and ran research-related events for students.
Other Extracurriculars and Honors:
90+ hours as co-founder of Emergency Medical Education club.
30+ hours advocating and fund-raising for natural disaster relief in my family's home country, raised over $1,000.
10+ hours exhibiting my artwork at a local art festival/exhibition.
1 small academic scholarship
LORs:
2 from science professors, one who's lab I did research in (biomechanics)
1 non-science professor, dean of the Office of Undergraduate Research, and head of my research program. I am also thinking of having my language professor write me a letter since we have a great relationship and they have known me the longest of any professor.
4 doctors (2 DO and 2 MD), and an additional MD letter is being written by the surgeon I currently work with
1 from a paramedic whom I have a great relationship with. They were with me during my EMT clinical shifts during training and had notable experiences during this which I mention in my PS
Other Info:
I graduated with distinction this past May from a top-25 university. I have a couple of Cs, notably one in Organic Chemistry 2 since I made the mistake of taking it alongside my EMT course. Both of these courses were very intense/quick due to them being summer sessions, and I underestimated the time required for EMT training (it was a 9-credit hour class). However, from there on my GPA finished with an upward trend.
Advisors and doctors who have worked in admissions have told me that my application is strong for DOs and that for MDs is a bit of a stretch. My PS involved making parallels between art and medicine, it discusses how I learned certain values family struggles, and it describes key moments I experienced while shadowing a doctor and providing care as an EMT.
I would love to hear what you all think. Thanks for taking the time to help!
It's a good bit into this application cycle yet I have no interviews and no rejections. I applied to 40 schools, 20 MD and 20 DO. All but 2 MD schools I applied to had a median MCAT 512 or below according to MSAR, and one of those 2 is an in-state school. I submitted my primaries within the first 1.5 weeks of July, and my last secondaries went out in early to mid-September. I understand that I may have to reapply this upcoming cycle, so I want to be prepared. I would truly appreciate your opinions and suggestions for the current cycle and your advice on how I can improve my application if I need to reapply.
GPA
3.62 cGPA and 3.45 sGPA
MCAT
508 (126/128/128/126), by percentile: 72 (65/90/82/52)
Residence and Ethnicity
US citizen, Asian, child of immigrants
Clinical experience
230+ hours as an EMT, worked for 7 months during my senior year up to graduation
10+ hours as Clinical Assistant at time of submission, 1100+ projected, currently working this job and have been working since May
Research experience and productivity
250+ hours in History of Geometric Patterns/Art, I was in my school's select undergrad. research program, my program awarded me a grant to fund a study of my design. I presented my work at my school's end-of-year research symposium.
150+ hours in Orthopedic clinical research, I wrote the majority of the paper however did not get published due to the head Doc moving away.
80+ hours in Comparative Physiology and Biomechanics lab research.
Shadowing
110+ hours shadowing across HemOnc (MD PhD), orthopedic sports medicine (DO), and family medicine (1 MD and 1 DO). I've shadowed a few other doctors but those were the main 4 I could fit in my application.
Non-clinical volunteering
70+ hours designing and making reusable multi-layered cotton masks for local small businesses during peak COVID mask shortage.
60+ hours at local soup kitchens, 40+ hours projected as I love volunteering there frequently.
40+ hours teaching at a rural village school in my family's home country (developing), 20+ hours anticipated as I am going again in just a few days.
Leadership:
260+ hours as exec in American Red Cross Club and volunteer, I notably led the COVID kit project during peak pandemic shortages, provided kits with essentials to 240 local underserved families.
170+ hours as a Biology Dept. Ambassador and Research exec, directly mentored a new biology student each year and ran research-related events for students.
Other Extracurriculars and Honors:
90+ hours as co-founder of Emergency Medical Education club.
30+ hours advocating and fund-raising for natural disaster relief in my family's home country, raised over $1,000.
10+ hours exhibiting my artwork at a local art festival/exhibition.
1 small academic scholarship
LORs:
2 from science professors, one who's lab I did research in (biomechanics)
1 non-science professor, dean of the Office of Undergraduate Research, and head of my research program. I am also thinking of having my language professor write me a letter since we have a great relationship and they have known me the longest of any professor.
4 doctors (2 DO and 2 MD), and an additional MD letter is being written by the surgeon I currently work with
1 from a paramedic whom I have a great relationship with. They were with me during my EMT clinical shifts during training and had notable experiences during this which I mention in my PS
Other Info:
I graduated with distinction this past May from a top-25 university. I have a couple of Cs, notably one in Organic Chemistry 2 since I made the mistake of taking it alongside my EMT course. Both of these courses were very intense/quick due to them being summer sessions, and I underestimated the time required for EMT training (it was a 9-credit hour class). However, from there on my GPA finished with an upward trend.
Advisors and doctors who have worked in admissions have told me that my application is strong for DOs and that for MDs is a bit of a stretch. My PS involved making parallels between art and medicine, it discusses how I learned certain values family struggles, and it describes key moments I experienced while shadowing a doctor and providing care as an EMT.
I would love to hear what you all think. Thanks for taking the time to help!
