***2020-2021 URM Medical School Application Thread***

[Rising_Sagicorn]

Thanks for the advice yall, I was thinking of taking another with the diversity essay but I didn't want to drop the ball if adcoms were expecting to see me talk about racial diversity!

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[habeshamed]

URM: first generation african, female
cGPA: ~3.68
Undergrad: UVA
Major: Kinesiology, BS; GPA: 3.9
MCAT: 505
Residential: Virginia
EC: President and VP of honor society, volunteer at hospital, shadowing (150+ hours), researcher at UVA (2 yrs), researcher at GWU (2 years), TA for Anatomy and Physiology (1 and 2)
Honor: Deans list (2017-2020), AA scholar, National Society of Collegiate Scholar (and on exec board 2 years)
Taking gap year to work in public health

need help devising a list of schools (need more safeties and realistic schools and get rid of unrealistic ones) --> trying to apply to ~20 MD schools
current choices: uva, vcu, tufts, gwu, dartmouth, ucla, drexel, howard, new york medical college, ucla, ucsd, upitt, howard, evms, unc, penn state, temple, georgetown (iffy), etc

 

[CaptainZeki]

URM: first generation african, female
cGPA: ~3.68
Undergrad: UVA
Major: Kinesiology, BS; GPA: 3.9
MCAT: 505
Residential: Virginia
EC: President and VP of honor society, volunteer at hospital, shadowing (150+ hours), researcher at UVA (2 yrs), researcher at GWU (2 years), TA for Anatomy and Physiology (1 and 2)
Honor: Deans list (2017-2020), AA scholar, National Society of Collegiate Scholar (and on exec board 2 years)
Taking gap year to work in public health

need help devising a list of schools (need more safeties and realistic schools and get rid of unrealistic ones) --> trying to apply to ~20 MD schools
current choices: uva, vcu, tufts, gwu, dartmouth, ucla, drexel, howard, new york medical college, ucla, ucsd, upitt, howard, evms, unc, penn state, temple, georgetown (iffy), etc

Your MCAT is on the lower end. I would cast a wide net and apply to DO also.
Since your state of residence is VA and not Cali, remove UCLA, and UCSD. All Cali schools have heavy IS bias.
Remove Pitt, Dartmouth, and UNC (UNC has heavy IS bias and if you arent from NC, it will be tough to get in with your MCAT score)
I don't recommend to retake your MCAT because you can aim for Lower-tier MD schools and OOS friendly MD schools and DO schools.
Try to calculate your WARS score or LizzyM score and from there see where to apply. (Here is a reddit thread for more info)

What does your community service look like?

add: Vermont, UMaryland, OUWB, SLU, WVirginia, Geisinger, Quinnipiac. Albany, Jefferson, Loyola, Tulane (only if you apply early in the cycle), Temple, Drexel, Morehouse
For DO schools add these: NYITCOM, VCOM, KCU-COM, ATSUCOM, CCOM, DMU-COM

 

[habeshamed]

Your MCAT is on the lower end. I would cast a wide net and apply to DO also.
Since your state of residence is VA and not Cali, remove UCLA, and UCSD. All Cali schools have heavy IS bias.
Remove Pitt, Dartmouth, and UNC (UNC has heavy IS bias and if you arent from NC, it will be tough to get in with your MCAT score)
I don't recommend to retake your MCAT because you can aim for Lower-tier MD schools and OOS friendly MD schools and DO schools.
Try to calculate your WARS score or LizzyM score and from there see where to apply. (Here is a reddit thread for more info)

What does your community service look like?

add: Vermont, UMaryland, OUWB, SLU, WVirginia, Geisinger, Quinnipiac. Albany, Jefferson, Loyola, Tulane (only if you apply early in the cycle), Temple, Drexel, Morehouse
For DO schools add these: NYITCOM, VCOM, KCU-COM, ATSUCOM, CCOM, DMU-COM

I have 150+ hours of volunteering at children's hospital and at childhood doctor's office. My LizzM score was 64.8 as well.

 

[BothSides]

I have 150+ hours of volunteering at children's hospital and at childhood doctor's office. My LizzM score was 64.8 as well.

Do you have non-clinical volunteering though because schools like VCU (they are big on this), Howard etc. and most schools in general would like to see it (it is basically a requirement). Also need to list your science GPA (sGPA) unless that's what the 3.9 is referring to. It is a little unclear as written. I personally do not think you need DOs, just a well crafted MD list.
But @Faha is excellent at giving advice on school lists.

 

[habeshamed]

Do you have non-clinical volunteering though because schools like VCU (they are big on this), Howard etc. and most schools in general would like to see it (it is basically a requirement). Also need to list your science GPA (sGPA) unless that's what the 3.9 is referring to. It is a little unclear as written. I personally do not think you need DOs, just a well crafted MD list.
But @Faha is excellent at giving advice on school lists.

My science gpa is ~3.52 but that's not including my science major gpa (Kines classes, not sure if they are included) which is a 3.9.

Yes, I tutor to elementary kids in math and science (in my community) as a volunteer (for couple years on weeky basis).

I also mentioned that I was disadvantaged, as well. Do you recommend any schools that I am competitive enough for? Thanks

 

[OchemOficionado]

URM: first generation african, female
cGPA: ~3.68
Undergrad: UVA
Major: Kinesiology, BS; GPA: 3.9
MCAT: 505
Residential: Virginia
EC: President and VP of honor society, volunteer at hospital, shadowing (150+ hours), researcher at UVA (2 yrs), researcher at GWU (2 years), TA for Anatomy and Physiology (1 and 2)
Honor: Deans list (2017-2020), AA scholar, National Society of Collegiate Scholar (and on exec board 2 years)
Taking gap year to work in public health

need help devising a list of schools (need more safeties and realistic schools and get rid of unrealistic ones) --> trying to apply to ~20 MD schools
current choices: uva, vcu, tufts, gwu, dartmouth, ucla, drexel, howard, new york medical college, ucla, ucsd, upitt, howard, evms, unc, penn state, temple, georgetown (iffy), etc

I wouldn't apply DO if I were you, but you need to make sure your MD school list is well rounded. Maybe @Faha can weigh in.

 

[Faha]

URM: first generation african, female
cGPA: ~3.68
Undergrad: UVA
Major: Kinesiology, BS; GPA: 3.9
MCAT: 505
Residential: Virginia
EC: President and VP of honor society, volunteer at hospital, shadowing (150+ hours), researcher at UVA (2 yrs), researcher at GWU (2 years), TA for Anatomy and Physiology (1 and 2)
Honor: Deans list (2017-2020), AA scholar, National Society of Collegiate Scholar (and on exec board 2 years)
Taking gap year to work in public health

need help devising a list of schools (need more safeties and realistic schools and get rid of unrealistic ones) --> trying to apply to ~20 MD schools
current choices: uva, vcu, tufts, gwu, dartmouth, ucla, drexel, howard, new york medical college, ucla, ucsd, upitt, howard, evms, unc, penn state, temple, georgetown (iffy), etc

You should receive interviews at MD schools and I suggest all these:
UVA
VCU
EVMS
Virginia Tech
West Virginia
George Washington
Georgetown
Howard
Meharry
Morehouse
UCLA Drew
Drexel
Temple
Jefferson
New York Medical College
Tufts
Vermont
Quinnipiac
Seton Hall
Miami
Tulane
TCU-UNT
Medical College Wisconsin
Oakland Beaumont
Wayne State

 

[habeshamed]

You should receive interviews at MD schools and I suggest all these:
UVA
VCU
EVMS
Virginia Tech
West Virginia
George Washington
Georgetown
Howard
Meharry
Morehouse
UCLA Drew
Drexel
Temple
Jefferson
New York Medical College
Tufts
Vermont
Quinnipiac
Seton Hall
Miami
Tulane
TCU-UNT
Medical College Wisconsin
Oakland Beaumont
Wayne State

Thank you so much! From this list, which do you believe are my reach schools?

 

[BothSides]

My science gpa is ~3.52 but that's not including my science major gpa (Kines classes, not sure if they are included) which is a 3.9.

Yes, I tutor to elementary kids in math and science (in my community) as a volunteer (for couple years on weeky basis).

I also mentioned that I was disadvantaged, as well. Do you recommend any schools that I am competitive enough for? Thanks

sGPA is Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Math. A lot of kines classes probably wouldn't count unless they had > 50% science content. For example, anatomy and physiology would count. You can count the kines classes that you believe had enough science content to be counted under sGPA. If they don't agree, they just change it back. Major GPA is not taken into consideration. So it is the ~ 3.52 that schools will look at.
That's good! Make sure you know how many hours of tutoring you have and put it under Community Service/Volunteer - Non Medical/Clinical instead of teaching/tutoring in the work and activities section so schools know you have community service in your application.

 

[Faha]

Thank you so much! From this list, which do you believe are my reach schools?

From my list only UVA.

 

[kittymeg]

Hello everyone! I know that many of us are Waiting on our MCAT scores once we take the exam, I wanted to know how you will go on with submissions and all. I already submitted aacomas for verification but cannot yet submit amcas due to transcripts.
Will you guys wait for those scores to come in to add other schools or will you simply send and just add on that MCAT score?

Good luck to you all!
edit: typo

 

[9blade]

I will simply send just so I can have my stuff sent to schools and just waiting for the MCAT score.

 

[CaptainZeki]

Hello everyone! I know that many of us are Waiting on our MCAT scores once we take the exam, I wanted to know how you will go on with submissions and all. I already submitted aacomas for verification but cannot yet submit amcas due to transcripts.
Will you guys wait for those scores to come in to add other schools or will you simply send and just add on that MCAT score?

Good luck to you all!
edit: typo

Common SDN wisdom is to send it to one throwaway school (like UWash unless you’re WAMMI applicant). Once you receive your score, submit to all schools on your list.

This is because in case your score is not where you want it to be, You can decide what schools you’ll apply to and adjust your cycle accordingly.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[kittymeg]

Common SDN wisdom is to send it to one throwaway school (like UWash unless you’re WAMMI applicant). Once you receive your score, submit to all schools on your list.

This is because in case your score is not where you want it to be, You can decide what schools you’ll apply to and adjust your cycle accordingly.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Thank you! I test in about 3 weeks, I feel that with AMCAS timeline I should be ok. ACOMAS would already have been received apps for a month already by the time my scores come out. I think I am just sweating the fact that I don't want to apply "late". But it is better to have a good app than a not so good one.
Thank you again!

 

[kittymeg]

I will simply send just so I can have my stuff sent to schools and just waiting for the MCAT score.

I would love to do that, I feel like my stats are a bit on the low side so I may have to wait for that MCAT score. Good luck!!!!

 

[CaptainZeki]

Thank you! I test in about 3 weeks, I feel that with AMCAS timeline I should be ok. ACOMAS would already have been received apps for a month already by the time my scores come out. I think I am just sweating the fact that I don't want to apply "late". But it is better to have a good app than a not so good one.
Thank you again!

I def understand your concern as I had similar concerns last summer when I applied. Everything was finalized by mid-July for me including MCAT score. I submitted as many secondaries before August 1 and some during August. It turned out to be fine.

For this cycle, everything will be pushed back due to the pandemic. If you get primary and secondaries in by end of August, I think you should be just fine.
Hope that alleviate some of your concerns.

 

[OchemOficionado]

Hello everyone! I know that many of us are Waiting on our MCAT scores once we take the exam, I wanted to know how you will go on with submissions and all. I already submitted aacomas for verification but cannot yet submit amcas due to transcripts.
Will you guys wait for those scores to come in to add other schools or will you simply send and just add on that MCAT score?

Good luck to you all!
edit: typo

How would you know which schools to apply to without a score? I understand applying to a throwaway school to be verified, but a list? HOW SWAY?

 

[kittymeg]

How would you know which schools to apply to without a score? I understand applying to a throwaway school to be verified, but a list? HOW SWAY?

I have not yet applied to my list of schools. I submitted for the process of verification. So only submitted to one school. I will wait for the scores the come out. I want to make sure that I do things as correct as possible.

 

[OchemOficionado]

I have not yet applied to my list of schools. I submitted for the process of verification. So only submitted to one school. I will wait for the scores the come out. I want to make sure that I do things as correct as possible.

Good idea! I saw you asking if people were going to apply to all there schools before they got their score and that’s what I was replying to. I’m know people do it every year but I have no idea how. A guess and a prayer. Not very strategic at all.

 

[kittymeg]

Good idea! I saw you asking if people were going to apply to all there schools before they got their score and that’s what I was replying to. I’m know people do it every year but I have no idea how. A guess and a prayer. Not very strategic at all.

Thank you for responding! I truly value your advice, it’s a bit difficult for me to find someone to ask about this whole process. So thank you! ☺️

 

[Sockomockey]

I stumbled on this thread randomly, and I just wanted to say I'm touched by all the support I'm seeing. Happy to be applying with y'all

 

[_xX_kitsy_Xx]

Hey y'all, everyone is looking excellent. I'm excited to be part of this discussion for the cycle. A little late to the party but:

URM- Native descendant, woman, I think I'm nontraditional in that I will have been out of school for almost three years by next fall?
Undergrad: Small, rural state school in California
Major: Cell/molec bio, chem minor
cGPA- 3.60
sGPA- 3.54
MCAT- 517, 130/128/130/129
Research- 1200 hours in disease modeling with CRISPR, 1800 in stem cell research, 250 in prion biology, plus some bits and pieces- presented a lot of posters and won two awards but no pubs
Clinical Volunteering- None but working on hospice volunteering, delayed by COVID
Shadowing- 50 hours in EM, pediatric hem/onc, FM, and general surgery

I also have extensive community service and a good amount of leadership experience, plus 2.5 years tutoring. I applied last year but to only 6 schools and my application was not as well put together, but I got one interview.

My school list: UC Davis, UCLA DG and CD, USC, UC Irvine, UCSD, UCSF, Emory, Mt. Sinai, Geisel, University of Wisconsin, George Washington, Albert Einstein, Rush, Miller, Temple, Tulane, and both campuses at University of Minnesota.

 

[9blade]

To @9blade or anyone else this applies to; have you received your FAP decision yet? Mine is still pending verification (but that's my fault for taking so long to get all the documents in after they initially processed me for eligibility).

Also I haven't finished my PS just yet so I'm not complaining, but I would like to submit ASAP after hearing it could take up to eight weeks for AMCAS verification now.

P.S. I hope everyone's doing okay in light of recent events. ✊

Edit: Also P.P.S., based on everyone's profiles I know you all are gonna kill it this cycle.

yea I received my decision this past Friday after I called them to tell them that I still hadn't heard anything. So I'm going to be sending my app tomorrow

 

[bubblymed23]

Hi Guys,
Not sure if this is a relevant question for this thread but I would like some opinion on whether I would be considered disadvantaged applicant on amcas.
I spent all my middle and high school in India ( suburban area) moved to the US in 2015 to pursue college. Faced a fair amount of difficulty freshman year due to the culture shock, lack of a good support system.Reflected clearly in my freshman year gpa (1.95 ) Have recieved the pell grant during my undergrad as well.

I would really appreciate any insights! I dont wan’t to make it seem like I’m forcing a disadvantaged status if I dont qualify

 

[Rising_Sagicorn]

Hi Guys,
Not sure if this is a relevant question for this thread but I would like some opinion on whether I would be considered disadvantaged applicant on amcas.
I spent all my middle and high school in India ( suburban area) moved to the US in 2015 to pursue college. Faced a fair amount of difficulty freshman year due to the culture shock, lack of a good support system.Reflected clearly in my freshman year gpa (1.95 ) Have recieved the pell grant during my undergrad as well.

I would really appreciate any insights! I dont wan’t to make it seem like I’m forcing a disadvantaged status if I dont qualify

I think you should write about it especially since it was a significant of your childhood as well as affected your freshman year! It could make an interesting story as well as it seems more unique than the classic storylines

 

[bubblymed23]

@Rising_Sagicorn Thanks so much for your opinion! Appreciate it

 

[BothSides]

Hi Guys,
Not sure if this is a relevant question for this thread but I would like some opinion on whether I would be considered disadvantaged applicant on amcas.
I spent all my middle and high school in India ( suburban area) moved to the US in 2015 to pursue college. Faced a fair amount of difficulty freshman year due to the culture shock, lack of a good support system.Reflected clearly in my freshman year gpa (1.95 ) Have recieved the pell grant during my undergrad as well.

I would really appreciate any insights! I dont wan’t to make it seem like I’m forcing a disadvantaged status if I dont qualify

I would take a look at this thread. I found some of the information helpful.

You're doing it wrong, part 3: disadvantaged

Most of your AMCAS application is composed of facts. Your name is _. Your gender is _. You're address is _. You went to college at _. Your GPA is _. Your MCAT is _. Your grade in Dr. Frisbee's organic chemistry class is _. You shadowed Dr. _ for _ hours at_. Call _ if you don't believe me. The...

forums.studentdoctor.net

Honestly (and this is just my opinion), what you outlined doesn't necessarily strike me as disadvantaged in the sense that AMCAS is looking for. I think what you explained would be very good in adversity and diversity secondaries or even the personal statement. Someone had a similar story on the first page of the thread I linked and I saw an ADCOM cosign the comment "growing up in a different country does not make you disadvantaged."
Goro describes it as "situations in your youth that affected your ability to go to college." So you should moreso be talking about what in your childhood affected your later years. So if you grow up underprivileged in India, your disadvantaged statement becomes stronger. This is just what I have gathered. You might get a better answer from ADCOMS. Thread is actually still active so you could probably post your question and get an answer.

 

[Say_Hey]

Hello Fellow URMs!

URM: Black/ African Refugee, Female, 1st Gen, and Non-Trad
Undergrad: Public university
Major: Biology
Graduate: MPH in Infectious Diseases from Top 5 Public University
MCAT: TBD because COVID: NS exams averaging around 513
Undergad cGPA: 3.58 ( last two years I had a 3.8 and 4.0)
Undergrad sGPA: 3.40
Graduate cGPA: 3.72
Graduate sGPA: 3.73

Research:
800 hours of Biology research, 2080 hours of research working with obese elderly, 780 hours of research in Infectious disease lab in Graduate School, 480 hours of Global Health research as an International Fellow, 1040 hours of research on underrepresented minority populations, 3 poster presentations

Paid Clinical Work: Full-time Clinical Research Analyst for 3 years- 6,240 hours

Clinical Volunteering: 1700 hours working as an interpreter for incoming refugee women in hospital settings, 80 hours of COVID screening at a VA Hospital
Shadowing: 200 hours of direct shadowing in Interventional Radiology and Family Medicine
Non-Clinical Volunteering:

• 1560 hours mentoring underrepresented women of color in undergrad who wanted to go to graduate school.
• 480 hours Public Health Ambassador for Biology start-up

Other/Leadership: 1 year as a speaker in numerous forums for Refugee and Asylum health, Won numerous Fellowships, in undergrad, I was Vice-president of Oxfam of America as well as leadership roles in other groups, in graduate school, I was the Ambassador for my school ( 520 hours).

Other:
I worked approximately 50 hours a week my first two years in undergrad because I needed to financially support my family. I am hoping the upward trend helps me out!

 

[bubblymed23]

I would take a look at this thread. I found some of the information helpful.

You're doing it wrong, part 3: disadvantaged

Most of your AMCAS application is composed of facts. Your name is _. Your gender is _. You're address is _. You went to college at _. Your GPA is _. Your MCAT is _. Your grade in Dr. Frisbee's organic chemistry class is _. You shadowed Dr. _ for _ hours at_. Call _ if you don't believe me. The...

forums.studentdoctor.net

Honestly (and this is just my opinion), what you outlined doesn't necessarily strike me as disadvantaged in the sense that AMCAS is looking for. I think what you explained would be very good in adversity and diversity secondaries or even the personal statement. Someone had a similar story on the first page of the thread I linked and I saw an ADCOM cosign the comment "growing up in a different country does not make you disadvantaged."
Goro describes it as "situations in your youth that affected your ability to go to college." So you should moreso be talking about what in your childhood affected your later years. So if you grow up underprivileged in India, your disadvantaged statement becomes stronger. This is just what I have gathered. You might get a better answer from ADCOMS. Thread is actually still active so you could probably post your question and get an answer.

Thanks for your opinion! Now that I look at it I agree with your point

 

[14_karat]

Finally submitted...two weeks later than I wanted lol.

 

[14_karat]

@14_karat

Congratulations! In a similar boat here, the PS and one of the activities essays held me back a bit but now I just have a few more drafts of the PS before I’m ready. Hopefully by this Sunday and then I’ll just cross my fingers hoping it can be sent July 10th. Probably no big deal if not though.

You got this!

 

[OchemOficionado]

Thank you! Didn't get it in on Sunday but I'm planning to today.

On a separate note, for anyone who wants to answer, is anyone else applying with low clinical experience this cycle (partly due to coronavirus)? How do you plan to address this if so?

How low? How many hours were people planning on racking up between March and application submission that COVID messed up? I wouldn't think it would be enough hours to significantly impact the total hours... but possible I guess.

 

[BothSides]

I have about 100 hours personally (with about 50 more remote hours projected for this summer), but by low I guess I just mean whatever is suboptimal for what they were planning to have. For example, I worked a good amount during undergrad, so I had hoped to have some time for gaining experience during the first half of this year and got into one hospital volunteering program that was then suspended indefinitely.

100 (+ 50?) hours is about the recommended minimum I feel. That is not alarmingly low. It is not low enough that you would need to draw unnecessary attention to it. If there is "impact of COVID," essay, just talk about clinical opportunities getting shutdown, but do not force an explanation other places because it could look like you are making excuses. Just talk convincingly about the clinical experiences you do have. Another thing I did was briefly mention "stopped due to COVID" or something similar for activities in the works and activities section.

 

[Rising_Sagicorn]

hey everyone! I was looking to get feedback on my school list before I submit tonight (finally!).

SUNY Downstate, SUNY Upstate, Stony Brook, Buffalo, NYMC, Rosalind Franklin, Morehouse, USC, Rochester, Einstein, Hofstra, UNC, Mt Sinai, UCLA Drew, UCSF, Columbia, Duke, UCLA Geffen, NYU, Cornell, Emory, Stanford

Black
NY
3.35s
3.41c
upward trends
514

-1500hrs research w multiple posters and 2 pubs (middle author) + 300hrs leadership position within this + significant NIH grant

-4yrs (~2200hrs) medical assistant primary care
-6 yrs non clinical job
-250hrs clinical volunteering
-50hrs non clinical volunteer
-60hrs total shadowing in specialties

Other: worked with underserved throughout majority of ECs, currently intermediate Spanish speaker and still learning

I think you have a really strong app! Your gpa will def be a limitation for some schools but I dont think you will be screened out and once they see your activities, you qualify you for a second look past numbers. I think you have a good list and even some of your reaches may turn into II cause of your activities. I would suggest making a WAMC so people will specific knowledge on these things can give you better advice but it looks really good to me! Good luck!!

 

[OchemOficionado]

hey everyone! I was looking to get feedback on my school list before I submit tonight (finally!).

SUNY Downstate, SUNY Upstate, Stony Brook, Buffalo, NYMC, Rosalind Franklin, Morehouse, USC, Rochester, Einstein, Hofstra, UNC, Mt Sinai, UCLA Drew, UCSF, Columbia, Duke, UCLA Geffen, NYU, Cornell, Emory, Stanford

Black
NY
3.35s
3.41c
upward trends
514

-1500hrs research w multiple posters and 2 pubs (middle author) + 300hrs leadership position within this + significant NIH grant

-4yrs (~2200hrs) medical assistant primary care
-6 yrs non clinical job
-250hrs clinical volunteering
-50hrs non clinical volunteer
-60hrs total shadowing in specialties

Other: worked with underserved throughout majority of ECs, currently intermediate Spanish speaker and still learning

I don’t think your gpa will be an issue at all, but let’s see what schools @Faha suggests

 

[Faha]

hey everyone! I was looking to get feedback on my school list before I submit tonight (finally!).

SUNY Downstate, SUNY Upstate, Stony Brook, Buffalo, NYMC, Rosalind Franklin, Morehouse, USC, Rochester, Einstein, Hofstra, UNC, Mt Sinai, UCLA Drew, UCSF, Columbia, Duke, UCLA Geffen, NYU, Cornell, Emory, Stanford

Black
NY
3.35s
3.41c
upward trends
514

-1500hrs research w multiple posters and 2 pubs (middle author) + 300hrs leadership position within this + significant NIH grant

-4yrs (~2200hrs) medical assistant primary care
-6 yrs non clinical job
-250hrs clinical volunteering
-50hrs non clinical volunteer
-60hrs total shadowing in specialties

Other: worked with underserved throughout majority of ECs, currently intermediate Spanish speaker and still learning

You should receive several interviews from your list. You could add any of these schools:
Howard
Meharry
Quinnipiac
Seton Hall
Drexel
Temple
Jefferson
George Washington
Georgetown
Miami
Tulane
St. Louis
Loyola
Oakland Beaumont
Cincinnati
Ohio State
Pittsburgh

 

[sunkissedmelanin]

URM: AA, Female, Just graduated in May 2020
Undergrad: State School
Major: Biology
cGPA: 3.626
sGPA: 3.396
MCAT: 505==>507==>510 (finally got a balanced score -- I'm satisfied)
Research: 500+ hours (4 years) of psych and clinical research. No publications, but one poster presentation.
Clinical Volunteering: ~100 hours, kinda low at a hospital, 20 hours as a patient care intern taking vitals and stuff (halted in march due to COVID)
Shadowing- OB/GYN, Orthopedics, Pediatrics, Internal Medicine (63 hours)
Other/Leadership: 2+ years as a leader for service program at my school, Endocrinology TA, Intern for service organization, honors college student, peer mentor for my research program and honors college, several years (~250 hours) of non-clinical volunteering with Black and Brown communities, and various part-time jobs.

Super excited, but nervous for this cycle!

 

[fact8ring]

Hey, first time posting here, I was hoping to get help making a final school list since I just got my MCAT back.

URM: AA, Male
Major: Development Sociology
Undergrad: Ivy
cGPA: 3.296 sGPA: 3.185, significant upward trend. 4.0 this whole past year
MCAT: 509

Clinical /Non-Clinical Volunteering- ~150 hrs at a hospital ~180 hrs at my church doing various activities serving the Haitian community there
ECs- ~350 hrs across all of them, one including being Co-Chair for 2 yrs. For the others I was just a regular member in a couple of orgs but I was consistent in my participation.
Teaching Assistant ~150 hrs for one of my sociology classes, me and the prof got a long well and told me he wrote me a really good rec.
Shadowing ~ 50hrs; Research~50 hrs- Definitely realizing I could have done a lot better with these, research wise I am definitely working on more projects now and I will hopefully be able to send a more substantial update letter a little later in the process if necessary. Do you guys think it's worthwhile to continue shadowing while going through the cycle to include that in the letter?
Non-Clinical Employment~500hrs- Just regular jobs like food delivery and retail. I've had to work all through undergrad for financial reasons so the hours is not really reflective of that, I am sure the actual hours is much more than this consider its over the span of 3 yrs, but I am sure they will get the point.

I am really shooting for MD, don't really have any plans to apply D.O. Was really hoping for my MCAT to turn out better, but I already put a lot of work/time/money into my application so I am just going to stick through with the cycle. That being said, since I am only applying MD, I really want to apply to schools strategically and that's why I need help building a solid school list and I am definitely willing to apply to a larger number of schools. Thanks!!

 

[deleted1044797]

Great job on the mcat fact! @Faha are you able to help fact with a school list?

 

[Faha]

Hey, first time posting here, I was hoping to get help making a final school list since I just got my MCAT back.

URM: AA, Male
Major: Development Sociology
Undergrad: Ivy
cGPA: 3.296 sGPA: 3.185, significant upward trend. 4.0 this whole past year
MCAT: 509

Clinical /Non-Clinical Volunteering- ~150 hrs at a hospital ~180 hrs at my church doing various activities serving the Haitian community there
ECs- ~350 hrs across all of them, one including being Co-Chair for 2 yrs. For the others I was just a regular member in a couple of orgs but I was consistent in my participation.
Teaching Assistant ~150 hrs for one of my sociology classes, me and the prof got a long well and told me he wrote me a really good rec.
Shadowing ~ 50hrs; Research~50 hrs- Definitely realizing I could have done a lot better with these, research wise I am definitely working on more projects now and I will hopefully be able to send a more substantial update letter a little later in the process if necessary. Do you guys think it's worthwhile to continue shadowing while going through the cycle to include that in the letter?
Non-Clinical Employment~500hrs- Just regular jobs like food delivery and retail. I've had to work all through undergrad for financial reasons so the hours is not really reflective of that, I am sure the actual hours is much more than this consider its over the span of 3 yrs, but I am sure they will get the point.

I am really shooting for MD, don't really have any plans to apply D.O. Was really hoping for my MCAT to turn out better, but I already put a lot of work/time/money into my application so I am just going to stick through with the cycle. That being said, since I am only applying MD, I really want to apply to schools strategically and that's why I need help building a solid school list and I am definitely willing to apply to a larger number of schools. Thanks!!

Where is your state of residence ?

 

[fact8ring]

Where is your state of residence ?

New York and thanks KitKat!

 

[Faha]

New York and thanks KitKat!

I suggest these schools with your stats:
All 4 SUNYs
Albany
New York Medical College
Howard
Meharry
Morehouse
UCLA Drew
Vermont
Quinnipiac
Seton Hall
Drexel
Temple
Jefferson
George Washington
NOVA MD
TCU-UNT
Medical College Wisconsin
Rosalind Franklin
Oakland Beaumont
Wayne State
Wright State
Apply this month and submit all your secondaries by August.

 

[fact8ring]

I suggest these schools with your stats:
All 4 SUNYs
Albany
New York Medical College
Howard
Meharry
Morehouse
UCLA Drew
Vermont
Quinnipiac
Seton Hall
Drexel
Temple
Jefferson
George Washington
NOVA MD
TCU-UNT
Medical College Wisconsin
Rosalind Franklin
Oakland Beaumont
Wayne State
Wright State
Apply this month and submit all your secondaries by August.

Yep, working on secondaries rn, appreciate the help!

 

[Faha]

You could receive interviews at BU or Tufts. Consider adding any of these schools:
Seton Hall
Jefferson
Georgetown
George Washington
Miami
Oakland Beaumont
Wayne State
Creighton
St. Louis
TCU-UNT

 

[9blade]

Hi @Faha do you mind helping me out with my school selection as well? I'm applying to 25 schools. Would you make any suggestions to my list? Anything to remove or add? Thank you ahead of time. I really appreciate it.

URM- AA, Male, Nontrad (had a whole career in finance and biotech)
Undergrad: State School
Major: biochem and econ
cGPA- 3.84
sGPA- 3.77
MCAT- 514
Research- 1 publication(second author); 5 poster presentations;
Clinical Volunteering- 1000+ hours
Non-clinical Volunteering- 2000+ hours
Shadowing- 100 hours
State of residence- AR

Schools:
UAMS(state school)
UTenn-Memphis
Tulane
UAB
LSU NO
Baylor
TCU-UNT
UMiami
Morehouse
Emory
Howard
Georgetown
UPitt
PennState (chance at 3 year program)
Stonybrook (chance at 3 year program)

Reaches:
Vandy
WashU
NYU
UCSF
UCLA
Columbia
Yale
Duke
Kaiser
Michigan

 

[Faha]

Hi @Faha do you mind helping me out with my school selection as well? I'm applying to 25 schools. Would you make any suggestions to my list? Anything to remove or add? Thank you ahead of time. I really appreciate it.

URM- AA, Male, Nontrad (had a whole career in finance and biotech)
Undergrad: State School
Major: biochem and econ
cGPA- 3.84
sGPA- 3.77
MCAT- 514
Research- 1 publication(second author); 5 poster presentations;
Clinical Volunteering- 1000+ hours
Non-clinical Volunteering- 2000+ hours
Shadowing- 100 hours
State of residence- AR

Schools:
UAMS(state school)
UTenn-Memphis
Tulane
UAB
LSU NO
Baylor
TCU-UNT
UMiami
Morehouse
Emory
Howard
Georgetown
UPitt
PennState (chance at 3 year program)
Stonybrook (chance at 3 year program)

Reaches:
Vandy
WashU
NYU
UCSF
UCLA
Columbia
Yale
Duke
Kaiser
Michigan

You should receive multiple interviews, including your reaches. You could add any of these schools:
Harvard
Brown
Cornell
Mount Sinai
U Chicago
Northwestern

 

[9blade]

You should receive multiple interviews, including your reaches. You could add any of these schools:
Harvard
Brown
Cornell
Mount Sinai
U Chicago
Northwestern

Thank you very much for the suggestion. I really appreciate it. I will make some changes accordingly. Thank you.

 

[hopefuldoc_123]

You could receive interviews at BU or Tufts. Consider adding any of these schools:
Seton Hall
Jefferson
Georgetown
George Washington
Miami
Oakland Beaumont
Wayne State
Creighton
St. Louis
TCU-UNT

Thank you for you feedback. I adjusted my list with these in mind. Do you think I should apply a little more broadly or are there some schools you would recommend me removing?

Meharry
Howard
Morehouse
Tulane
Albany
Rosalind Franklin
Michigan State
Cooper Rowan
Loyola
Oakland Beaumont
Vermont
Eastern Virginia
Penn State
Temple
Drexel
NYMC
Quinnipiac
Seton Hall
BU
Tufts
UMass
George Washington
Sidney Kimmel
Rochester
U of Maryland
Ohio State

 

[Faha]

Thank you for you feedback. I adjusted my list with these in mind. Do you think I should apply a little more broadly or are there some schools you would recommend me removing?

Meharry
Howard
Morehouse
Tulane
Albany
Rosalind Franklin
Michigan State
Cooper Rowan
Loyola
Oakland Beaumont
Vermont
Eastern Virginia
Penn State
Temple
Drexel
NYMC
Quinnipiac
Seton Hall
BU
Tufts
UMass
George Washington
Sidney Kimmel
Rochester
U of Maryland
Ohio State

You should receive several interviews from your list.