Any reapplicant advice?

[settlerofcatan]

Hey guys!

So I applied this cycle and its looking like I'm going to have to reapply :/

1. Stats
-GPA 3.75 cumulative with a 3.67 science. Microbio major
-MCAT 9 physical, 10 verbal, 15 bio (unbalanced unfortunately :/ should I retake this?)

2. ECs and LORs
-70 hours of shadowing in family medicine and in an ENT office
-1000+ hours of research in an immunology lab with a couple school awards
-200 hours community volunteering in the summers
-100 hours of some basic hospital volunteering
-700 hours doing cultural activities
- a great LOR from my research PI, a couple solid LORs from a science and a non-science professor, and probably an average LOR from my second science professor

Since applying I've also added...
-a publication in PLOS from my undergrad immunology lab
-1000+ hours as an ER medical scribe
-50 hours in a free clinic

3. Schools I applied to (Im a CA resident)
No II
BU
Creighton
UCLA
George Washington
Georgetown
Loyola
NYMC
Rush
Rosalind Franklin
UCSD
UC Davis
U of Rochester
Wake Forest
Brown
UC Riverside
Colorado
Temple
Drexel

II and Waitlisted
Keck USC
UC Irvine

Any advice on things I can do to better myself/my app would be much appreciated! I personally think that my biggest weakness was in my essays. After a year of reflection and working in the ER however, I hope to produce a much better PS/secondaries this time around. Also any advice on schools I can add to my application list would be great too!

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[Faha]

This time add some more OOS private schools such as:
Quinnipiac
Hofstra
Albany
Jefferson
Penn State
Oakland Beaumont
Western Michigan
St. Louis
Tulane
Vermont
any new schools that open in 2017 (Roseman, Henricopolis, etc.)
Also apply to at least 6 DO schools and you are competitive for any DO school.
You could still be accepted off the wait list but go ahead and apply by mid June if you have not been accepted by Keck or Irvine by that time.

 

[GrapesofRath]

I'll just respond to your question you posted to me from your thread in the pre allo forum because it's probably better here.

Like I said in that thread your non clinical service particularly with the less fortunate populations is on the lighter side but overall your application looks fine. Even though I probably would have expected a few more IIs, I dont think the written parts of your app are flawed(a school like Keck doesnt give out IIs to people who have concerning LORs or flawed essays).

School list wise get MSAR. Target schools with an MCAT median in the 33-35 range that are OOS friendly. With these stats Id really try to target schools that get <10k apps per year and dont have unfavorable OOS applicant/matriculant ratios(ie Quinnipac, Rush, Drexel etc). Me personally the only schools from your old list Id seriously consider reapplying to are the ones you got IIs at(although a school like Keck typically doesnt reinterview a ton of people), Creighton, Rochester, Wake, UCR(if you are from the IE or went there for UG) and Temple. Rest largely arent likely to be fruitful on a reapp.

As a CA reapplicant with good stats it's imperative to have around 15 schools you can say going in you have a realistic shot at getting a II at. You in other words need a dozen new schools at least. I wouldnt apply DO rather the key is to target schools most likely to interview you with a broad list. Einstein and Miami are good examples that fit what I listed above. The midwest outside of Chicago has a number schools you should try to target.