3.46gpa, 510 MCAT, non-trad, help with school list

[nontradguy227]

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hey SDN, looking for some help pruning my school list. I've been out of school for a couple years and I'm not sure what's important so I'm just going to dump my experience and EC's here:

- 3.46 mol bio major from one of those top liberal arts colleges in the Inland Empire, minor in CS
- took the MCAT earlier this year, got a 510
- 2 years in UG as a paid organic chemistry tutor
- 2 years in UG as paid organic chemistry lab TA
- started a club my freshman year to teach under-served elementary school children in the IE basic computer science principles. Got the kids really excited about programming which was quite fun. Did this for a year
- did a summer of molecular biology drug discovery work for the department of defense in DC (no pubs due to nature of the work)
- 1.5 years of chemistry research at my college, one publication
- interned for a small biotech company my senior year, basically doing due diligence on potential diseases to target with their new therapeutic
- spent a month in Nicaragua on a medical mission trip. Honed my Spanish skills (more on that). Did lots of fun stuff you need advanced education for in the US. Really got me excited about rural medicine as well.
- last two years I've been in San Francisco working at a biotech startup. Originally hired to do basic bench work, transitioned into software engineering after a couple months. I now work with utilizing my bio background for full stack computer vision applications. Hoping the transition from bio to software isn't a red flag for the adcoms. We're about to close a round of funding and my stock has vested so I don't have any pressing financial reasons to remain there. The work is fun, but medicine is calling (I've also learned the value of a 14 hour startup work day).
- brief shadowing and volunteering at my local hospital back home. One of my letters of rec will be from the physician I shadowed. I'm from rural California, and I intend to be a rural physician. Part of the reason I am ready to leave SF, very strong desire to return to a rural area. I've got family ties to (rural!) Montana and New Mexico as well and I would jump at the opportunity to move there.
- I am URM hispanic, and I strongly identify with that side of my family. My spanish is meh but I am signed up for a class at the local junior college.

- what else do I need to be competitive at these schools/do I even have a shot with my low stats?
The list (dead set on MD):
- Vermont
- UCR
- UCI
- University of southern california
- UC Davic
- university of colorado
- Indiana
- Miami
- Iowa
- anywhere in texas??
- Wayne
- University of Kentucky
- eastern virginia
- would love university of missouri. Columbia is one of my favorite cities
- university of AZ
- any more southern schools?

thanks for your time!

 

[candbgirl]

What is your sGPA? Your GPA is low for MD. Your MCAT is fine. Your research is very good but the rest of your ECs are rather weak. Your month in Nicaragua doing “fun stuff that you need advanced education in the US” will not be impressive to the ADCOMS. How much clinical experience do you have in the US? How about shadowing? A letter from a MD might not be as impressive as you think. Do you have any nonclinical volunteering. It seems like you might have some but you didn’t really mention anything. It’s good you are working on your Spanish skills. That is something that is always good to have. Your list has an awful lot of out state public schools. Most state schools favor their own residents. Your list should focus on private schools. And you really need to consider DO schools. You would be competing stats wise for DO. Not all Hispanic students are considered URM.where are you from?

 

[nontradguy227]

sGPA is a 3.55, I had a major surgery my freshman year and among other things I wasn't a very serious student. Turned things around halfway through and I had a strong upward trend my two years (3.8). I've got about 80 hours shadowing a surgeon (my letter writer) and a few more in the ER. My other letters will be from a science professor from UG, my CEO who's an MD/PhD, and my immediate boss. I'm from a farm town in california, and ethnicity is Mexican. For nonclinical volunteering, I invested several hundred hours into my computer science nonprofit. I also coach my boss's little league team, not sure if that counts as volunteering though? I'm aware I need to pick up some more clinical volunteering, there are a few places in the city I'm looking at and plan to have a meaningful amount of hours before applying. Which private schools do you think I'd have a shot at? Wake Forest and Loma Linda maybe?

 

[Faha]

I suggest these MD schools with your stats:
Loma Linda
California University (new school)
UC Davis
UC Irvine
Quinnipiac
Vermont
New York Medical College
Seton Hall
Drexel
Temple
Jefferson
George Washington
Georgetown
Oakland Beaumont
Rosalind Franklin
Loyola
St. Louis
Creighton
Tulane
Miami
any new schools that may open for 2019 (Kaiser, Roseman)
Some of the schools on your list are state public schools (including Texas schools) that accept very few non residents with your stats and no connection to the state.
Also apply to at least 8 DO schools.