State/Country of Residence: WA
Ties to other States/Regions: UT
Year in School: Graduating senior
Undergraduate Major(s)/Minor(s): Spanish
Graduate Degrees (if applicable): N/A
Cumulative GPA: 3.91
Science GPA: 3.82
MCAT Score(s): 519 (128/132/127/132)
Research Experience: 1 semester, research lab. Honestly, I really didn’t get much from the experience and it felt like I was just checking a box, so I decided after that summer my time was better spent volunteering more. My plan had been to get into clinical research this summer to see if that was any better, but, well, ya know... That didn’t work out. And I still think it was the right decision, it just may affect now where I apply.
Publications/Abstracts/Posters (include how you were credited e.g. First author, second author, etc.): N/A
Clinical Experience (paid or volunteer): 600 EMT, 600 personal care aide, 300 volunteer medical interpretation at a free clinic
Physician Shadowing: 40 hours
Non-Clinical Volunteering: 150 domestic violence shelter, 180 E.R. volunteer, 75 misc. community interpretation, 75 food bank
Other Extracurricular Activities/Hobbies: Piano, reading, etc. Nothing to really set me apart.
Other Employment History: Spanish TA (almost three years), summer job at clinic
Immediate family members in medicine? (Y/N): N
Specialty of Interest (if applicable): N/A (Keeping an open mind, but EM and peds interest me)
Interest in Primary Care (Y/N): N (Yes, but not sure enough that I’d put it on an application.)
Interest in Rural Health (Y/N): N (Open to being convinced, but that’s about it.)
All right, here’s the thing—WARS said I should be taking like 45% from Category 1, but that seems like a crazy idea to me with a holistic review of my app. Little research, imbalanced MCAT (which I’ve heard is normal, but it’s my science that are lower). Do adcoms break down the MCAT scores that much? The MSAR does, and even for schools where my overall score matches well, my science sections (and sGPA) are in the lower percentiles. And don't get me wrong, I'm absolutely ecstatic with my score! Just not sure what to do with it, you know? I'm not sure where my target should be; the breakdown below is my best guess.
If I were to add schools, should I really be adding more top-tier? I would love to apply to Northwestern, Cornell, and maybe even Vandy, but I'd rather not throw away the money if I wouldn't be considered competitive, and I've heard that the very top schools, being research powerhouses, really care about an applicant's research experience. I already have some top dream schools on the list (Michigan, Mayo, Sinai) and I don't want to get greedy.
Medical School List:
Michigan
Mayo
Sinai
Baylor
UVA
Pitt
University of Utah
University of Washington
Washington State University (Elson S. Floyd)
UCLA
Emory
the Ohio State University
Rochester
Einstein
U of Iowa
UWisconsin-Madison
Miami
Rush
I’m also sending in TMDSAS to UT-Houston (McGovern) and Southwestern.
A lot of my volunteer experiences have been focused on working with the Hispanic community. Schools in areas with large Hispanic populations (TX, CA, Chicago, New York, etc.) are a +. I also took some schools off my list because of higher tuition (BU, Tufts, Colorado, U VT, Dartmouth, etc.). I also took off Case Western because they require two science faculty letters, and I only have one.
Does this seem balanced correctly, with the right ratios between reach, target, and so-called “safety”? I feel like I should maybe add on a few more, and if so, where should I pull from (i.e., high, mid, or lower)?
Thanks for the help!
Ties to other States/Regions: UT
Year in School: Graduating senior
Undergraduate Major(s)/Minor(s): Spanish
Graduate Degrees (if applicable): N/A
Cumulative GPA: 3.91
Science GPA: 3.82
MCAT Score(s): 519 (128/132/127/132)
Research Experience: 1 semester, research lab. Honestly, I really didn’t get much from the experience and it felt like I was just checking a box, so I decided after that summer my time was better spent volunteering more. My plan had been to get into clinical research this summer to see if that was any better, but, well, ya know... That didn’t work out. And I still think it was the right decision, it just may affect now where I apply.
Publications/Abstracts/Posters (include how you were credited e.g. First author, second author, etc.): N/A
Clinical Experience (paid or volunteer): 600 EMT, 600 personal care aide, 300 volunteer medical interpretation at a free clinic
Physician Shadowing: 40 hours
Non-Clinical Volunteering: 150 domestic violence shelter, 180 E.R. volunteer, 75 misc. community interpretation, 75 food bank
Other Extracurricular Activities/Hobbies: Piano, reading, etc. Nothing to really set me apart.
Other Employment History: Spanish TA (almost three years), summer job at clinic
Immediate family members in medicine? (Y/N): N
Specialty of Interest (if applicable): N/A (Keeping an open mind, but EM and peds interest me)
Interest in Primary Care (Y/N): N (Yes, but not sure enough that I’d put it on an application.)
Interest in Rural Health (Y/N): N (Open to being convinced, but that’s about it.)
All right, here’s the thing—WARS said I should be taking like 45% from Category 1, but that seems like a crazy idea to me with a holistic review of my app. Little research, imbalanced MCAT (which I’ve heard is normal, but it’s my science that are lower). Do adcoms break down the MCAT scores that much? The MSAR does, and even for schools where my overall score matches well, my science sections (and sGPA) are in the lower percentiles. And don't get me wrong, I'm absolutely ecstatic with my score! Just not sure what to do with it, you know? I'm not sure where my target should be; the breakdown below is my best guess.
If I were to add schools, should I really be adding more top-tier? I would love to apply to Northwestern, Cornell, and maybe even Vandy, but I'd rather not throw away the money if I wouldn't be considered competitive, and I've heard that the very top schools, being research powerhouses, really care about an applicant's research experience. I already have some top dream schools on the list (Michigan, Mayo, Sinai) and I don't want to get greedy.
Medical School List:
Michigan
Mayo
Sinai
Baylor
UVA
Pitt
University of Utah
University of Washington
Washington State University (Elson S. Floyd)
UCLA
Emory
the Ohio State University
Rochester
Einstein
U of Iowa
UWisconsin-Madison
Miami
Rush
I’m also sending in TMDSAS to UT-Houston (McGovern) and Southwestern.
A lot of my volunteer experiences have been focused on working with the Hispanic community. Schools in areas with large Hispanic populations (TX, CA, Chicago, New York, etc.) are a +. I also took some schools off my list because of higher tuition (BU, Tufts, Colorado, U VT, Dartmouth, etc.). I also took off Case Western because they require two science faculty letters, and I only have one.
Does this seem balanced correctly, with the right ratios between reach, target, and so-called “safety”? I feel like I should maybe add on a few more, and if so, where should I pull from (i.e., high, mid, or lower)?
Thanks for the help!
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And even though I don't think we can count on leeway during "COVID cycle" too much, this really is new for everyone, applicants and adcoms alike.
