[advice needed] Need to reapply, don't know where to start

[rambo315]

Hi everyone, I applied this past cycle but it isn't look too well for me so I'm likely having to reapply. Just wondering if anyone could give me some feedback/advice on my past cycle and where to start for reapplication (open to pming too). Thank you for all your help!

Current Results:

Interview invite by UCF in middle of August -> waitlisted (middle one third)
Interview invite by Drexel middle of March -> still waiting

For both of these schools' secondaries, I talked about my interest in nutrition and followed a preventative care/lifestyle medicine theme.

PAST APPLICATION (this cycle)

Amcas GPA: 3.88
Major: Nutritional Sciences

MCAT: 510 -> 515 (mainly retook for cars 122 -->127)
CA ORM, applied after a gap year as I was still undecided with premed

Clinical experience: ~310 hours (split between two different hospital volunteering activities)

Non-clinical: ~300 hours (most of the hours was from this music service club where we provide free music lessons to K-12 students in underresourced school districts) 50 hours was from this food pharmacy program -> nutrition support for low-income/homeless patients

TA: 180 hours

Leadership: ~100 hours (was a board member in that same music service club)

Research: 750 hours total (650 in a microbio lab where I had a second author publication in a smaller journal (after I already submitted my primary), 100 hours in an optometry lab)

Shadowing: ~50 hours with a pediatric endocrinologist and psychiatrist

School list (tbh I kinda didn't have a solid plan and mainly just tried to maximize my chances with schools that were around my mcat)

1. MCW
2. Albany Medical College
3. California University
4. UC IRVINE
5. Tulane
6. TCU Burnett
7. Sidney Kimmel
8. USC
9. Virginia Commonwealth
10. University of Vermont
11. Loma Linda
12. Tufts
13. Dartmouth
14. Quinnpac
15. Wake Forest
16. UMiami
17. Geisinger
18. Rosalind
19. Drexel
20. George Washington
21. Temple
22. Western Michigan Stryker
23. Penn State
24. Indiana School of Medicine
25. Oakland University
26. Eastern Virginia
27. St. Louis
28. Wayne State
29. UCSD
30. Central Florida
31. UC Davis
32. Emory
33. Colorado
34. Hackensack
35. Ohio State
36. Pittsburgh
37. University of Iowa
38. New York Medical College
39. UA - Phoenix
40. UMASS
41. Rochester
42. Cincinnati
43. UCLA
44. KAISER
45. UCSF

What I've changed for this upcoming cycle:

Clinical Experience:

(new activity) Lead MA job at a small allergy clinic (~1000 hours by end of may): Lead and teach other MAs, administer injections, make allergy shots, patient intake and history, vitals, pulmonary function tests, administering skin and patch tests. Since it's a pretty small clinic it's just one doctor so I quite literally assist her with everything. Def thinking about asking for LOR since I'm pretty close with her.

Hospice volunteering (~150 hours by end of may): I originally listed only 10 hours of this on my previous app due to logistical issues of not being able to start. But I've continued this and really enjoy this activity, been with one of my patients for around 10 months now and continuing. A lot of my patient experience have been very insightful and valuable to me.

Food pharmacy volunteering (~200 hours by end of may): been helping with coordinating and distributing fresh produce to low income/homeless individuals at the county hospital (started this late on past app). Since I majored in nutrition in college I'm also involved in helping create the nutrition curriculum for patients (cooking classes, teaching about nutrition labels, etc).


Where I think I messed up on:

Wrote my PS and activities section literally in like two weeks because I retook on the May 24th MCAT so I was scrambling to apply (original plan). I think my PS wasn't necessarily bad but might've leaned towards the side of listing activities and experiences rather than following a strong central theme.

Added schools into my primary in waves and spent longer than two weeks on some of them in terms of submitting secondaries (submitted all the way up till Labor Day). most of my secondaries I turned in second half of July to august.

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[surelycalm]

Stronger writing will certainly help, however, one other weakness is this:
Non-clinical: ~300 hours (most of the hours was from this music service club where we provide free music lessons to K-12 students in underresourced school districts)
50 hours was from this food pharmacy program -> nutrition support for low-income/homeless patients

The 50 hours is good but the music lessons will be treated as teaching/leadership. Try to get 200 more hours with the food pharmacy program and or food bank/habitat for humanity. They are looking for "service" more so than just any non-clinical volunteering.

 

[wysdoc]

Stronger writing will certainly help, however, one other weakness is this:
Non-clinical: ~300 hours (most of the hours was from this music service club where we provide free music lessons to K-12 students in underresourced school districts)
50 hours was from this food pharmacy program -> nutrition support for low-income/homeless patients

The 50 hours is good but the music lessons will be treated as teaching/leadership. Try to get 200 more hours with the food pharmacy program and or food bank/habitat for humanity. They are looking for "service" more so than just any non-clinical volunteering.

hospice counts as non-clinical volunteering, which has been added since the last app cycle

@rambo I think you have added a lot to your app since last year if you need to reapply.

UCF sometimes does tap into their "middle third" for WL offers so you still have some hope there as well.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

Food pharmacy volunteering should go under non-clinical volunteering. Good thing is that it counts as service orientation for me. The music tutoring does not; that's likely why you underperformed.

R

Thread 'What activities do I need/do I need more clinical volunteering?'

Oct 10, 2024

Hi, I'm currently in my gap year and trying to apply next cycle. I don't have a premed advisor or anything so just wanted to get some advice on what activities I should prioritize/get more hours in.

Mcat: 515
cGPA: 3.9 sGPA: 3.88
Undergrad: UCB

Clinical:
ER volunteer - ~200 hours (over 9 months) (got to see some interesting medical scenarios but I don't do that much -> mainly just stocking, talking to some patients, grabbing comfort items for patients)
Bedside volunteer - 100 hours (over 9 months) (help feed stroke/dementia patients, clean bed, etc)
(started recently)...

• rambo315
• Replies: 5
• Forum: Pre-Medical (MD)

 

[rambo315]

Food pharmacy volunteering should go under non-clinical volunteering. Good thing is that it counts as service orientation for me. The music tutoring does not; that's likely why you underperformed.

R

Thread 'What activities do I need/do I need more clinical volunteering?'

Oct 10, 2024

Hi, I'm currently in my gap year and trying to apply next cycle. I don't have a premed advisor or anything so just wanted to get some advice on what activities I should prioritize/get more hours in.

Mcat: 515
cGPA: 3.9 sGPA: 3.88
Undergrad: UCB

Clinical:
ER volunteer - ~200 hours (over 9 months) (got to see some interesting medical scenarios but I don't do that much -> mainly just stocking, talking to some patients, grabbing comfort items for patients)
Bedside volunteer - 100 hours (over 9 months) (help feed stroke/dementia patients, clean bed, etc)
(started recently)...

• rambo315
• Replies: 5
• Forum: Pre-Medical (MD)

thank you! do you think that my clinical experience for this past cycle also could've been a factor since it was only 300 hrs (but split between two hospital volunteering roles)? Do you think that submitting my secondaries in middle of July and august also could've been a factor?

Do you think my hospice volunteering should be put as non-clinical? I mainly do home visits and caregive for patients like helping them with breathing treatment, companionship, ordering their medications, etc

 

[rambo315]

Stronger writing will certainly help, however, one other weakness is this:
Non-clinical: ~300 hours (most of the hours was from this music service club where we provide free music lessons to K-12 students in underresourced school districts)
50 hours was from this food pharmacy program -> nutrition support for low-income/homeless patients

The 50 hours is good but the music lessons will be treated as teaching/leadership. Try to get 200 more hours with the food pharmacy program and or food bank/habitat for humanity. They are looking for "service" more so than just any non-clinical volunteering.

thanks! do you think I should move my hospice volunteering to non-clinical volunteering as well, just worried if they care about my lack of variety in clinical experience

 

[rambo315]

hospice counts as non-clinical volunteering, which has been added since the last app cycle

@rambo I think you have added a lot to your app since last year if you need to reapply.

UCF sometimes does tap into their "middle third" for WL offers so you still have some hope there as well.

thank you! do you think that low shadowing (have around 100 hrs now) or maybe my lack of variety in clinical experiences (vs others who might have done multiple clinical jobs) could hurt me?

 

[wysdoc]

thank you! do you think that low shadowing (have around 100 hrs now) or maybe my lack of variety in clinical experiences (vs others who might have done multiple clinical jobs) could hurt me?

I don't think so.

 

[surelycalm]

thanks! do you think I should move my hospice volunteering to non-clinical volunteering as well, just worried if they care about my lack of variety in clinical experience

Personally, I always thought hospice would be considered clinical, but I will defer that distinction to the experts. My clinical was all MA and Phlebotomy work at a hospital, and for service, I worked at several local food banks.

310 hours of clinical should be fine. Obviously, the more the better, but I don't think 310 would have gotten you screened out.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

thank you! do you think that my clinical experience for this past cycle also could've been a factor since it was only 300 hrs (but split between two hospital volunteering roles)? Do you think that submitting my secondaries in middle of July and august also could've been a factor?

1) Can't say without knowing your responsbilities. Numbers sound okay, but you can always use more. Question is what insight and growth you had, and how much more hours could help with it.

2) When did you receive the secondaries? You should try to turn them around within 1-2 weeks.

Do you think my hospice volunteering should be put as non-clinical? I mainly do home visits and caregive for patients like helping them with breathing treatment, companionship, ordering their medications, etc

What responsibilities did you have? Are you certified? It sounds like you were doing nursing duties. Most people consider hospice residents as clients, not patients unless there is a need for skilled nursing.