Good enough for #25-#40 schools?

[SteyrSteven]

GPA: 3.87
MCAT: 518 (131/130/129/128)
Residency: Florida
Race: White
Undergrad: Jacksonville University
Clinical Experience: 200 hours working as a scribe in the ED currently, but I put in 1000 on the app since the app says to put how much you expect to receive not how much you currently have. I will have 1000 hours by august 2017.
Research Experience: None. Yes, I know I ****ed up.
Shadowing Experience: 12 hours with a Navy doc on the ship. 16 hours with a family practice. Both within the last month.
Non-Clinical Volunteering: 20 hours tutoring underprivileged kids. 200 hours in the Middle East with the Caravan For Democracy. Caravan For Democracy is not normal voluntourism, it's a competitive leadership/volunteering trip to Israel. 40 applicants were accepted from schools like Yale, Harvard, Princeton, Ohio State, and other good schools. all expenses were paid.
Extracurricular: Only freshman to ever get hired in the tutoring center. Was 2nd most popular tutor first semester working and managed to negotiate $9000 for the tutoring center to accommodate student veterans.
- Started my own tutoring company. Made over $20,000 dollars in revenue first year operating it and had 3 employees I managed at its peak. Allowed myself to be bought out 6 months ago so I could study for the MCAT.
- 3 years working as a Student Ambassador, was promoted to Presidential Ambassador last year.
- Attend Presidential Leadership Advisory Council where I was directly involved in the creation of the bike share program and the laundry reservation app.
- Currently Vice President of the Honors Program.
- Play piano semi-professionally (churches, weddings, corporate events).
- Archery
- Philosophy club
- Member of the Jacksonville University Sailing Team
- other stuff but I don't think it's really worth mentioning.

Awards: Like I said, Caravan For Democracy is a highly competitive leadership volunteering trip, not just a pay $4000 for meaningful experiences machine.
- Presidential Honors Scholarship, full ride scholarship to Jacksonville University.
- deans list/ presidents list for 3.5+ or 4.0 for every semester but I'm not sure if this is important enough to note.

So, what do you guys think? I thought I could apply top 10 with these stats, but I was recently told that it's iffy if I'll even get into an MD program at all without a gap year. I'm kind of freaking out and looking for some more perspectives. Do you guys think I have a decent shot at a 25-40 school even with no research?

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[JoannePrada]

I don't think many schools will care about gap years. However, having no research might hurt you a bit for top ten schools, but, it's still worth applying. Also, I would say that you only need to apply to about 25.

 

[SteyrSteven]

I don't think many schools will care about gap years. However, having no research might hurt you a bit for top ten schools, but, it's still worth applying. Also, I would say that you only need to apply to about 25.

Sorry, just for clarification. Are you saying I should apply to schools that are ranked 25 and higher?

 

[Goro]

Aim high!!!

Start with all FL schools and then Harvard, Stanford etc

 

[SteyrSteven]

Aim high!!!

Start with all FL schools and then Harvard, Stanford etc

You don't think that no research will keep me out of top 10s?

 

[Faha]

As long as you apply to ALL your Florida schools you can add any other OOS schools you wish.

 

[AlphaBeta<3]

You don't think that no research will keep me out of top 10s?

great EC's can make up for lack of research

 

[JoannePrada]

Sorry, just for clarification. Are you saying I should apply to schools that are ranked 25 and higher?

Lol no. I'm saying you don't need to apply to tons of schools because you have a good application. 25 schools total should be enough.

 

[SteyrSteven]

Lol no. I'm saying you don't need to apply to tons of schools because you have a good application. 25 schools total should be enough.

Okay! Thanks for the clarification. I'll probably apply to like 15-20 schools due to financial constraints. Do you think it's be worth it to include some top 25 schools in that list or should I stick to 25-40?

 

[MaxPlancker]

GPA: 3.87
MCAT: 518 (131/130/129/128)
Residency: Florida
Race: White
Undergrad: Jacksonville University
Clinical Experience: 200 hours working as a scribe in the ED currently, but I put in 1000 on the app since the app says to put how much you expect to receive not how much you currently have. I will have 1000 hours by august 2017.
Research Experience: None. Yes, I know I ****ed up.
Shadowing Experience: 12 hours with a Navy doc on the ship. 16 hours with a family practice. Both within the last month.
Non-Clinical Volunteering: 20 hours tutoring underprivileged kids. 200 hours in the Middle East with the Caravan For Democracy. Caravan For Democracy is not normal voluntourism, it's a competitive leadership/volunteering trip to Israel. 40 applicants were accepted from schools like Yale, Harvard, Princeton, Ohio State, and other good schools. all expenses were paid.
Extracurricular: Only freshman to ever get hired in the tutoring center. Was 2nd most popular tutor first semester working and managed to negotiate $9000 for the tutoring center to accommodate student veterans.
- Started my own tutoring company. Made over $20,000 dollars in revenue first year operating it and had 3 employees I managed at its peak. Allowed myself to be bought out 6 months ago so I could study for the MCAT.
- 3 years working as a Student Ambassador, was promoted to Presidential Ambassador last year.
- Attend Presidential Leadership Advisory Council where I was directly involved in the creation of the bike share program and the laundry reservation app.
- Currently Vice President of the Honors Program.
- Play piano semi-professionally (churches, weddings, corporate events).
- Archery
- Philosophy club
- Member of the Jacksonville University Sailing Team
- other stuff but I don't think it's really worth mentioning.

Awards: Like I said, Caravan For Democracy is a highly competitive leadership volunteering trip, not just a pay $4000 for meaningful experiences machine.
- Presidential Honors Scholarship, full ride scholarship to Jacksonville University.
- deans list/ presidents list for 3.5+ or 4.0 for every semester but I'm not sure if this is important enough to note.

So, what do you guys think? I thought I could apply top 10 with these stats, but I was recently told that it's iffy if I'll even get into an MD program at all without a gap year. I'm kind of freaking out and looking for some more perspectives. Do you guys think I have a decent shot at a 25-40 school even with no research?

1) You were probably told you had an iffy chance at an MD program due to the lack of clinical exposure. Your shadowing is very minimal -- how do you know you want to go into medicine? It's obvious that you 'just want to be a doctor' if you shadow within the last few months before applying.

2) Before anyone replies to #1 with a smart comment about scribe being clinical exposure, if OP predicts 800 more hours in the upcoming year and he has 200 hours now, it is likely that he has been scribing for the past ~3 months. If I were an adcom, I would question a) why did OP choose to scribe before having any shadowing experience? (makes you think "for the resume") and b) why is OP applying to medical school without knowing what medicine truly entails?

3) Your stats are fine for any school. They won't necessarily help you but they also won't keep you out of schools. For example, if you apply to WashuSt Louis with a median 38 MCAT, then obviously your 36 isn't going to help you but it won't keep you from an II or even acceptance if you have better ECs than those with higher numbers. FWIW, your stats are slightly below average for the majority of top 20 schools.

4) Minus the lack of clinical exposure, your ECs are solid. If schools flag you for the last minute clinical exposure, then that will hurt you. If not, you're fine. It will vary by school.

5) How involved are you in archery, philosophy, sailing, etc? My advice is to leave out things if you just dabble here and there because you just look too scattered.

6) Since you can apply to 15-20 schools, I would advise applying to all your state schools (~5?) plus 10 #20-40 plus about 5 dream schools ranked whatever.

7) To others @Goro, would you perceive putting 1000 hours instead of 200 as disingenuous? It certainly comes off as such to me since it's such a big difference even though you are technically allowed to estimate expected hours. So much can happen in a year ya know?

8) The value research is overemphasised. The qualities derived from research is what's important. Qualities such as being able to communicate effectively are covered by your ECs such as teaching. Other qualities such as critical analysis of data & troubleshooting are not covered (well) by your ECs. I don't think it will sink you but it certainly won't be optimal.

 

[SteyrSteven]

1) You were probably told you had an iffy chance at an MD program due to the lack of clinical exposure. Your shadowing is very minimal -- how do you know you want to go into medicine? It's obvious that you 'just want to be a doctor' if you shadow within the last few months before applying.

2) Before anyone replies to #1 with a smart comment about scribe being clinical exposure, if OP predicts 800 more hours in the upcoming year and he has 200 hours now, it is likely that he has been scribing for the past ~3 months. If I were an adcom, I would question a) why did OP choose to scribe before having any shadowing experience? (makes you think "for the resume") and b) why is OP applying to medical school without knowing what medicine truly entails?

3) Your stats are fine for any school. They won't necessarily help you but they also won't keep you out of schools. For example, if you apply to WashuSt Louis with a median 38 MCAT, then obviously your 36 isn't going to help you but it won't keep you from an II or even acceptance if you have better ECs than those with higher numbers. FWIW, your stats are slightly below average for the majority of top 20 schools.

4) Minus the lack of clinical exposure, your ECs are solid. If schools flag you for the last minute clinical exposure, then that will hurt you. If not, you're fine. It will vary by school.

5) How involved are you in archery, philosophy, sailing, etc? My advice is to leave out things if you just dabble here and there because you just look too scattered.

6) Since you can apply to 15-20 schools, I would advise applying to all your state schools (~5?) plus 10 #20-40 plus about 5 dream schools ranked whatever.

7) To others @Goro, would you perceive putting 1000 hours instead of 200 as disingenuous? It certainly comes off as such to me since it's such a big difference even though you are technically allowed to estimate expected hours. So much can happen in a year ya know?

8) The value research is overemphasised. The qualities derived from research is what's important. Qualities such as being able to communicate effectively are covered by your ECs such as teaching. Other qualities such as critical analysis of data & troubleshooting are not covered (well) by your ECs. I don't think it will sink you but it certainly won't be optimal.

Thank you for such an in depth critique of my application! I will go through and answer your points.

1. I didn't want to do a lot of shadowing because I heard it was too passive and most of the people I know who did it did not enjoy it. I did some clinical volunteering a year ago, but I didn't enjoy it. It actually turned me off of medicine because I would sit around for hours at a time before moving a box or two. Scribing was me giving medicine one last chance to see if it was worth it. I LOVE working in the Emergency Department and I'm completely enamored with medicine after my experiences in the ED. Also, good call on my timeline! I have been scribing for about 3 months now. But yeah, to answer your question, "How do you know that you want to go into medicine" I would say the incredibly positive experience I've had working as a real employee with real responsibilities in the ED has set my medical aspirations in stone.

2. Mostly answered this in my response to 1.

3. Acknowledged!

4. Acknowledged! and thank you btw!

5. Archery is about 2 hours a week for a year now. Sailing is 9 hours a week for a few semesters. Philosophy club is only an hour a month, but I really enjoy it! We hang out with the philosophy professor and argue about stuff. I really enjoy philosophy club, but is it not worth putting just because there are not a lot of hours? I think the quality of the experience outshines the quantity of the experience, but I'm always looking for different opinions.

6. I've had a few other people suggest this application strategy to me on reddit. Right now I'm leaning in this direction.

7. I originally planned on only putting 200 hours. I agree, it does feel a little crooked. But I'm positive I'll be working in the ED right up until I get into medical school and AMCAS themselves told me to estimate expected hours, not current.

8. I've never heard it put this way. I've left quite a bit out of my EC's, I think I'll take your advice on point 5 and replace some of my random (but oh so loved) hobbies with things that show more data analysis and troubleshooting experience.

Thank you so much for your feedback!

 

[JoannePrada]

Okay! Thanks for the clarification. I'll probably apply to like 15-20 schools due to financial constraints. Do you think it's be worth it to include some top 25 schools in that list or should I stick to 25-40?

Top 25, Top 10 even. You're gonna have a good cycle.

 

[SteyrSteven]

Top 25, Top 10 even. You're gonna have a good cycle.

Thank you for the kind words and feedback. I don't know if you're applying too, but if you are good luck! If you aren't... well... good luck with whatever else you're doing!

 

[MaxPlancker]

Thank you for such an in depth critique of my application! I will go through and answer your points.

1. I didn't want to do a lot of shadowing because I heard it was too passive and most of the people I know who did it did not enjoy it. I did some clinical volunteering a year ago, but I didn't enjoy it. It actually turned me off of medicine because I would sit around for hours at a time before moving a box or two. Scribing was me giving medicine one last chance to see if it was worth it. I LOVE working in the Emergency Department and I'm completely enamored with medicine after my experiences in the ED. Also, good call on my timeline! I have been scribing for about 3 months now. But yeah, to answer your question, "How do you know that you want to go into medicine" I would say the incredibly positive experience I've had working as a real employee with real responsibilities in the ED has set my medical aspirations in stone.

2. Mostly answered this in my response to 1.

3. Acknowledged!

4. Acknowledged! and thank you btw!

5. Archery is about 2 hours a week for a year now. Sailing is 9 hours a week for a few semesters. Philosophy club is only an hour a month, but I really enjoy it! We hang out with the philosophy professor and argue about stuff. I really enjoy philosophy club, but is it not worth putting just because there are not a lot of hours? I think the quality of the experience outshines the quantity of the experience, but I'm always looking for different opinions.

6. I've had a few other people suggest this application strategy to me on reddit. Right now I'm leaning in this direction.

7. I originally planned on only putting 200 hours. I agree, it does feel a little crooked. But I'm positive I'll be working in the ED right up until I get into medical school and AMCAS themselves told me to estimate expected hours, not current.

8. I've never heard it put this way. I've left quite a bit out of my EC's, I think I'll take your advice on point 5 and replace some of my random (but oh so loved) hobbies with things that show more data analysis and troubleshooting experience.

Thank you so much for your feedback!

Okay, sounds good. If you address your scribing as MM or in your PS about how you solidified your desire to go into medicine, I think you will be fine clinically.

Archery and sailing certainly "stick out" in terms of ECs…if you have space, then I think the amount of time you've spent is reasonable so you should include them.

Research was given an importance rating of "low" for public universities and "medium" for private universities in a survey by AAMC. Just because most applicants come in with research experience doesn't mean that it actually helped them.

Good luck and enjoy the cycle

Edit: I think you may be well-advised to try Mayo, Duke in particular for top schools. Just my gut feeling.

 

[SteyrSteven]

Okay, sounds good. If you address your scribing as MM or in your PS about how you solidified your desire to go into medicine, I think you will be fine clinically.

Archery and sailing certainly "stick out" in terms of ECs…if you have space, then I think the amount of time you've spent is reasonable so you should include them.

Research was given an importance rating of "low" for public universities and "medium" for private universities in a survey by AAMC. Just because most applicants come in with research experience doesn't mean that it actually helped them.

Good luck and enjoy the cycle

Thanks again! Good luck in medical school!

 

[MaxPlancker]

Thanks again! Good luck in medical school!

Thanks, I'ma need it