3.7/3.6, 519, URM....need to eliminate 5+ schools

[scaredadvocate]

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[Javabean]

I'm sure the URM help in addition to your really solid numbers will be super helpful.
But, I feel like there is a severe lack of clinical experience where you're in direct contact with patients in the, well, clinical setting. Or shadowing (note: shadowing=/= clinical experience). Looking at just what you posted above, adcom might not be able to see that you really and truly understand what you're getting yourself into by pursuing a physician's career.

8-10 interviews seems to be a super high yield application cycle even for the most competitive applicants, just an FYI. I've also heard that the top 20s are very research oriented, so unless you have research experience, it might not be a best practice to apply to so many top 20 programs.

Unless you went to brown for undergrad, I heard brown is a pretty low yield school. They apparently fill almost have their class from their undergrad class or from special programs.

You might want to include more mid-tier programs that don't have such a heavy emphasis on research.

 

[scaredadvocate]

I'm sure the URM help in addition to your really solid numbers will be super helpful.
But, I feel like there is a severe lack of clinical experience where you're in direct contact with patients in the, well, clinical setting. Or shadowing (note: shadowing=/= clinical experience). Looking at just what you posted above, adcom might not be able to see that you really and truly understand what you're getting yourself into by pursuing a physician's career.

8-10 interviews seems to be a super high yield application cycle even for the most competitive applicants, just an FYI. I've also heard that the top 20s are very research oriented, so unless you have research experience, it might not be a best practice to apply to so many top 20 programs.

Unless you went to brown for undergrad, I heard brown is a pretty low yield school. They apparently fill almost have their class from their undergrad class or from special programs.

You might want to include more mid-tier programs that don't have such a heavy emphasis on research.

 

[candbgirl]

Your stats are very good. But do you have any shadowing and clinical( direct patient contact) experience? You don't mention research at all. You have listed some real heavy hitters in the research department. Maybe look for some schools that aren't so research focused. There are lots of schools that will welcome you with open arms that don't care about your lack of research. I'm not sure how your gap year will appear to ADCOMS. It doesn't sound to me like you will have tons of patient contact. And you still don't have shadowing it seems. It would be sad if your app was placed on hold or overlooked because you don't have the basic clinical and shadowing stuff. And all schools expect that.


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[scaredadvocate]

I did a summer research program.

 

[GrapesofRath]

Delete Tulane, Temple, GW and Baylor. Include Meharry or UCLA Drew(preferably both) for good measure. If you have a state school include it as well.

Brown isnt the highest yield of options, probably worth deleting. If you need one or two to remove on top of this consider from the group of Penn/Pritzker/Yale/JHU/Stanford

A lack of any form of clinical experience is certainly a problem. And clinical experience you want to accumulate it domestically. At the same time it'll take ALOT for 15+ schools to all turn away a URM with stats this high and likely you can still survive it. Best way to resolve this potentially: get some clinical experience in the next 2-3 months BEFORE you apply. Yes, itll look like box checking and last minute padding, but it could help

As a side note, if you were to take a gap year to shore up your deficits, if you can interview decently you are very very likely to have tons and tons of top 20 aceptances with loads of scholarship money.

 

[Docta31]

You would be set for most of those schools if you had more shadowing/clinical experiences before applying. I don't think SMDEP is enough

 

[scaredadvocate]

Delete Tulane, Temple, GW and Baylor. Include either Meharry or UCLA Drew for good measure. If you have a state school include it as well.

Even for a URM Brown still isnt the highest yield option and if you are looking to cut is a good option to remove. If you need one or two to remove on top of this consider from the group of Penn/Pritzker/Yale/JHU/Stanford

A lack of any form of clinical experience is a pretty significant problem. At the same time it'll take ALOT for 15+ schools to all turn away a URM with stats this high. Best way to resolve this: get some clinical experience in the next 2-3 months BEFORE you apply. Yes, itll look like box checking and last minute padding, but I personally dont think thatll deter 15+ schools from a URM with these kind of stats. You could even afford to push back applying just a hair bit if it means an extra 6 weeks of accumulating clinical experience. I think it can make a difference.

As a side note, if you were to take a gap year to shore up your deficits you are basically guaranteeing yourself if you can interview acceptably tons and tons of aceptances with scholarship offers from top 20 schools.

Yikes. Thank you for this assessment. A couple questions (for all):

1. On a scale of 1-10 how strange would it look if I shadowed full time (30-40hrs/week) for a few weeks in May/early June?
2. In my head, my limited shadowing shouldn't prevent me from getting IIs. So wouldn't it be enough to shadow while I'm abroad and tell them about it in my interviews?
3. The ONLY way I could get research experience would be during my gap year and thus wouldn't be on my application. But that option is available to do clinical research there...

I chose Brown and Tulane because I thought they would really appreciate my mission/theme in my application. Don't see the point in applying to 3+ HBCU med schools given my stats honestly. I'd only go as a last resort.

 

[GrapesofRath]

Yikes. Thank you for this assessment. A couple questions (for all):

1. On a scale of 1-10 how strange would it look if I shadowed full time (30-40hrs/week) for a few weeks in May/early June?
2. In my head, my limited shadowing shouldn't prevent me from getting IIs. So wouldn't it be enough to shadow while I'm abroad and tell them about it in my interviews?
3. The ONLY way I could get research experience would be during my gap year and thus wouldn't be on my application. But that option is available to do clinical research there...

I chose Brown and Tulane because I thought they would really appreciate my mission/theme in my application. Don't see the point in applying to 3+ HBCU med schools given my stats honestly. I'd only go as a last resort.

There are just higher yield options than Brown if you can only apply to 15 schools. Tulane isnt very high yield: they know the odds of a URM with these stats attending will be super low. Apply to as many or as few HBCU's as you want, if you'd rather reapply than go to an HBCU dont apply to the HBCUs. Pre-determine that decision though: in your shoes Id either apply to all the HBCU's or none of them.

I dont think lack of research experience is a deal breaker for you specifically and I edited my post above.

I think you have to look at it like this: if you were an ADCOM how would you look at someone applying to medical school and wanting to pursue a career in medicine without any form of clinical experience when they apply? If you werent a URM with such high stats, it would be an absolute no brainer you need to sit this cycle out. Really, you need more than shadowing to show this but if you dont want to wait a year it's best to try to salvage things the best you can.

 

[scaredadvocate]

Thank you @GrapesofRath

Not going to lie, I'm pretty surprised as to how lethal you think this could be. I'll look into volunteering and more shadowing as soon as possible but not sure how quickly I'd be able to volunteer given red tape and needing to apply.

Thank you again.

 

[GrapesofRath]

Thank you @GrapesofRath

Not going to lie, I'm pretty surprised as to how lethal you think this could be. I'll look into volunteering and more shadowing as soon as possible but not sure how quickly I'd be able to volunteer given red tape and needing to apply.

Thank you again.

I think it's just a hard situation to evaluate. Ordinarly, yes 100% zero clinical experience whatsoever can be rather lethal. I would have strongly encouraged you to wait a year in almost any other circumstance. It's just URMs with stats this high though are rare and schools place a very very high priority on obtaining/valuing them. It's difficult to say how schools will react. I tend to think youll still survive it. It's just a deficit like this is so correctable and if you do you are going to get tons and tons of top 20 IIs that I think it's worth correcting to the degree you can.

So I think perspective is key and maybe that got lost a little in what I was saying. It's not "You definitely wont get into med school you have no chance without it" in your case, but it just will make everything so much smoother and easier for you.

 

[AlphaBeta<3]

Does clinical experience include any hospital volunteering?

 

[DokterMom]

Thank you @GrapesofRath

Not going to lie, I'm pretty surprised as to how lethal you think this could be. I'll look into volunteering and more shadowing as soon as possible but not sure how quickly I'd be able to volunteer given red tape and needing to apply.

Thank you again.

Not ALL volunteering comes with red tape. What about reading to patients at nursing homes or senior centers? Playing with disabled or medically fragile children? Think outside the box and look for opportunities that are generally considered less-desirable or somewhat uncomfortable. They're less 'cookie cutter' anyway.

LizzyM's famous criteria is that it's clinical if you can "smell the patients" --

 

[scaredadvocate]

I'd like to find an opportunity that makes sense given the rest of my application and doesn't seem too forced. We'll see.

If I only applied to these, how many IIs would you expect?: Harvard, Penn, Hopkins, Columbia, GW, Tulane, Chicago, Duke, Emory, Howard, Pitt

 

[scaredadvocate]

@Goro I'd love to hear your opinion on this. Which of these schools would be most receptive to an applicant like me, given some additional clinical hours?

 

[Goro]

#1 wouldn't be so strange if you play up having to work during school. If Medicine came late to you, then that's also an explanation. I do worry about the lack of clinical hours. I'd also be happier if you had done more non-clinical volunteering off campus and out of your comfort zone. I so like the teaching experience.

My suggestion for 15 schools:

1. Howard OR Morehouse OR Meherry
2. Pitt
3. Cornell
4. Columbia
5. Duke
6. Emory
7. UCLA/Drew
8. Tulane
9. Hopkins
10. Harvard
11. Stanford
12. Yale
13. Mt Sinai
14. NYU

Strongly suggest adding your state school(s), if any.

Yikes. Thank you for this assessment. A couple questions (for all):

1. On a scale of 1-10 how strange would it look if I shadowed full time (30-40hrs/week) for a few weeks in May/early June?
2. In my head, my limited shadowing shouldn't prevent me from getting IIs. So wouldn't it be enough to shadow while I'm abroad and tell them about it in my interviews?
3. The ONLY way I could get research experience would be during my gap year and thus wouldn't be on my application. But that option is available to do clinical research there...

I chose Brown and Tulane because I thought they would really appreciate my mission/theme in my application. Don't see the point in applying to 3+ HBCU med schools given my stats honestly. I'd only go as a last resort.

@Goro I'd love to hear your opinion on this. Which of these schools would be most receptive to an applicant like me, given some additional clinical hours?

 

[GiantPanda1]

Agree with Goro, take out Brown. Most of their incoming comes from PLME.