PLEASE DO NOT QUOTE THIS MESSAGE
I would appreciate feedback about my chances/school list. I listed further comments below.
Comments: This is now my 3rd reapplication. I submitted my primary a bit more than a wk ago but have not finalized my school list as it’s still verifying. I previously applied in 2019 (when I was going into my 4th undergraduate year), to an extremely top-heavy and poorly considered list of ~18 schools. I got 5 interviews, 2 earliest I’d say I more or less bombed, 2 semi-late I was mediocre/ok, last one was very late & thought I did well.
I panic reapplied in 2020 with a very similar application bc COVID made me panic and I wasn’t sure what would happen and if I would be able to really improve my application at all in the coming years bc of it. The second time I applied to 38 schools, maybe ⅓ or ¼ reapplications, and got 3 interviews, 1 early and 2 late, which I overall felt went well/ok, got 2 waitlists.
I really wish I hadn’t applied in 2020, but pressure/poor planning combined with COVID broke my previous sureness not to reapply so soon. In retrospect I had outs – already by ~June you could tell things were changing with COVID, though by that point I was probably already out a lot of money. Overall though, I wish there was someone at the time who could tell me confidently “you should not apply now”, since most advice from people I knew was ambiguous.
In my first 2 applications I was sure my lack of shadowing/clinical experience was the critical flaw, which is why I spent the last 3 yrs in clinical roles. During that time I was not 100% sure if I would ever reapply for a third time.
Now however I feel I have still failed to properly round out my application, especially with regards to volunteering. I wonder if my application is basically dead in the water again and I’m blowing an otherwise decent opportunity. I had thought that retaking the MCAT would be an ordeal but it was overall the least bad part of the whole experience (like the first time, even though I have been out of school for a while). Knowing that, I wonder if I am still making the wrong choice and applying too early. A few different people I know, mainly physicians I have worked with, have told me that there is no perfect application and there will be weaknesses, and that being a student earlier is meaningful (not necessarily for career but for life), and other things. I just wonder if I would trip too many red flags and be out a lot of time, money, and effort again for a poorly considered decision.
In addition to that, I was hoping for feedback on my school list which I haven’t finalized. Also, should I/which DO schools should I apply to? Only one I have thought of so far is the Chicago College of Osteopathic Medicine of Midwestern University
UChicago (applied twice prior, interviewed 2019-2020, bombed, 2 letters from current faculty and one from past faculty)
Rush (applied once prior)
Rosalind Franklin (applied once prior)
Northwestern (applied twice prior, 2 letters from physicians associated with the medical school)
UC Irvine (applied once prior, interviewed 2019-2020 late in cycle, felt it went well)
UC Davis (applied twice prior, interviewed 2020-2021 late in cycle)
Saint Louis U (applied once prior, interviewed 2020-2021 late in cycle)
WashU St Louis (applied once prior, interviewed 2020-2021 early)
George Washington U (applied once prior)
U of Iowa (applied once prior)
Tufts (applied once prior)
Georgetown (applied once prior, interviewed 2019-2020 late in cycle)
UMich (applied once prior)
Renaissance (applied once prior)
Case Western (applied once prior)
Medical College of Wisconsin (applied once prior)
U Wisconsin (applied once prior)
Albert Einstein (applied once prior)
Ohio State (applied once prior)
U of Illinois
Southern Illinois University
Virginia Commonwealth U
Wayne State
Western Michigan U Stryker
Rochester
Hofstra
Drexel
University of Vermont
SUNY Upstate
SUNY Downstate
UMass
Quinnipiac
New York Medical College
Geisinger Commonwealth
U of Cincinnati
Tulane
Wake Forest
I would appreciate feedback about my chances/school list. I listed further comments below.
- sGPA 3.85 (possibly slightly higher based on how final classes which were not previously counted are counted)
cGPA 3.9 - 521 (129, 132, 129, 131) [2023]
previous MCAT in 2019 likely irrelevant but maybe useful information: 522 (130, 131, 129, 132) - IL resident, in past CA
- South Asian
- UChicago, graduated 2020. Honors BS Neuroscience, minor Comparative Race & Ethnic Studies
- Clinical experience - 2900 hrs (1.5 yrs full time) as an ophthalmology scribe, 2900 hrs (1.5 yrs full time) as an ophthalmic assistant (and continuing); no clinical volunteering
- Research experience - worked in a neurobiology lab as undergraduate including some summers for ~3.5 yrs, did undergraduate thesis in this lab; worked in clinical social science research for 1 summer; for last 3 yrs working on ophthalmology research projects in volunteer capacity. Middle coauthor on 4 publications (1 from neurobiology lab, 1 from social science lab, 2 from ophthalmology lab). 1 poster presentation I presented, 1 poster I designed for an electronic poster session, 2 posters I contributed to but did not present personally. Total hours ~2500
- Shadowing: family medicine ~60 hrs, ophthalmology surgery ~70 hrs
- Nonclinical volunteering: volunteer tutoring/mentorship for economically underprivileged students. 125 hrs as undergrad across 2.5 yrs, in-person. 25 hrs recently since Jan 2023, different but similar organization, remote tutoring but still local students. Major weakness of application, will comment further below
- Other ECs: writer/editor as undergraduate for premed student magazine. Longtime percussionist, ~15-16 yrs, in last many years mostly just personal practice however.
- Awards: BS with honors
Comments: This is now my 3rd reapplication. I submitted my primary a bit more than a wk ago but have not finalized my school list as it’s still verifying. I previously applied in 2019 (when I was going into my 4th undergraduate year), to an extremely top-heavy and poorly considered list of ~18 schools. I got 5 interviews, 2 earliest I’d say I more or less bombed, 2 semi-late I was mediocre/ok, last one was very late & thought I did well.
I panic reapplied in 2020 with a very similar application bc COVID made me panic and I wasn’t sure what would happen and if I would be able to really improve my application at all in the coming years bc of it. The second time I applied to 38 schools, maybe ⅓ or ¼ reapplications, and got 3 interviews, 1 early and 2 late, which I overall felt went well/ok, got 2 waitlists.
I really wish I hadn’t applied in 2020, but pressure/poor planning combined with COVID broke my previous sureness not to reapply so soon. In retrospect I had outs – already by ~June you could tell things were changing with COVID, though by that point I was probably already out a lot of money. Overall though, I wish there was someone at the time who could tell me confidently “you should not apply now”, since most advice from people I knew was ambiguous.
In my first 2 applications I was sure my lack of shadowing/clinical experience was the critical flaw, which is why I spent the last 3 yrs in clinical roles. During that time I was not 100% sure if I would ever reapply for a third time.
Now however I feel I have still failed to properly round out my application, especially with regards to volunteering. I wonder if my application is basically dead in the water again and I’m blowing an otherwise decent opportunity. I had thought that retaking the MCAT would be an ordeal but it was overall the least bad part of the whole experience (like the first time, even though I have been out of school for a while). Knowing that, I wonder if I am still making the wrong choice and applying too early. A few different people I know, mainly physicians I have worked with, have told me that there is no perfect application and there will be weaknesses, and that being a student earlier is meaningful (not necessarily for career but for life), and other things. I just wonder if I would trip too many red flags and be out a lot of time, money, and effort again for a poorly considered decision.
In addition to that, I was hoping for feedback on my school list which I haven’t finalized. Also, should I/which DO schools should I apply to? Only one I have thought of so far is the Chicago College of Osteopathic Medicine of Midwestern University
UChicago (applied twice prior, interviewed 2019-2020, bombed, 2 letters from current faculty and one from past faculty)
Rush (applied once prior)
Rosalind Franklin (applied once prior)
Northwestern (applied twice prior, 2 letters from physicians associated with the medical school)
UC Irvine (applied once prior, interviewed 2019-2020 late in cycle, felt it went well)
UC Davis (applied twice prior, interviewed 2020-2021 late in cycle)
Saint Louis U (applied once prior, interviewed 2020-2021 late in cycle)
WashU St Louis (applied once prior, interviewed 2020-2021 early)
George Washington U (applied once prior)
U of Iowa (applied once prior)
Tufts (applied once prior)
Georgetown (applied once prior, interviewed 2019-2020 late in cycle)
UMich (applied once prior)
Renaissance (applied once prior)
Case Western (applied once prior)
Medical College of Wisconsin (applied once prior)
U Wisconsin (applied once prior)
Albert Einstein (applied once prior)
Ohio State (applied once prior)
U of Illinois
Southern Illinois University
Virginia Commonwealth U
Wayne State
Western Michigan U Stryker
Rochester
Hofstra
Drexel
University of Vermont
SUNY Upstate
SUNY Downstate
UMass
Quinnipiac
New York Medical College
Geisinger Commonwealth
U of Cincinnati
Tulane
Wake Forest
