So I know my school list was narrow (completed at 5 MD programs total), reasons and stats/EC's outlined more here:
https://forums.studentdoctor.net/threads/should-i-withdraw-my-amcas-app.1384168/
However, I was complete at all schools around mid-late September and have received II's from each one (and 1 A so far), aside from one due to a technical difficulty in them marking my app complete. Given it's my state school and I fit their mission well, I suspect I will hear from them before the cycle ends if they get to my app before then.
Ever since I sent in secondaries and met with an advisor last month for a mock interview, I'm starting to see more and more how strong and applicable my application is to medicine given my years of service, especially with the medically underserved, given feedback I have received, I always thought I didn't "stand out" enough, but with the cycle winding down and having time to reflect, I have actually done a lot/am actually well-rounded and these experiences have shaped me and how I hope to practice medicine.
I know it's a moot point now given deadlines have passed and I have II's to some programs I like in a city I'd like to live in, but lately, I've been wondering if I did myself a disservice by refraining from sending apps to other "higher tier" schools where I also fit the mission? I also know I applied way too narrowly, but I seriously considered withdrawing and anticipated reapplying as it got closer to Labor Day due to my timing. I figured better to be a reapp at only a few schools next year, which was dumb. Once I got to my new job, the advisor there mentioned that wasn't that late given my experiences. But by that time in the season, a lot of deadlines had passed for sending in primaries so I didn't bother adding more. There were only a handful I may have added, but still thinking about what could have been..
I tried reaching out to an advisor at my state school in person and Reddit for school list help back in March, but people shot it down saying I didn't have enough schools, even though it was preliminary list of about 15 and I intended to add more. Or they said it was too top heavy, even though I only had a handful of "top" schools I wanted to shoot my shot at (Michigan, Pritzker (bc of their emphasis on health disparities), Emory, Miami, and OSU). Which honestly weren't that crazy of an idea aside from Pritzker and Michigan. The advisor gave me this speech about how I need to think about
why medicine, which was helpful in that it improved my personal statement, but I received no guidance from her about which reach schools to include with the matches and state schools I picked out. It was very difficult to determine this with the discrepancy between my MCAT and my GPA, but then also the amount of experience I have. I felt discouraged anytime I sought advice about this and thus reconsidered a bunch of schools, especially as it got later in the season.
As I mentioned in my other post, I have an overall strong and consistent theme of health disparities/service in my app. Over 4,000 hrs of service with half being direct and active patient care (1 on 1 health education in FQHC), and the other sex ed for teens and chronic disease management for inner city kids (minorities disproportionately affected). I also had a lot of non-clinical volunteering that was consistent and sustained. A lot of this was with AmeriCorps as well, so two years of full time service in addition to my service activities in undergrad. I initially thought my stats were too low (well my MCAT since it was a retake from 504->509, GPA was pretty strong at 3.75 cumulative, 3.65 science). Also URM AA female and non-trad at this point as well, having taken 3 years off total before matriculating next fall.
Even though I'm not complaining and I can't change anything, your answers will definitely help me in advising and encouraging friends with similar backgrounds as they prepare to apply next year. Unfortunately, there's not enough available (sound) advice for URM's unless their stats are high across the board.
