WAMC: Applying 2024-2025 Cycle

[stew_md]

1. cGPA: 3.5, sGPA: 3.46, these numbers include DIY postbacc, strong upward trend, heavily weighed down by dual enrolled community college classes in highschool
2. MCAT: 520 (130/131/129/130)
3. State of residence: Washington State
4. Race: I look white, I am mixed white/hispanic
5. Undergrad: University of Washington Seattle Campus, transferred there from community college.
6. Clinical Experience:
Will have ~4000 hours by June 2024 as an MA in a primary care clinic
~100 hours volunteering at annual free clinic
Did my MA training at an ENT clinic, ~200 hours, should I include this in activities? It was a great experience for me.
7. No research experience
8. Shadowing: about 15 hours with an internist, plan to shoot for 40-50 hours by June 2024
9. Non-clinical volunteering:
~600 hours at a youth homeless shelter (leadership position),
~250 hours at a hospice/skilled nursing facility (unsure if considered clinical),
~50 hours helping ESL children read
10. Other: On a committee at my job that partners with patients to get feedback and then advises on policies and practices.
11. Relevant honors: Deans list for multiple quarters, not sure if this matters

I decided to pursue medicine around the end of my junior year of college, followed Goro's guide. What are my chances for the 2024-2025 cycle? Should I do anything else in the next 8 months? I feel that doing a postbacc/smp may not be necessary with where I currently stand, thoughts? I live in WA but have ties to CA. I would prefer to attend an MD program but I am open to DO if necessary.

Tentative school list: UWash, Washington State, OHSU, UVermont, Tulane, WVU, Albany, Loyola, Georgetown, Geisel, EVMS, SKMC, Drexel, USC, UCLA, Saint Louis University, Rush, Wayne state, Rosalind Franklin, UMiami, Penn State, Oakland, Medical College of Wisconsin, Virginia Commonwealth, Wake Forrest, Ohio State, Quinnipiac, George Washington University

Curious about adding these schools though I think I have a low chance to get in: Case Western, Hofstra, Einstein, Icahn, Brown, UCSF, UMich, Pitt, Mayo

I would love to hear additional school suggestions and any advice you might have for me, thank you in advance. Feel free to ask me anything if you need more information!

Edit: I have taken a few gap years to build up my application if that matters, I graduated in 2020.

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[Faha]

OHSU and West Virginia admit few applicants with no connection to the state. You could add these schools:
TCU
Creighton
Western Michigan
Temple
Hackensack
Pittsburgh
Hofstra
Einstein
Tufts
Boston University

 

[Mr.Smile12]

Merrics-wise you look great. Get more shadowing.

I need to see your mission fit with the schools on your list. If primary care is your goal, in-state shouldn't be a problem since you have a lot of options with MD and DO. Network with the schools do you can make your best school list that fits your mission.

 

[Angler]

Do you speak Spanish? I'm assuming yes since you teach ESL. Teaching English to immigrant low SES Hispanics would impress me.

Regardless, look into LMSA.

How strong are your ties to California? Your chances are slim in California, but can be bolstered with a strong Hispanic emphasis in your app. I don't know how strongly you identify as Hispanic or white. (sorry, I never know whether/when to use Latinx, Latino, Hispanic; AAMC says "Hispanic, Latino, or of Spanish Origin")

Use MSAR data to look for schools who matriculate large numbers of Hispanic ethnicity.

Look for OOS public schools which admit large numbers of OOS AND Hispanic applicants. Eg. Indiana & Illinois. MSAR is comprehensive, but I wish it had a search function. Its filtering is modest.

I feel that doing a postbacc/smp may not be necessary with where I currently stand, thoughts?

It looks like you did your own postbacc already. I'd do a formal postbacc only if you feel that it will raise your GPA significantly (and you have a really good probability of accomplishing that). You need to do the math.

Did my MA training at an ENT clinic, ~200 hours, should I include this in activities?

If it meant a lot to you, then add it, if you have room in your app

Curious about adding these schools though I think I have a low chance to get in: Case Western, Hofstra, Einstein, Icahn, Brown, UCSF, UMich, Pitt, Mayo

Some of these schools won't look at you with no research. Just a for instance, Case & Sinai . Look at their MSAR's.

Good luck!

 

[stew_md]

Merrics-wise you look great. Get more shadowing.

I need to see your mission fit with the schools on your list. If primary care is your goal, in-state shouldn't be a problem since you have a lot of options with MD and DO. Network with the schools do you can make your best school list that fits your mission.

Thank you for your response! To address my mission and how I've thought about mission fit:

Background: I initially started to think about medicine when a close friend of mine overdosed and spent multiple days in the hospital in the ICU, unsure of whether or not he was braindead. He ended up passing away unfortunately. This event had an impact on me and prompted me to explore what kind of a role I could serve in treating patients similar in kind. I believe broadly, my mission is to become a physician and treat vulnerable and underserved populations.

I think my strength as an applicant is my dedication to underserved/vulnerable populations, so I've been looking at many OOS schools that have a service focus or have an interest in social justice (USC, Jesuit schools, Rush, my state schools, etc.). Beyond some of these schools that have a reputation for valuing service and social justice focused applicants, I find it hard to notice mission statements that speak to me directly. I find that most of the mission statements of medical schools speak to my interests in general, but don't pop out to me unless they specifically mention "community service", or "service underserved populations".

In terms of specialty, I am currently interested in primary care, psychiatry, or being an intensivist of some kind, though I am open to exploring other areas. Through my experiences I have grown to really enjoy working with underserved populations, and I see myself working with that population in the future but unsure if in the community hospital or academic setting. I can see myself enjoying academic medicine, I love teaching and mentoring others, learning constantly, exchanging information between colleagues, being with patients and would like to get involved in research during medical school, but with my current lack of research experience I feel that may be a hard sell to many schools.

The reason I don't have any research experience is that I was going through college blindly (I was a chem major but unsure what I wanted to do with my education) until near the end of my junior year and wasn't even thinking about research as a component of the medical school application. My senior year I was just trying to get the best grades possible. I graduated at the dawn of the COVID pandemic, I was still learning about what it took to be a successful applicant and had no opportunities that I was aware of to get involved in research at that time. I have done some digging and it seems that at my alma mater its difficult if not impossible to get involved in a lab unless you are a current student. Should I just cold email professors and PhD students and see what happens? Currently I am working full time and volunteering ~18 hours per week, I find it hard to imagine finding a lab that will allow me to volunteer/work one day a week, my impression was that most labs expect you to come in multiple days per week and expect at least a year if not two years commitment.

 

[stew_md]

Do you speak Spanish? I'm assuming yes since you teach ESL. Teaching English to immigrant low SES Hispanics would impress me.

Regardless, look into LMSA.

How strong are your ties to California? Your chances are slim in California, but can be bolstered with a strong Hispanic emphasis in your app. I don't know how strongly you identify as Hispanic or white. (sorry, I never know whether/when to use Latinx, Latino, Hispanic; AAMC says "Hispanic, Latino, or of Spanish Origin")

Use MSAR data to look for schools who matriculate large numbers of Hispanic ethnicity.

Look for OOS public schools which admit large numbers of OOS AND Hispanic applicants. Eg. Indiana & Illinois. MSAR is comprehensive, but I wish it had a search function. Its filtering is modest.



It looks like you did your own postbacc already. I'd do a formal postbacc only if you feel that it will raise your GPA significantly (and you have a really good probability of accomplishing that). You need to do the math.



If it meant a lot to you, then add it, if you have room in your app



Some of these schools won't look at you with no research. Just a for instance, Case & Sinai . Look at their MSAR's.

Good luck!

Thank you for your advice!

To answer your questions:
- My father is Mexican mother is white, we are multiple generations assimilated into American culture. Honestly, I have no idea what term is appropriate either (latinx, latino, hispanic) I think most people of Mexican, Central, or South American culture would be fine with either hispanic or latino. I don't feel particularly tied to hispanic culture in my day to day life, though I am very proud to be of hispanic descent and of my family's previous generations for having the courage to come to America and leave everything behind for a better life.

- I am not fluent in spanish, but I am conversational and I am actively trying to improve my spanish. I will look into LMSA

- Like you said I did do a DIY postbacc, I would consider a formal postbacc if necessary though I am extremely confident in my ability to learn/re-learn any basic science concepts after tackling the MCAT. I would only consider doing a formal postbacc/SMP, or masters If my grades were preventing me from attaining acceptance.

- I've received similar feedback about those reach schools, thank you for providing some consistency!

Edit: My ties to Cali: My entire extended family lives in CA, visit there frequently, both my parents grew up in the LA area. My father's parents + grandparents immigrated there in the early-mid 1900s to Chavez Ravine.

 

[stew_md]

OHSU and West Virginia admit few applicants with no connection to the state. You could add these schools:
TCU
Creighton
Western Michigan
Temple
Hackensack
Pittsburgh
Hofstra
Einstein
Tufts
Boston University

Thank you for the suggestions!

I have considered some of these schools and will look in depth into their websites. However, I figured Pitt, Hofstra, Einstein, BU would be reach schools. I do have a very close knit group of friends that live in Maryland, West VA, I chose OHSU on my list just due to location and perceived mission fit.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

I think my strength as an applicant is my dedication to underserved/vulnerable populations, so I've been looking at many OOS schools that have a service focus or have an interest in social justice (USC, Jesuit schools, Rush, my state schools, etc.). Beyond some of these schools that have a reputation for valuing service and social justice focused applicants, I find it hard to notice mission statements that speak to me directly. I find that most of the mission statements of medical schools speak to my interests in general, but don't pop out to me unless they specifically mention "community service", or "service underserved populations".

Something we try to cover in Becoming a Student Doctor is how each school "talks/walks the talk/walk." The mission/vision statements should be backed up with specific programs, opportunities, and structures that make that mission a focus for the institution. I say this because every medical school and academic medical center SHOULD be focused on serving underserved populations. You should be looking at schools the same way they will be looking at you and your motivations to pursue medicine/healthcare.

Mission Fit: Key to Your Success - SDN

The Student Doctor Network provides free tools, resources, and advising services to help students become health professionals.

www.studentdoctor.net

 

[Angler]

I am very proud to be of hispanic descent and of my family's previous generations for having the courage to come to America and leave everything behind for a better life.

Be proud and show your pride!

- I am not fluent in spanish, but I am conversational and I am actively trying to improve my spanish. I will look into LMSA

Spanish ability is extremely marketable in many parts of the country, especially in primary care.

My ties to Cali: My entire extended family lives in CA, visit there frequently, both my parents grew up in the LA area. My father's parents + grandparents immigrated there in the early-mid 1900s to Chavez Ravine.

You'll have to use MSAR to see if you fit any CA schools. Your GPA is a bit low for most schools in CA, but if there is a strong upward trend as you point out, you might be in play (you'll be in the low percentiles). I just hope you aren't a Dodgers fan.