3.65 cGPA, 3.6 sGPA, 519 MCAT

[premedfella]

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Hey everyone, looking for help with a school list also where I should try to strengthen my app during my gap year!

1. sGPA: 3.6, cGPA: 3.65
2. MCAT: 519 (130/129/130/130)
3. Residence: MA
4. Non-URM
5. Undergrad: top 50 school
6. Clinical: 300 hours working as an intern for a lung transplant team in Sydney, Australia
7. No research
8. 40 hours of shadowing, 10 with PCP, 10 with orthopedic surgeon, 20 in ED
9. Volunteering: 300 hours with soup kitchen, 100 hours with afterschool program
10. Other ECs: Worked for a year managing a volunteer program at my university similar to Big Brother Big Sister, Worked as a TA for intro biology course for two semesters
11. Graduating Magna Cum Laude and six semesters of Dean's List
12. Have spent two semesters abroad

My main concern at the moment is gaining clinical experience in the US possibly through research or a scribing position.

Tentative School list:
UMass
BU
Tufts
UVM
Quinnipiac
GW
Georgetown
Loyola
Rush
Emory
USC
Albany
Temple
Drexel
Penn State
Jefferson
Tulane

Looking to add more schools, I have a few that I consider reaches but want because of other factors. Any feedback appreciated!

 

[mwsapphire]

I'd add in NYMC and Brown Alpert, if just to cast a broader net, especially if you wanna stay closer to MA ( Brown is close,not NYMC) Just my $.02.

 

[Doctor Dream]

The MSAR is a must-have when making a school list, be sure to purchase that if you haven't already and tweak your list using that. Your MCAT is boss, but your GPA might hold you back at some of the more competitive places.

As an aside, Rush HEAVILY emphasizes clinical work and volunteering in their applicants, and most people they admit have hundreds if not thousands of hours in each. I would also stay away from Brown, as they're known to heavily favor applicants from their UG.

 

[mwsapphire]

Any strong grade trends, OP?

 

[Taekdeplej]

Hey OP your stats/extracurriculars are scarily similar to mine (3.6/519) even down to lack of research experience. I spent this past gap year scribing with a hospitalist group at a small local hospital and that was a great decision for me, I feel much more prepared for med school and interviewers were clearly very interested in talking to me about it. I ended up applying to 12 schools (3 in-state, 9 private) with 1 in-state acceptance so far and 4 waitlists including Jefferson and Tufts. I think if I had a mulligan on this year, I would have tried to get some research experience on top of scribing, just because it always felt like an obvious hole in my application, especially when i was asked about it. But it sounds like you're definitely on track, best of luck!

 

[begoood95]

The MSAR is a must-have when making a school list, be sure to purchase that if you haven't already and tweak your list using that. Your MCAT is boss, but your GPA might hold you back at some of the more competitive places.

As an aside, Rush HEAVILY emphasizes clinical work and volunteering in their applicants, and most people they admit have hundreds if not thousands of hours in each. I would also stay away from Brown, as they're known to heavily favor applicants from their UG.

Someone commented on a thread a couple weeks ago that this isn't actually the case anymore... I'm not sure if it's true or not, but they said that they now have ~40 spots for students not from Brown undergrad. I'm not saying OP should apply there, just that things may have changed!