WAMC/School List/Application Advice 3.75 514 ORM SoCal

[andshaft]

Hello, I Just got my MCAT score back and plan to apply this cycle. I have 2 months to work on rounding out my application and curating a school list. I'm following the format by WedgeDawg. Looking for suggestions for my school list as well as overall application, any tips or comments are appreciated!

1. cGPA: 3.75 sGPA: 3.748 ( Have an upward trend, because freshman year I was taking engineering pre-reqs, and got a low gpa. Starting sophomore year my gpa improved alot and I averaged a 3.9 cgpa for the next 3 years)
2. 514 (128/126/130/130)
3. From San Diego, CA
4. Mixed race, White and East Asian.
5. Undergrad at SDSU
6. 60 hours each of clinical volunteering at 2 hospitals. 250 hours (and counting) as a psychiatry scribe. 1500 hours (and counting) employed by UCSD as a community health worker/health screener for asylum seekers coming from the southern border. 25 hours of patient care at a clinic in Vietnam on a medical mission. 30 hours of patient care at clinics in Mexico.
7. 250 hours in Organic chemistry lab.
8. 200 hours of shadowing a psychiatrist at an outpatient clinic. 25 hours shadowing Vietnamese physicians of various specialties.
9. 25 hours of volunteering at homeless shelter. (working on getting more for this category)
10. Treasurer for pre-med club on campus for a year. Supplemental instructor for organic chemistry for 1.5 years at SDSU. 1 semester as anatomy lab TA helping to teach.
11. Deans list 5 semesters (above 3.5 gpa). Magna Cum Laude.

Current School List:

In state:
UCSD
UCSF
UCLA
UCI
UCR
UC Davis
CUSM (need updated info on this school)

Out of state:
RUSH
EVMS
Jacobs School of Medicine at the University at Buffalo
UVM Larner
SUNY upstate and downstate? ( not sure if I should apply to 1 or both)
RWJMS
TCU
Albany
NYMC
George Washington
Emory
MCW
Lewis Katz
Penn State
Rosalind Franklin

DO:
Western
Touro

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[Mr.Smile12]

Check your list against the PHR list of student asylum clinics.

Student Asylum Clinics - PHR

The PHR Asylum Program collaborates with student-run human rights clinics to provide forensic evaluations for asylum seekers. The clinics are made possible by small groups of enthusiastic students and a growing group of Asylum Network members who are committed to training the next generation of...

phr.org

First off, all your shadowing in Vietnam will not count in your favor. 200 shadowing hours is way too much for just one specialty (psychiatry); you should get more variety with other specialties with patients with physical illnesses or morbid conditions. (The 30 hours in the Mexican clinic is understandable given where you are, and I'm guessing you are making your pitch to stay at UCSD and home.)

On the community service side, 1500 hours assisting in a community program for asylum seekers helps you plant your flag that this is what you have the most passion about; hence the suggestion with PHR. I don't otherwise get a sense you have a large involvement on campus other than a few clubs related to premed or TA. I presume you commuted from home so you haven't made efforts to be part of the campus community at UCSD, right?

What other things would make one want to enjoy your company as a student at "our" medical school? What makes you an inspiration to others?

 

[andshaft]

Check your list against the PHR list of student asylum clinics.

Student Asylum Clinics - PHR

The PHR Asylum Program collaborates with student-run human rights clinics to provide forensic evaluations for asylum seekers. The clinics are made possible by small groups of enthusiastic students and a growing group of Asylum Network members who are committed to training the next generation of...

phr.org

First off, all your shadowing in Vietnam will not count in your favor. 200 shadowing hours is way too much for just one specialty (psychiatry); you should get more variety with other specialties with patients with physical illnesses or morbid conditions. (The 30 hours in the Mexican clinic is understandable given where you are, and I'm guessing you are making your pitch to stay at UCSD and home.)

On the community service side, 1500 hours assisting in a community program for asylum seekers helps you plant your flag that this is what you have the most passion about; hence the suggestion with PHR. I don't otherwise get a sense you have a large involvement on campus other than a few clubs related to premed or TA. I presume you commuted from home so you haven't made efforts to be part of the campus community at UCSD, right?

What other things would make one want to enjoy your company as a student at "our" medical school? What makes you an inspiration to others?

Thanks for the PHR list, I'm going to take a close look at the programs listed.

I did commute from home, and have not really made efforts to be part of the community at UCSD. The club I was treasurer for did have joint events with the branch at UCSD, as well as fundraisers I set up. That though is the extent of my connection outside of work. Would it be worthwhile to try and get involved with UCSD?

Lastly, when you ask

What other things would make one want to enjoy your company as a student at "our" medical school?

are you speaking about personal extracurricular activities? or something else?

Thanks for the reply!!

 

[Faha]

You have several state public schools on your list that admit few non residents with your stats and no connection to the state. I suggest these OOS schools with your stats:
TCU
Tulane
Creighton
St. Louis
Rosalind Franklin
Rush
Loyola
Medical College Wisconsin
Western Michigan
Oakland Beaumont
Wayne State
Belmont
NOVA MD
Wake Forest
Belmont
Virginia Commonwealth
Eastern Virginia
Georgetown
George Washington
Drexel
Temple
Jefferson
Penn State
Hackensack
New York Medical College
Hofstra
Albany
Vermont
Quinnipiac
Tufts

 

[Mr.Smile12]

are you speaking about personal extracurricular activities? or something else?

Yes. On or off campus. What makes you cool, likeable, and a great team player?

Loners aren't the norm in medical school (unless they are super gunners). You will be asked to do so many things with your peers outside of classes (and with study groups), and you can't work or go home like in undergrad. Will this be an issue when you go to medical school? Show us.

 

[andshaft]

Yes. On or off campus. What makes you cool, likeable, and a great team player?

Loners aren't the norm in medical school (unless they are super gunners). You will be asked to do so many things with your peers outside of classes (and with study groups), and you can't work or go home like in undergrad. Will this be an issue when you go to medical school? Show us.

Ah I see. I was involved in 2 Asian culture clubs on campus as well as a biology fraternity. I never held a board position in any of these clubs, so I wasn't sure if I should include things like that on my application. Personally I love playing basketball, and still go back to campus to play pick up games. Would these be things I should include on my application? I do want to be involved in a campus community, I feel like these are the activities I could use to "show" it to a med school.

 

[andshaft]

You have several state public schools on your list that admit few non residents with your stats and no connection to the state. I suggest these OOS schools with your stats:
TCU
Tulane
Creighton
St. Louis
Rosalind Franklin
Rush
Loyola
Medical College Wisconsin
Western Michigan
Oakland Beaumont
Wayne State
Belmont
NOVA MD
Wake Forest
Belmont
Virginia Commonwealth
Eastern Virginia
Georgetown
George Washington
Drexel
Temple
Jefferson
Penn State
Hackensack
New York Medical College
Hofstra
Albany
Vermont
Quinnipiac
Tufts

Thank you so much for the reply! I'm going to check all these out.

I had no idea that a few of these did not admit many non residents, I filtered for OOS friendly on MSAR, but it looks like a few state schools were swept up in it.

I checked the stats for Hofstra and St. Louis, and they seem like fairly far reaches. Do you think its still worth applying?

 

[Faha]

Thank you so much for the reply! I'm going to check all these out.

I had no idea that a few of these did not admit many non residents, I filtered for OOS friendly on MSAR, but it looks like a few state schools were swept up in it.

I checked the stats for Hofstra and St. Louis, and they seem like fairly far reaches. Do you think its still worth applying?

St. Louis and Hofstra are worth trying.

 

[andshaft]

St. Louis and Hofstra are worth trying.

Thank you, I will add them to my school list.

 

[andshaft]

Bump