3.88/510/MN/ORM. How important is unbalanced MCAT?

[Rsp24]

1. cGPA: 3.88 sGPA: 3.80
2. 510: (130/123/129/128)
3. MN Resident
4. ORM
5. University of Minnesota
6. Clinical: 800hrs ambulance, 700hrs ER tech, 1300 free clinic volunteer manager
7. 800 hours research, 2 publications (2nd author), honors thesis
8. 130hrs shadowing (EM, FM, IM, CC/ICU, ID)
9. Non clinical: 400 hrs volunteer firefighter
10. Other extracurriculars: human anatomy laboratory TA (250 hours), EMT instructor/examiner (80 hours), FLU/COVID vaccination program volunteer (40 hours)
11. Awards: Summa Cum Laude, University Honors Program

I think I have a solid application overall including very strong letters and from the feedback I've received a memorable PS. I am very concerned if there are many schools where I will be screened out due to the low CARS score. Is there any resource that has information on what schools will not even consider me with that CARS score? Here are some of the schools I am considering, the list is not complete. I will appreciate any feedback on schools to add or remove. Thank you in advance to everyone who replies

UofMN
UW Madison
Medical College Wisconsin
SLU
BU
UMass
Rush
Tulane
Tufts
Temple
Ohio State
Rosalind Franklin
Loyola
Quinnipac
Wayne State
Florida Atlantic
Kaiser
Hofstra
Arkansas (I have ties)
Indiana
Albert Einstein
Long Island
NC Chapel Hill

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[Faha]

North Carolina, UMass and Ohio State accept few non residents with your MCAT and no connection to the state. You could add these schools:
Oakland Beaumont
Creighton
TCU-UNT
NOVA MD
Virginia Commonwealth
Eastern Virginia
George Washington
Georgetown
Drexel
Jefferson
Penn State
Seton Hall
New York Medical College
Albany
Vermont
You could check with the MSAR and school websites to see if they have an absolute cutoff score for CARS.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

Not sure you have enough non-clinical community service experience. Firefighting and EMT are maybe a bit too similar but I don't know if faculty value firefighting differently.

 

[Rsp24]

Not sure you have enough non-clinical community service experience. Firefighting and EMT are maybe a bit too similar but I don't know if faculty value firefighting differently.

Would it be wise to split up my hours at the free clinic? Its a good split between triaging patients (clinical) and doing administrative work (scheduling, outreach, supply management)

Regardless, that is a good point and I will rework my firefighting description to focus almost entirely on the non-clinical aspect.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

Would it be wise to split up my hours at the free clinic? Its a good split between triaging patients (clinical) and doing administrative work (scheduling, outreach, supply management)

Regardless, that is a good point and I will rework my firefighting description to focus almost entirely on the non-clinical aspect.

You could, but admin work doesn't help you either when it comes to working face-to-face with those who are directly impacted.

 

[Rsp24]

You could, but admin work doesn't help you either when it comes to working face-to-face with those who are directly impacted.

I'm a little confused here then. The majority of the free clinic volunteering has been working directly with uninsured, low SES patients. What additional value should an experience bring with the fact that it's non-clinical?

 

[Mr.Smile12]

I'm a little confused here then. The majority of the free clinic volunteering has been working directly with uninsured, low SES patients. What additional value should an experience bring with the fact that it's non-clinical?

Any opportunities you have had to shadow or observe doctor-patient relationships are going to be valuable, but the fact you are in a free clinic means it's clinical experience. I'm answering your question about splitting off the time that you are doing administrative work that is not patient-facing or observing and having it count as clinical. (I'm just summarizing arguments from faculty.)